Jose Mourinho has backed Sir Alex Ferguson's claim that Chelsea are not as superior to Manchester United as the table suggests.

The Blues boss saw his side romp to a 3-1 win at Old Trafford on Tuesday night, setting new Premiership records for points gained (94) and victories gained (29) in the process.

The triumph completed a league double over the Red Devils and also took Chelsea 20 points clear of United, who are now condemned to a place in next season's Champions League qualifiers.

But the ex-Porto man agrees with Ferguson's assertion that the gap between the two clubs is not that wide, claiming there have been times this season when the Old Trafford outfit have put his team under real pressure.

"Twenty points does not show the difference between both teams because Manchester United also have great players," said Mourinho.

"They had a very bad start to the season and a very bad end, but in the middle they put pressure on us."

The Londoners looked out of sorts and they fell behind when Ruud van Nistelrooy bundled home Rooney_79586.shtml'>Wayne Rooney's low cross in the opening stages.

At that point, the visitors were playing like a side whose season came to an end with a Champions League defeat at Anfield seven days previously.

But after Tiago had levelled with his 30-yard wonder goal, Chelsea roused themselves and gradually took control, shwoing why they are the newly crowned Premiership champions.

Fittingly Eidur Gudjohnsen and Joe Cole were the men who fired the Blues to victory, capping outstanding personal contributions with second-half goals.

"The second goal was a killer," claimed the fiery Scot.

"At this level, once you lose a goal like that it is always going to be an uphill battle and they used their experience to control the game.

"It is always disappointing to lose but I felt we contributed to a fantastic game of football.

"There was some good quality passing from both teams. The movement and commitment was excellent. For the neutral it must have been thrilling."

Tellingly, the majority of United fans did not appear to share Ferguson's assessment and Old Trafford was less than half full by the time their team embarked on a customary lap of honour after the final home game.

There was some positive news for the United boss with the return of Van Nistelrooy, who was able to complete the full 90 minutes, and confirmation that popular full-back Gabriel Heinze is jogging again and has a chance of facing Arsenal in the FA Cup Final on May 21.

"Gaby has been a real warrior for us this season," said Ferguson.

"He deserves to play in the final and I really hope we can get him there.

"As for Ruud, I thought he did well for an hour before he tired, but you expect that when you consider how long he has been out.

"It is good to have him back and he will benefit from the game."

While the United manager knows the FA Cup Final offers a much-needed shot at redemption after another season of underachievement, Mourinho wishes the campaign could end now.

Instead, Chelsea have one more trip to make - to Newcastle on Sunday, the scene of an unexpected FA Cup exit in February.

"United have every record and are the most successful team in English football so it is a fantastic end to the season for us," said Mourinho.

"It is a shame we have to go to Newcastle now because I think my players deserve to finish the job and go home."

One wonders whether Tuesday's victory marks the end of one era of dominance and the beginning of another. United and Arsenal will certainly do their best next season to ensure that this is not the case.