Remembering 2012 - why Sunderland away means more to Man Utd than normal

Breaking news from the world of sport: Remembering 2012 - why Sunderland away means more to Man Utd than normalImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Manchester United missed out on the Premier League title to local rivals City in 2011-12 on goal differenceBySimon Stone Manchester United reporterPublished37 minutes agoThe look on Michael Carrick's face said it all. "Yes," he said, with a slight nod of the head and a forced smile. "I can remember that.

I have not forgotten it. "The Manchester United head coach had just been asked about 13 May 2012. It is a day etched into English football folklore.

Match Details

The day Sergio Aguero scored a dramatic injury-time winner against QPR to give Manchester City the Premier League title. One hundred and forty miles away, Carrick was on the pitch at the Stadium of Light as the news filtered through. They had started their match at Sunderland knowing they needed to win.

If they did and Manchester City did not, they would be champions. No-one expected it to happen. But, amazingly, when the final whistle went at Sunderland, Sir Alex Ferguson's side were top.

Wayne Rooney scored the only goal at Sunderland and Edin Dzeko had only just headed in City's equaliser against a team that had begun the day fearing relegation. United's players and coaching staff could only wait and hope. For them, Aguero's goal was the cruellest of blows.

Reactions and Expectations

United faces turned to thunder. As the players went to applaud the visiting supporters, the cheers of the Sunderland fans echoed round the ground. Despite their own side's defeat, they revelled in United's demise as lustily as if Sunderland had won the league themselves.

"We stayed out on the pitch because we had our result but we knew it wasn't over at City," said someone who was part of the United contingent that day. "It was their last home game of the season and there were a lot of people still in the stadium. "I just remember the noise.

There was sarcasm in the way they were singing. It wasn't over but we thought we had done the job. Then the Sunderland fans got smart about it and started having a pop, which exploded into laughter because we had lost the league.

The story has climbed to the top of the sports agenda, with fans and analysts following closely.