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Ex-Man City Winger Lays Blame On Micah Richards For Michael Owen Derby Winner

Colman Stanley
By Colman Stanley
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Ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash between Manchester United and Manchester City, former City winger Shaun Wright-Philips gave his predictions for the game, and also talked about a classic derby from 2009.

Fourteen years ago, back when Manchester United were still one of Europe's great forces, and a while before City would become a serious Premier League contender, the two teams faced off at Old Trafford in what would turn out to be one of the great Manchester derbies.

It is probably the best known example of 'Fergie Time', with the match ending 4-3 after Michael Owen's 96th minute winner.

Wright-Phillips tried in vain to get back in time and block Owen's shot, but as he says in his in his interview with Ladbrokes, it was the fault of Micah Richards who was caught ball watching.

Going back to that 4-3 at Old Trafford in 2009 when Tevez had his first game, the whole build up sticks out in my memory. It was of course Tevez’s first game and then throw in the fact that it’s the Manchester Derby, it was exciting.

The adverts on TV, the fans building up, everyone texting you for tickets; the spice is already there, but the arrival of Tevez added extra spice. Going into it, we were all very confident that we would get something out of the game.

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Manchester United Vs Manchester City 2009

"Until that last minute Michael Owen goal, we were in that position," Phillips continued.

"I think Micah [Richards] gets sucked in a little bit and I am the one that has to try and get back to Michael Owen and just before I got there, he let fly with his left boot and it flies into the back of the net. That is football though!

"It's the Manchester Derby this weekend and they are always tricky to predict. If you go off form right now, you just expect City to win. In a Derby that is never the case though and form goes out the window.

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"This is like a unique one-off game every time it is played. It’s a game where suddenly you understand the fans’ passion, especially people like Rashford who has been in the system since he was a kid. Bruno has been there long enough to get it too.

"In the last three or four years, that Derby rivalry is on the verge of coming back to that feisty and aggressive nature. Whereas before, because there were so many new players, I don’t think they got it straight away. There was a few years there where it just felt like another game.

"The spice is back now and it is great for football. That said, I do see City winning. I don’t think United will play as bad as they have been doing recently though but I think City win 3-1."

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