As City and United prepare to meet in the FA Cup final, their former midfield force describes how a derby victory at Wembley 12 years ago helped shift the balance of power in Manchester
Yaya Touré was Manchester City’s buccaneering force when Roberto Mancini’s side ended a 35-year trophy drought by beating Stoke City 1-0 in the 2011 FA Cup final, claiming the first silverware of Sheikh Mansour’s proprietorship.
The Ivorian scored the winner at Wembley, as he had done in the semi-final defeat of Manchester United which marked the moment City began to dislodge their neighbours as England’s dominant force. Touré, too, was in the XI that handed United a 6-1 hiding six months later at Old Trafford which continued an ascendancy that, 12 years on, has them seeking to beat United again at Wembley. This time in Saturday’s FA Cup final, the second step of the attempt by Pep Guardiola’s gilded team to landi the treble and emulate Sir Alex Ferguson’s 1999 vintage.
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