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United captures title with win over Wigan

Sun 11th, May 2008

Manchester, England (Sports Network) - Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs scored goals to help Manchester United retain the Premiership title with a 2-0 win over Wigan at The JJB Stadium on Sunday.

United entered the day level on 84 points with Chelsea, but held the edge in goal differential, meaning three points at Wigan would be enough to hold onto the title.

The Red Devils were given an opportunity to take the lead in the 31st minute when Wigan's Emmerson Boyce brought down Wayne Rooney inside the area and the referee pointed to the spot.

Ronaldo stepped up and cooly deposited his 31st goal of the season into the lower right corner, sending Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland the wrong way.

Wigan looked dangerous at times and stayed within a goal until the 80th minute, when Giggs put the title out of reach by taking a pass from Rooney at the top of the box and beating Kirkland to make it 2-0.

The Welshman came on as a substitute in the second half, giving him 758 appearances for the club, which ties him with United legend Sir Bobby Charlton.

Although the afternoon was nervy at times for Sir Alex Ferguson's men, it was Chelsea who had a tougher time dealing with the pressure, drawing 1-1 at home against Bolton.

Second-half substitute Andriy Shevchenko put the Blues on top in the 62nd minute, but Bolton stole a point in stoppage time with a goal from Kevin Davies that leaves Chelsea two points off the pace.

Chelsea captain John Terry had to be taken out of the game early in the first half after colliding with goalkeeper Petr Cech. The Englishman suffered an arm injury and was stretchered off, leaving his status for the Champions League final against United on May 21 in doubt.

Things were just as dramatic at the other end of the table as the relegation strugglers each came up with big efforts.

Birmingham came into the day trailing by one point, but they recorded an impressive 4-1 win over Blackburn with two goals from Cameron Jerome.

The club was headed down, however, when it discovered that Reading had pounded last-place Derby 4-0, leaving one relegation spot remaining.

Fulham could secure safety with a win over Portsmouth at Fratton Park, but the game entered the final 15 minutes without a goal. A draw would not be enough to keep Fulham up, but they came through with a 1-0 win as Jimmy Bullard's free kick was nodded into the back of the net by Danny Murphy in the 76th minute, completing an improbable comeback by the Cottagers to remain in the top flight.

Reading and Birmingham will now join Derby in the bottom three, while Fulham is safe after winning four of its last five games.

Everton claimed the last UEFA Cup spot with a 3-1 win over Newcastle, 10-man Manchester City was crushed 8-1 by Middlesbrough in what could be City manager Sven Goran-Eriksson's final game with the team, while Arsenal downed Sunderland 1-0, Liverpool won 2-0 against Tottenham and Aston Villa played to a 2-2 draw with West Ham.