May 2008 Day 37 Premier League United one win away Manchester United are just one win away from winning the Premier League title after an easy 4-1 home win against West Ham. Cristiano Ronaldo ran into the box and beat Robert Green to give United a 3rd minute lead. A 24th minute cross came off Ronaldo for his 2nd of the match, and 2 minutes later Tevez scored the 3rd with a thumping shot from outside the area. Dean Ashton got on the score sheet for West Ham with a spectacular overhead kick inthe 28th minute and despite the dismissal of Nani for head butting an opponent in the 37th minute, United wrapped up victory in the 59th minute with a deflected shot from Michael Carrick. Robbie Keane finished off a good run with the only goal of the match as Tottenham won at Reading, while Luis Antonio Valencia scored both goals as Wigan won 2-0 at Aston Villa. The Ecuadorian saw his 52nd minute shot deflected over the keeper for the first, and added a 2nd 11 minutes later beating the keeper with a powerful finish at the near post. With their minds perhaps on the FA Cup final, Portsmouth lost 2-0 at Middlesbrough. Chris Riggott rose high to head in the first 5 minutes before the break, and Tuncay lost his marker from a corner kick in the 53rd minute to head in the second. Fulham threw themselves a lifeline with a vital 2-0 home victory over fellow strugglers Birmingham. Jimmy Bullard's free-kick in the 52nd minute found Brian McBride who headed the ball into the corner of the net, and with 3 minutes left the ball fell to Erik Nevland who ran on to finish the match off for Fulham. Roque Santa Cruz scored 2 more goals in front of his adoring home fans as Blackburn Rovers defeated Derby County 3-1. Blackburn went behind in the 19th minute when Roy Carroll's long ball reached Kenny Miller who found the back of the net, but in first-half stoppage time Carroll blocked Morten Gamst Pedersen's long-range effort only for Roque Santa Cruz to knock in the rebound. Two minutes into the 2nd half Jason Roberts was gifted the opportunity to put Blackburn ahead and with 13 minutes remaining Santa Cruz got his head to a cross to make it 3-1. In the late match Bolton virtually safeguarded their Premier League status with a 2-0 home win against Sunderland. Kevin Nolan's 42nd minute cross fell to El Hadji Diouf who placed the ball into the top corner, and in the 82nd minute Andy Reid failed to clear off the line and save Daryl Murphy an own goal which secured the 3 points for Bolton. On Sunday Nicklas Bendtner scored with a thumping header in the 77th minute as ended their home matches for the season with a 1-0 win over Everton, while Fernando Torrez was the sole scorer with a 58th minute goal that gave Liverpool victory over Manchester City. On Monday Chelsea returned from Newcastle with a 2-0 win courtesy of a 61st minute header from Ballack and a precise finish from Florent Malouda in the 82nd minute. Day 38 Premier League United win title On the last day of the season with Manchester United and Chelsea equal on points at the top and relegation matters to be settled at the bottom all matches were played on Sunday at 3 pm. Chelsea trailing heavily to Man United on goal difference could not realistically afford any slip-ups at Stamford Bridge against Bolton and took the lead through Andriy Shevchenko in the 62nd minute, but Matthew Taylor struck the ball past Petr Cech in stoppage time to earn Bolton a draw. Meanwhile Manchester United playing at Wigan were awarded a penalty which Ronaldo despatched in the 33rd minute, and with 10 minutes remaining, Ryan Giggs who had come on to equal United's appearance record of 758 games held by Sir Bobby Charlton, accepted a pass from Rooney with a composed finish to secure United's Premier League title. Arsenal ended their season with a 1-0 win at Sunderland thanks to a 24th minute strike from Theo Walcott, while Tottenham lost 2-0 at home to Liverpool. Andrej Voronin collected and put the ball past Cerny in the 69th minute and 5 minutes later Torres showed individual skill to wrap up the match for Liverpool. Aston Villa playing for a place in the UEFA Cup fell behind to an 8th minute Nolberto Solano free kick at West Ham, but were on equal terms 6 minutes later when Ashley Young rolled the ball past Robert Green, and took the lead in the 58th minute when Gareth Barry tucked in Robert Green's save from Reo-Coker. Dean Ashton riffled the ball into the far corner with 2 minutes remaining, to end Villa's hopes of a UEFA spot with a 2-2 draw. Everton claimed a UEFA spot after beating Newcastle 3-1 at Goodison Park. Yakubu headed in from a 28th minute free kick, but Michael Owen slotted in the equalizer from the spot 2 minutes into the 2nd half. Everton regained the lead in the 70th minute when Fernandes crossed the ball to Joleon Lescott who side-footed it into the net, and Yakubu sent Harper the wrong way with a penalty kick in the 81st minute to send Everton into Europe. With Sven Göran Eriksson's future on their minds, Manchester City travelled to Middlesbrough and were annihilated 8-1. Richard Dunne saw red in the 15th minute for a professional foul, and Stewart Downing converted the ensuing penalty with an accurate low strike. Alfonso Alves found the back of the net in the 37th minute and Downing volleyed in a beauty with the outside of his left foot in the 58th minute. Two minutes later Alves forced the ball past Isaksson and Adam Johnson's shot took a deflection for the 5th in the 70 minute. Fabio Rochemback scored a rocket from an 80th minute free kick, and 5 minutes later Aliadiere rolled the ball in for the 7th. Elano scored for City with a superb shot in the 85th minute, but Middlesbrough had the last word when Alvez received the ball in the box with space and time to claim his hat-trick in the 90th minute. With Bolton safe, Birmingham needed a win at home to Blackburn to stand any chance of remaining in the top flight. Brad Friedel allowed David Murphy's speculative shot in after 31 minutes, but Morten Gamst Pedersen scored from close range to level. Cameron Jerome missed an open goal from 5 yards shortly after coming on, but made up for his miss sweeping the ball in a minute later in the 73rd minute and adding another a minute from time, before Fabrice Muamba headed in a 4th for Birmingham who despite the win were relegated. Reading who were also fighting for survival opened the scoring in the 15th minute at relegated Derby when James Harper fired into the top corner, and doubled their lead in the 61st minute after Lita pulled back Hahnemann's save from Shorey for Kitson to tap in. Kevin Doyle showed determination to extend reading lead in the 69th minute and Leroy Lita flung himself to head into the roof of the net in stoppage time to give the Royals a worthless 4-0 win as Jimmy Bullard's free-kick at Portsmouth found the head of Danny Murphy who scored the all important goal for Fulham in the 76th minute to keep the Cottagers up at Reading's expense. The Final standings are: Man Utd 87 Chelsea 85 Arsenal 83 Liverpool 76 Everton 65 Aston Villa 60 Blackburn 58 Portsmouth 57 Man City 55 West Ham Utd 49 Tottenham 46 Newcastle 43 Middlesbrough 42 Wigan Athletic 40 Sunderland 39 Bolton 37 Fulham 36 Reading 36 Birmingham 35 Derby County 11 Home Page