MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – The Manchester clubs will resume their fascinating tussle for the Premier League title without the distraction of European competition but with uncomfortable questions hanging over their quality.

Shown up on the continental stage, first by Champions League group-stage exits and then by Europa League last-16 departures at the hands of teams not even challenging for their domestic titles, England’s finest have had their credibility knocked.

English leaders Manchester United could not match the skills and passion of La Liga’s seventh-placed side Athletic Bilbao in Thursday’s 5-3 aggregate defeat, while City’s spirited fightback did not make up for earlier errors as they went out to Sporting.

Their only chance of redemption is the league title in a season where one of them is destined to finish without a trophy.

“We have to win the league to save our season. If we don’t win the league, it will have been a really bad season,” United defender Patrice Evra told MUTV.

“I’m not worried about the league because we are playing well and now we are top, in front of Manchester City.”

United are a point ahead of their neighbours with 67 from 28 games and can go four points clear on Sunday with a victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers as City do not play until Wednesday when they host Chelsea.

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – The Manchester clubs will resume their fascinating tussle for the Premier League title without the distraction of European competition but with uncomfortable questions hanging over their quality.

Shown up on the continental stage, first by Champions League group-stage exits and then by Europa League last-16 departures at the hands of teams not even challenging for their domestic titles, England’s finest have had their credibility knocked.

English leaders Manchester United could not match the skills and passion of La Liga’s seventh-placed side Athletic Bilbao in Thursday’s 5-3 aggregate defeat, while City’s spirited fightback did not make up for earlier errors as they went out to Sporting.

Their only chance of redemption is the league title in a season where one of them is destined to finish without a trophy.

“We have to win the league to save our season. If we don’t win the league, it will have been a really bad season,” United defender Patrice Evra told MUTV.

“I’m not worried about the league because we are playing well and now we are top, in front of Manchester City.”

United are a point ahead of their neighbours with 67 from 28 games and can go four points clear on Sunday with a victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers as City do not play until Wednesday when they host Chelsea.

MANCHESTER, England, March 16 (Reuters) – The Manchester clubs will resume their fascinating tussle for the Premier League title without the distraction of European competition but with uncomfortable questions hanging over their quality.

Shown up on the continental stage, first by Champions League group-stage exits and then by Europa League last-16 departures at the hands of teams not even challenging for their domestic titles, England’s finest have had their credibility knocked.

English leaders Manchester United could not match the skills and passion of La Liga’s seventh-placed side Athletic Bilbao in Thursday’s 5-3 aggregate defeat, while City’s spirited fightback did not make up for earlier errors as they went out to Sporting.

Their only chance of redemption is the league title in a season where one of them is destined to finish without a trophy.

“We have to win the league to save our season. If we don’t win the league, it will have been a really bad season,” United defender Patrice Evra told MUTV.

“I’m not worried about the league because we are playing well and now we are top, in front of Manchester City.”

United are a point ahead of their neighbours with 67 from 28 games and can go four points clear on Sunday with a victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers as City do not play until Wednesday when they host Chelsea.

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – The Manchester clubs’ wretched continental seasons ended on Thursday as outclassed United and battling City suffered contrasting Europa League last-16 exits to an exhilarating Athletic Bilbao and a fortunate Sporting respectively.

While the failure of the Premier League title rivals to progress means the end of English representation, Spain has three sides in Friday’s draw for the quarter- and semi-finals with Atletico Madrid and Valencia joining Bilbao.

United and City had parachuted into the second-tier competition after group-stage exits from the Champions League and boasted much bigger resources than their conquerors. But the manner of the exits could not have been more different.

United, who this time last year were well on their way to the Champions League final, were outplayed in both legs by Bilbao, losing 2-1 in Spain and 5-3 overall.

City clawed their way back from 2-0 down on the night with three goals in the last half-hour to win 3-2 at home to Sporting but went out on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate result.

Their recovery was at Eastlands was breathtaking as two goals by Sergio Aguero and a Mario Balotelli penalty put them on the verge of a remarkable comeback.

A fairytale ending was millimetres away when goalkeeper Joe Hart’s header whizzed just wide in the last minute of stoppage time after his opposite number Rui Patricio tipped it past the far post.

MANCHESTER, England, March 15 (Reuters) – The Manchester clubs’ wretched continental seasons ended on Thursday as outclassed United and battling City suffered contrasting Europa League last-16 exits to an exhilarating Athletic Bilbao and a fortunate Sporting respectively.

While the failure of the Premier League title rivals to progress means the end of English representation, Spain has three sides in Friday’s draw for the quarter- and semi-finals with Atletico Madrid and Valencia joining Bilbao.

United and City had parachuted into the second-tier competition after group-stage exits from the Champions League and boasted much bigger resources than their conquerors. But the manner of the exits could not have been more different.

United, who this time last year were well on their way to the Champions League final, were outplayed in both legs by Bilbao, losing 2-1 in Spain and 5-3 overall.

City clawed their way back from 2-0 down on the night with three goals in the last half-hour to win 3-2 at home to Sporting but went out on away goals after a 3-3 aggregate result.

Their recovery was at Eastlands was breathtaking as two goals by Sergio Aguero and a Mario Balotelli penalty put them on the verge of a remarkable comeback.

A fairytale ending was millimetres away when goalkeeper Joe Hart’s header whizzed just wide in the last minute of stoppage time after his opposite number Rui Patricio tipped it past the far post.

MANCHESTER (Reuters) – Premier League leaders Manchester United will go four points clear if they beat second-from-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux this weekend but need only look back a year to know that is not as easy as it sounds.

