ROBERTO MANCINI is insistent that Manchester United will be Premier League champions. The stance adopted by the Manchester City manager in the wake of the win over Wolverhampton Wanderers grows more eccentric as the consistency of his side improves.
City are only three points behind United and meet them next at the Etihad Stadium next Monday. The prospect of triumph is still being dismissed by Mancini. He was asked if United would be champions. “Probably,” he insisted. Nonetheless, his competitiveness has not really vanished.
“When we played the FA Cup tie in January,” he recalled, “we gave them a gift. They won. But Monday will be a different game. I don’t think they have pressure because they are used to it every year. For us, it’s different because it’s the first time. At the moment, we don’t have any pressure because we are not expected to win.
“Only one team can win this title. It’s not in our hands. We have three points less. After the derby we play Newcastle who are fighting for the Champions League and QPR who are fighting relegation. “A good day?” he mused when asked about yesterday’s contrasting results. “Not really. We won a difficult game.” In truth, Mancini verges on the sarcastic whenever he writes off his team. “You all wrote the title race was finished,” he said to journalists. “Seven days ago, the race was finished. You wrote it.” In addition, it is the key to Mancini’s strategy that expectations should be heaped on others, even if that approach is bound to fail when City have such conspicuous resources. Still, he could not entirely conceal satisfaction.
“It’s not important the performance. We played well all season but now it only matters to win. Sometimes we play well. Sometimes we don’t. We played for 20 games and were at the top. Then we made some mistakes.” There was a possible sarcasm towards the sceptics, but he was well mannered enough to salute City’s owners. “They have shown me that they support me always. It’s not for me. It’s for the team. I work for serious people: the owner, the chairman. We have improved a lot from last year. If you win, you are happy, sure. But if you are improving then that’s important.” Mancini was happier, though, when reflecting that Mario Balotelli’s suspension has been completed before the game against United next Monday. “I’ll be happy to have him available,” said the City manager. “Mario scored two goals against United at Old Trafford [in the 6-1 win in October]. He’s a very important player for this game.”
Alex Ferguson, meanwhile, admitted it was “game on” in the title race after Manchester United twice surrendered a two-goal lead to draw 4-4 with Everton and hand the Premier League initiative back to Manchester City.
Ferguson declared next Monday’s 162nd Manchester derby at Eastlands the biggest of his 26-year career as United manager.
“Yes, definitely. Game on. We’ve given them the initiative, there is no doubt about that,” Ferguson said. “It makes the game at the Etihad a really important game. A decider really. There has been an expectancy from City that it could be their decider, but it’s our decider too. There will be a reaction. The game on Monday would always be a derby game of highest proportions and this won’t be any different.”
After Nikica Jelavic’s 34th-minute opener, Wayne Rooney equalised ahead of the break before second-half goals from Danny Welbeck and Nani gave United a 3-1 lead. Maroune Fellaini’s 67th-minute strike was answered by Rooney, to take his season’s tally to 33. But Jelavic’s second and Steven Pienaar’s 85th minute equaliser secured Everton a point.
Rooney’s goals took him beyond George Best’s mark of 179 for United and Ferguson said of the forward’s partnership with Welbeck: “Great combination play from the two, they were a real threat to their centre-backs.”
Guardian Service
