Rio Ferdinand is still not over the agonising moment Manchester United missed out on the Premier League title on the final day of the 2011/12 season.
The title race from over a decade ago is etched into football history as the battle between the Manchester rivals went right down to the wire. Nevertheless, United did not fold under the pressure of the final day. Wayne Rooney's goal against Sunderland helped Sir Alex Ferguson's team secure a victory at the Stadium of Light, making them momentarily think the title was theirs before it escaped their grasp.
At the Etihad, Manchester City had drawn level against QPR through Edin Dzeko in stoppage time. Step forward Sergio Aguero, whose goal won City's first Premier League title with seconds to space. It is a memory that Ferdinand claims has never faded and he believes that Arsenal did not suffer the same level of torment as this season's runners-up.
"The context is a bit different. There was no point, today [Sunday], where Arsenal had one hand on the trophy, where it was in their hands, and 'We're the winners at the moment'," Ferdinand told his FIVE YouTube Channel, making his feelings clear. “There was no point that happened.
"I was in a game where the game finished, we'd completed our side of the bargain and, at that moment in time, if the whistle blows, we win the league. Everyone in the stadium is going, 'Have we won it? This is the score there', and then all of a sudden it changed."
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Reflecting on the haunting memories of that day, Ferdinand shared how the agony still unexpectedly resurfaces. While Martin Tyler's iconic commentary of Aguero's goal is remembered by most fans, it's the reaction of the Sunderland supporters at the Stadium of Light that lingers with Ferdinand.
Sergio Aguero's goal against QPR has gone down in English football history (PA)"Obviously your heart sinks and you're absolutely floored and you never get over that, I've got to be honest," he confessed. "I could be having a good day, I could be having an OK day, I could be on a beach somewhere in the most idyllic place in the world. All of a sudden, I'm having a great time, and I just get a flashback of that moment.
"I've got flashbacks to seeing the crowd at Sunderland in that stadium screaming and shouting - they're not even supporters of Man City - because they didn't want Man United to win so much they were cheering. It meant that City had scored and meant that we didn't win the league."
The following season saw United channel their anguish into a relentless pursuit of the title, culminating in Sir Alex Ferguson's triumphant farewell as they clinched their 20th league crown. Ferdinand detailed how Ferguson planted the seeds of this triumph in the aftermath of that devastating day in Sunderland, moments after Aguero had shattered their dreams.
United lost the title on the final day despite winning at Sunderland (Matthew Peters/Man Utd via Getty Images)He reminisced about Ferguson's moving dressing room talk, sharing: "The moment in the changing room where the manager's going, 'You lot, listen to those fans, remember their faces, their chanting and laughter, their jubilation at you lot being pipped for the title here and let that be the start of the fire burning for next season.
"'When you've got moments where things aren't going well, you draw on this here to make sure you get over the line and win that league next year.' We managed to do that. We found a way, didn't we."
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