It ended with Sir Alex Ferguson bowing to the Stretford End as the loudspeakers pumped out The Courteeners. Ferguson, at 71, is more a Josef Locke man but he will have appreciated why this was the first song to get the party going at Old Trafford. "Not 19 Forever," was its title. It has been the soundtrack to Manchester United's season and now, once again, they could call themselves the champions of England.
They had played like a side in a hurry to be reunited with the trophy. They also had a striker, Robin van Persie, playing at the point of maximum expression and it felt appropriate that the Dutchman should be so prominent on the night. He, more than anyone, has been instrumental in the title race and when he shimmers with this kind of brilliance he is probably entitled to feel aggrieved that the Professional Footballers' Association sent out its player-of-the-year voting slips during the one point of the season when he has endured a lapse of form.
Van Persie might not win the individual honours but he has certainly had the greatest impact and his first-half hat-trick, taking him to 24 league goals and leapfrogging Luis Suárez as the leading scorer in the division, was the work of an expert in his field. He was at the hub of everything, the arrowhead of attack, bristling with menace, making it feel like a trick of the imagination that it was only a few weeks ago he was snatching at chances and following up every miss with a look of self-revulsion. Van Persie has put together some portfolio in United's colours but he took his performance up another level here and the volley for his second goal, from a ball dropping over his left shoulder, was probably his outstanding work to date.
That was the moment all the worrying stopped, or what worrying there could be for a side who began the night with a 13-point lead. Wayne Rooney, playing the Paul Scholes role with distinction, sprayed a long, probing chip from just inside the United half. Van Persie was running through, looking upwards, measuring the trajectory of the ball. His shot was a peach, a combination of power and technique, all made to look so implausibly easy. His victory run was not too bad either, taking him almost the length of the pitch.
That could conceivably have been a hat-trick goal bearing in mind he had flashed a volley over a few minutes earlier. So often this season United have been accused of lacking the wow factor of old, yet there was something exhilarating about the way they set off. This was precisely the kind of football Old Trafford has craved: fast, penetrative, full of confidence. It was as devastating as anything that has been seen inside this stadium all season.
They had played like a side in a hurry to be reunited with the trophy. They also had a striker, Robin van Persie, playing at the point of maximum expression and it felt appropriate that the Dutchman should be so prominent on the night. He, more than anyone, has been instrumental in the title race and when he shimmers with this kind of brilliance he is probably entitled to feel aggrieved that the Professional Footballers' Association sent out its player-of-the-year voting slips during the one point of the season when he has endured a lapse of form.
Van Persie might not win the individual honours but he has certainly had the greatest impact and his first-half hat-trick, taking him to 24 league goals and leapfrogging Luis Suárez as the leading scorer in the division, was the work of an expert in his field. He was at the hub of everything, the arrowhead of attack, bristling with menace, making it feel like a trick of the imagination that it was only a few weeks ago he was snatching at chances and following up every miss with a look of self-revulsion. Van Persie has put together some portfolio in United's colours but he took his performance up another level here and the volley for his second goal, from a ball dropping over his left shoulder, was probably his outstanding work to date.
That was the moment all the worrying stopped, or what worrying there could be for a side who began the night with a 13-point lead. Wayne Rooney, playing the Paul Scholes role with distinction, sprayed a long, probing chip from just inside the United half. Van Persie was running through, looking upwards, measuring the trajectory of the ball. His shot was a peach, a combination of power and technique, all made to look so implausibly easy. His victory run was not too bad either, taking him almost the length of the pitch.
That could conceivably have been a hat-trick goal bearing in mind he had flashed a volley over a few minutes earlier. So often this season United have been accused of lacking the wow factor of old, yet there was something exhilarating about the way they set off. This was precisely the kind of football Old Trafford has craved: fast, penetrative, full of confidence. It was as devastating as anything that has been seen inside this stadium all season.
