Sat May 3 14:09:35 2008

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United within one win of title

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Manchester, England (Sports Network) - Manchester United can clinch its second straight Premiership title with a win at Wigan next Sunday after the Red Devils got two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo en route to a 4-1 win over West Ham at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The win moves United three points clear of Chelsea, which will try to pull level on points once again with a win at Newcastle on Monday. However, United owns a superior edge in goal differential, making a win at the JJB Stadium next week enough to secure the crown.

Ronaldo scored two goals in the first 24 minutes of the match to give United a comfortable lead. Carlos Tevez added a third goal only two minutes later to put United up three goals before the Hammers Dean Ashton pulled a goal back for his side to make it 3-1. Nani then received a red card in the 37th minute for butting West Ham's Lucas Neill, and United was down to 10 men.

However, the visitors failed to mount a serious offensive push over the remainder of the match, and Michael Carrick secured the win with United's fourth goal on the hour-mark.

The home side got off to a perfect start as Ronaldo fired his team ahead after just three minutes. Nani's flick allowed Ronaldo to run onto the ball and dribble it into the box after Neill slipped up while trying to mark the Portuguese winger. Ronaldo then drove a shot towards goal that took a slight deflection of West Ham's George McCartney and found the back of the net.

An Owen Hargreaves cross to the back post set up Ronaldo's second goal as the ball made its way past the West Ham defense, leaving Ronaldo with an easy tap- in.

The goal gives Ronaldo an impressive total of 40 on the year, but he turned provider two minutes later to make it 3-0. After dropping the ball off for Tevez 30 yards from goal, the Argentine ripped a brilliant shot just under the crossbar that gave West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green no chance.

Ashton then got West Ham on the scoreboard with a fine overhead kick to make it 3-1 before Nani was sent off.

United's defense locked things down in the second half despite being down a man, and the hosts found a fourth goal in the 60th minute through Carrick's deflected shot from the top of the box.

Darren Fletcher came on as a substitute and hit the post midway through the half, but it didn't matter as United cruised to another win and now sits on the brink of another title.

At the other end of the table, Wigan secured its safety with a surprising 2-0 win against Aston Villa. Antonio Valencia scored both goals for Wigan, while Aston Villa's European hopes are now in grave danger.

Fulham climbed out of the bottom three with a huge 2-0 win over Birmingham, which dropped to 19th with the loss, while Reading also fell into the drop zone after losing 1-0 to Tottenham on a goal from Robbie Keane.

Bolton all but secured safety with a 2-0 win against Sunderland, while Middlesbrough knocked off Portsmouth 2-0 and Blackburn got two goals from Roque Santa Cruz in a 3-1 win over Derby.