Sir Alex Ferguson: Everton game may have cost Manchester United the title

Posted Saturday, May 05, 2012 by

Sir Alex Ferguson believes that Manchester United's 4-4 draw with Everton on April 22 could ultimately the pivotal moment in the Premier League title race.

United led 4-2 with just seven minutes left at Old Trafford but was pegged back and subsequently overtaken by archrival Manchester City in the league standings thanks to a 1-0 defeat in the local derby eight days later.

City's 1-0 success on Monday night took it to the top of the league on goal difference, but Sir Alex felt that the Toffees' fightback was more significant, telling reporters: "The Everton game was the killer for us. It was an absolutely ridiculous performance in the last 10 minutes of the match. Just absolute carelessness."

"It's all right saying the history of the club is to attack all the time but it was a stupid performance and it's put us on the back foot, no question about that. If we lose the league, we'll have to accept it's the Everton game that did it."

When questioned about the defeat to City, Sir Alex admitted: "We didn't test the goalkeeper, let's be honest. We started the game very well – they didn't make any chances but the goal [just before] halftime is a killer for us.

"To score in injury time they could set their stall out the way they did, playing a bit of counterattack and making sure they weren't going to lose a goal."

"Young Chris Smalling got caught under the ball," he added of Vincent Kompany's solitary goal. "Straightforward. I don't think the goalkeeper had any chance with that."

United will be without Jonny Evans and Danny Welbeck when Swansea City visit Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon, with the latter having sustained a foot injury in a challenge from City's Nigel De Jong.

"I thought it was a bad tackle," the Scot noted. "I didn't think it was a red card and when I saw it again I thought a yellow card was sufficient. It put him out of the game because at the time he was looking as if he was going to do something. I couldn't take him off, of course, because I'd used all our substitutes."