Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has hailed the influence of Vincent Kompany in their title push.

Mancini was not the manager responsible for bringing Kompany to City, but he was quick to make him captain once the disastrous decision to flatter Carlos Tevez's ego with the honour began to go wrong.

"Vinnie is an excellent captain and he has been playing very well," Mancini said. "He deserves a lot of credit for his performances all season, not just against Manchester United, but so do the rest of the team. We are a team once again now; when we restricted United to no shots at our goal in the last derby it was not just because Joleon Lescott and Vinnie played well, it was the team as a whole."