Manchester United taking on Tottenham Hotspur might not carry the same vibe as the Northwest derby, Manchester derby or North London derby, but this clash has produced some significant moments for both sides. The biggest of which will arrive in the 2024-25 Europa League when the two lock horns in the final later in May 2025 not only to win a trophy to get their prestige back after suffering their worst league season but also to get back into the Champions League stage. This will also be their first meeting in a European final, having met only once before in the continental stage back in 1963 in the second round of the now defunct UEFA European Cup Winners Cup.
Overall, the pair has taken to the pitch 204 times, with the Red Devils overly dominating this fixture with 96 victories. Spurs have registered 57 wins, while the rest have ended in draws. The club from Manchester has also scored a whopping 322 goals and kept over 50 clean sheets. Aside from the Premier League and the previous top division, the fixture has been frequent in cup competitions, with their inaugural meeting also coming in the form of an FA Cup tie in 1899. The 2009 League Cup final also stands out as one of the memorable games played between these two. The fixture has not been short of creating iconic moments, including stunning comebacks, title clinchers, embarrassing defeats, fastest goals and more.
Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur Head-to-Head Meetings
Played - 204
Manchester United won - 96
Drawn - 51
Tottenham Hotspur won - 57
Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur Goals Scored
Manchester United scored - 322
Tottenham Hotspur scored - 267
Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur Clean Sheets
Manchester United clean sheets - 55
Tottenham Hotspur clean sheets - 40
Biggest Manchester United win: 5-0 - Bank Street, Clayton (Football League 1910-11)
The 5-0 humbling of Tottenham Hotspur by Manchester United came in only the fourth ever meeting between the two sides in 1910, in the early days for both clubs, being 30 years of existence at that point in time. It was their second-ever league meeting, which was hosted in Bank Street. The Red Devils flaunted great attacking prowess in the game, opening up cracks in the Spurs's defense with four different goalscorers. Edward Connor, Arthur Hooper and Billy Meredith already put the home team in the clash in the driving seat, but the festivity did not end there, as Charlie Roberts added a stylish brace later.
Biggest Tottenham Hotspur win: 1-6 - Old Trafford, Manchester (Premier League 2020/21)
Meanwhile, Tottenham’s biggest win in this fixture was also the joint heaviest defeats suffered by Manchester United in the Premier League, level with their Manchester derby loss in 2011. The only relief for the Red Devils, although they suffered embarrassments in crowded Old Trafford in subsequent years, was that there was no spectator in the stadium to witness it due to the pandemic in 2020 other than viewers online. Worst ever, the result for the home side came against a side coached by a former boss, none other than Jose Mourinho.
It did not look at first that United would be at the end of such a thrashing when Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty within minutes into the game. However, everything went south for the hosts when their defensive fragilities, with Harry Maguire being the prime player behind the faults, were exposed by Spurs from time to time, with Tanguy Ndombélé equalizing soon after before Heung-Min Son gave his side the lead in the seventh minute. Disaster struck when forward Anthony Martial was controversially sent off, leading to the visitors adding two more goals before halftime, with Harry Kane getting into the act and Son completing his brace.
It was the second time Spurs repeated the feat of scoring four goals at half-time at Old Trafford, but they weren’t done with it. Serge Aurier made it five five minutes into the second half, with Kane completing the rout from the spot in the 79th minute to give the visitors a memorable afternoon to celebrate. For United, managed by former player Ole Solskjaer, it was one of their lowest points in the club’s history.
League Cup Final 2009: Manchester United 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur (4-1 on penalties) - Wembley Stadium, London
The league is not always the stage where both sides produced dramatic moments, but they also came in cup battles, especially in the 2009 League Cup final. Both clubs were on the edge of adding more history, with Manchester United chasing a three-peat in the campaign, with the league cup being the first of that run, while Tottenham were looking to retain the trophy, which ended their nine-year trophy drought. As expected in a high- stakes game, the game was cagey until the deciding periods, with both sides losing the final touch to their chances. United’s attacking impetus came from Cristiano Ronaldo, who hit the post amid testing Heurelho Gomes a few times. Spurs’s best chance came through Aaron Lennon, but Ben Foster, who won the player of the match, was equal to it. The sides weren’t separated for 120 minutes as it ended goalless with penalties inevitable. Tottenham were out of place in the shootout, as Vedran Corluka's successful effort between Jamie O'Hara's Foster-saved spot-kick and David Bentley dragging his shot wide was rendered meaningless as the Red Devils scored all four of their penalties in the 4-1 win. Spurs would have clinched Europa League football had they won, but Manchester United broke the reigning champions' hearts to clinch the title.
Manchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur Last Five Meetings
Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Manchester United (Premier League 2023-24)
Manchester United 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League 2023-24)
Manchester United 0-3 Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League 2024-25)
Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 Manchester United (League Cup 2024-25)
Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Manchester United (Premier League 2024-25)
