Man Utd Take Premiership Title - Reading and Birmingham Relegated

May 11, 2008 by CLDsport

Premier League Logo The English Premier League table has been finalised, and after a nail-biting afternoon up and down the country, Manchester United have won the Premier League title, and Birmingham and Reading have been relegated to the Championship.

Manchester Utd started the afternoon knowing that a win against Wigan would guarantee them the title. Their fate was in their own hands. United started shakily, but Alex Ferguson’s team never looked liked they were going to lose at the JJB Stadium.

Just after the half hour mark, Boyce tripped Wayne Rooney in the Wigan box. Up steps Cristiano Ronaldo to send Kirkland the wrong way and slot home his 31st premiership goal of the season - an outstanding campaign for the Portugese maestro.

Ryan Giggs made it 2-0 after 80 minutes to put the final nail in the coffin with regards to Chelsea’s title hopes. After picking up Rooney’s pass, Giggs held off two Wigan defenders before coolly slotting home. Watch Match of the Day tonight for Ferguson’s dance on the touchline! Who can blame him though….

Chelsea, meanwhile, knew that all they could do was win - and hope United slipped up at Wigan. Avram Grant’s players attacked from the very first minute, but couldn’t find a way through a solid Bolton defence. With Chelsea throwing everything at them - including the kitchen sink - Bolton continued to frustrate them until the 62nd minute - when Andrei Shevchenko gave the Stamford Bridge fans a glimmer of hope.

In the 90th minute, Davies equalised for Bolton meaning that Manchester United finish the season 2 points above Chelsea.

John Terry suffered a dislocated elbow after an accidental collision with keeper Petr Cech and Bolton striker Kevin Davies. With the Champions League final only 10 days away, it was feared that Terry had broken his arm and was rushed to hospital. However, after the match, it was revealed that the Chelsea captain had suffered from a dislocated elbow - and it was “put back in” while in the ambulance. Nice!! Terry should be fit to face Man Utd in the Champions League final on the 21st May.

At the other end of the table, Fulham’s hope and excitement carried over from last week’s comeback at Craven Cottage last week seemed to be in vain. with just 15 minutes left of the season they were in 20th place and going down. In the 76th minute Danny Murphy scored what could be the most important goal of his career. Despite wins from both other clubs fighting relegation, Fulham survive.

Birmingham beat Blackburn, and Reading thrashed Derby 4-0 at Pride Park. Despite this, both Birmingham and Reading join Derby in the Championship next season.

In the race for the UEFA Cup spot, Everton just needed a point at home to Newcastle to claim it. They did it in style and with ease after beating Newcastle 3-0 with goals from Yakubu (2) and Lescott.

In Sven Goran Eriksson’s last game in charge of Man City (if recent reports are confirmed), he suffered an embarrassing 8-1 defeat to Middlesbrough following Dunne’s sending off in the 15th minute - which incidentally, could ruin City’s chances of qualifying for the UEFA Cup through the Fair Play League.

All Premiership Results - 11th May 2008 - Final Day

Birmingham 4-1 Blackburn
Chelsea 1-1 Bolton
Derby 0-4 Reading
Everton 3-1 Newcastle
Middlesbrough 8-1 Man City
Portsmouth 0-1 Fulham
Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal
Tottenham 0-2 Liverpool
West Ham 2-2 Aston Villa
Wigan 0-2 Man Utd

Final League Table - 07/08 English Premier League Season

	Teams	P	W	D	L	FA	Pnt
1	Manchester Utd	38	27	6	5	80-22	87
2	Chelsea	38	25	10	3	65-26	85
3	Arsenal	38	24	11	3	74-31	83
4	Liverpool	38	21	13	4	67-28	76
5	Everton	38	19	8	11	55-33	65
6	Aston Villa	38	16	12	10	71-51	60
7	Blackburn	38	15	13	10	50-48	58
8	Portsmouth	38	16	9	13	48-40	57
9	Manchester City	38	15	10	13	45-53	55
10	West Ham	38	13	10	15	42-50	49
11	Tottenham	38	11	13	14	66-61	46
12	Newcastle	38	11	10	17	45-65	43
13	Middlesbrough	38	10	12	16	43-53	42
14	Wigan	38	10	10	18	34-51	40
15	Sunderland	38	11	6	21	36-59	39
16	Bolton	38	9	10	19	36-54	37
17	Fulham	38	8	12	18	38-60	36
18	Reading	38	10	6	22	41-66	36
19	Birmingham	38	8	11	19	46-62	35
20	Derby County	38	1	8	29	20-89	11