United on the brink after outclassing Chelsea

Sir Alex Ferguson is set for a 12th league title at Old Trafford

Manchester United 2-1 Chelsea

Was it ever in any real doubt?

Manchester United brushed Chelsea aside in what had been billed as the title decider and are now on the brink of a record-breaking 19th English league title.

In truth, no side has stood out in the Premier League this season as the runaway best team; everyone has had their troubles and moments they looked anything but champions-in-waiting.

Arsenal have had their chances, Chelsea started in blistering form, Manchester City and Tottenham promised much but couldn't deliver and Manchester United have looked mechanical at times this season.

But what cannot be in any doubt is that United have been the best team.

They have had to grind out results at times and have only won five times away from home - the same amount as relegation-threatened Blackpool - but have remained relatively consistent while their title rivals fell apart.

There is no doubt they will go on to lift the title now as they only need one point from their final two games - against Blackburn and Blackpool - to seal it.

What Arsenal and Chelsea in particular will be upset about is that United appeared to be there for the taking this season.

Their home form has been imperious but for large parts of the season they have not looked like champions, whereas both Arsenal and Chelsea have had terrific chances to wrestle the title away.

Arsenal have thrown far too many points away this season. It would not be going too far to say they should have won the league.

Arsene Wenger has cut an increasingly irritated figure as the title has slipped away

Home defeats to newly-promoted Newcastle and West Brom, losing a 4-0 lead at Newcastle, conceding last-gasp goals at Bolton and against Liverpool and twice losing two-goal leads to Tottenham were just some of a catalogue of games the Gunners somehow slipped up in.

Arsene Wenger will carry on insisting Arsenal have had a good season and second or third place is no disaster, but the fact is the title was there for the taking this season and they will never get a better chance to end their trophy drought.

As for Chelsea, it was something of a miracle they were still in the title race going into the game at Old Trafford. Had they won this game, they would have been in pole position to retain their title, and that seems incredible when you consider the long list of problems and failures they have had this season.

They started the season in fantastic form and pundits were falling over themselves to hand the title to Chelsea as early as October, but since the sacking of Ray Wilkins in November they have not been anywhere near the same team.

It may just be a coincidence, but after Wilkins' departure as assistant manager the Blues went on a period of just one win in nine league games and no team should go on to win the league after a run of form so catastrophic.

They were 15 points behind Man Utd at one stage and never really hit top form despite closing to within three, but did find a way to grind out the wins as the season progressed.

Chelsea had been winning in the lead-up to this game, but in truth they still did not look convincing and only a glance at the league table gave them any real chance at Old Trafford.

Despite losing to Arsenal last week, United always looked to be in better form than Chelsea - as they proved by sweeping the Blues aside in the Champions League - and underlined this here.

Fernando Torres has failed to impress since joining Chelsea for £50million in January

Chelsea are still looking at how to accommodate Fernando Torres in their team and this is a crisis which has been going on since February, so how they have racked up the wins recently is something of a mystery.

The fixture list has been quite kind to them lately and so they haven't needed to play at the top of their game, but they certainly needed to play to that standard in this game and fell well short.

Of course, it could have been so different had they not conceded within 36 seconds. You cannot afford to be chasing the game for that long when a win is a must, with only three points giving them a realistic chance of winning the title.

Some good play from Ryan Giggs and a fantastic through ball from Park Ji-Sung set Javier Hernandez away, and the Mexican was never going to miss the chance to finish the move and send Old Trafford potty.

At £6million he is surely one of, if not the, most astute signing Sir Alex Ferguson has ever made.

He finishes with unerring accuracy and this was just another example of his supreme form.

Hernandez's role has increased in importance as the season has progressed

He has really come into his own at the business end of the season and that is the sign of a quality player. More to the point, that is the sign of a Sir Alex Ferguson player.

Chicharito was born to score goals and, at just 22, he has the ability to become a legend at Old Trafford.

He may have been aided here by some slack defending by David Luiz which helped the ball onto his favoured right foot, but he just seems unable to miss in front of goal and he has become an invaluable member of this United side. He works tirelessly for the team with his intelligent off-the-ball runs and finishes off the moves he helps create, in the process ousting Premier League top scorer Dimitar Berbatov from the starting line-up and building a formidable partnership with Wayne Rooney.

He now has 20 goals in his debut season in English football and that is a record of which he can be rightfully proud.

