Manchester United clinched its third consecutive English Premier League title Saturday while Inter Milan won its fourth straight Serie A title in Italy and Barcelona earned La Liga's championship in Spain for the first time in three years. Saturday's results left only Germany and France undecided among the five major European leagues.
Manchester United got the point that it needed with a 0-0 draw with Arsenal at Old Trafford. By clinching a record-tying 18th title, United put the championship out of reach for second-place Liverpool, which is seven points behind with two games left.
"Thankfully, we got the job done today," striker Wayne Rooney said. "The last few years have been unbelievable."
United has won 11 Premier League titles in the last 17 seasons under manager Alex Ferguson and is tied with Liverpool with 18 on the list of English league champions.
"I never thought we could get 11 titles - never in a million years," Ferguson said.
After a lackluster game, the final whistle set off a massive celebration. The team was presented with the Premier League trophy on the field, with the players hugging and spraying champagne.
Ferguson has 25 major trophies since he arrived at the club in 1986 and hopes to make it 26 when United faces Barcelona, which wrapped up the Spanish league title Saturday, in the Champions League final May 27 in Rome.
SPANISH LEAGUE: Barcelona clinched its 19th crown when Real Madrid lost 3-2 at Villarreal. Barcelona has 86 points with three games left. Madrid has 78 with two to play.
SERIE A: Inter Milan became the first club in more than 50 years to win four straight titles, capturing its 17th overall when AC Milan lost to Udinese 2-1. AC Milan, which had gotten David Beckham on loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy in January as part of its title push, had to win to keep the title race alive, but is an insurmountable seven behind its city rival with two matches to play.
BUNDESLIGA: Wolfsburg outplayed Hannover 5-0 behind three goals from Edin Dzeko and two from Grafite to move within a point of winning its first league title. Wolfsburg takes a two-point lead into the final round over defending champion Bayern Munich and Stuttgart, who meet in Munich next weekend.
source: sfgate.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment