Derby winner Michael Owen was the toast of the United dressing room after his last-gasp strike overcame Manchester City’s resistance at Old Trafford.

The arch poacher, on as a substitute, popped up in injury-time to swing a seven-goal thriller United’s way with a clinical finish; the type which prompted Sir Alex Ferguson's summer swoop.

“I always felt the game was going to be played in their penalty box, and there’s no-one better at taking these kind of chances,” Sir Alex told MUTV. "His positional play and finish were absolutely magnificent - world class.

“He was only on for 17 minutes. I just felt with that long to go, with the game being played in their penalty box, there’s no-one better than Michael Owen.”

Patrice Evra echoed his manager’s sentiments, and took Owen’s goal as further proof of United’s squad depth.

“That's why United bought him,” said the Frenchman. “He's the kind of player who can score winners, and he did it very well today. This is United. It's not about 11 players, it's about the squad. When players come in, they have the right attitude.”

It was the sixth minute of injury time and there was deafening noise all around. United were frantically going for a winner, City were defending desperately. Who could keep their head in the Old Trafford maelstrom?

Answer - a man playing in his thirtieth Manchester derby, the remarkable Ryan Giggs. The ball dropped to him and was instantly controlled. He looked up and threaded a devastating ball through to Michael Owen. The goal poacher supreme did what he's been doing for more than a decade and supplied an ice-cool finish.

Owen, Bellamy, Tevez, City’s defending and the referee’s timekeeping have all dominated the post-derby headlines but I think the ageless Giggs deserves his share of the credit. He produced two great crosses for Darren Fletcher’s goals and some of his mazy runs rolled back the years. It was fitting that he played such a key role in the dramatic winner.

Even a man with more Manchester derbies to his name than anyone in United history surely can't ever have played in a derby like this one. The boss called it the best derby ever. He might well be right.

I must admit to being seriously worried at half time. City were strong after their (first) equaliser and United seemed to go into their shell. Carlos Tevez should have scored to make it 2-1 at half time but missed a great chance. Now I was a fan of Tevez when he was at United but he is not a clinical goalscorer. He was typically tenacious to set up Barry for City’s opener – he is so good at that sort of hassling and harrying but when the big moment came to give City a potentially decisive lead he couldn't take it.

By contrast, when Owen was given his big chance by Giggs, he emphatically took it. That's the difference. Michael, welcome to Manchester!

Darren Fletcher described United’s dramatic 4-3 win over Manchester City as “emotionally exhausting” but says the Reds never stopped believing victory was possible.

Fletcher twice put the Reds in front but had to watch in frustration as two of three sloppy mistakes let City back into the game, which is why Michael Owen’s deserved late winner was as much relief as joy.

“That was really special because it’s the Manchester derby and because of the way City have started the season,” he told MUTV. “It was a top-of-the-table clash of sorts, and it was important that we got three points, especially after the way the game went.

“It was an exhausting game to play in. It was emotional because one minute you’re ahead and the next it’s level again. It was up and down, but you have got to believe in yourself and believe in your team-mates.

“The fans got right behind us, it was a great atmosphere and we kept fighting until the final whistle. The way we were playing in the second half we always felt that we could get another goal.”

Fletcher added: “I was pleased to score two, especially because I’ve missed a few easy chances, especially in the earlier games. It’s nice to get two headers, a couple of goals to get me on my way. Hopefully I’ll get a few more.”

But it was the sharp-shooting of Owen that grabs the headlines and left Fletcher in awe. “It was a great move and a fantastic finish,” he said. “Giggsy’s pass was unbelievable, and the way Michael controlled it with the outside of his foot and then finished was brilliant. A natural goalscorer makes natural goalscorer movements, and he’s going to be an important player for us.”

The win reiterates the point that the champions remain the team to beat, but Fletcher thinks the match also indicates the long road ahead if United are to retain the title for a fourth year in a row.

“It shows it’s going to be a difficult season,” he added. “The teams in the Premier League get better and better every season. It gets harder to win the title every year. We just have to concentrate on ourselves and keep winning matches because if we do that we’ll be there come the end of the season.”

Michael Owen says his derby winner will be right up there with the most memorable moments of his career, after sealing a hugely absorbing 4-3 victory in the sixth minute of stoppage time at Old Trafford.

United’s no.7 came off the bench with the specific instruction to nab a winning strike, and he did that in the most dramatic fashion.

“It’s one of those few moments in my career that I’ll look back on and see it as one of the highlights,” he told MUTV. “To score in a derby is great, but for it to be as dramatic as that, you’d have to see it to believe it. It was such an entertaining game and it must be one of the best televised games of all time.”

Owen’s clinical finish will enter folklore in Manchester after one of the most entertaining derbies this city has ever seen. Owen, naturally, takes it in his stride. “Some games you get four chances and don’t score and you get criticised,” he added. “Today I got one and scored. That’s the hard thing as a striker, you have to ride all the emotions.”

Being an impact substitute is a new sensation for Owen, but he’s already proved he’s good at it. “In the first couple of minutes you’re finding your feet, getting your eye and ball coordination going. But you’re playing at the highest level and you have to be right up to speed straightaway.

