Ferguson rues Gerrard's 'great gift' to Chelsea in title pursuit

The Manchester United manager saw a replay of Didier Drogba latching onto the Liverpool midfielder's slack backpass to fire Chelsea in front at Anfield where they ultimately won 2-0 – Frank Lampard scored in the second half – to briefly extend their advantage to four points.

Nani's goal then gave the champions a 1-0 win at Sunderland to cut the gap back to one point, after which Ferguson commented: "I just saw it (Gerrard's mistake) after the game. It was a great gift. There's nothing we can do about it now, we just have to get on with it."

Drogba admitted Gerrard's uncharacteristic lapse had given the leaders the momentum they needed yesterday. He said: "He made a big mistake. I was lucky to be there and score. It was good because this goal gave us a lot of confidence to play well."

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti admitted he has always been prepared for the club's title bid to go right down to the final weekend.

After his side's win against Liverpool the Italian said he did not expect Manchester United to do anything other than maintain the pressure until the last match by beating Sunderland.

Chelsea host Wigan next Sunday while champions United are at home to Stoke.

Ancelotti said he felt the victory at Anfield was significant but always considered it was next week's fixtures that would prove decisive.

"I am happy. It was the key game I think for the fight for the title and we played very well," he said. "We deserved to win. It was a little bit difficult in the first half but in the second half we did better.

"It was an important performance. There was a lot of pressure on this game and on us but we had a good control of our emotion."

Once Drogba had converted Gerrard's disastrous 33rd-minute backpass the life drained out of Liverpool and Lampard's close-range goal nine minutes after the interval applied the finishing touch.

"I never had the time to think about it," said Ancelotti of Gerrard's backpass.

"It was an important goal because that goal changed the game. We had more confidence after that and Liverpool lost some of the strength they showed in the first 30 minutes."

If Chelsea do slip up next Sunday against Wigan then United could lift the title by beating Stoke. "All we can do is win our game next week," Ferguson said. "Obviously I wouldn't say it's a sealed result against Wigan. They're a good team, they'll have a go and you just never know. It's a crazy game.

"Maybe we are clutching at straws a little bit. It is important for us to win in front of our home fans and play the right way.

"It would be an incredible achievement for us. At the least we have stretched it (the title race) and kept the nerves going."