Fergie plays down Tevez-Ronaldo rift after Ronaldo denies Argentinian hat-trick chance

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admitted it would have been ‘great’ if Carlos Tevez had scored a hat-trick against Derby. United won a penalty after Tevez had scored a brace but the team’s regular penalty-taker Cristiano Ronaldo refused the Argentinian’s request and grabbed the opportunity to score the 90th-minute spot kick.

“Carlos Tevez is making a great contribution this season,” said Ferguson.

“Cristiano is our regular penalty-taker so I can understand why he wanted to take it but it would have been great for Carlos if he had scored a hat-trick.”

Tevez scored his seventh and eighth goals for United but will have to wait a bit longer for his first United hat-trick.

The goal was the Portuguese’s 14th of the season, a remarkable achievement for a player that doesn’t play as a frontline striker.