TITLE ROAR ... Cristiano
Ronaldo
And no one has the scent of success more than Cristiano
Ronaldo after firing SEVEN goals in EIGHT games.
Boss Ferguson believes his Manchester United players
are as up for a derby as they have ever been, with the finishing
line fast approaching in both the Premier League and Europe.
And he insists, tomorrow, City will meet a team who
have hit top form at just the right time.
Fergie said: “A lot of our players are smelling the big
games now.
“They are beginning to smell the atmosphere of the big
games. They smell the occasion more and that’s encouraging us
more.
“Look at the last few weeks. We’ve had a fantastic
performance at Porto and two fantastic displays against Arsenal —
plus the second half with Tottenham was superb and we produced a
really good performance at Middlesbrough. The team has come to top
form at the right time. I’d like to say it is all down to our
preparation but, to be honest, it is not.
“I think it is more that the players smell the
situation so well.
“They like the big-game situation, they have proved
that. They have proved they can handle it. We’re in good form
now.”
Nobody is in better form than Ronaldo. The World Player
of the Year has 24 goals in total and produced a stunning display
in the 3-1 win over Arsenal in the second leg of the Champions
League semi-final at the Emirates on Tuesday.
Ronaldo, 24, grabbed a double to help set up a final
showdown with Barcelona in Rome on May 27.
Ferguson said: “He’s still a young man — he’s still
improving and he is nowhere near his maturity yet.
“But the last few weeks he has started to score goals
that matter — two v Villa, two v Spurs, one at Porto and two at the
Emirates. He had a slow start because he had an operation in the
summer and it took him a while to get into his rhythm.
“But he’s come right at the right time of the
season.
“Obviously, he was never going to get the 42 goals he
got last season.
“But he is on 25 now and that’s still a fantastic tally
for a player regarded as a wide player.
“I don’t play him all the time — I rested him at
Middlesbrough. But he is lucky in terms of the physique,
athleticism and courage he has. We are lucky that way.”
Despite United’s form, Ferguson knows a
recently-revived City will be no walkovers after winning their last
four games in all competitions.
He said: “Listen, they will be desperate to win this
game. It is natural, it is a derby.
“Their fans would love to think they could stop us
winning the league. There’s nothing wrong with that. If it was the
other way round our fans would be exactly the same.”