Manchester United's dramatic 1998 collapse in throwing away a 12 point lead to eventual winners Arsenal is not something boss Sir Alex Ferguson is anticipating will happen again. The Reds moved five points clear of nearest challengers Liverpool on Wednesday night with a 3-0 victory over Fulham at Old Trafford.

Ferguson said: "You can never be dead sure but it is fair to say Chelsea have an uphill fight now.

"Things can happen. We were 12 points clear of Arsenal in 1998 but we got a lot of injuries and lost the league.

"Now we can cope with it, like we have done in the last few weeks.

"That is the change at this club. We have such a big squad we can make changes."