Manchester Utd 4 Blackburn 1:Manchester United's ninth championship in 15 seasons is now so close that Chelsea's habit of scoring late winners has become no more irritating than a bothersome fly. Alex Ferguson's players are so exuberant, their football so thrilling, it seems inconceivable that the Premiership trophy will not be prised, finger by finger, from Jose Mourinho's grasp.
Chelsea's durability prolongs the intrigue but United answered some important questions on Saturday and all that can shipwreck their season now is what Ferguson knows as a "Devon Loch moment".
Strange things can happen in football but such a collapse is scarcely conceivable. This is not a team that shows any vulnerability to losing nerve or direction, even when the pressure is close to intolerable.
If there was going to be a moment when United might crack, it arrived after that jolting two-minute spell when Nemanja Vidic departed with a dislocated shoulder, which could keep him out for the remainder of the season, and Matt Derbyshire stabbed Blackburn into the lead.
This, before an increasingly alarmist crowd, was the point when United could either fold like a house of cards or reach their point of maximum expression. They took the route of champions, always assured, totally at ease with their vision of themselves at the top of the hierarchy. Not once did United send forward hopeful balls or try to score from improbable angles. Never did they rush or force the play when they could rely on their ability to pass and move.
Ferguson later described it as the most accomplished performance of the season, although it would have been more accurate if he had focused simply on the second 45 minutes because it has been a long time since Old Trafford was bewitched by such an exhilarating period of slick, attacking football or, indeed, that the stadium's acoustics have sounded so good.
This was the Premiership at its most thrilling and, after the drudgery of England's internationals, an antidote for those who have come to see the beautiful game through tired and jaded eyes.
Of Ferguson's side the only player not at his optimum was Wayne Rooney. Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo, to name but three, played with such verve and vigour the visitors from Roma will have returned to Italy with a dossier that presumably has a skull and crossbones on the front.
United have shown themselves to be intrepid travellers and, if Scholes in particular can sustain this level of excellence in Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg, United have an outstanding chance to prolong their hopes of emulating the 1999 treble.
Scholes it was who instigated United's comeback, his splendid goal breaking Blackburn's resolve after 61 minutes, and it is easy to imagine Steve McClaren watching Match of the Day from behind his sofa. How McClaren must regret Scholes's decision that he wants no part in the pantomime of the England national team.
Blackburn are robust opponents - entitled to be irritated by the assumption they will provide no more than walk-on parts in their FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea - but Mark Hughes was wrong when he said the score flattered their hosts. United could have amassed a record Premiership score to go with another record crowd had Brad Friedel not been in such outstanding form and Rooney been less generous.
Rooney's performance could be summed up by the moment, in first-half stoppage time, when he was offside, having run clear, but decided he wanted to reacquaint himself with the art of finishing anyway, if only to see the ball caress the back of the net. His first effort hit Friedel's legs. His second struck the goalkeeper's shins and bounced away again.
In mitigation Rooney's head never went down and he made a significant contribution in the second half. Yet compare and contrast with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, scoring United's fourth goal barely five minutes after entering the field as a substitute.
Solskjaer accepted his solitary chance with the look of a man for whom nothing could be more natural. Rooney still conjured a couple of moments of brilliance but there is evidence, too, that he is not as immune to insecurity.
Others in red radiated confidence. If points were awarded for pass completion, Michael Carrick might be runaway favourite for player of the season. Rio Ferdinand snuffed out the threat of Derbyshire and Benni McCarthy and Wes Brown's form means the news of Vidic's injury may not be so debilitating.
Giggs's name will also be circled in red in the Roma scouting report while Ronaldo was the usual blur of pyrotechnics, crossing for Carrick to make it 2-1 and setting up Park Ji-sung for the third with a free-kick that rebounded off Friedel.
Ferguson described it as a "performance of champions" and the Stretford End sang: "We want our trophy back."
Guardian Service
