Source: Telegraph
Manchester United v Manchester City: Carlos Tevez makes his point as United go top
Rafael Benitez and his Liverpool players might still be clinging to the hope that the title race will still be alive when they tackle West Brom at The Hawthorns, but four points from Wednesday's trip to Wigan and the Saturday lunchtime encounter with Arsenal and the title is United's.
Manchester City were not short of motivation in their attempt to check United's surge to a third successive championship, yet Mark Hughes's team never looked capable of defeating their local rivals.
They did not have a Ronaldo or a Tevez within their ranks, the £32.5m Robinho disappearing without a trace, and it was United's Latin pair that made the difference, before they proceeded to make their individual points to the watching world.
Tevez's ear-cupping gesture to the directors' box following his first-half goal, on a day when he had announced his fears that his time at Old Trafford was coming to an end, appeared a blunt message to chief executive David Gill, the man who will have the final say on whether United pay the final £22m to sign him permanently this summer.
Ronaldo's petulant reaction to being substituted by Ferguson on the hour, when he aggressively threw a training top to the ground before mouthing his displeasure on the bench, was a self-centred response to being rested ahead of the trip to the JJB Stadium.
But Ferguson, publicly at least, was in forgiving mood and that might just have something to do with his two forwards securing the victory that leaves United within touching distance of the club's 18th league title.
Tevez was clearly up for this one. Selected from the start, despite his comments about his United future, the Argentine served notice of his desire to prove a point with a 30-yard effort on five minutes that forced Shay Given into his first save of the game.
But it was Ronaldo who made the breakthrough and eased fears of a repeat of last season's home defeat against City when he executed another top-class free-kick on 16 minutes.
Stephen Ireland's foul on Dimitar Berbatov on the edge of the City penalty area immediately set the alarm bells ringing for Given, who would have noted Ronaldo's 41-yard exocet against Arsenal last Tuesday.
But the former Newcastle goalkeeper was helpless to prevent the Portuguese from scoring his 26th goal of the season, with a slight deflection off midfielder Nigel de Jong guiding the ball into the bottom corner.
City manager Hughes said: "I didn't feel it was a free-kick, more like a tangle of legs. But the quality of the strike was there for all to see so credit to him for that."
Tevez was out to claim a piece of the action, though, and he rattled Given's crossbar with a fiercely-struck 20-yarder on the half hour. The goal he deserved arrived thirteen minutes later.
Darren Fletcher's high ball into the City half was controlled perfectly by Berbatov and the Bulgarian off-loaded to Tevez, whose 20-yard shot struck the foot of the post before nestling in the City net. Game over.
Tevez has form for pre-meditated goalscoring celebrations, however. He has unearthed a child's dummy from his shorts to toast previous goals, but there was no humour in this reaction.
Waving away his team-mates, Tevez ran to the halfway line before he stood facing the directors' box with his hands cupped behind his ears.
A response to the apparent contract silence from Gill perhaps?
Had it been directed at Ferguson, Tevez would probably have found himself hauled off before the start of the second-half, but he was allowed to continue his assault on City's over-worked defenders.
At the other end, United's back-four was barely troubled and the champions did not miss the injured Rio Ferdinand, whose calf strain makes him a doubt for the clash with Wigan.
Whether Tevez will start at the JJB is also shrouded in doubt, despite his tigerish display, which was almost capped by a second goal when he headed against the post in the final minute.
Ferguson will not bow to the will of the supporters on team selection and while Ronaldo will be back on the team-sheet, Tevez faces more uncertainty.
At least he has a fan in Hughes, a manager who could yet sign him in the summer.
He said: "Tevez was a thorn in our side all day. He was exceptional and he scored an exceptional goal."
