Last Updated: Sat, 03 May 2008 14:55
A dramatic first half saw the tide turn one way then the other but Manchester United closed out the second to take all three points.
The game began at a frantic pace with Cristiano Ronaldo setting the tone as he cut in from the right, broke into the box and drove the ball past Robert Green, with the aid of a slight deflection, to give United the lead inside four minutes.
Twenty minutes later, the home side doubled their advantage after Owen Hargreaves whipped in a beautiful ball from the right to the back post where Ronaldo reacted again to turn it in with his thigh. A piece of great improvisation and suddenly, United were comfortable.
Just moments later, Carlos Tevez stunned Robert Green with a wonderful dipping strike from long range that almost burst the back of the net to give his side a three-goal lead and from there, it looked a formality.
Dean Ashton however had other ideas, reacting quickly to a loose header from Wes Brown to finish with an acrobatic overhead kick and bring West Ham back into it just two minutes after Tevez had seemingly put the game to bed.
To add to the drama on 37 minutes, after a coming together with Lucas Neill in the box, Nani reacted angrily and head-butted the Hammers captain. Mike Riley had no choice but to dismiss the winger and United were reeling into half time.
In the second period though, United showed their professionalism, closing out the game and giving the Hammers very few chances. Just shy of the hour mark, Carrick put the game to rest, picking the ball up on half way, driving deep into the West Ham half before shooting from range. The shot took a big deflection off Neil and bounced past Green to make it 4-1.
The game was done from there. West Ham will have been disappointed with their display but the champions have taken a massive step towards retaining their title and winning their tenth Premier League crown, now just a win at Wigan away. What a day and what a final day we have in store.