© EuroFootball.com
Roberto Mancini no longer has hopes of defending the title of the English Premier League champions.
His Italian players on Monday won away 2-1 against "Man Utd", but the 'Red Devils' lead over "Man City" with seven games remaining is solid and stands at 12 points.
Asked if this victory brings intrigue back in the fight for the first place, Mancini said: "No. The fight for the first place is over. 'Man Utd' has won many matches, and they stumbled last time against 'Norwich' in November. But we deserved to win, as we played better tonight. I think we proved that the gap should not be 15 points."
He continued: "We have to play like this next season as well. Now there will be two or three months during which we will try to improve. But there are no questions about this season - 'Man Utd' truly deserve the trophy. We just have to take second place."
'Man Utd' coach Ferguson also remained calm: "If we look at the history of this club, we usually make the situation difficult for ourselves and make the fans worry. The difference is 12 points, but we will not consider it a guarantee. Indeed, there are only seven games left, so each victory will bring us closer to the trophy."
The Scot also said: "We did not play badly, so I am not disappointed. But I am not satisfied with the moments when we conceded goals. We probably had a little bit of bad luck, although it should be obvious to everyone why these two teams are the best in the country after the match."
