Who has scored the most goals in the Manchester derby? Erling Haaland chasing Wayne Rooney on Man City-Man United list
Manchester City faced Manchester United in the latest derby match on January 17, with both teams having endured a roller coaster ride through the 2025/26 Premier League season.
It’s a fixture that Erling Haaland and Phil Foden have come to enjoy in recent years, but after both found themselves on the scoresheet after their earlier meeting back in September, City were blanked in a shock defeat at Old Trafford in their latest clash.
Haaland is no stranger to goal-scoring feats of brilliance, of course, but it is remarkable that he is one of the leading marksmen in this fixture given he only joined City in 2022.
So where does the Norwegian phenomenon currently reside in the storied history of the Manchester derby?
MORE: Erling Haaland’s goal scoring record against ‘big six’ clubs
Who has scored the most goals in the Manchester derby?
Wayne Rooney‘s iconic overhead kick to snatch a 2-1 win for United over City at Old Trafford in February 2011 stands as one of the greatest goals in the long history of this fixture.
It was also part of a haul of 11 derby strikes that puts Rooney top of the all-time standings.
City duo Francis Lee and Joe Hayes are up next on 10 apiece, one ahead of United and England great Bobby Charlton and Rooney’s contemporary Sergio Aguero.
MORE: A closer look at the 2025/26 Premier League Golden Boot race as Haaland hopes to repeat
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1. | Wayne Rooney | United | 11 |
| 2. | Joe Hayes | City | 10 |
| = | Francis Lee | City | 10 |
| 4. | Sergio Aguero | City | 9 |
| = | Bobby Charlton | United | 9 |
| = | Erling Haaland | City | 9 |
| 7. | Colin Bell | City | 8 |
| = | Eric Cantona | United | 8 |
| = | Brian Kidd | United (5)/City (3) | 8 |
| = | Joe Spence | United | 8 |
| = | Phil Foden | City | 8 |
| 12. | Paul Scholes | United | 7 |
| = | Dennis Violet | United | 7 |
| Marcus Rashford | United | 6 |
After a cluster of four players on eight derby goals, including Eric Cantona and Colin Bell — each transformative presences for their clubs during their respective eras in the 1990s and 1960s — United heroes Paul Scholes and Dennis Violet have seven each.
MORE: Bobby Charlton and Francis Lee: The men who made the Manchester derby’s golden era