In February 2011, then bottom club Wolves ended United’s 29-match unbeaten league run, inflicting a first league defeat of the season on the eventual champions when they stunned their visitors 2-1 in this fixture.

Wolves, again embroiled in a battle to avoid relegation after just one win in their last 14 league games, fell behind to an early Nani goal but replied with two goals before halftime which led manager Alex Ferguson to bemoan his side’s “bad play at set-pieces”.

With Manchester City, the long-time leaders before their rivals overhauled them last week, not playing until Wednesday because opponents Chelsea are among those involved in the FA Cup quarter-finals, United can turn the screw on Sunday 1.30 p.m.

One of the keys to whether they can retain their title could be striker Wayne Rooney, who has been challenged by Ferguson to net 40 goals this season and who scored twice in December’s 4-1 victory over Wolves at Old Trafford.

Another double in last week’s 2-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion took his tally to 26, eight fewer than his best ever haul of 34 in 2009-10, and his team mates see his run continuing.

“He can go as far as he wants to,” winger Ashley Young told British media. “He has done brilliantly this season. Hopefully he keeps adding to his tally and we can keep getting the three points.”

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – Everton resume the priority of securing a tangible memento for manager David Moyes’s decade of service when they host Sunderland on Saturday (1245 GMT) in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Moyes celebrated 10 years at Goodison Park this week and has been lauded for his longevity in the hire-and-fire culture of the Premier League as well as for his ability to create a reliable team on modest resources.

What he has not done is brought a trophy to the club whose glory days of the 1980s are getting ever more distant.

The closest he came was in 2009 when he led Everton to the FA Cup final where they were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea and this season the Scot is determined to go one better.

By effectively sacrificing Merseyside bragging rights by fielding a weakened team for Tuesday’s 3-0 league defeat at Liverpool, Moyes made it clear what took precedence this season.

“I think you have to juggle your squad and decide where you prioritise,” he told reporters.

With Everton staring at mid-table security in the league, lying ninth on the same points as Sunderland, booking a trip to Wembley for an FA Cup semi-final is enticing.

MANCHESTER, England, March 15 (Reuters) – Everton resume the priority of securing a tangible memento for manager David Moyes’s decade of service when they host Sunderland on Saturday (1245 GMT) in the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Moyes celebrated 10 years at Goodison Park this week and has been lauded for his longevity in the hire-and-fire culture of the Premier League as well as for his ability to create a reliable team on modest resources.

What he has not done is brought a trophy to the club whose glory days of the 1980s are getting ever more distant.

The closest he came was in 2009 when he led Everton to the FA Cup final where they were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea and this season the Scot is determined to go one better.

By effectively sacrificing Merseyside bragging rights by fielding a weakened team for Tuesday’s 3-0 league defeat at Liverpool, Moyes made it clear what took precedence this season.

“I think you have to juggle your squad and decide where you prioritise,” he told reporters.

With Everton staring at mid-table security in the league, lying ninth on the same points as Sunderland, booking a trip to Wembley for an FA Cup semi-final is enticing.

MANCHESTER, March 15 (Reuters) – Premier League leaders Manchester United will go four points clear if they beat second-from-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux this weekend but need only look back a year to know that is not as easy as it sounds.

In February 2011, then bottom club Wolves ended United’s 29-match unbeaten league run, inflicting a first league defeat of the season on the eventual champions when they stunned their visitors 2-1 in this fixture.

Wolves, again embroiled in a battle to avoid relegation after just one win in their last 14 league games, fell behind to an early Nani goal but replied with two goals before halftime which led manager Alex Ferguson to bemoan his side’s “bad play at set-pieces”.

With Manchester City, the long-time leaders before their rivals overhauled them last week, not playing until Wednesday because opponents Chelsea are among those involved in the FA Cup quarter-finals, United can turn the screw on Sunday (1330 GMT).

One of the keys to whether they can retain their title could be striker Wayne Rooney, who has been challenged by Ferguson to net 40 goals this season and who scored twice in December’s 4-1 victory over Wolves at Old Trafford.

Another double in last week’s 2-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion took his tally to 26, eight fewer than his best ever haul of 34 in 2009-10, and his team mates see his run continuing.

“He can go as far as he wants to,” winger Ashley Young told British media. “He has done brilliantly this season. Hopefully he keeps adding to his tally and we can keep getting the three points.”

LONDON (Reuters) – Andre Villas-Boas always knew he would have to be prolific in terms of results rather than words to keep the Chelsea manager’s job he was axed from on Sunday after less than nine months in charge.

Owner Roman Abramovich’s experiment to bring in an upcoming manager rather than the established names he had employed in the past failed for the same reason that proved the undoing of the Russian’s other six appointments.

Trophies are the currency the west London club deal in and with Chelsea way off the Premier League pace in fifth and facing an imminent Champions League exit, the sacking many had forecast finally happened following a seventh league defeat on Saturday.

“When you come to Chelsea, you know one thing that you need (is) to bring results and show that the team is going the right way,” Avram Grant, dismissed by Chelsea in 2008 after taking them to the Champions League final, told Sky Sports News.

“It’s all about results … The results were not so good and the football was not so good – I (would) always like that there (was) more patience but we could expect this, no?”

When he was appointed last June, Villas-Boas was tasked with bringing “greater successes in major domestic and European competitions” to the club, who showed him the door saying “the results and performances of the team have not been good enough.”

With an earnest expression and ability to articulate his thoughts in a second language better than his peers sometimes manage in their native tongue, the intelligence of the man known as “AVB” was never in doubt even if his authority was.