Ronaldo blasts brace and Nani sees red as United near Premiership triumph

Manchester United 4-1 West Ham United

There were contrasting fortunes for Portuguese stars Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo as Manchester United moved a step closer to the Premiership title with a 4-1 win over West Ham at Old Trafford.

While Ronaldo took his season goal tally to 40 with an early brace, Nani was issued a straight red card in the first half for a head butt on Lucas Neil, putting his hopes of appearing in the Champions League final in doubt.

United, who named an unchanged side after beating Barcelona in midweek, got off to the perfect start when Ronaldo opened the scoring in the third minute. The Portuguese beat Neil on the touchline with a swift trick to cut inside his man, before driving at the heart of a retreating West Ham defence and driving the ball past Robert Green.

The lead was doubled ahead of the 25-minute mark when Ronaldo managed to deflect an Owen Hargreaves cross in off his hip at the back post, before Carlos Tevez scored the goal of the game with a rasping drive from over twenty metres against his old club.

Dean Ashton pulled one back for West Ham with a superb overhead kick, and the first half action did not end there as Nani received his first red card in English football.

Petulant reaction

The 21-year-old was provoked by Neil in the aftermath of a free-kick, but Nani’s petulant reaction, which saw him aggressively push his head into the Australian, will see him miss the Red Devils’ final match at Wigan as well as the opening two games of next season.

The extra man never really looked likely to help West Ham back into the game, with the London side rarely a threat on the United goal in the opening stages of the second half. Michael Carrick, another former Hammer, put the result beyond doubt just before the hour with a deflected shot from outside the area.

Ronaldo was visibly disappointed to be substituted with twenty-five minutes left to play, but the ease with which United saw out the game afforded Alex Ferguson the luxury of making all three changes, with Paul Scholes and Ji-Sung Park also given a rest.

With Chelsea heading to St.James’ Park to play Newcastle on Monday, United know that whatever results the Blues achieved in their remaining two games, a win against Wigan next Sunday will guarantee that the Premiership title stays at Old Trafford.

Man Utd:
Van der Sar, Hargreaves, Brown, Ferdinand, Evra, Nani, Carrick, Scholes (O'Shea 72), Park (Giggs 61), Ronaldo (Fletcher 64), Tevez
Yellow Cards: Ronaldo
Red Cards: Nani

West Ham:
Green, Pantsil, Tomkins, Neill, McCartney, Noble, Parker, Mullins (Sears 75), Boa Morte (Solano 52), Ashton (Cole 56), Zamora
Yellow Cards: Neill, McCartney, Zamora

Goals:
[1-0] Ronaldo, 3
[2-0] Ronaldo, 24
[3-0] Tevez, 26
[3-1] Ashton, 28
[4-1] Carrick, 59