City gaffe left Rio in the doldrums

Despite edging Manchester City 4-3 in a nail-biting derby earlier this season, Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was left depressed - because his late howler almost cost the Red Devils victory! For those of you with short memories, United were leading 3-2 with minutes to go when Ferdinand gifted City an equaliser by giving the ball away to Craig Bellamy. Sensationally little Michael Owen popped up in the sixth minute of injury time to score the winner and spare Ferdinand the blushes. “It was just a ‘phew’ moment,” admitted Ferdinand on Thursday. “I said a big ‘thank-you’ to Michael at the time and I sent him a text again later that night to say it again.” He added: “It was odd in the dressing room afterwards. We’d won the game so the lads were bouncing around, going crazy, but I was just depressed, sitting thinking about how lucky I’d been.”