Manchester's loudest day of the season is here

Before anything else: today marks 25 years since September 11th. New York remembers, and so do we. If today's a hard one for you, take care of yourself.

This week we're staying put in one city. Manchester's got the derby, the music, and the homecoming story, so pull up a stool: this is a full Manchester takeover edition. Here's what's on tap:

• 🏟️ The Manchester derby, explained, with the Oasis cameo you didn't know you needed

• ⚽ A full Premier League weekend card, plus the Champions League's dramatic return

• 🍻 Grabbing a beer with Wythenshawe's own Marcus Rashford, back in a United shirt for his first Manchester derby in nearly two years

Let's tap in.

🥃 TOP SHELF

Derby day in Manchester

On Monday we covered some basic history of soccer rivalries. Today we’re going to dig into one of the world’s great sporting rivalries. No, it’s not Frank and Sal who still are not talking.

“We’re talking Manchester United vs Manchester City, right?”

Indeed we are. But before then, the results are in from Monday's poll asking which US rivalry hits closest to a soccer derby:

• Duke vs. UNC took it, with 41% of the vote,

• Yankees vs. Red Sox close behind on 39%.

• So much for the Lakers vs. Celtics rivalry (9%) - it was pipped by "my in-laws at Thanksgiving" at 11%.

I’d have to agree. Duke-UNC has the geography and the loathing just right.

Now let's get back to this weekend.

Super Sunday

This Sunday, September 13, Manchester United host Manchester City at Old Trafford, 10:30 AM ET. It’s meeting number 199 between the sides. United lead the all-time series 81 wins to City's 62, with 55 draws. That overall history favors United. The recent history does not.

City walk in with a perfect scorecard so far. Three games, three wins, nine points, top of the table.

United walk in bruised, four points from three games, still wincing from a 2-2 draw at Everton where the hosts snatched a 96th-minute equalizer, the soccer equivalent of losing a bet you'd already spent the winnings on.

Manchester is red blue?

Zoom out and it gets worse for United. City have won six of the last nine Premier League titles under Pep Guardiola, capped by a historic treble in 2023 that finally landed the club its first-ever Champions League.

United have gotten through ten permanent and caretaker managers since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, and haven't won the league since. Last season's surprise third-place finish under Michael Carrick was the first real bright spot in years, and it's the only reason they're back in the Champions League at all.

“So City just turn up and collect three points? Borrrrrinnngg.”

Wrong bar, pal. The league table and recent history count for nothing on derby day.

Expect the unexpected

Derby day is like your drinking habits when the holiday season comes around. Whatever “moderation” your Sober October efforts stood for in the build-up to the big celebration go out the window.

Your tolerance these days would be on par with a college freshman? Who cares. Your knee won’t last 2 minutes on the dancefloor, never mind the 20-minute walk from the bar to get there? Don’t matter. There’s just something in the air on these special occasions that washes all your prior worries away.

It’s the same story with this exact fixture. City have swaggered into Old Trafford as massive underdogs and taken a 6-1 victory. United have travelled to City’s own Etihad Stadium in 13th place and walked away winners. If the Manchester Derby does anything, it swallows favorites whole.

Whatever recent form and historic edges either side may hold, Sunday is its own animal, and Old Trafford is going to be loud.

Great supporters? Some might say…

Here's the trivia to drop if you’re watching the game with friends.

Manchester's other great double act - Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis - are City fans. Besides writing half the songs on The Tap-Inn jukebox, they’re also season ticket holders and the type of people who would happily pick the Etihad over a family reunion.

Their reunion tour documentary, fittingly titled "Don't Look Back in Anger," hits theaters today. Plus, word is they’re soon announcing gigs in the Etihad Stadium for next year. Perfect timing.

🗣️ SOUND LIKE A REGULAR

"Fergie time"

/ˈfɜːɡi taɪm/ 🔊

phrase · soccer

1. Definition: The stretch of injury/stoppage time at the end of a game that seems to last longer whenever the biggest club in the stadium needs a goal. Usually shouted in outrage by the other team's fans (and usually at Man United games).

2. Origin: Named for Alex Ferguson, who managed Manchester United for 26 years and had a habit of winning late — and often long after the game ought to have finished. Rival fans swore referees added minutes until United scored.

USED IN A SENTENCE
"Four minutes of stoppage time, and somehow we are still playing in the seventh? Classic United Fergie Time.”

