Manchester City’s 2-1 win over English Premier League leaders Manchester United was too little too late for manager Roberto Mancini who is already focusing his attention on next season’s title race.

Sergio Aguero’s outstanding 78th-minute winner allowed champions City to close the gap on their neighbours to 12 points but it was more of a ‘nice-to-have’ result than a fate-changing victory for this campaign.

“We know we can win the title next year,” Mancini told a news conference after his team’s second successive league win at Old Trafford, following last season’s 6-1 thrashing.

“This year we have made some mistakes unfortunately but now we can’t do anything, the season is gone. It is important we continue to win. We need to continue to play like this for next season.”

Mancini previously said City’s timid defence of their title had been partly down to a failure to bring in some quality signings, including missing out on top striker Robin van Persie who joined United in the close season from Arsenal.