Greatest derbies: United 4 City 3 (Sep 2009)

This weekend's edition of United Review features a countdown of the 10 greatest Manchester derbies. In the build-up to Saturday, ManUtd.com is showing highlights of five of the most recent games on the list; next, we recall a breathless, incredible encounter settled by a 96th-minute winner. To see where this clash places in the top 10, buy your copy of the matchday programme at Old Trafford or online...

Manchester United 4 Manchester City 3
Old Trafford | Premier League | 20 September 2009
A nerve-shredding assault on the senses that left every onlooker exhausted and provided the perfect platform for the derby to announce itself on the world stage. Preceded by the verbal jousting which inevitably accompanied City’s rapid evolution to title contenders, the game required less than two minutes to capture the imagination as Wayne Rooney slid home the opener. When Gareth Barry capitalised on a Ben Foster error to level, however, the tone was set for a wildly oscillating affair.
Darren Fletcher and Craig Bellamy traded braces, the latter’s second hauling City back on terms in stoppage time, and it seemed the derby had a repeat of 1990's 3-3 draw to cherish. Instead, two wily old-stagers combined to swing the pendulum back in United’s favour, as Ryan Giggs notched his third assist of the game with an incisive pass to Michael Owen, whose unerring prodded finish made him an instant Old Trafford hero.
Keen to impress how dominant United had been, Ferguson stressed: "The mistakes probably made it the best derby of all time. What would you rather have, a 6-0 win or the greatest derby of all time? I’d prefer to win 6-0." Maybe so, but no 6-0 win could ever beat this for sheer drama.