Manchester United clinched its 20th Premier league title after defeating Aston Villa 3-0 on Monday.
Leading the way with a first-half hat trick was Dutchman Robin Van Persie; the championship win was the first in Van Persie’s career. Van Persie had come under criticism of late for his lack of scoring. Prior to Monday’s offense explosion, the striker only scored twice in his last 12 games for United. The three goals gave Van Persie a league-leading 24 tallies.
The first marker featured a tic-tac-toe play with Van Persie finishing off the final pass right on the goal line. The second goal is likely to remaining on highlight reels for years to come. On a counterattack, United striker Wayne Rooney lofted a cross in from the centerline. Van Persie reached the ball right outside the Aston Villa box and volleyed it into the far side of the net. On the final goal, the Dutchman roofed the ball just inside the penalty box.
United becomes the first team to reach 20 Premier league title and leads Liverpool by two championships. It is United’s third title in the last 21 years.
With 84 points and four games remaining, the Red Devils can now set their sights on breaking the 2004-05 Chelsea squad’s historic mark of 95 points and 29 wins. United only needs three wins to break the Chelsea victory mark, but would need to win out to obtain the historic 96 points.
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes that his team can achieve the feat. "It's not beyond the team at all," said Ferguson prior to defeating Aston Villa. "If you're asking if Manchester United can win five games in a row, well how many times have we done that? There won't be any slacking off by the players."
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