600 games and counting at Old Trafford

It has been a long road since the opening home match in the division ended in an acrimonious 3-0 defeat to Everton, with the disappointed crowd unaware that the season would turn around to such an extent that the Reds would be lifting the trophy come the following May, celebrating a first title in 26 years.

Losses like those to the Toffees have, thankfully, not been the norm. We've only lost on 67 occasions, winning 420 games in comparison, with a further 113 drawn.

There have been indescribable highs, drama off the scale, celebrations and, of course, moments to forget too.

Here are some of the facts and figures compiled by United Review, the official matchday programme.

LAST-GASP HEROICS

We can add McTominay's name to the roll of honour here but only seven of our Premier League home matches have actually been won in injury time. The first is certainly the most famous, as Sheffield Wednesday were beaten by the second of Steve Bruce's unstoppable headers, in 1992, to help take a giant stride towards the aforementioned maiden title under Sir Alex Ferguson.

Diego Forlan came up trumps against Chelsea in 2002/03, Ji-sung Park stole the points in the 2010/11 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Marouane Fellaini earned a 2-1 victory over Arsenal in 2018. Marcus Rashford has pulled it off twice, against Wolves (2020/21) and West Ham United (2021/22).

RECORD VICTORIES

United have twice won 9-0 at home in the division, against Ipswich Town in 1994/95 and Southampton in 2020/21. It is a joint-record in the competition, with Liverpool also beating Bournemouth by the same scoreline last year, and Southampton smashed by Leicester City, on their own patch, in 2019.

The Reds have also battered Barnsley 7-0 in 1997/98, and registered heavy wins over Arsenal (8-2, in 2011/12) and Blackburn Rovers (7-1, in 2010/11).

LONGEST RUNS

We won 19 home games in succession between Tottenham Hotspur in October 2010 and Norwich City in October 2011, and scored for 65 league matches at Old Trafford on the trot between Wolves in December 2009 and Aston Villa in April 2013. Our longest unbeaten stretch came between Nottingham Forest in December 1998 and Tottenham in December 2000.

FORTRESS OLD TRAFFORD

On three occasions, we have gone an entire Premier League campaign unbeaten at home. This happened for the first time in 1995/96, when an Eric Cantona-inspired side lifted the Double. In 1999/2000, we repeated the feat, and in the 2010/11 term was our best-ever home season, as we won 18 of the 19 fixtures. The only blemish was a 2-2 draw with West Brom, when a two-goal lead was lost.

No team has ever bettered our 55-point home haul in the Premier League.

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD

Jose Mourinho's first season at the club featured 10 home league draws, a record only matched by Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester City. Conversely, we did not register a single home stalemate in 2012/13.

FIRST AND LAST

The earliest home goal we have netted in the Premier League came from Ryan Giggs, with the winger finding the net seconds into the win (15 seems to be the common agreement, although 13, 14 and 16 have also been mooted) over Southampton in 1995. The latest? Well, it just happens to be McTominay's header, applied to Harry Maguire's assist, against Brentford last weekend. Timed at 96 minutes and 10 seconds, it was five seconds later than Bruno Fernandes's clincher against Brighton & Hove Albion in February 2022.

WATER-TIGHT DEFENCE

It is extraordinary to think United conceded just four home goals, across 21 league games, in 1994/95 - and yet we still didn't win the title, thanks to Blackburn pipping us on a dramatic final day! Peter Schmeichel kept 16 clean sheets in that spell, with Gary Walsh posting the other two. For the record, Nottingham Forest scored twice against us, with Leicester City and Southampton also finding a way to goal.

CARD HAPPY

The first United player to be sent off at home in the Premier League? Paul Parker is the answer, for his dismissal against former club Queens Park Rangers in 1994. Since then, we've been reduced to 10 men on 19 occasions in these games, with Casemiro the recipient of the most recent two red cards. Jonny Evans, Roy Keane and Nemanja Vidic also have two apiece. Our record when a man short is a respectable W7 D5 L7.

GOALS, GOALS, GOALS

Of our 170 Premier League goalscorers, 109 have netted in at least one home fixture. Rooney, as previously mentioned, leads the way, by some distance, but current no.10 Rashford, the top marksman in the 2023/24 squad, is working his way up the chart. 

LEADING SCORERS

1. Wayne Rooney (101)
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (71)
3. Paul Scholes (59)
4. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (53)
5. Andy Cole (49)
5. Ryan Giggs (49)
7. Ruud van Nistelrooy (48)
8. Marcus Rashford (46)
9. Anthony Martial (37)
10.Eric Cantona (36)

This feature first appeared in United Review, the official matchday programme.