19th title is just a whisker away for Manchester United

Manchester United have virtually sealed their much coveted prize, the 19th EPL title, after beating their fiercest rivals Chelsea at home in front of a jubilant crowd in the jam-packed Old Trafford crammed with more than 75000 supporters. The importance of title number 19th can’t be emphasized enough. It means that United have knocked out “Liverpool” off their “frickin” perch and with 19 titles Manchester United are about to become the club with the most EPL titles.

United went into the match with a 3 point lead at the top and a win would see them stretch their lead to 6 points and with only 2 more games to play, this would have virtually meant that the title is in their hands. Sir Alex made 8 changes to his squad which eased past Schalke in the Champions League semi final mid-week. With the return of the experienced players, Sir Alex fielded his best side for this critical match.

Chicha's finish gives the home side an early lead

Old Trafford was thrown into a pandemonium with just 36 seconds on the clock. Before Sir Alex could even sit, he was jumping with joy as Chicharito opened the scoring for United. Park received the ball in the midfield and his perfectly timed pass to Chicharito took him past David Luiz, whose sliding tackle did not get enough of the ball. “The little Pea” didn’t miss the target after he was one on one with Cech and with a clinical finish, scored his 20th goal of the season and just to remind you guys its only his first season here with Manchester United. There is more of him to come further down the road and if his first season is an indication of things to come, Sir Alex has unearthed another jewel .

Vida's header doubles the Lead

United were playing well, passing around and maintaining possession for the first 20 minutes and the second goal came in eventually in the 23rd minute created by the Welsh Legend Ryan Giggs. Giggs took the corner playing a one-two with park, cutting through Kalou and finally crossed it right into the middle of the penalty box where 3 or 4 United heads were lurking. It was Vidic, unmarked in the penalty box, who got his head to the ball and sent it to where it belongs, “in the back of the net “. There was nothing much Cech could do about it but to swear on his defenders. Ivanovic was lucky enough to escape a second yellow when he clumsily brought down Rooney, after getting his first yellow for a reckless tackle on Rooney. United finished the first half on a high, comfortable with a well deserved two goal lead.

Glory Glory Manchester United !!

With the Second half came the substitutions. For United, Johnny Evans came on for John O’Shea, who seemed to have tweaked a muscle in the first half. Chelsea made two changes, bringing on Alex for David Luiz and Ramires for John Obi Mikel. The beginning of the second half was very open with attacking football from both the sides. With Chelsea struggling to get the ball in the net, Torres was brought in to replace Kalou. And with just 20 minutes left, it looked as if there was no way back for Chelsea. But then they did manage to pull one back when Lampard scored in the 69th min. Ramires crossed the ball which was met by Ivanovic inside the box and the ball fell for Lampard who just stuck a leg out. United players were complained for an offside but the linesman never raised his flag and that was the correct decision. In the dying stages of the match Rooney and Hernandez missed wonderful opportunities to score, much to the contempt of the United fans.

All hail "FERGIE" ..

And as Howard Webb blew the final whistle, Sir Alex was visibly ecstatic and so were the players. The players celebrated their hard fought victory in front of the fans. It was United who triumphed in this battle and this being their third consecutive win over Chelsea after defeating them in both the legs in the Champions League. The credit goes to every single player on the pitch, everybody was exceptional on the field and played in tandem. Especially Park, who was all over the “park” chasing down the ball, pressurizing the chelsea players and winning the ball in the midfield.Valencia also had a great game, he dominated the field when he had control of the ball and as always delivered some excellent crosses. All in all, it was an amazing display of football from United. With two games to go against the relegation threatened Blackburn (A) and Blackpool (H), only a point is required to win the 19th which should be a cake walk for Manchester United.