Sir Alex Ferguson saluted Michael Owen for a "world-class finish" to decide what he deemed "the greatest derby of all time."
Owen struck in the sixth minute of stoppage time to earn United a 4-3 win, but Ferguson rued the defending that allowed Manchester City to score three times.
Gareth Barry struck once and Craig Bellamy twice as City equalised three times following an early goal from Wayne Rooney and two second-half strikes from Darren Fletcher.
But Owen, a second-half replacement for Dimitar Berbatov, decided the game with his first goal at Old Trafford.
Ferguson said: "Michael Owen scored a fantastic goal. We deserved to win the game. You always felt that the game was going to be in their penalty box and there's no one better with these kind of chances. His positional play, his first touch and his first finish were absolutely magnificent, world class.
"It was a fantastic win. We made three horrendous mistakes and it kept them in the game. It spoilt what could have a really emphatic victory. We could have won by six or seven. It's probably the greatest derby game of all time.
"What would you rather have - 6-0 or the greatest derby of all time? I'd rather win 6-0."
Mark Hughes, the City manager and former United player, disagreed. "To suggest they were seven goals better than us is wrong," he said.
Hughes was unhappy with the amount of added time, especially following Bellamy's 90th-minute leveller.
He added: "The fourth official tried to give me an explanation of sorts even before the game finished. His explanation didn't really sit comfortably with me. He tried to say he'd added a minute plus because of our celebration.
"We timed the amount of time from when we scored to when they kicked off. It was about 45 seconds, so he's got that wrong. Obviously he's played too much time."
Ferguson continued his verbal assault on City with another jibe at his local rivals. He added: "There's been a lot of expectation at Manchester City. They have to win something. They are the top dogs in terms of media attention. Sometimes you have noisy neighbours; you have to live with that."
Controversy also enveloped the London derby between Chelsea and Tottenham. Howard Webb, the referee, failed to award a penalty for a foul by Ricardo Carvalho on Robbie Keane when the match was delicately poised at 1-0 to Chelsea. The home side won the game 3-0, with Didier Drogba on target.
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
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- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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Read more about the coronavirus
Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