🗞️ THE WEEKLY TAP-IN…

Premier League preview

It’s weekend four in the Premier League and the early table already has a shape to it.

Arsenal and Manchester City are both perfect through three games, level on nine points, with City ahead only on goals scored. Newly promoted Hull City sit third with seven points and haven't conceded a goal in three matches. Chelsea round out the top four. Let’s check out this weekend’s big games.

• Sunderland vs. Arsenal (3:00 PM ET, Saturday): Arsenal looking for four straight league wins, but the Black Cats won’t make it easy for them.

• Tottenham vs. Everton (12:30 PM ET, Saturday): Spurs have three games, zero goals, and just one point under their belt as they head into this tricky home game. They’ve got to score eventually though, right?

• Liverpool vs. Fulham (10:00 AM ET, Saturday): Anfield hosts a Fulham side still searching for their first point of the season, and still without a win under new boss Alvaro Arbeloa. Liverpool will fancy their chances in this one.

• Chelsea vs. Hull City (10:00 AM ET, Saturday): Hull have been the surprise story of the early season, sitting third in the table after an unbeaten start that absolutely nobody predicted. Chelsea will be desperate to end that run at home at Stamford Bridge.

See the full fixture list and kickoff times.

The UEFA Champions League is back

Matchday 1 of the new league phase played out across three nights this week, and there was no shortage of goals. If you skipped it, no judgment: it can be hard to catch these games during the working day. That's what this section is for.

• Real Madrid 2-1 Inter Milan: Kylian Mbappé got the competition's first goal of the new season, but Jose Mourinho's Inter made the champions work for it at the Bernabéu, out-shooting them despite the loss.

• Liverpool 2-1 Atlético Madrid: A first European test, passed. Iraola's side came from behind to win at Anfield.

• Napoli 0-1 Arsenal: Beaten by PSG in last season's final, Arteta's side ground out a scrappy away win in Italy to open their redemption bid. Job done.

• Porto 0-2 Manchester City: Haaland scored twice as Maresca picked up his first Champions League win as City boss.

See the full round-up here.

Sometimes though, the story isn’t about what happened on the pitch. It’s about everything else that contributes to it.

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Manager?

Manchester United 4-0 Sabah: It’s been a very Manchester-heavy edition of the newsletter today, so despite the 4-0 loss, I want to focus on Sabah for a moment. Here’s some fun facts:

• Their squad is worth roughly $18m combined - less than half of what United’s new midfielder Youri Tieleman’s cost this summer.

• They’re coached by a man who funded his move into coaching with his winnings from Lithuania's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" (I can’t believe it either)

• They’ve got a left-back who won Poland's version of "The Traitors"

• They fielded the first Rwandan to ever play in the Champions League.

Pour one out for the Azerbaijanis. Here’s hoping better nights lie ahead.

🍻 HAVE A BEER WITH…

Marcus Rashford

What to watch for this weekend: Goals. After loan spells at Aston Villa and Barcelona, he's back in a United shirt for the first time in 18 months this season. He’s got 7 career goals against City.

Fact: Rashford isn't just a United player, he's a Manchester one. Born and raised in Wythenshawe, a few miles down the road from Old Trafford, he came through United's academy as a local kid living the dream.

Toast: A pint of Boddingtons, brewed in Manchester since 1778 and still the closest thing the city has to an official beer.

Follow him here: @marcusrashford

🔥 HOUSE SPECIALS

⚽ Goal of the week: Alexis Mac Allister's left-footed screamer won it for Liverpool against Atlético Madrid in the Champions League, blasted home from 20 yards with his weaker foot.

🎉 Fanzone: German second-division side VfL Osnabrück unveiled a fully functioning mechanical rollercoaster tifo before their cup match against Bayern Munich, arguably the most elaborate fan display ever put together in a stadium.

📅 On this day: September 11, 1895: Aston Villa put the FA Cup trophy in a local shop window to show it off but it was stolen overnight and never recovered. The FA fined Villa £25 to pay for a replacement.

🐯 Underdog corner: Como 1907 were rotting in Italy's amateur fourth division in 2019. This week they made their Champions League debut and beat RB Leipzig 4-1.

👕 Wardrobe watch: Manchester United's new third kit draws inspiration from Salford's historic Lads and Girls Club, done up in ivory, maroon, and deep green.

🔗 Most clicked from Monday: The most notorious tackle in Manchester derby history

That’s all, folks. Sláinte.