Manchester United are Premier League Champions

As the speakers blared The Queens’ ‘We Are The Champions’, fans gave a standing ovation to the Manchester United players and staff who clinched their 20^th English league and 13^th Premier League title last night with a convincing 3-0 victory over Aston Villa at Old Trafford. Robin van Persie set the ball rolling for the celebrations with a first-half hat-trick and United coasted through the remainder of the game to snatch back the title from Manchester City with 4 games to play.

Sir Alex heaps praise on hat-trick hero Van Persie

Roberto Mancini hit the nail on the head when he said that the signing of Robin van Persie tilted the title race in United’s favor and the Dutchman showed last night what Arsenal and City are missing. And manager Sir Alex Ferguson has complimented his new recruit by rating the striker’s second goal of the game as the ‘goal of the century’. Comparing Van Persie to former United legend Eric Cantona, Ferguson said and the Sun quote, “He has made as big an impact as any player I can imagine. Cantona was an incredible impact player and I’ve had some great strikers, maybe 10 great strikers. It was goal of the century for me. It was marvelous — the technique with his head down, over the ball and just perfect timing. It was a magnificent strike.”

Luis Suarez has been a hero to Liverpool fans and pantomime villain to the rest of the Premier League since his move from Ajax in 2011 and the Uruguayan’s days in English football could be numbered after yet another controversy. Suarez was at the centre of everything during Liverpool’s dramatic 2-2 draw with Chelsea yesterday, providing an assist and scoring a late equalizer. But his dark side stole the headlines as he was again caught out for a deliberate hand-ball inside the box and more damagingly, he bit into the shoulder of Branislav Ivanovic during a scuffle inside the box.

It isn’t the first time the 26 year old has used his teeth to do the talking on the pitch as he was banned for seven games in the Dutch Eredivisie for a similar incident, which ultimately brought his Ajax career to an end. Liverpool could follow suit if the comments from the club are anything to go by, although the player has come out and apologized for his inexcusable actions. The FA are now expected to take retrospective action against Suarez, which will all but end his season for Liverpool.

Rafa Benitez soaked in the love from the Kop faithful on his emotional return to Anfield but there were no favours from his former club as Liverpool stole a point in a dramatic 2-2 draw. Luis Suarez was the hero and villain as always, scoring the equalizer for the Reds with virtually the last kick of the game. Chelsea were much the better side for most of the game, taking the lead midway through the first-half through Oscar’s header from a corner. Liverpool’s best spell came at the start of the 2^nd half when Daniel Sturridge’s introduction led to an equalizer from the ex-Chelsea attacker on 52 minutes.

But Luis Suarez then dominated the proceedings for the rest of the game, first giving away a penalty a few minutes after Sturridge’s equalizer with a blatant handball, thus giving Eden Hazard a chance to restore Chelsea’s lead. The Uruguayan then appeared to bite Bransilav Ivanovic on the shoulder and might still receive a retrospective ban should the incident enter the referee’s match report.

He then etched his name onto the headlines for footballing reasons too when scored the decisive equalizer for Liverpool in the sixth minute of added time with a header at the near post. Chelsea face a fight on their hands for a Champions league spot after the two dropped points as they remain in 4^th spot, a point behind Arsenal and one ahead of Tottenham.

Tottenham hang astronomical price tag around Gareth Bale

With Tottenham’s Champions League hopes hinging on the encounter against Man City later today, it is no surprise that the British tabloids have gone full out to highlight the importance of the fixture to Spurs, mainly in their bid to keep hold of Gareth Bale. Champions League football is the last straw for Spurs as they fend off interest from Europe’s biggest names for their talisman and the Mirror reports that the North-London side want £65m for the 23 year old but The Sun feels the fee could be as high as £100m.

Arsenal hankering for QPR’s Julio Cesar

QPR’s now almost-certain relegation to the Championship will make quite a few stars in the squad available for sale and the biggest name at Loftus Road has to be Julio Cesar. The Brazilian stopper’s decision to join the Hoops was always a surprising one and Arsenal want to take him back to the top level with a summer bid, reports the Sunday People. Arsene Wenger’s keeper search has also widened to Man City’s Costel Pantilimon after it was revealed that Barcelona were holding on to Victor Valdes for another year.

Victor Valdes might be leaving Barcelona in the near future but the La Liga leaders are playing hardball until the day the keeper becomes a free agent. The Metro reports that Barca are prepared to let the veteran keeper run out the remaining year in his contract rather than selling him at the end of the current season, thus dealing a blow to the plans of Arsenal and possibly Liverpool too.

Arsenal have been linked with the 31 year old from the moment he turned down a new contract and declared his desire to leave the Nou Camp. Arsene Wenger’s reluctance to sign an experienced stopper since the departure of Jens Lehmann has been criticized by most pundits and with young Wojciech Szczesny falling out of favour, a summer move for a new stopper is on the cards.

PFA shortlist stars for Player of the Year award

The six short-listed names by the PFA include the highest scorers in the Premier League, Robin van Persie and Luis Suarez, the most devastating attacking players Gareth Bale, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard and finally Mr.Consistent himself Michael Carrick, reports the BBC. Bale is the overwhelming favourite to land the gong for a 2^nd time following his exploits for Tottenham all season long and the Welshman was also unsurprisingly picked in the Young Player of the Year shortlist too, along with Hazard, Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck, Romelu Lukaku and Christian Benteke.

Man City offer whopping £13m-a-year contract to entice Cavani

Man City are prepared to flex their muscles in the transfer market once again and the number one target for last season’s Champions is Napoli’s Edinson Cavani. The Uruguayan goal-machine could finally leave the Serie A this summer, with his destination either City or Real Madrid. The Daily Mail report that City’s £256k-a-week wage packet is unlikely to be bettered, thus making them the favourites for the 26 year old with a £52m price tag on his head.

Pellegrini rejects Chelsea to continue work at Malaga

Chelsea have been dealt a fresh blow in their efforts to find a suitable replacement for the under-fire Rafael Benitez after Manuel Pellegrini ruled out a move to Stamford Bridge in the summer. According to the Sun, the Malaga coach has signaled his intentions to see out his contract at the Spanish club to continue the good work and make Malaga a reckoning force in European football. Pellegrini said, “I’m not looking to change club. My main objective is to finish my contract with Malaga and continue the work we have started. I suppose there’s uncertainty about my future because nobody knows the next developments at this club yet.”

The news will force the Blues to reconsider their options as they find themselves unable to find a successor for Benitez. Jose Mourinho has been tipped to return to London at the end of the season but the list of managers rejecting an offer to take over at Chelsea has already included Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Manuel Pellegrini.