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.”

When Manchester United launched a £24 million summer bid for Arsenal skipper Robin van Persie, many questioned the wisdom of Sir Alex Ferguson's decision making. 28 goals later it has proved to be a masterstroke of epic proportions as the Dutchman produced the most sumptuous of hat-tricks against a poor Aston Villa side to guide United to an unprecedented 20th league title, while also claiming his very first.

While Arsenal fans will no doubt continue to be scowl both at the decision to sell their star striker, and how it is has impacted proceedings this season, Van Persie is busy celebrating a long overdue title triumph, one his perhaps more beloved Arsenal can't even begin to dream off anytime soon.

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.

Suarez apologizes for Ivanovic bite but Liverpool future hanging by a thread

Anthony Hopkins’ wrote himself into the annals of history with his brilliant portrayal of Hannibal Lecter and Luis Suarez is hell bent on achieving a similar legacy from his football career. The Uruguayan’s inexplicable bite on Branislav Ivanovic during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw against Chelsea overshadowed the fact that the striker had an assist and a 96^th minute goal to his name. The 26 year old Tweeted this in the immediate aftermath of the incident: “I'm sad for what happened this afternoon, I apologize Ivanovic and all football world for my inexcusable behaviour. I'm so sorry about it,” and he also added that he had apologized to Ivanovic over the phone. But that isn’t going to prevent the FA from taking retrospective action and his Liverpool career might be over too as a similar biting incident at Ajax ended his tenure in the Eredivisie.

Mancini concedes Premier League title to Man United

Man City’s shocking collapse at Tottenham yesterday has all but ended the so-called title “race” as Man United can clinch a 20^th trophy with a win over Aston Villa later tonight. “We wanted to win the championship, but the only thing we can say to them is congratulations,” said Roberto Mancini to the Daily Mail. The Italian refused to accept the gaping chasm between the two sides in the points table but he did conceded that the Red Devils were deserved winners: “United won a lot of games in a row and deserve to win the title. The reason there is a gap is because there is more attitude and they wanted to win it after last year.”

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 Hotspur gave their Champions League aspirations a massive boost with an excellent come from behind victory against Manchester City at White Hart Lane. Samir Nasri had put City in front in the 5th minute, and the Citizens looked rather comfortable in the lead for the next 70, but three goals in 7 minutes from Clint Dempsey, Jermain Defoe and Gareth Bale gave Spurs a much needed 3-1 win. The result not only puts Tottenham right back in contention for a Champions League place, but also means that City will lose the League title on Monday night should Manchester United win at home against Aston Villa.

Spurs were boosted by the return of Gareth Bale, who was thrust straight back into the starting eleven after recovering from his ankle injury, while Jermain Defoe also returned to the squad after a month, but was relegated to a place on the bench as Emmanuel Adebayor lined up against his former club. Clint Dempsey got the nod to start behind Adebayor, but Aaron Lennon failed to recover from his hamstring injury in time for this crucial game.