United to kick on after Wolves win

MANCHESTER – Sir Alex Ferguson believes Manchester United’s chances of beating Manchester City to the Premier League title depend on their position at the turn of the year.

English champions United responded to their Champions League exit with a resounding 4-1 win over Wolves that moved them to within two points of domestic table-toppers City.The midweek 2-1 defeat by Basel meant United failed to make it through to the knock-out phase of the Champions League for only the third time and during the match in Switzerland they also lost captain Nemanja Vidic for the remainder of the season with a knee injury.While City’s next two domestic matches are against Chelsea and Arsenal, United have a relatively easy run in the Premier League.Their next group of games sees them come up against QPR, Fulham, Wigan and Blackburn in the run up to January.City’s impressive start to the season has left some observers believing the race for the Premier League title is a foregone conclusion.But United manager Ferguson was adamant that plenty can change over the next six months.’You hope (the win over Wolves puts City under pressure) but the important thing is to have our game right and if we get to New Year’s Day in the frame, we’ve got a great chance in the second half of the season,’ he said.Roberto Mancini believes Manchester City’s trip to Chelsea provides the perfect opportunity to move on from the disappointment of exiting the Champions League.Victory in west London would leave City a huge 13 points in ahead of Chelsea, a team expected to be one of their main title rivals this season.With a match against Arsenal six days after the Chelsea clash, Mancini knows they have a great chance to strengthen their Premier League title claims.’I think it is good to play this game, it is an important game against a top team,’ Mancini said.’Over the last two weeks Chelsea have improved and they are still a fantastic team. It will be a good game between two strong teams. We go there to win,’ said Mancini, bidding to become the first City manager to take the English title since Joe Mercer’s team won the old First Division trophy in 1968.While City bowed out of the Champions League, Chelsea remained involved following a 3-0 win over Valencia.That victory lifted the mood of the London club although Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas admitted defeat by City could spell the end of his side’s title hopes.’There’s no quitting, and there will be no quitting of belief. But 13 points would be a massive gap again.’- Nampa-AFP