Rio Ferdinand is relishing the intensity of a three-pronged title battle as long as Manchester United emerge the victors.
Rio Ferdinand is relishing the intensity of a three-pronged title battle as long as Manchester United emerge the victors.
A combination of their own victory over Liverpool on Sunday and Chelsea's failure to beat Blackburn at Ewood Park put United in pole position for the first time this year.
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Rio Ferdinand.
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Alex Ferguson's men know even if Chelsea win their game in hand against cash-strapped Portsmouth at Fratton Park today, they will still be a point better off than the Londoners, who must visit Old Trafford on April 3.
Arsenal are currently two points adrift, but with a significantly inferior goal difference to the leaders, adding a further dimension to a contest that has seemed certain to favour the men from Stamford Bridge until their dramatic recent slump in form.
Ferdinand knows that with an unprecedented fourth successive championship and a record 19th overall to win, United have a focus they will not easily be distracted from.
"This is probably the best title run-in for years," said the England defender.
"There are three teams in it, which makes it fantastic for the fans and the neutrals to watch. But we just want to finish on top. That is what we are aiming to do."
After spending the early months of the season looking sluggish and incapable of recovering from the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo, the return of European combat has coincided with a surge in United's performances.
"We worked hard as a team and did what the manager asked. It got us the result," was Ferdinand's assessment of an effective performance, that neutralised Fernando Torres once the Spain star had scored for the third game on the trot against them.
"We have been defending very well of late so to concede a goal after five minutes in such a big game was disappointing. But we got ourselves back together and took control of the game.
"The way we came back, picked ourselves and went at Liverpool speaks volumes for the talent we have in our squad," said the 31-year-old.
