Manchester United's English striker Wayne Rooney (L) vies with Manchester City's Belgian defender Vincent Kompany (R)
Wayne Rooney (left) has spoken about the party he had after losing to Manchester City in the derby (Image: Getty Images)
October 23, 2011. It remains one of the bleakest moments in Manchester United's history, as they suffered a humiliating 6-1 defeat to Manchester City at Old Trafford. United legend Wayne Rooney found himself at the centre of a storm after the match when it emerged he had been socialising with City players following the drubbing, and the England icon has now explained his reasoning.
The fixture had been anticipated as a closely-fought encounter, but Roberto Mancini orchestrated one of the most memorable derby triumphs in Premier League history. City's star-studded lineup featured the likes of Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Aguero among others. It marked the first Manchester derby where both sides met whilst occupying first and second positions in the league standings. United fielded Wayne Rooney, Nani and a peak Ashley Young, but they proved powerless against a dominant City outfit.
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"After something like that I'd usually just go home. But I had a birthday party. Joe Hart, Gareth Barry and a few of the City players were invited to my birthday party," he revealed on BBC's The Wayne Rooney Show.
"You've got family, friends, everyone who's made their own plans to come. I was like, 'I can't cancel it' so I went. We've got the United lads, some of the City lads sat there.
"I think it was me, Crouchy [Peter Crouch], Harty [Joe Hart] - we all got up and did a song of Backstreet Boys. Looking back, I should have cancelled, but it was the friends and family who'd all booked the time off and got the babysitters and stuff."
Mario Balotelli broke the deadlock on 22 minutes with a sublime side-footed strike nestled into the bottom right corner, before unveiling his iconic 'Why Always Me?' celebration. The score remained 1-0 at the interval, but United's afternoon deteriorated further when Jonny Evans saw red shortly after the break.
Mario Balotelli of Manchester City celebrates after scoring a goal
This game was the one where Mario Balotelli produced this iconic celebration (Image: Getty Image)
Balotelli doubled his tally on the hour mark, before Sergio Aguero extended the visitors' advantage to 3-0 ten minutes later. Darren Fletcher, now the club's interim manager, pulled one back for United on 81 minutes, but the closing stages proved catastrophic for the hosts.
Edin Dzeko netted twice and David Silva also found the net as City plundered three goals in just four minutes, twisting the knife into United's supporters and players alike.
Reflecting on the humiliation, Rooney admitted: "I think that was a big moment for City back then because you could feel City coming up and getting closer to us.
"But to come to Old Trafford and win 6-1, I think that was a statement. I remember being on the pitch and it was horrible. It was like in the second half, just felt like it was goal after goal, and you're just like, 'oh, get me off this pitch'."
City delivered the heaviest Premier League defeat ever suffered by their local rivals, marking the first occasion since 1930 that United had shipped six goals on home soil.