When Gary Neville snubs Peter Schmeichel handshake before Manchester derby

Taking you back to 2002, Manchester City produced a stunning performance to beat their fierce rivals Manchester United 3-1 in the final-ever derby at Maine Road.

Kevin Keegan’s side were outstanding as they outclassed their local rivals in front of a raucous home crowd.

The game got off to a frantic start, with both teams looking to assert their dominance early on. However, it was Man City who took the lead in the 8th minute, thanks to French striker Nicolas Anelka.

Gary Neville made a huge mistake for United, the defender’s scuffed pass was intercepted by Shaun Goater, who made no mistake with a clinical finish past Fabien Barthez.

The goal sparked wild celebrations among the City faithful, who had waited patiently for their team to finally get one over on their bitter rivals.

The second half started much like the first, with both teams trading blows in an end-to-end encounter.

City prevailed as winners in the final Maine Road derby thanks to a double from legend Shaun Goater.

But before the game, there was a tense atmosphere inside the Maine Road tunnel as Man United legend Peter Schmeichel was playing for their rivals at the time.

The goalkeeper went to shake captain Gary Neville’s hand but Neville refused and it left Schmeichel with a cheeky smile on his face.

You can watch the footage below:

Gary Neville rejecting Peter Schmeichel's handshake before the Manchester Derby is the energy we need to see again pic.twitter.com/g1Qxzzz0lL

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) December 6, 2019

The full match highlights can be seen here:

The pair are still very good friends to this day as Gary Neville said he was in game mode and friendships at the time were thrown out of the window.

The pair did meet in the Manchester United v Bayern Munich 1999 club legends match as Peter Schmeichel put the captain’s armband around Gary Neville.

Not a way to treat a club legend, but it goes to show how tense rivalries were back then!