Top 10 iconic Manchester United games of the decade (2010-2019)

#9 Manchester City 2-3 Manchester United – Premier League, 7th April 2018

Chris Smalling scored an unlikely winner for United against neighbours Man City in 2018

The decade between 2010 and 2019 will probably be remembered by many Manchester United fans as the decade that saw them slip beneath their neighbours Manchester City on football’s totem pole; this week has seen City rise above them on football’s rich list, while the last 10 years have seen City claim 4 Premier League titles to United’s 2. That’s why this win – against Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City side of 2017-18 – will always be remembered fondly.

City were top of the league at the time of the game, and needed just 3 points to be confirmed as champions after dominating the competition, losing just one match – a 4-3 thriller to Liverpool – along the way. Jose Mourinho’s Red Devils meanwhile went into the match in second place – 16 points behind their neighbours.

At first it looked like the game would be a stroll for Guardiola’s men; Vincent Kompany gave them the lead on 25 minutes and just 5 minutes later, it was doubled through Ilkay Gundogan. But the Citizens couldn’t add to that despite dominating, and in the second half, Paul Pogba came to the forefront. The French superstar pulled one goal back on 53 minutes, and then drew the Red Devils level just 2 minutes later with a header.

The game was then set for a frantic finish, but the winner came from an unlikely source: United defender Chris Smalling, who somehow found himself unmarked to head home from a free kick, just 14 minutes after Pogba’s second. Try as they might, City could not find an equaliser – and Mourinho’s side came away with a famous victory, arguably the high point of his tumultuous reign at Old Trafford.