Ferguson: Very much in the title race

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Sir Alex Ferguson believes Manchester United were good value for their derby success over Manchester City on Sunday.

The Red Devils were pushed all the way by their arch rivals at Eastlands but emerged victorious courtesy of a solitary strike from Wayne Rooney.

During a gutsy display on the road, United even had to deal with a controversial dismissal of talismanic playmaker Cristiano Ronaldo before sealing all three points.

Having taken a positive result, though, Ferguson's men remain hot on the heels of Premier League leaders Liverpool and Chelsea and appear to have hit top gear at a crucial stage of the season.

Dominated

"I thought in the first half we were absolutely magnificent and dominated the match," Ferguson told Sky Sports.

"Second half, 10 minutes in, I thought Manchester City upped their game and had a couple of shots at goal, but they were not really a big threat.

"Then we had to play the last 20-odd minutes with 10 men. It's not easy, but they never looked in danger. They had to soak up some pressure but, in the main, they handled it very well."

Ronaldo saw red after referee Howard Webb turned a deaf ear to his protests on 68 minutes.

Shove

The Portuguese superstar inexplicably handled a Rooney corner just minutes after being cautioned for a late challenge on Shaun Wright-Phillips.

The winger claimed to have been distracted by a whistle from the crowd and Ferguson believes his most potent attacking weapon was not intentionally trying to gain an advantage.

"He has tried to shield the ball from hitting his face, and he might get a shove in the back as well," added the United chief.

"He thought he had heard the referee's whistle. But I'm not going to get into it because we could be here all day.

"Sometimes you have to overcome things and we overcame a big handicap today. We have proved ourselves today."

Hope

Ferguson is attempting to lead United to a third consecutive Premier League crown and admits that Sunday's derby success could prove crucial in the defence of their crown.

"We needed three points today. We are behind Liverpool and Chelsea. We are chasing them and we needed to win the game today to get ourselves near them," he said.

"We now hope Chelsea drop pints today (against Arsenal) and Liverpool drop points tomorrow (against West Ham).

"We have had a significant result today and hopefully it makes a difference to us."