“You’ve been sitting down on your backside for an hour, so it takes a few minutes to get into the game. But I got sent on for a reason, and that was to hopefully nick a goal. Thankfully it worked for me today.”

Owen admitted he was nervous coming off the bench having soaked up all the atmosphere and tension whilst sat on the sidelines – although he certainly didn’t show his nerves when he got the ball inside the area from Ryan Giggs’ pass.

“It was a brilliant game. I don’t know how the manager and the coaching staff do it. It must be so nerve-racking every week. Whenever I start games I’m never nervous, but when you’re sat on the bench that tension rubs off so you go onto the pitch and you’re a little bit nervous. You’ve been kicking every ball and hearing the crowd throughout the game.

“As soon as they scored I heard the announcement which said there were four minutes, so immediately I thought that we might get a couple of chances. When they score, you think that’s it it’s probably going to be a draw, but you never stop believing that you can do it.”

With well over £200million worth of talent of show in the epic Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Sunday it was perhaps surprising that a player who cost his club nothing should steal the show.

However when you consider that player to be Ryan Giggs the element of surprise is immediately lost.

The 35-year-old has been wowing crowds up and down the land since the Premier League began but even by his skyscraper-like standards his performance against 'noisy neighbours' - as his manager Sir Alex Ferguson so accurately refers to them - Manchester City had you at times opened mouthed.

Normally players in their mid-30s are winding down their careers in the lower leagues or cleaning off their golf clubs as they ready themselves for retirement. Players lose the pace, guile and agility that made them famous, while their bodies hint that it may be time to call it a day when they are still feeling the effects of Saturday's game on Wednesday. Not Giggs.

The Welshman seems to grow better with age. The winger showed all of the above attributes in abundance as he ran poor Micah Richards, some 14 years his junior, a merry dance on the left flank as he appeared to roll back the years. Ultimately the most astonishing bit of all was that he didn't cost Manchester United a penny.

Much has been made of the fortunes spent by City over the past year as they look to break up the monopoly of the 'big four'.

Even without the £25million rated Emmanuel Adebayor and the record £32million purchase of Robinho their starting line-up for the derby still came to a staggering £133million. You'd think that for a combined total of £38million manager Mark Hughes would have bought two centre-backs (Joleon Lescott and Kolo Toure) who could actually head the ball away from set pieces, but that is straying away from the point.

Before I am accused of jumping on the anti-City bandwagon let me point out that United are far from innocent when it comes to flaunting their financial muscle to bully opponents in the transfer market.

Refreshing

With the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney, all of whom cost around the £30million mark, United's first XI for the clash amounted to a cool £118.5million - which makes it even more refreshing that a boy from Cardiff who came through the youth set-up at Old Trafford should be the real hero of the piece.

Giggs was alive from the first moments when he caught Shaun Wright-Phillips napping by the corner flag, allowing a quick throw-in to find Patrice Evra who crossed for Rooney for the opener.

City came storming back as Gareth Barry made Ben Foster pay for a careless error as the sides went into the break on level terms. However it was in the second-half that Giggs and United began to turn the screw.

A looping cross from Giggs set-up Darren Fletcher to head United 2-1 up before Craig Bellamy thundered City back on level terms once more. Giggs was not to be deterred and created two chances for Dimitar Berbatov to put the game beyond City but for some great saves from Shay Given.

Giggs finally crafted United's third when his superbly flighted free-kick from the left was met once more by Fletcher. But back came City with Bellamy equalising for the third time on 90 minutes. That was just the mere sub-plot to what was to be the ultimate box-office ending.

With cries for the final whistle ringing around Old Trafford Giggs plucked the ball from the sky in the 96th minute - when only four were initially signalled - and assessed his options for a split second. I'm guessing that under the circumstances, with every second vital, even some of the top players in the Premier League would have swung a boot and lumped the ball aimlessly back into the box. Not Giggs.

The winger picked his pass and caught Wright-Phillips, not for the first time, unaware with the City man seemingly rejecting his defensive responsibilities to allow Michael Owen to steal in and slot past Given for a late, late winner.

Unthinkable

Giggs is producing the kind of form that has seen even his detractors, the veteran was unbelievably and inexplicably booed off by some sections of the Old Trafford crowd when substituted in a 2003 League Cup semi-final second-leg clash with Blackburn, put thoughts of what United will do when the time eventually comes to replace the wing wizard to the back of their minds.

It was also fitting that Fletcher, another United youth team product who has also been no stranger to cat calls from the terraces from Red Devils fans in the past, should also stand out among a galaxy of multi-million pound superstars at the same time.

However there was something poignant about the fact that the most decorated player in the English game should still look to be the most driven and determined out on the pitch as he refused to give in to City's stubborn yet admirable retort.

Perhaps the biggest testimony to Giggs is that while United players such as Rooney and Gary Neville receive the full vitriol of abuse from City fans, and who can really blame them after Neville's mindless celebration in front of the visiting section after Owen had slotted home, Giggs has remained somewhat untouched. Even the most die-hard of Blues fans are hard pushed to deny they don't begrudgingly respect the wing wizard. And that's the greatest of accolades.