Steve Nailor at Old Trafford If Sir Alex Ferguson had any doubts at all about Carlos Tevez's pent-up frustration, they were put to bed yesterday as Manchester United homed in on the Barclays Premier League title.

The animated Argentina striker marked only his 17th league start of the season by rifling the ball home from the edge of the area on the stroke of half-time. He responded by racing down the touchline to the dug-out and in front of Ferguson cupped his hands to his ears as if to say: "Can you hear the noise?"

It was a remarkably pointed gesture after he had gone public to state he thought his two-year loan spell was coming to an end. Tevez said he was sad about the situation but felt he was about to say goodbye. He complained that he did not seem to be part of the United family.

Tevez clearly had a point to prove and City were on the receiving end. It was a vital victory for United as well as they regained the high ground from Liverpool following their win over West Ham. It seems that every time questions are asked of Ferguson's side they give a perfect answer.

The Scot made five changes to the side that defeated Arsenal in midweek to reach the Champions League final but his team still came up with the goods. Now United need only four points from their last three games to retain the crown. With Wigan and Arsenal due to arrive this week, the title could be sewn up on Saturday.

Ferguson, who promised to make "two or three changes" ahead of Wednesday's trip to the JJB Stadium, admitted: "We did not play well but derby games can be that way. They can be horrible games and we had a horrible one today. But a win is a win at this time of the season."

However, the Scot was in no mood to dwell on the future of Tevez. "He is a Manchester United player," said Ferguson, acknowledging that the striker is a firm favourite with United fans - "they love tryers" - but refused to be drawn on how soon the player's future might be resolved.

City, meanwhile, were poor. Mark Hughes' side came into the game on the back of four straight wins and in buoyant mood but were found wanting. They had plenty of possession but faced an uphill task once Cristiano Ronaldo executed a 30-yard free-kick to record his 26th goal of the season.

Ferguson opted to withdraw the Portuguese after Tevez doubled United's advantage much to the attacker's anger. Ronaldo made no attempt to disguise his fury at being replaced by Paul Scholes just before the hour but his manager was in no doubt that he had made the right decision with United seeking to defend their Premier League title and the Champions League trophy.

Asked why Ronaldo had reacted so badly, Ferguson said: "He wanted to stay on. He is in great form. But I've got to look at the big picture. I've got to think about keeping our players as fresh as we can for the games ahead."

If only City had such options to call on. Although they have joined the rich list thanks to the Abu Dhabi United Group, they are miles away from competing with United.

Manager Hughes questioned referee Chris Foy's decision to award the free-kick to United which led to Ronaldo opening the scoring but accepted that his side were second best.

"We did not ask enough questions of them," he said.

"We did not have that presence needed. We had a lot of possession but there was not much of an end product. We knew the second half would be difficult as United can get people behind the ball and play counter-attack. That's what they did."