No Dramatic Final-day Twist For Red Devils As Chelsea Clinches League Title

Manchester United comfortably defeated Stoke but were deposed as Premier League champions on an afternoon of anti-Glazer protests at Old Trafford.

Darren Fletcher notched from close range, Ryan Giggs struck from 14 yards, Danny Higginbotham scored an own goal and Park Ji-Sung headed home.

But Chelsea thrashed Wigan to claim the win they needed to deny United a record fourth successive title by a point.

Wayne Rooney limped off late on in a worrying development for England.

It was not a great afternoon for Rooney, who had gone into the match level on goals with Chelsea's Didier Drogba only for the Ivorian to score a hat-trick at Stamford Bridge to finish as the Premier League's top scorer.

Rooney, central to England's hopes at the World Cup, was withdrawn on 77 minutes shortly after he had signalled his discomfort to the United bench.

The 24-year-old striker sustained an ankle injury in United's Champions League tie against Bayern Munich on 30 March but after recovering from that picked up his groin problem during a training session in late April.

However, Rooney was able to join in with the team's lap of honour at the end of the match, indicating that his problem is not serious.

United needed Chelsea to slip up against the Latics at Stamford Bridge if they were to snatch a dramatic 19th league title.

That was always an unlikely proposition and the relaxed manner of Red Devils manager Sir Alex Ferguson as he signed autographs in the 30 minutes before kick-off indicated that he felt the title was beyond his team.

Chelsea scored an early goal against Wigan and word quickly spread around Old Trafford, ensuring that United's subsequent goals lacked their customary sense of drama and excitement.

There had been tense scenes outside Old Trafford before the match as supporters protested against the Glazer family's ownership of the club.

A smoke bomb was let off outside the club megastore while fans congregated near the entrance to the directors' box.

Many supporters waved placards inside the ground with the words "Go, Glazers out" on them and whistles were blown in protest during half-time.

The match itself was a straightforward affair for United, although a combination of stubborn Stoke defending and poor finishing, particularly from Dimitar Berbatov, initially frustrated the home team.

Andy Wilkinson blocked a low strike from Berbatov and Higginbotham bravely smothered a strike from Patrice Evra after the defender dribbled his way into the Stoke area.

Berbatov was guilty of two poor headed misses, the first from six yards flew over the crossbar and the second skimmed the top of the woodwork.

But there was little possibility that Fletcher would miss after an unfortunate ricochet off Dean Whitehead presented the United midfielder with the simplest of tap-ins shortly after the half-hour mark.

Potters goalkeeper Asmir Begovic comfortably saved from Gary Neville before Giggs slotted home with his first-time finish after a low cross from Berbatov was allowed to run across the Stoke area.

The visitors offered precious little goal threat until Ricardo Fuller forced a sharp save from Edwin van der Sar with a shot on the turn in first-half injury time.

It was not indicative of events to follow and the result was beyond doubt when Higginbotham diverted a drilled low cross from Rooney into this own net minutes after the restart.

Paul Scholes went close with an audacious chip, while Begovic made a one-handed save to thwart Nani after the Portugal international had been played through by an exquisite Rooney pass.

Van der Sar made two excellent saves to deny Rory Delap and Danny Pugh as United kept a clean sheet.

There was just time for substitute Park to head the ball home after Stoke failed to deal with a corner but the afternoon was tinged in disappointment as Chelsea hammered Wigan 8-0 to claim the title.

Stoke manager Tony Pulis:
"United deserved to win and were the better team.

"We have had a good season and are only the second team in the history of the Premier League to beat our first year's points tally in the second season.

"We are debt free and Stoke is a great club to be at."

United's players celebrate Ryan Giggs' goal, but despite a 4-0 win the Reds surrendered the title