Manchester City legend Vincent Kompany — ahead of Burnley's Lancashire derby at Preston North End — regales pivotal moment against rivals Manchester United that changed Premier League history!
and live on Freeview channel 276
Those were the immortal words of Martin Tyler just seconds before Premier League history was re-written.
With Roberto Mancini's side deadlocked at home to QPR, it seemed Wayne Rooney's strike against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light would secure the defence of Manchester United's crown.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdBut then everything changed. "Balotelli, Aguerooooo! I swear you'll never see anything like this ever again. So watch it, drink it in," Tyler's commentary continued on a defining afternoon just over a decade ago.
That extraordinary 17-second passage will forever be associated with the moment that City collected their first ever PL title at the expense of their rivals on May 13, 2012.
However, it was Burnley boss Vincent Kompany who had made that moment possible. Trailing their city neighbours by three points with three games remaining in the fight for supremacy, the pair met at the Etihad Stadium.
In first half stoppage time, from David Silva's corner, captain Kompany rose above Chris Smalling to guide a header beyond David de Gea. The hosts had reclaimed Manchester in one of the biggest derbies in Premier League history and moved into pole position in the championship race.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdKompany, who also starred in a 6-1 at Old Trafford earlier that season, lived for those rivalries. When addressing the media in his first press conference at Burnley, he said: "I've watched a lot of Championship games and, as you know, I live my life for rivalries. I love it and I hope I can pass this on to the players. It's what you play football for: you've got trophies and then you've got rivalries."
The ex-Belgium international might not have been at the club for long, he might not have sampled a Lancashire derby on enemy territory, but he knows exactly what it takes to come out on top in games of this magnitude.
"I'm not going to go back too much on my playing days, but there was a header that I did score in a derby that was quite important for us to win the very first league title," he beamed.
"The main thing that I try to give to my players, which is the important thing now rather than the derbies I played, is to get your preparation right, live in a bubble when you're on the pitch.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad"Be aggressive, be focussed, be creative, but it all comes when you're in this zone where you run faster for longer. That's when you play the best in derbies, when you're in that zone."
Just as it was six-and-a-half years ago, when Joey Barton's deflected set-piece at Deepdale pushed the Clarets closer to the Championship title, the away end will once again be packed to capacity.
North End's biggest attendance of the season so far will provide the recipe for a proper derby atmosphere, says Kompany. "I know it ranks pretty high up in the derbies for us. There's one that's above all others. The key part of what I've understood as well is that you don't need too much history behind it to get a real derby feel.
"We've got 5,500 fans there, it's going to take care of itself, and I'm sure that they [home fans] won't want to see us celebrate over there in such great numbers as much as we don't want to leave empty-handed. That in itself will create all the rivalry you want."