Lecester City 0; Manchester United 1: Alex Ferguson said he took no pleasure from condemning Leicester and Dave Bassett to the First Division but it is safe to assume he has other issues on his mind this morning. Undeserving winners Manchester United may have been, but victory maintained the pressure on Arsenal ahead of more pressing midweek matters.
Although Ferguson has not given up on a fourth successive title, the Champions League now consumes him. His understrength side ahead of Wednesday's return leg against Deportivo told of that. Four wins out of four will guarantee him the trophy, unlike in the Premiership.
Ferguson will nevertheless be praying that Nicky Butt did not sustain concussion or an injury from a late knee to the head, which forced him off. The midfielder's defensive contributions will be vital against Deportivo, particularly in the absence of Roy Keane. If Ferguson needed a reminder of Keane's importance, he got one on Saturday when the drive of his play and captaincy were missed and their first-half display in particular was rhythmless and flat.
Laurent Blanc twice got away with casual errors and only two Roy Carroll saves and a few Leicester misses ensured United a clean sheet.
Paul Scholes, suspended on Wednesday, did offer a consistent attacking threat from midfield but it needed the arrival of Van Nistelrooy to spark the needed improvement. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's sharp finish from a poorly defended long throw followed not long after.
For Leicester it was apt relegation came on the day Martin O'Neill was celebrating a second successive championship at Celtic. This evening the Irishman brings his team to Filbert Street for a friendly.
In the two years since O'Neill departed, Leicester have gone from four successive top-10 finishes and League Cup triumphs to bottom. Today Micky Adams starts his attempt to reverse the decline.
The fans sounded ready to support Adams but tonight's return of O'Neill, Neil Lennon and Steve Guppy will make them wonder what might have been. The sale of key personnel, bad buys by Taylor and the loss of O'Neill's man-management and organisation have been damaging.
There was resignation and defiance in the air on Saturday, rather than anger. Leicester's relegation, like the Queen Mother's death, was hardly a shock. The team did not want sympathy. "We deserve to go down," said Gary Rowett.
LEICESTER: Walker, Rowett, Elliott, Sinclair, Davidson (Ashton 83), Marshall, Savage, Oakes (Reeves 80), Piper, Deane, Dickov. Subs Not Used: Flowers, Heath, Stevenson. Booked: Davidson.
MAN UNITED: Carroll, Irwin (Brown 78), Gary Neville, Blanc, Silvestre, Phil Neville, Butt, Scholes, Fortune (van Nistelrooy 51), Solskjaer, Forlan (Giggs 63). Subs Not Used: Van Der Gouw, O'Shea. Booked: Butt. Goals: Solskjaer 61.
Referee: A D'Urso
