The Difference Between the Men and the Boys

Man City's 1-0 defeat to Arsenal yesterday and Man Utd's contentious 2-0 win over Queens Park Rangers yesterday has all but ended Roberto Mancini's sides' hope of wresting the Premiership crown from Man Utd.

Despite all the promise and six-goal thrashings, City will most likely, barring a major meltdown at Man Utd, end the season the same way they began: under the shadows of their more illustrious neighbours.

And at the end, what prevented the supposed seismic shift in power came down to experience and maturity. While Sir Alex Ferguson's men widened the Devils' lead at the top by defeating QPR, Mancini's boys fell apart against the Gunners.

It is perhaps a little unfair to label the entire City side as immature. Except for Mario Balotelli, most of City's players kept their composure. But at a time when they needed to rise to the occasion, they failed. And this is where experience counts the most. You can assemble a side full of superstars but you can't buy the experience Man Utd has when it comes to winning league titles.

It also goes to show you can't buy your way to instant success (unless your manager is Jose Mourinho).

The Devils weren't exactly enthralling against a 10-man QPR but still did what they do best: the ability to collect three points no matter the performance. On another night, it could have been a much larger scoreline but as Fergie will tell you, winning on your off days is what wins league titles.

Utd may have taken the lead against QPR in an acrimonious manner (Ashley Young may have been auditioning for a place in Great Britain's diving team for this summer's London Olympics) but it is highly unlikely that they were going to leave Old Trafford last night without a win.

Speaking of Balotelli, it appears as though Mancini's had enough of the Italian striker and may transfer him out in the summer. Then again, much of this depends on whether Mancini himself is at the club after this season.

And as one title race comes to a close, two others blew wide open over the weekend. First up was in the Serie A where Juventus leapfrogged over rivals, AC Milan. The Turin-based club's 2-0 victory was enough to take them to the top of the table after Milan lost 2-1 to Fiorentina at home.

Next, in Spain, league leaders Real Madrid's previous six point lead over second-placed Barcelona has now been reduced to four after Jose Mourinho's side could only muster a 0-0 draw against Valencia after Barca defeated Real Zaragoza 4-1 courtesy of yet another brace of goals from Lionel Messi. The el-Classico between Barcelona and Real Madrid in two weeks is starting look even more interesting.

Over in Germany, the two contenders for the Bundesliga, current league leaders, Borussia Dortmund and second-placed Bayern Munich will face each other on Wednesday in yet another match that could tip the balance. Dortmund currently lead Munich by three points.

Last but not least, the quote of the week goes to Arsene Wenger who said the following when asked whether City's title aspirations ended after losing 1-0 to the Gunners (as reported in Soccernet):

"Not completely, no. They cannot afford to drop any points now. Once the team 'smelt the stable', it's difficult for them to drop points. In French, you say when a horse smells its stable, it's difficult to stop them."

Huh?