Hernández and Vidic put United on brink of title

The title is Manchester United’s in all but name. A further point against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park or Blackpool at home will make them champions of England for the 19th time, so eclipsing Liverpool’s record. It is, however, Chelsea who are the contemporary rivals and it will gladden Old Trafford that Carlo Ancelotti’s team is to be trophy-less after taking the Double last season. Chelsea awakened some interest when trimming United’s 2-0 lead, but there was no concerted challenge against a much superior side. The opposition had harmed them immediately. With 37 seconds gone, Park Ji-sung sent Javier Hernández through for the opener. The visitors’ durability had vanished and United struck again after 23 minutes. Ryan Giggs took a short corner, had the ball returned to him and sent in a deep cross that was headed in by a loosely marked Nemanja Vidic. The acrimony associated with this fixture came later, with the referee Howard Webb showing tolerance when, for instance, declining to show a yellow card to the Chelsea centre-half David Luiz, who was substituted at the interval after looking vulnerable under pressure. It was a raw sort of day, with Wayne Rooney alleged to have gesticulated at visiting fans, but Chelsea felt the sting of this occasion most of all. The pursuit of United had been in vain. Any question about the outcome virtually ended with the Vidic goal, although Frank Lampard did score after Branislav Ivanovic had knocked a cross by the substitute Ramires into his path with 68 minutes gone. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side can now begin to focus on a Champions League final against Barcelona. While that will be a challenge of a higher order, United are entitled to pause and relish their work on the domestic scene. Their points total will be 82 at most, but United have exercised as much control as circumstances demanded. Edwin van der Sar did make good saves, but it never looked likely that Chelsea would completely repair the grave damage done at the outset. The form of Ancelotti’s squad had been outstanding of late, but that was still a prolonged and unavailing effort to compensate for previous lapses. Ultimately, the superiority of United has been demonstrated. The lead could well have been greater, but an unmarked Hernández headed high from Antonio Valencia’s cross in the 86th minute. Premier League Manchester United Chelsea Kevin McCarra guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 8, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.