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LONDON, May 11: Manchester United retained the Premier League title on Sunday when they won 2-0 at Wigan Athletic and Chelsea were held 1-1 at home by Bolton Wanderers.
It was the old and new faces of United who combined to secure the victory as Cristiano Ronaldo put them on their way with a 33rd-minute penalty and Ryan Giggs, on the day he equalled Bobby Charlton’s club record 758th appearance, completed the win 10 minutes from time.
United ended the season on 87 points, two clear of Chelsea, who were leading through Andriy Shevchenko until Bolton grabbed an injury-time equaliser.
It was United’s 10th Premier League title and 17th championship in all – one short of Liverpool’s record – and they will now go for a domestic and European double when they face Chelsea in the Champions League final on May 21.
Everton qualified for the UEFA Cup after their 3-1 home victory over Newcastle United secured fifth place.
Birmingham City and Reading joined Derby County in being relegated after Fulham won 1-0 at Portsmouth to complete their unlikely escape.
There was also a remarkable game at Middlesbrough where the home side hammered Manchester City 8-1, helped by a hat-trick for Afonso Alves, in a mid-table duel.
There was nothing mid-table about the two main events as United and Chelsea began the day locked together on 84 points.
The first breakthrough came at the JJB Stadium when Wigan’s Emmerson Boyce tripped Wayne Rooney in the box and double-player of the year Ronaldo calmly sent the keeper the wrong way from the spot.
It was the Portuguese winger’s 41st goal of the season for United and 31st in the league.
United had further reason to thank the referee soon after when he opted not to show Paul Scholes a second yellow card for a body check that could easily have ended his involvement.
In London, Chelsea suffered an early setback when captain John Terry suffered a dislocated elbow after a collision with his own goalkeeper Petr Cech.
Though he was taken to hospital, the defender said he hoped to be fit for the Champions League final.
After struggling for impact in the first half, Chelsea improved after the break and Shevchenko, on as a second-half substitute, bundled them into the lead after 62 minutes.
With United’s goal difference far superior the title was still heading back to Old Trafford though and they made certain of it when Giggs, on as a 68th-minute substitute, tucked in the second.
That ended the race but Bolton’s late equaliser at Stamford Bridge gave United clear water in the standings.
Results:
Birmingham City 4 Blackburn Rovers 1
Chelsea 1 Bolton Wanderers 1
Derby County 0 Reading 4
Everton 3 Newcastle United 1
Middlesbrough 8 Manchester City 1
Portsmouth 0 Fulham 1
Sunderland 0 Arsenal 1
Tottenham Hotspur 0 Liverpool 2
West Ham United 2 Aston Villa 2
Wigan Athletic 0 Manchester United 2
—Reuters
Final standings
(Tabulated under played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):
Manchester United 38 27 6 5 80 22 87
Chelsea 38 25 10 3 65 26 85
Arsenal 38 24 11 3 74 31 83
Liverpool 38 21 13 4 67 28 76
Everton 38 19 8 11 55 33 65
Aston Villa 38 16 12 10 71 51 60
Blackburn Rovers 38 15 13 10 50 48 58
Portsmouth 38 16 9 13 48 40 57
Manchester City 38 15 10 13 45 53 55
West Ham United 38 13 10 15 42 50 49
Tottenham Hotspur 38 11 13 14 66 61 46
Newcastle United 38 11 10 17 45 65 43
Middlesbrough 38 10 12 16 43 53 42
Wigan Athletic 38 10 10 18 34 51 40
Sunderland 38 11 6 21 36 59 39
Bolton Wanderers 38 9 10 19 36 54 37
Fulham 38 8 12 18 38 60 36
Reading 38 10 6 22 41 66 36
Birmingham City 38 8 11 19 46 62 35
Derby County 38 1 8 29 20 89 11
