Fergie braced for derby title showdown

Sir Alex Ferguson has labelled next week's Manchester derby between City and United at the Etihad Stadium as a "title decider."

Ten minutes from the end of the Old Trafford clash against Everton, it seemed United would be preparing for the ultimate act of revenge after that 6-1 mauling by the Blues in October. But goals from Nikica Jelavic and Steven Pienaar secured a staggering 4-4 draw for Everton in the latest of a sequence of amazing results this season, which now means United go to Manchester City knowing if they lose they will surrender the initiative completely. "Yes, definitely," said Ferguson, when asked if it was the most important derby he has known. "We've given them the initiative, there is no doubt about that. "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." Ferguson added: "There were defensive lapses. Their goals were really soft. It was a real shock for us to defend like that. It was a travesty of a result in some ways, but we made it difficult for ourselves and if you look at our history we keep doing that."