History is against Ruben Amorim as the Portuguese gets his first taste of the Manchester derby in his latest tactical battle against Pep Guardiola. The Spaniard has beaten every Manchester United manager he has faced in their first derby game.
Overall, Guardiola boasts a record of 13 wins, eight defeats and two draws leading Manchester City against their local rivals, with 47 goals for and 32 against. This tells a story of power shifting in a fixture where United were previously dominant – they still lead the all-time head-to-head record with 78 wins, 61 losses and 54 draws.
Amorim’s own record against Guardiola is much more balanced. City put five past Sporting in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in 2022, before drawing the second leg. More recently, Amorim signed off on his time in Lisbon by humbling Guardiola’s City 4-1 at the Estádio José Alvalade.
With United making the short trip to the Etihad on Sunday, this is how Guardiola has fared against each of his rival coaches in the Manchester derby.
José Mourinho (2016–18)
Games: 6. Won 3, drew 1, lost 2
Both coaches were getting their first taste of the Manchester derby when United hosted City at Old Trafford in September 2016. Guardiola came out on top that day winning 2-1, with goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho. Mourinho took some revenge a month later in the League Cup fourth round, as United won 1-0 en route to winning that competition.
Mourinho’s only other win against City during his stint with United came at the Etihad in April 2018, when Paul Pogba inspired a comeback from 2-0 down at half-time to delay Guardiola’s title charge for another week by winning 3-2. After that, the wheels came off as Mourinho’s third season in charge saw the manager’s mood plumbed new depths.
The Portuguese’s final derby ended in a convincing 3-1 defeat at the Etihad where the gulf between the two clubs was becoming increasingly evident. A little over a month later, Mourinho was dismissed after a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær (2018–21)
Games: 9. Won 4, drew 1, lost 4
Solskjær is the sole United manager Guardiola did not rack up a winning record against, and the City manager only levelled his win-count in the Norwegian’s penultimate game in charge. An Eric Bailly own goal and a strike from Bernardo Silva in November 2021 left United six points adrift of City, and Solskjær was sacked after following up with a 4-1 defeat at Watford
Until then, Guardiola’s record in the Premier League against Solskjær was less than stellar. After winning their first derby meeting at Old Trafford in 2019, the Spaniard lost three and drew one of their next four league matches. The United manager oversaw two wins at the Etihad, in December 2019 and behind closed doors in March 2021.
The cup competitions were kinder to Guardiola, City beating United 3-2 on aggregate over the two legs of their League Cup semi-final in 2020. A year later, in the Covid-hit one-legged semi-final in the same competition, Guardiola masterminded a 2-0 win at an empty Old Trafford in a season of near-misses for United.
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Ralph Rangnick (2021–22)
Games: 1. Won 1, drew 0, lost 0.
Ralph Rangnick faced Guardiola only once in a Manchester derby and it was not a happy experience for the Austrian. United were again off the pace and sitting sixth in the league when they travelled across Manchester in March 2022 to face Guardiola’s league leaders. Inside five minutes, De Bruyne had opened the scoring as City went on to win 4-1, with the Belgian and Riyad Mahrez both scoring two apiece.
Erik ten Hag (2022 – 2024)
Games: 7. Won 5, drew 0, lost 2.
Crushed 6-3 in his first Manchester derby as United boss, with Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both scoring hat-tricks, Erik ten Hag did beat Guardiola in their next meeting. Marcus Rashford’s controversial strike earned a 2-1 comeback victory in January 2023 – as the Dutchman fostered hopes of an Old Trafford rival.
Their next meeting would come in the 2023 FA Cup final, where Ilkay Gündogan ran the show, scoring in the first minute to help City earn a 2-1 victory as Guardiola’s side secured the second leg of their treble.
City won both league games in the 2023-24 campaign with a 6-1 aggregate score, but Ten Hag did get the better of Guardiola in what many expected to be the Dutchman’s final derby – the 2024 FA Cup final. United roared into a 2-0 first-half lead through Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo, with Jérémy Doku’s late strike little consolation.
This would prove to be a false dawn and although City required a penalty shootout to win in Ten Hag’s final showdown with Guardiola – in August’s Community Shield – the Dutchman was out of a job before the end of November. Over to you, Ruben …
Source: theguardian.com
