Manchester United benefit from refereeing advantage, says Manchester City executive Patrick Vieira When you go to United, Madrid, Barcelona, or Milan, it's always difficult for the referee to go against these kind of teams. This is the way it is. It's something the teams who are used to winning get all the time, so we need to win games so we have this advantage in the future. Ferguson's response to Vieira's comments will be instructive, particularly as United's repeated assertion in the wake of Monday's events was to point to the penalty Newcastle were awarded against them earlier this season for a perfectly fair challenge by Rio Ferdinand on Hatem Ben Arfa. United have the high ground in the Premier League as City's failure to beat Stoke on Saturday means they are three points clear with eight games left, their biggest advantage of the season. But Vieira is refusing to give up and remains bullish about City's title chances. "This is our moment," he said. Since the start of the season we've been the best team and played the best football. I believe the club deserves it. Vieira conceded that United are best placed to claim the title, and also said that the Manchester rivalry will only intensify during the run-in. "When you are first you have the advantage, they are favourites," he said. It's important not to lose focus, so many things can happen. People try to build this fire between the clubs. The heat is going to get more and more.