16 May 2009
by Jerrad Peters
Cold-blooded United win 18th title
Manchester United won a third successive Premier League title after a dour, 0-0 draw against Arsenal at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon. It wasn't thrilling—far from it, in fact. Nor was the result ever in doubt. United have rarely dazzled their supporters this season, but they've seldom scared them, either. In many ways, the match that produced an 18th championship was the entire semester boiled down in 90 minutes.
Full credit to Arsenal; they kept the ball quite well and managed to do a few things with it, too. But their lack of a cutting edge—a weakness exposed so many times in the past nine months—cost them the three points they probably deserved. They forced the Red Devils to earn their point, and they should be applauded for that.
That said, United were never going to squander the opportunity to win an 11th title since the inauguration of the Premier League. In his post-match comments, Sir Alex Ferguson pinpointed the Boxing Day victory away to Stoke. It was a narrow win—nervy and tight—much like Saturday's result. But it came only five days after the squad returned from winning the Club World Cup in Japan.
That was four months ago. And Ferguson's exactly right. For all intents and purposes, United put themselves in the driver's seat on that day. Both Liverpool and Chelsea had failed to win a single match while third-place United were in Japan. Their inability to capitalize on a built-in advantage over the congested holiday schedule was probably what kept them from taking the honors this weekend or next.
Even an early-spring hiccup wasn't enough to deny United. Despite winning just once in three matches at the end of March and beginning of July, the Red Devils had built enough of a lead through their games in hand to cushion the blow of back-to-back defeats against Liverpool and Fulham. And after tossing Porto out of the Champions' League with a gutsy performance in Portugal the following week, United served notice that they were back in full force.
They didn't look back. Still haven't. That's why they've got to be tipped—however slightly—to beat Barcelona in the Champions' League final next week. Of course, the Catalans could win a championship of their own at Mallorca tomorrow. They're a formidable football machine in their own right and play the sort of dazzling, spectacular stuff that United have rarely matched this campaign.
It doesn't matter. What United proved today—what they have proved all season long—is that they're more than capable of getting a result whatever the circumstances, whether hobbled by injuries or merely playing below standards. The games haven't been spectacular, but the results have been. And that, for this club, is the definition of success.
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