League Division One · Matchday 36
Manchester United v Portsmouth
6–1
Manchester United beat Portsmouth 6–1 at Old Trafford on Friday 27th March 1959 in the League Division One. Warren Bradley (7'), Bobby Charlton (21', 49') and Dennis Viollet (65', 82') scored for United.
Timeline
Running score
- Kick Off
- 7' Warren Bradley 1–0
- 21' Bobby Charlton 2–0
- 40' Basil Hayward OG 3–0
- Half Time
- 49' Bobby Charlton pen 4–0
- 60' Ron Newman 4–1
- 65' Dennis Viollet 5–1
- 82' Dennis Viollet 6–1
- Full Time 6–1
Match Facts
- United's biggest win over Portsmouth at the time, in their 46th meeting.
- A 5th consecutive win in all competitions.
- Warren Bradley's 10th goal of 1958-1959, and his 10th for United.
- Bobby Charlton's brace took him to 25 in 1958-1959 and 53 for United.
- Dennis Viollet's brace took him to 19 in 1958-1959 and 118 for United.
Starting XI
Substitutes
Substitutes were not permitted
Managers
MUFC
Matt Busby
Manchester United
OPP
Freddie Cox
Portsmouth
United vs Portsmouth History
Meeting 46 of 75
75
Played
36
Won
19
Drawn
20
Lost
121
Goals For
81
Goals Against
All-time record, from the first meeting on Saturday 5th January 1901. After this match United had played Portsmouth 46 times: 16W 14D 16L.
29 Dec 1956 W 3–1 D1 19 Oct 1957 L 0–3 D1 16 Apr 1958 D 3–3 D1
27 Mar 1959 W 6–1 This match
30 Mar 1959 W 3–1 D1 7 Oct 1970 W 1–0 LC 28 Aug 1974 W 2–1 D2 | All-time | P | W | D | L | F | A | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 40 | 25 | 7 | 8 | 78 | 34 | 62.5 |
| Away | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 43 | 47 | 32.4 |
| Neutral | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 |
Match results, lineups and goalscorers compiled from mufcinfo.com; advanced match statistics (xG, shots, possession) via FBref and FotMob where available. Last updated 29 September 2026. How we compile this data →