Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has insisted that the Premier League title is a long way from being decided.

Cristiano Ronaldo's 44th-minute penalty was enough to give United victory over Everton at Old Trafford and extend their lead over Chelsea and Liverpool.

United's two nearest rivals play each other at Anfield on Sunday so at least one will drop points but that, according to Ferguson, will not make his side bigger favourites to retain their title.

"It is an advantage (to be five points clear). I can't say it is a great advantage with 16 games left," he said.

"But it is always better to be top of the league than anywhere else.

"We have a difficult game away against West Ham next week and there are a lot of difficult games in the run-in and teams will drop points.

"We just hope we don't drop as many as the rest. I'll be looking for a draw tomorrow."

Ferguson was frustrated his side did not put the result beyond doubt after dominating the match but failing to break down Everton from open play.

"I think we had a lot of chances in the match but we never put Everton to bed," he said.

"A second goal would have put the result in our favour without question.

"If you are not taking that second chance you are not sure of the game and Everton kept going because of that, showed great resilience and athleticism and took it right to the wire.

"They kept their energy going well and with us being only 1-0 in front they kept going.

"They didn't make any chances but they had a lot of play up to the box."

The United boss said referee Mark Halsey made the right decision to award the penalty against Mikel Arteta for bringing down Michael Carrick.

However, he felt his side should have had a second for Joleon Lescott's challenge on Carrick just after the interval.

"It (the first challenge) was inside the box and I don't think Arteta tried to but he has clearly brought him down and it was a penalty," the Scot added.

"I think [the second] was a clear penalty, no question about it. It was more of a penalty than the first one but you are not going to get two penalties, let's be honest."