A point away from glory

A Frank Lampard tap-in on 69 minutes gave Chelsea hope but United held on for the win that left them needing just one point from their final two games against struggling Blackburn Rovers and Blackpool to guarantee a record 19th title.

The 37-year-old Giggs is on the brink of winning his 12th Premier League title along with manager Alex Ferguson who bowed to Uniteds joyous fans at Old Trafford at the end of the match.

Its a massive step forward for us. Mathematically we have not won the title but we are nearly there, Giggs told Sky Sports. We know we are capable of playing good football and we knew we had to keep attacking as one goal is not enough against a team like Chelsea. It was a great start and it would have been easy for us to take our foot off the pedal but we didnt. We will try and get it done as soon as possible at Blackburn next week. Its a tough place to go but I am sure we will have a lot of fans there,there will be a great atmosphere and we wont go for the draw but we will try and win.

Chelsea had clawed themselves back into the title race with a 10-game unbeaten run in which they went from trailing the leaders by 15 points to breathing down their necks. But it will probably be too little too late after Uniteds 17th home win out of 18 league matches this season.

The match was full of high-quality football from both teams with Giggs at the heart of most of Uniteds creative moves,in at the start of the first goal and providing the cross for the second.

Boosted by two wins over Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-final,United played with style and confidence but Chelsea put them under periods of pressure in the second half especially,with goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar,who will retire at the end of the season,forced into important saves.

But United made plenty of their own chances and striker Wayne Rooney went close several times.

Gunners slump at Stoke

Arsenal8217;s loss at Stoke exposed the defensive frailties that have prolonged the team8217;s title drought.Kenwyne Jones put Stoke ahead in the 28th after easily evading Johan Djourou to meet Jermaine Pennant8217;s corner.

Pennant scored in the 40th after cutting in from the left before sending in a shot which deflected off Djourou. Although Robin van Persie pulled one back for Arsenal in the 81st,Jon Walters produced an immediate response for Stoke after Djourou8217;s poor clearance.

In the day8217;s first match,Wolverhampton Wanderers climbed out of the relegation zone by beating West Bromwich Albion 3-1. Steven Fletcher scored either side of a goal from Adlene Guedioura before Peter Odemwingie pulled one back for West Brom from the penalty spot in the 55th.