Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson thinks the title race this season could be decided very late indeed.

Speaking after his team's 2-1 win over Liverpool, Ferguson first insisted Javier Mascherano should have been sent off.

He told Sky Sports: "I thought the penalty kick decision was a red card, because I do not see how anyone could have stopped Valencia from shooting.

"That is a goalscoring opportunity as far as I am concerned."

Ferguson continued: "It was very tight and Liverpool are good at stopping you playing, we know that because that is your strength.

"But you have got to be patient and we scored a tremendous goal from Park Ji-sung, who played another vital role for us today."

Ferguson accepted the match had not been a classic.

"I am sure it wasn't, but it was so intense and you could not take your eyes off it - there was no-one watching on television who went for a cup of tea, that is for sure," he said.

Torres missed a late chance to snatch a point for Liverpool.

Ferguson said: "Torres has maybe tried to burst the ball, but that was the only break we got in the game really.

"Vidic was magnificent today.

"We have a very experienced back four, a very experienced goalkeeper and that gives us a real outstanding chance, albeit with seven difficult matches - but we have all got difficult matches, so what does it matter?

"It could very well go to the wire, if you look at the run-ins for the teams."

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez felt there was not much between the two sides.

"It was very tight, they did not have too many chances, and neither did we," he said.

"With two top sides, it is always the little things which are the difference, and they were the better in these.

"After the goal, I always said it is about how you can control the game, and we could not, as we conceded early.

"In the second half, you could see Manchester United are a good team, but they did not have too many options and with a bit of luck, it could have been a draw."

On the penalty incident, Benitez did not feel his player had merited a red card.

"I have not seen the replay, but talking to people who have said it was inside and was a penalty, but Jamie Carragher was also there, so it was only a yellow card," the Spaniard said.

Liverpool are now well behind in the battle for fourth place, but Benitez insisted the battle goes on.

"It will be difficult, but we still have to fight," he said.

"There are still a lot of points to play for, so we have to keep going and see what happens in the next game.

"The supporters can see the team was solid again, we played three games this week and have scored goals.

"You can see we can win against anyone. You have to improve when you play against a top side, but we created chances.

"We now have to take it one game at a time, and it (fourth place) will also depend on what the others do."