Manchester United will be crowned Premier League champions tomorrow night if they beat Aston Villa at Old Trafford. Closest rivals Man City were defeated today 3-1 by Tottenham at White Hart Lane, a result that all but seals a record 20th league title for the Red Devils. Samir Nasri thought his goal early in the first half was enough to seal a vital three points for the reigning champions, but three second half goals from Dempsey, Defoe and Bale all but spelled the end for their title defence. A win for the table-toppers at Old Trafford tomorrow would guarantee glory, and put Sir Alex Ferguson's side an unassailable 16 points clear with four games remaining. As for City's conquerors today, Tottenham Hotspur, they have closed the gap in the race to finish in the top four of the table, and now sit two points behind third placed Arsenal with a game in hand. After the game, Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas
told Sky Sports:
"We have managed to recover two players for this game from injury (Gareth Bale and Jermain Defoe), we are still missing a couple but it's excellent to have them back. "Champions League qualification still depends on us - if we do our job properly then we can achieve what we want. Chelsea and Arsenal have tough games and I think it will go down to the last fixtures of the season. Victory today could send a message to our rivals and think we can get a win."
Spurs are level on points with third placed Chelsea, who play Liverpool in this afternoon's late kick off. The two sides play each other in what will be a crunch fixture at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday 8th May. But it is the race for the Premier League title that will make all the headlines today. Roberto Mancini officially threw in the towel on the race for top spot when speaking to Sky Sports after full time.
"We had everything in order, it is strange. It is not a correct result, but congratulations to Tottenham for the win. "We needed to win as we want to get the second position. We would have had a better life in the next week if we had won. "We did not deserve to lose, we deserved to win. That is football. "The championship was finished three or four weeks ago. Manchester United deserved to win it. "I think it is important to win as many of our five remaining games, and win the FA Cup final."
Manchester United's game against Aston Villa tomorrow has other permutations. If the visitors win at Old Trafford, Queens Park Rangers and Reading will be officially relegated from the Premier League.