MANCHESTER (England): Alex Ferguson has conceded that Chelsea are unlikely to surrender their commanding lead at the top of the Premiership. But the Manchester United boss remains defiantly bullish about his side's prospects of surpassing Jose Mourinho's side on other fronts, starting with Wednesday's League Cup semi-final second leg at Old Trafford.
A 3-1 win over Aston Villa on Saturday extended United's unbeaten run in the Premiership to 13 matches but they have made virtually no inroads into Chelsea's lead.
"They are playing fantastic and there is no sign of any blips," the Scot acknowledged.
"But if we can maintain our form in the league then it helps in other games. I think we are in championship form but Chelsea have got an 11-point lead and are not looking like slipping at all."
United face Chelsea at Old Trafford having dominated the goalless first leg in London two weeks ago and Ferguson was further encouraged by the form of Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, who was instrumental in Saturday's win.
It was Ronaldo who opened the scoring, rifling past Thomas Sorensen following a Louis Saha through-ball, and it was his shot that provided the chance for Paul Scholes to score Uniteds third.
In between Gareth Barry brought Villa back into the game just five minutes into the second half, before Saha restored Uniteds lead.
Without Ronaldos impact, United could have been struggling, as Villa battled gamely and United squandered several opportunities.
Ferguson said: "Cristiano Ronaldo had his best game of the season today. Hes looking for 10 goals this season and maybe he can get them. He maybe could have had another two or three today but he got an important one today."
The Reds boss admitted his side were jolted by Villas response, but pointed to Ronaldo as the ace up his sleeve: "Ronaldos always a threat. He had a fantastic shot for the second goal and is always capable of turning the game for us."
On Wednesday, United will have to do without young Scottish midfielder Darren Fletcher, who limped out of Saturday's match, and captain Roy Keane, who will serve a suspension.
They will however be able to call on Rio Ferdinand. The defender, who made a successful return to the side after missing the last three matches through injury, said United will be taking the cup game seriously, despite having a history of resting players in the competition.
"Were there to get to the cup final. Its another piece of silverware to add to the list and were here to do that," he said.
Aston Villas problems meanwhile have been compounded after manager David OLeary confirmed fullback Mark Delaney is likely to face a long layoff after sustaining a knee ligament injury.
The injury is most untimely for OLeary, who has been complaining about the threadbare nature of his squad, but he confirmed a mid-season signing could be on the horizon.
He said: "We don't have the money, so we got to look at people on loan or people who would do us for an 18-month period. In the next week I'm hoping to get at least one player." - AFP