With United challenging for the Premier League title, the last thing they needed was a trip to a fired-up City...
It was a day to savour for City fans, as the Blues made it three wins out of four home Manchester derbies.
Trevor Sinclair put Stuart Pearce’s side on the way after 32 minutes and Darius Vassell doubled the advantage seven minutes later.
When Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off on 66 minutes, the Reds probably realised it wasn’t going to be their day.
Yet Ruud van Nistelrooy’s 76th-minute goal meant there was a nervy last 15 minutes or so for the majority of the 47,192 crowd.
But on 90 minutes, Robbie Fowler bagged City’s third to seal a memorable victory at the Etihad (or City of Manchester Stadium as it was known then).
Enjoy our 2006 derby win on the video above...
