Manchester City have retaken the initiative in the Premier League title race, after beating rivals Manchester United 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Monday night.

A Vincent Kompany header on the stroke of half-time sealed victory for the hosts, and drew City equal on points with the current champions.

However City go back top due to their superior goal difference, and now have their title hopes in their own hands.

Another talking point of the game was a touchline clash between Sir Alex Ferguson and Roberto Mancini, with the United manager accusing his opponent of badgering the match officials.

"He (Mancini) was badgering the referee the whole game, the fourth official and the linesman, and the minute I go out there..." he told Sky Sports.

"He was complaining about referees all week, he can't be complaining tonight, that's for sure."

Despite City now being in pole position to steal United's crown, Mancini has maintained that the battle is not yet over.

"We are happy, but I think that next Sunday we will have another difficult game," he stated.

"I think we deserved to win this game. We scored. We played well and had the chance to score the second goal.

"I don't think that they had the chance to score.

"It was a difficult game, because United are a top team. We know this," he concluded.

City face a tricky away day at Newcastle next before hosting QPR on the last day, whilst United play Swansea at Old Trafford and then Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

By Gareth McKnight

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