Owen talks through that dramatic derby goal

England striker Michael Owen has scored some sweet goals in his time, but few of them as sweet as the one he scored on September 20 to give his new club Manchester United a 4-3 victory in their derby game with Manchester City. Deep into stoppage time - too deep, City followers still say - he collected a precision pass from Ryan Giggs and slotted the ball past goalkeeper Shay Given into the far corner of the net.

It wasn't a just a match-winning goal - it was a necessary personal one for Owen, who needed to prove to United supporters in deeds not words that his signing was a smart move.

Now, ten days on, he has discussed the goal in depth with Matt Dickinson, the Times's chief sports correspondent.

"To score a goal, such a dramatic goal, against your arch rivals, I don't need to build it up, but it did a lot for me," Owen told Dickinson, apparently beaming. But it had nothing to do with luck, he said, and all to do with anticipation honed over the years.

"If a corner gets cleared and the defence is squeezing out," said Owen, "I am not just jogging back. I am monitoring where the back four are, where the space is.

"Against City, it was a classic situation where the ball is cleared and I knew there was no one behind me.

"It could have taken an eye-through-a-needle pass, but, because there's no right back there, because he's tucked in, I thought I can make Giggsy's pass as easy as possible for him by pulling out as far as I could. So I'm back-pedalling as quick as possible. And as soon as Giggsy claps eyes on me, he's on with the pass."

Then it was Owen's first touch that completed the magic moment. "You will always hear people in the game, even my dad, talk about your first touch," he said. "It was obviously a nice goal, but it was made much easier first by a fantastic ball and also that I couldn¹t have placed it in a better position."

Owen, who moved to Man Utd this year after a less-than-thrilling period with Newcastle, also told the Times about the day Alex Ferguson called him up to his office to discuss the important issue of which number he should wear at his new club.

Ferguson asked him if he'd like to wear the No 7 shirt, perhaps the most iconic in English football - worn down the years by George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo.

"You know the attachment it has to the fans?" Ferguson reportedly asked Owen. The club's new striker was evidently unfazed. "I told him I was aware of that, but I wouldn't feel any extra pressure, that it was a great honour, but it wouldn't affect my performance in any way."

That stoppage time goal proved his point. ·