Jamie Redknapp says Manchester United need a miracle to defend their Premier League title.
Mancini's powerhouses can pinch United's crown, says Jamie
Jamie Redknapp says it will be the 'biggest football miracle ever' if Manchester City don't produce a Premier League-clinching display against QPR next weekend and allow Manchester United to defend their crown as a result.
City - level on points with United - will claim their first league title since 1968 if they beat relegation-threatened QPR at home unless Sir Alex Ferguson's men overcome Sunderland by an absolute hatful as their goal difference is eight strikes to the good.
Redknapp watched on with fellow
Super Sunday pundit Gary Neville as City overcame Champions League-chasing Newcastle courtesy of a Yaya Toure double. United kicked off knowing the result but could only match that scoreline as first-half goals from Paul Scholes and Ashley Young saw off Swansea.
City match report |
United match report
Reflecting on United's display, Neville said: "It's actually been a good performance today - they could have scored more goals and should have scored more goals but today wasn't the day that will have cost them at the end of the season, if it wasn't to happen next week.
"I think you look back in the last couple of weeks and there have been some pretty big mistakes and they will obviously look at those as being the days when it has cost them if at the end of the season they've not won the Championship.
"I know in that dressing room, having been in there for the last 15-20 years, that the goal difference is something that the manager mentions continuously during the season - 'score more goals, you never know what can happen at the end of a season'.
"This season has been an absolutely crazy season; it is probably going to come down to goal difference in the end. It would seem it's going to cost Manchester United in the end. You think of the 6-1 defeat here against City, you think of other opportunities in the last few weeks.
"Even against Fulham and QPR in the last few weeks where you potentially thought with QPR down to 10 men and Fulham 1-0 at home that there were opportunities to score more goals. But you can look back through every single season when you don't win it and point towards mistakes and things that you could have done better; it's just the way it's gone."
Short
However, Redknapp pointed out that the identical argument rings true for Roberto Mancini's men.
"It would be the same for Manchester City had it not gone their way - you look at, perhaps, Sunderland home and away, losing away at Everton," he said. "Every team can look at big moments in their season and feel 'if only we got a point there, if we had maybe got an extra goal there'. That's how it is sometimes.
"I think that United have unfortunately just come up a little bit short. But I think you also have to give credit to City - they have been magnificent as well at times this year. They've got a little bit of luck, which you need, obviously when United slipped up but I think throughout the season that City have been very good.
"But QPR are still fighting for their lives. They need to produce something. But I just feel that City have it - it's in their hands, especially at home where they have been pretty much perfect. I think they've only had one loss all season. I expect them to just do the business next week with the players they've got. They've got good characters in that dressing room - we're talking about Kompany, Toure, Aguero.
"I expect them to produce another performance next week. That would be the biggest miracle ever if they don't produce that in football terms anyway.
"It's not going to be easy for United at Sunderland but they've just got to do their jobs. That's all they can do next week - go to Sunderland, get a win and just see what happens after that. If they get a bit of luck you never know, but I just feel that Manchester City are looking so powerful at the moment."
Neville paid tribute to both sides for taking an enthralling season down to the wire and insisted that his former club United will fight to the very end.
"They are professionals, they will be disappointed; they will go home tonight and be very subdued but they will recognise that they've got another week's training," he said.
"I don't think that any team has ever ended up with 89 points and not won the title. So to amass that amount of points you'd have to say that you give great credit to Manchester City for doing the same and matching Manchester United all of the way through the season."
