United lands knockout blow in title race

Is the Premier League title race already over?

Last season's finale was arguably the most exciting in the history of English football, memorably going down to the final minute of the final game.

The way things are panning out this time round for Manchester United, the championship could be settled a month early.

United landed what many believe was the knockout punch at the weekend by surging into a 12-point lead — the biggest this season — over City, the beaten and bruised challenger.

Even the Premier League's incessant PR machine is struggling to hype this one up.

Alex Ferguson's assessment that United is in a "fantastic position" looks to be the understatement of the century. His team is unbeaten in 14 matches and has the hottest strikeforce in the league. No team has blown such a big lead at this stage of a season.

Just what has happened to City?

OK, they've lost only three league games this season — one in unfortunate circumstances against United — and are attempting to chase down a rival that has made its best-ever start to a Premier League campaign. But that doesn't tell the whole story.

The attacking spark that was the catalyst to their title charge last season has disappeared, with Mario Balotelli's departure leaving City short-hand up front and Carlos Tevez failing to live up to expectations.

Defensively they have been suspect, never settling on a first-choice center-back partner for captain Vincent Kompany. Even goalkeeper Joe Hart is making mistakes, his latest blunder coming in Saturday's 3-1 loss at Southampton when he conceded a goal by spilling a straightforward catch.

When star midfielder Yaya Toure is putting in below-par performances, as he did against Southampton, you know the game is up.

Ruffling his hair, City manager Roberto Mancini had a haunted look to him as he faced the media post-match, giving his team a "10 percent" chance of retaining the title and bemoaning its "worst game in two or three years."

He has vowed to ring the changes in the last 12 games to find players "who are ready for the fight" but the biggest change at the club may come at the end of the season. With potentially only the FA Cup left to play for, Mancini's job is on the line.