He was signed originally as one for the future and so Ferguson will be delighted and somewhat surprised at the immediate impact he has made and the key role he has played in winning the league.

In a breathtaking start which set the tone for the game, United kept on pressing with Hernandez, Rooney and Park all going close.

The inevitable second was eventually added on 23 minutes when a trademark Ryan Giggs cross was headed in by skipper Nemanja Vidic.

Vidic's goal made Chelsea's task an almost impossible one

Giggs worked a short corner and then beat Salomon Kalou after the Ivorian dived in for a tackle, giving the Welshman the time and space to pick his spot with the cross.

This was the sort of cross Giggs has been producing all his career, but it was Vidic's desire which made the cross look great.

Giggs put it into the right area but Vidic wanted the ball more than the Chelsea defenders; there was no way he was going to allow them to stop him. He knew if he scored it was almost certain he would be lifting the Premier League title in two weeks' time and that vision was enough to motivate himself to beat the defenders and all but finish Chelsea off.

Of course, there was time for Chelsea to launch a comeback but that was always extremely unlikely.

They were a ragged side, with Branislav Ivanovic lucky not to be given two yellow cards after a number of reckless challenges and David Luiz looking out of his depth on the biggest stage.

Luiz has quickly established himself as a cult hero at Stamford Bridge but is still nowhere near the finished product and he should learn from this experience.

He just couldn't cope with the constant pressure put on him by Hernandez and Rooney, not to mention the industrious Park and Antonio Valencia. He was not given a moment's rest and was brought off at half-time to save him from embarrassment.

Frank Lampard's goal gave Chelsea a flicker of light but was too little, too late

Chelsea did have chances to get back in the game - with Edwin van der Sar's instinctive reflexes denying Kalou and Didier Drogba on more than one occasion - but any chance of them claiming the win they needed to stay in with a realistic chance of the title was gone by the time Frank Lampard bundled the ball in with around 20 minutes left.

In truth, United could have won by more, with only a goal-line clearance by Alex denying Wayne Rooney the goal his performance deserved.

Hernandez also surprisingly passed up an easy opportunity late on - heading over in front of goal - but by that time the damage had already been done and United held on to a deserved victory.

There were so many good performances from United players, with Park, Valencia, Giggs and Rooney particularly impressive. They had saved one of their best displays of the season for the best possible time and they just seemed a class apart from Chelsea.

Chelsea are now champions only in name and their crown will officially be taken by United very shortly, probably on Saturday.

As earlier mentioned, they will become the top title-winning club in English football history with 19, overtaking great rivals Liverpool in the process.

When Sir Alex Ferguson took over in 1986 he vowed to "knock Liverpool off their perch" but even he could not have foreseen the success he would preside over.

Ferguson will turn 70 in late 2011

When he took charge all those years ago (almost 25 to be precise), United had seven league titles to their name.

Ferguson has now led them to 12 further league titles (as well as two Champions Leagues with another final to come this month) and that is a feat which is difficult to comprehend.

Most managers don't get anywhere near lasting 12 years at any one club, never mind winning the championship that many times.

At Manchester United, Ferguson has won more league titles than Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham and Leeds have won (11 combined) in their entire histories. It really is difficult to put into words the enormity of his achievements and it is only after he retires his success will truly be appreciated.

Ferguson's actions after the final whistle were those of a man who knew the title was won

He took a bow in front of the Stretford End at the end of the match, something he usually reserves for when titles are officially won. But he knows in reality this is won.

This is by no means the best United team he has ever assembled in terms of talent but it may just be the best in terms of endeavour and will-to-win.

Ferguson has guided this team, this squad, through an extremely difficult season and this may just be his most satisfying title win yet.

Not since the "you'll win nothing with kids" comment of 1995/96 by Alan Hansen has a United team been written off as much as it has been this season and Ferguson will have bottled up all the criticism and used it as motivation to deliver yet another title.

In all but sealing the title with two games left this allows Ferguson the chance to rest players in the build-up to the Champions League final and this is an opportunity he will be grateful for.

Barcelona are a fantastic side but if United are sharp and at their best they will take some stopping.

Ferguson faces a number of tactical dilemmas at Wembley - such as choosing whether to risk playing Rooney and Hernandez against such an attacking team as Barcelona - but he will fully believe in his sides' ability to overcome the odds in the same way they have done for much of the season.

This success is all down to Ferguson and all the praise he gets in the coming days and weeks is richly deserved.

Take a bow, Fergie.