Manchester: Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has admitted he feels Ashley Young was looking for contact in the penalty area in the first half of their comfortable 4-0 win over Aston Villa on Sunday.
Young was brought down by Aston Villa’s Ciaran Clark in the opening ten minutes of the game, and the home side’s manager has agreed that while there was some contact, it was a soft penalty.
Ferguson told Sky Sports after the game: "[Young] played for the penalty. The player decides to leave his foot in and takes the contact from the challenge. It was a dramatic fall, but it was definitely a penalty, no doubts about that."
Young had won a penalty in United's previous match at Old Trafford after also appearing to fall easily in the box for the opening goal in the 2-0 win against Queens Park Rangers.
"I don't think it was a penalty," Villa manager Alex McLeish said. "I thought Ashley threw his leg into Ciaran Clark's leg. Ciaran was static. He planted his feet firmly in the ground and then he tried to pull his leg away. I certainly felt it was a soft decision. Ashley got away with that one today."
The Red Devils’ manager was full of praise for his team’s performance in the game, which they won thanks to two goals from Wayne Rooney - including the seventh-minute penalty - and one apiece from Danny Welbeck and Nani.
"It was a good result and a good performance, the first half in particular. In the second half, we were more careless, but the third goal killed the game, and made sure of the result," said Ferguson.
However, Ferguson refused to say that the title race between both the Manchester sides is over, despite having secured a five-point gap over their city rivals with four games to go.
"There could yet be twists and turns, we just need to keep enjoying ourselves and keep playing alright and picking up points," said the United manager. "We won’t be getting too confident, as my experience tells you that there is always something that can come back and bite you in the bum! We'll just keep earning points, and that’s all we can do."
Manchester United face Everton next at Old Trafford in the Premier League, hoping to keep up their good run of form in their final matches, before they take on City at the Etihad Stadium on April 30.
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