A season of thrills and spills, up and downs, highs and lows, all built towards a final-day climax. Sadly, there were no dramatic scenes in Manchester, as Chelsea smashed eight past Wigan Athletic at Stamford Bridge to clinch the title by a solitary point, rendering the result at Old Trafford meaningless – even though United produced a wholly professional display to see off Stoke 4-0.
The time for reflection and the dissection of this most unpredictable of campaigns lies ahead, but United can be proud at least that, in a difficult season hampered by injuries, the Reds pushed Chelsea right until the very last.
Sir Alex was able to select arguably his strongest team for this season finale and his men did him, and the club, proud with the performance. Paul Scholes and Darren Fletcher have easily been United’s most potent central midfield pair, while they were flanked by the in-form Nani and Ryan Giggs, with Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov in attack.
Rio Ferdinand was handed a start for the first time since the 0-0 draw with Blackburn, while Gary Neville, who missed the wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland, joined him in a back four that also included Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra, with Edwin van der Sar in goal.
United came out of the traps quickly, determined to keep our side of the bargain. Berbatov had the Reds’ early chances. The first came after Nani surged down the left and found Rooney, who cut the ball back for Berbatov, whose shot was blocked. Rooney again teed-up his strike-partner after ten minutes - this time a cute pass down the right channel,with Berbatov’s angled effort nudged wide by Robert Huth. Berbatov’s third opportunity was the best of the lot, a header four yards from goal from a Nani cross that the Bulgarian headed over.
Stoke come with brave defending as standard, so it was unsurprising that Huth threw his body selflessly in front of Evra’s shot midway through the half, after neat footwork inside the Stoke area had created space for the Frenchman to shoot.
It was all United, Stoke offering little ambition, instead settling for showcasing their physical presence in defence. The verve all came from the men in red. Berbatov was again denied, but appeared to be getting closer to the target. Nani, showed what an attacking force he has become this year, attacking from the right flank, cutting inside and crossing with the outside of his boot. Berbatov’s towering header was just fractionally over the crossbar.
United carved the visitors open with an ease and frequency that fully warranted the breakthrough on 31 minutes. From Giggs’ corner, Vidic headed the ball into a crowd of bodies; it pinballed around until Fletcher put his laces through the ball to find the roof of the net and give United the lead. However, news shortly filtered through that Chelsea had added a second goal, a Frank Lampard penalty, to Nicolas Anelka’s early strike against ten-man Wigan to dampen hopes of last-day success.
Nevertheless, United ploughed on. Berbatov orchestrated play from a deep-lying position, his flicks, vision and excellent execution of through-balls sparking almost all of United’s attacks. And the Bulgarian created the Reds' second goal. He beat Andy Wilkinson for pace and squared the ball initially towards Nani, who missed it, but Giggs had anticipated the situation and followed up to fire past Asmir Begovic to make it 2-0.
The Reds came out after the break with a similar pursuit for goals. Regardless of what was happening at Stamford Bridge, it was important to put on a show. And inside ten minutes United made it 3-0. Fletcher’s brilliantly disguised pass found Rooney in the box and he turned away from his marker before firing the ball low across goal. In trying to stop the cross reaching the lurking Nani, Danny Higgingbotham turned the ball into his own net.
However, just as United were strolling at Old Trafford, Chelsea were at a canter at Stamford Bridge and the Reds’ slim title hopes faded rapidly after the break. The Stoke fans gleefully sang ‘you’re not champions any more’. Painful though it was to accept, it would soon be true.
On the hour mark Sir Alex made two substitutions, taking off the excellent Berbatov and Scholes to be replaced by Federico Macheda and Darron Gibson. It was a nod to the future, and to next season. 2009/10 has not been United’s year, but there is enough to suggest that, with a little more luck with injuries next season and perhaps one or two additions in the transfer market, Sir Alex’s men will again be a force to be reckoned with.
United pressed on, and after 65 minutes Nani was denied by a good save from Begovic after Rooney had set him racing clear with an arrowed through-pass. But Chelsea’s unassailable lead over Wigan had sucked some of the impetus out of United’s play. How could it not?
