Cristiano Ronaldo and Fernando Torres may be fierce title rivals but both players believe Manchester United’s comprehensive defeat of Chelsea has now made the reigning champions the favourites to defend their crown.

While their respective managers have been slugging it out verbally, Ronaldo and Torres shared the same stage in Zurich’s Opera House, as two of the five players nominated as the best in the world by Fifa.

They also shared the opinion that Alex Ferguson’s side are once more in pole position following the 3-0 rout of Chelsea.

Speaking prior to winning the award, Ronaldo said: “Manchester United are of course in a good position right now to win both the Champions League and the Premier League again.

“We have shown we are one of the best clubs in the world and if we continue on this path we would have few troubles — we are in a very good position to win.

“We respect all the other teams but I believe we can win this year.”

Torres agreed, but said Liverpool will fight every inch of the way, and believes that the title is likely to be decided at Old Trafford when the Reds visit on March 14th.

He also pointed out that United could overtake Liverpool at the top of the table if they win their two games in hand — Ferguson’s men in fact could be leaders again before the Merseysiders play their next game.

Torres said: “They are the favourites and the champions right now and have shown over the years they are a very powerful team.

“They have two matches more to play and if they catch up will be on top of the league.

"We know we have Old Trafford waiting for us and then Arsenal and Chelsea at home. We have to fight until the very end.

"The match at Old Trafford could turn out to be the decider and we hope we can be on an equal footing when we go there and try to win the match at a place that has not been advantageous for us in the past."

Torres admitted that many Liverpool fans would value a domestic title more than victory in Europe again.

He added: "Of course this is extremely important for Liverpool and the people in the city. It is 19 years since they won the Premier League and I realise for them it is possibly more important than the Champions League.

"We are fighting with Manchester United and Chelsea, we have a good chance and we want to give this to the club and the fans as they have been waiting for, for so many years.

"But we know what Manchester United is all about — they are club champions of Europe and the world. We do respect this team, we know the class of this team, they have classy players and they are the favourites, but we will fight to keep up with them and perhaps be ahead of them when the end comes."

Ronaldo, who said he had been unaffected by a serious crash in his Ferrari last week, added that both players were representing England among the five nominees for Fifa's world player of the year award.

The Portuguese also insisted no deal has been agreed for him to move to Real Madrid next season despite reports to the contrary in Spain