Sir Alex Ferguson admits 6-1 loss to Man City is his 'worst ever day'

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson described his side's 6-1 thrashing at the hands of rivals City as the "worst ever day" in his time at the club.

Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko each scored twice as City tore 10-man United apart to inflict a painful defeat.

"It's the worst result in my history," said Ferguson.

"It's a terrible result but the impact will come from the embarrassment of the defeat. There will be a response."

Analysis

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Alan Hansen,
BBC Sport football expert

The warning signs have been there for Manchester United in home games against Chelsea, Basle and even Liverpool last week as they all had a host of chances. The defence left Silva in oceans of space at times and for the first goal there wasn't any pressure on the ball. The sending off might have changed the game but it was a horror story for United

It was United's first home defeat since April 2010 and ended their run of 19 consecutive home league wins.

This result represents United's heaviest home defeat since 1955 and Ferguson believed the loss was self-inflicted, criticising United's willingness to regularly push numbers forward.

"It was a horrible defeat but it was suicidal," added the United boss.

"Jonny Evans's sending off was a killer for us. At 10 men we kept attacking; it was crazy football and ended up being an embarrassment. We should have just said: 'We've had our day'.

"I believe you shouldn't bring down a man at the edge of the box. Evans is young but he should let Balotelli go through and see what he can do.

"I thought with the experience we've got - Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra - they would have defended more but we just kept attacking. Sometimes there has to be common sense about it. It was a bad day."

HEAD TO HEAD

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City		United
Correct at 23 October 2011
44	Wins	67
50	Draws	50
6-1 (1926, 2011)	Biggest win	5-0 (1994)
2	League titles	19
5	FA Cups	11
0	European Cups	3
2	League Cups	4

Despite the manner of the defeat, Ferguson insisted that United will recover and close the five-point gap that now separates them and City at the top of the Premier League table.

"We'll come back," he said. "We usually get the show on the road in the second half of the season and that will have to be the case.

"We've played all the teams around us and they all have to play each other so the second half of the season is important to us now.

"We will react, no question about that. It's a perfect result for us to react to because there is a lot of embarrassment in the dressing room and that will make an impact.

"I can't believe the scoreline. Even as a player I don't think I ever lost 6-1. That's a challenge for me too."