A fourth Reds goal arrived in the 84th minute when substitute Ji-sung Park produced a diving header from Giggs’ corner to make it 4-0. But the scoreline was for pride alone. United can feel proud, this season Sir Alex's men were close, but not close enough. For the last three years Old Trafford has been home to the Premier League trophy. The Reds relinquish the title reluctantly. But Chelsea can count on this: next season we will come knocking, we will want our trophy back.
Sunderland 0 United 1
The win – achieved courtesy of a solitary goal from Nani's right boot – means Chelsea lead by just one point heading into the final day of the season. The Blues host Wigan, while United welcome Stoke City to Old Trafford.
It can’t have been easy for Sir Alex’s men to step onto the pitch in Sunderland after seeing Chelsea beat Liverpool at Anfield in the day’s early kick-off. But the Reds, boosted by the inclusion of Wayne Rooney from the opening whistle, began brightly.
Rooney, who had started only two of United’s last five fixtures, took just four minutes to make an impact, chesting down a cross from Dimitar Berbatov and volleying towards the far post. Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon was equal to the task and then grateful to his defenders for blocking Ryan Giggs’ follow-up.
At the other end, the home side threatened twice from set pieces: John Mensah headed wide from an early corner before captain Lorik Cana flicked a free-kick just over the bar. Mensah limped off after 18 minutes, though, as Black Cats boss and former United captain Steve Bruce was forced to reshuffle his defence.
The Reds almost reaped immediate rewards when Giggs clipped the corner of the crossbar after expertly making space for himself on the edge of the box. Gordon was well that occasion, just as he was on 28 minutes when Nani fired low and hard past the Scottish stopper to give United the lead.
The Portuguese, starting in his preferred position on the right wing, applied the finish with the outside of his boot, but he owed the goal to the invention of Dimitar Berbatov, Wayne Rooney and Darren Fletcher, who all played one-touch passes in the build-up to bamboozle the Black Cats’ back four. The goal was Nani’s fourth in his last four starts and reaffirmed the belief that the Reds’ no.17 is currently enjoying the form of his life.
United continued to dominate without ever really testing the Sunderland defence, although both Evra and Berbatov missed half chances to extend the lead before the break. Evra was at the heart of the action again in first-half stoppage time when he headed a tame effort off the line, but it would have been harsh on United had Sunderland pulled level at that stage.
The scoreline would have better reflected United's dominance had Nani’s effort early in the second half found the net. Instead, Gordon stood up well to block from close range. Then Berbatov twice missed the target from close range (the first from barely a yard out) after clever play from Rooney on both occasions. United had made enough chances to have put the game to bed by this stage and Reds fans must have been wondering if their team would be made to pay for such wasteful finishing.
Sunderland, despite a lack of penetration in the final third, kept fighting and constantly made life difficult for Sir Alex’s midfielders. Lee Cattermole, on for David Meyler,was particularly physical and relished his battle with Paul Scholes and Darren Fletcher. Scholes, yet again, was United’s star performer. Tough in the tackle and always looking to take the ball in tight spaces, he set the tempo in midfield and passed the ball superbly all afternoon.
Sir Alex sent on Michael Carrick for Berbatov on 71 minutes to add stability in midfield but the change did little to take the sting out of United’s attacking intentions. Within a minute, Rooney sent a ferocious effort just wide of Gordon’s right-hand post after Fletcher’s initial shot had been blocked. Carrick then went close after Nani teed up the former Tottenham midfielder on the edge of the box. His low shot beat Gordon but not Michael Turner, who had stationed himself on the line after the goalkeeper had ventured out to attempt to win the ball.
Ex-Red Fraizer Campbell hooked the ball wide with eight minutes remaining to remind United of just how precarious a 1-0 lead can be, but it was the last time the home side even remotely threatened. In the end, Nani's goal was enough to clinch the points and keep Sir Alex's men in the hunt for a 19th league title. There was even time – barely – for Owen Hargreaves to return to first-team football after 19 months on the sidelines and give United fans another reason to smile on the way home to Manchester.
But will the Premier League trophy end up in M16 next weekend? Let's be honest: it would take a minor miracle – Wigan must earn at least a point at Stamford Bridge assuming United beat Stoke – but in this most unpredictable of seasons it would be foolish to give up hope just yet.
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