The first match between Manchester United and Manchester City in the 2009–10 Premier League football season was played on 20 September 2009 at Old Trafford, Trafford. It was the 153rd Manchester derby between the two clubs. Heading into the game, both teams were level on points having both won four matches in the opening weeks of the season, and big-spending City were seen as a new threat to United, who had been the dominant force in English football for over 15 years. During the summer transfer window, striker Carlos Tevez had controversially left United to join City, and the match marked his return to face the club he had had much success with during his two-year stint. His replacement at United was veteran striker Michael Owen, much maligned for his injury record and status as an unwanted free agent. Throughout the summer and in the build-up to the match, Alex Ferguson and Mark Hughes, managers of United and City respectively, engaged in a bitter war of words through the media in an attempt to undermine the other. Ferguson, who had managed United for almost 23 years, made some of his most famous and scathing remarks towards City during this period. In the match itself, Wayne Rooney opened the scoring early on, but a mistake from Ben Foster in the United goal allowed Tevez to assist Gareth Barry for City's equaliser. Two goals each from United's Darren Fletcher and City's Craig Bellamy meant that the score was 3–3 going into an allotted four minutes of injury time, before Owen controversially secured the win for the home side in the 96th minute. After the match, a victorious Ferguson described it as "the best derby of all time". In 2012, the match was voted as the best of the first two decades of the Premier League in the Premier League 20 Seasons Awards, and it is viewed as the first in a series of games that helped the rivalry progress from a small local derby to a fixture between two elite teams. The goal by Owen and the all-round performance of Ryan Giggs, who provided three assists during the game, are regarded as career highlights for each player. It was the first of four meetings between the two teams during the season; they contested a two-legged League Cup semi-final in January 2010, followed by the reverse league fixture at the City of Manchester