Manchester City must close gap quickly, Mancini says

MANCHESTER - Agence France-Presse

Mancini says he hopes Manchester United drops points before the derby.

Manchester City must reduce the 12-point deficit at the top of the Premier League before the upcoming Manchester derby to have any hope of keeping its title, Roberto Mancini said on March 15.

The City manager currently trails Alex Ferguson and Manchester United ahead of City’s weekend visit to Everton and the leader’s home game with struggling Reading.

The derby at Old Trafford is looming on April 8, a fixture that looked likely at one stage to decide the outcome of this season’s championship race. But City’s collapse at the start of the year, in which a five-point disadvantage quickly grew to a dozen, means that, even with seven games remaining after the derby, Mancini’s only hope lies in United dropping points in its next two matches.

“We hope that happens,” he said. “But United are playing against Reading and then play Sunderland. We hope maybe we can play the derby nine points, seven points, even 10 points behind. Less than 12 would be better because from the derby to the end of the season, they have three or four difficult games.”