Yaya Toure says Manchester United is still top dog but the gap between the sides is closing

MANCHESTER City’s Yaya Toure says cross-town rival United is still top dog in Manchester, despite a horror season for David Moyes’s men.

Manchester City's Ivorian Yaya Toure tackles Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

MANCHESTER City star Yaya Toure says its cross-town rival is still top dog in Manchester but the gap is closing.

City is chasing a second title in three seasons and will finish above Manchester United for just the third time since Alex Ferguson took charge in 1986, but Toure said the Champions League title is key.

The two sides clash at Old Trafford on Wednesday morning.

Speaking exclusively to the Herald Sun, Toure opened up on City’s $11.25 million purchase of Melbourne Heart and said players and fans can ­expect “the best”.

News_Rich_Media: Highlights of Manchester United's 2-0 victory over West Ham United at Upton Park.

The midfielder scored a hat-trick in Sunday’s 5-0 romp over Fulham taking his season tally to 16 and overtaking Sergio Aguero as City’s leading scorer, while the win lifted City to third, six points behind leaders Chelsea with three games in hand.

Toure was at Old Trafford to watch United’s overturn a two-goal Champions League deficit to Champions League win 3-0 against Olympiakos, and said it was still a dangerous rival despite slipping to seventh domestically.

“United are still No.1 because of what they’ve achieved and they still have it, but we have players now to be much stronger and we have time,’’ Toure said.

News_Rich_Media: Highlights of Manchester City's 5-0 win over Fulham at Etihad Stadium.

“We have already won a trophy (League Cup) and if we can go far in the Champions League and win a trophy we can show the direction Man City is going in. It’s going to be tough because they (United)have confidence after Olympiakos.

“It’s always different in these games.We’re playing at Old Trafford, they want to beat us but we want to win because our target is to win the (title). Many teams are really focused on winning.”

“Arsenal want to improve on winning trophies, (Jose) Mourinho has come back to Chelsea and wants to win trophies, Liverpool have been waiting for something four or five years and we at City want to get a trophy because we lost it last year.’’

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City’s owners have spent big on and off the field since taking over in 2008, and been rewarded with a league title, an FA Cup and this season’s League Cup.

Toure, who arrived in 2010 from Barcelona for $40 million, has no doubt Sheikh Mansour will want similar success with his newest club.

“The City Group always wants the best and they’re trying to do amazing things there,’’ he said.

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“The club was on target to build and get the best players in the world and when you’re spending lots of money on buying players and facilities there are expectations but at the moment we’re on the right track and in a couple of years the club wants to be the best in the world and they’re doing everything they can to get there.

“Barcelona (Champions League loss) was tough. We have to give credit to the club because they have big history and have been there for a few years now and they always get to the semi final or win the trophy and it’s good to compete against them and I think we learnt a lot and next year we need to do better than this year.’’