No doubt there will be a few sore heads in the red half of Manchester this morning.
That’s because the title celebrations continued long into the night as Manchester United grabbed the EPL crown back from ‘noisy neighbors’ Manchester City in emphatic fashion. The Red Devils sealed the 2012-13 trophy with a 3-0 win against Aston Villa on Monday night at Old Trafford, clinching the hallowed title with four games to go.
Defender Rio Ferdinand tweeted out this picture of pretty much the whole squad having a drink to celebrate late last night. And incredibly for Ryan Giggs, this is the 13th league title in his United career.
Robin van Persie’s clinical first-half hat trick sealed the title in front of their own fans, as United’s target now switches to registering a record points haul. They can better Chelsea 2004-05 record of 95 points in a season by winning their remaining four games.
So after a stroll in the park for much of this campaign, where does Manchester United’s latest league title rank alongside the others?
Well, it’s right up there. Many wrote United off after Manchester City grabbed the crown so dramatically on the final day of the 2011-12 season. But Sir Alex Ferguson splashed the cash to get RVP on board and United have won 27 of their 34 EPL games this season. I’d say this title win ranks in the top five for United since Ferguson took charge. The 1998-99 crown was crucial, due to it being part of the famous treble, and the first few EPL titles spearheaded by Eric Cantona in the mid 90s were significant in establishing the dynasty that remains today. But this season’s success isn’t far behind, as United have roared back to silence Roberto Mancini’s Man City side by recording their 13th EPL crown in 20 years with consummate ease.
However this United team isn’t a vintage one. Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and RVP have all gone through long barren spells in front of goal and there’s been plenty of scrappy 1-0 and 2-1 wins along the way. But after their acrimonious Champions League exit to Real Madrid, United have rallied admirably to accelerate away from the rest of the EPL with professional and focused displays.
The fact that they’re taking the title away from Manchester City makes it that much sweeter, and with a plethora of players all under the age of 23 — including Tom Cleverley, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Rafael, David de Gea and Danny Welbeck — it seems as though Ferguson’s rebuild has set United up for yet another decade of dominance.