Wayne Rooney's regret at partying with Man City stars after 6-1 humiliation

Wayne Rooney has explained why his pre-planned birthday party with Man City players went ahead after Manchester United's humiliating 6-1 defeat

October 23, 2011, remains etched in memory as one of Manchester United's bleakest moments - a humiliating 6-1 defeat to Manchester City on their own turf at Old Trafford. In the aftermath, United icon Wayne Rooney found himself at the centre of a storm after it emerged he'd been socialising with City players following the drubbing. Now, the England legend has finally explained his reasoning.

What was anticipated to be a closely-fought encounter turned into one of the most memorable derby victories in Premier League history under Roberto Mancini's guidance. City's star-studded lineup featured the talents of Yaya Touré, David Silva and Sergio Agüero, among others.

The fixture marked an unprecedented moment — the first Manchester derby where both sides occupied the top two positions in the league standings. Despite United fielding the likes of Wayne Rooney, Nani and prime Ashley Young, they were utterly overwhelmed by a dominant City performance.

"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 into the bottom right corner, before unveiling his now-legendary 'Why Always Me?' celebration. United trailed 1-0 at the interval, but matters deteriorated when Jonny Evans saw red shortly after the break.

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 for United's supporters and players alike.

Reflecting on the outcome, Rooney commented: "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-ever Premier League defeat upon their neighbours, marking the first occasion since 1930 that United had shipped six goals on home soil.