Utd Kids Wife

Four Premiership titles in a row wasn’t to be as Man Utd beat Stoke quite comprehensively at 4-0 but weren’t aided by Wigan who needed to beat Chelsea.

Goals in the first half from Darren Fletcher and an ever-reliable Ryan Giggs plus a Higginbottam own goal and Park header in the second half ensured that the Red Devils did their bit to keep the title chase alive but Wigans’ capitulation against Chelsea meant it was not to be.

Uniteds’ lineup was certainly an attacking one with Berbatov partnering Rooney upfront ably supported on the wings by Giggs and Nani.

United started with intent and could easily have had a few goals within the first 20 minutes if things had gone Berbatov’s way with the chances he had.

When groans went around the stadium it was clear that Chelsea had opened the scoring at Stamford Bridge. However, you don’t win the Premiership eleven times without being focused and determined and United continued to dominate proceedings.

Evra was denied after making a dash into the penalty box by a brave Danny Higginbotham block.

Berbatov then had his fourth chance of the game a short while later as Nani outwitted the Stoke defence with a beautiful cross, but the Bulgarians’ cushioned header proceeded to hit the top corner of the bar.

With constant pressure it was only a matter of time before Stoke buckled. A corner was met by a Vidic header that didn’t seem to be aimed at anyone in particular. Luckily, Fletcher was on hand at the near post to thump the ball into the net.

Once the fans had heard that Wigan had gone a man down after a sending off and 2-0 down it was inevitable that this wasn’t to be Uniteds’ year for the title but they carried on regardless for pride and the fans.

The second goal arrived after some good work by Berbatov who held off two Stoke defenders before lining up Giggs in the box. His driven shot went underneath Begovic and into the net.

Stoke were unable to get past Vidic who made another assured performance and the closest they came to scoring was in their own net when Rooney with some smart footwork crossed into the box to be met by Higginbotham who smashed the ball into the back of the net.

Scholes almost produced a goal from yesteryear when he made a great run and attempted an audacious chip that went just wide. With the game in the bag Sir Alex decided to bring on youngsters Darron Gibson and Federico Macheda for Scholes and Berbatov.

Van der Sar wasn’t called into action much in the game but on the two rare occasions he was called upon he made two top-class saves which makes you wander what we could have achieved with his absence (and various defenders) earlier on in the season.

With Rooney seemingly feeling the effects of the match Ji-Sung Park was introduced to replace him. Park then produced the get the fourth and final goal of the campaign when he dived onto a cross with a header that Rooney would have been proud of.

A commanding final game of the season but Chelseas’ first title since 2006 will be short-lived. Next year we want OUR TROPHY back!!!

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