Jitters Linger But Sun Shines on Manchester United

This was the Saturday, there's always one, when the sun bursts from behind clouds at three o'clock precisely and you can see right the way to the end of the season. Sir Alex Ferguson made only five changes this time but all was forgiven from last week, with something approaching his strongest line-up leaving Spurs chasing shadows and even Dimitar Berbatov showing some golden touches against his old club.

That was the picture, in any case, until Spurs woke Old Trafford from its drowsy reverie with two strikes in four minutes that went straight to the heart of Manchester United's title credentials. With two games in hand on Liverpool it was imagined United could return to the top of the Premier League on autopilot because Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic were back to boss the center of defence. "Our resolve is stiffened," Ferguson stated in the match program.

Well the defence certainly wasn't. After spending almost half an hour watching their opponents run around pleasingly but waste good positions by constantly trying one pass too many, Spurs came upfield to test the Ferdinand‑Vidic defensive lock and found the back door hanging off its hinges. A bit of probing by Wilson Palacios followed by a decent cross from Vedran Corluka was all it took to gain access, United's centre-backs let the ball bounce between them and presented Darren Bent with a close-range chance he simply could not miss. Four minutes later, working on the why-look-a-gift-horse-in-the-mouth principle, Aaron Lennon danced past Patrice Evra to send over a cross from the right, one that Luca Modric had all the time in the world to gather and put away at the far post.

Going a goal down could be regarded as a wake-up call. Going two down, before United had properly had a chance to fizz back in response, brought all the old uncertainties rushing back. While it was still United's title to lose, they suddenly appeared capable of losing it. Liverpool must briefly have felt they were no longer fighting a losing battle, and Arsenal, who play United in three of the seven definite fixtures that remain this season, beginning with the first leg of the Champions League semi‑final here on Wednesday, could only have been encouraged no matter how inevitable the comeback. Spurs being Spurs, and not, say, Barcelona, there was always a chance that a single goal would be enough to swing the momentum the home team's way.

United sent Carlos Tevez on for the second half, which pleased the Stretford End and upped the overall work rate, but it still took a debatable penalty to begin the fightback. Once the deficit had been cut to one Ferguson decided to introduce Paul Scholes, always a sign that he views a situation as serious, only to see the midfielder collect an almost instant booking for scything down Palacios. Once Wayne Rooney equalized, fed by Tevez, of course there was no stopping United and the same two players conspired on the left for Cristiano Ronaldo to put them in front less than a minute later. Spurs fans knew the script from here. United won 5-3 at White Hart Lane in 2001 after going into the interval three goals in front, and this occasion seems destined to be just as fondly remembered.

Because United probably will win the league from here. With just five games left to play they still have their focus, their best players, and their lead. Ferguson does not mind admitting he is working on his club's standing in Europe at the moment, having all but hauled in Liverpool's record of 18 domestic titles.

"It's not easy winning a European Cup, Christ it took me 13 years to win one, then another nine to win it again," the United manager said. "We've had good teams too, just like Arsenal, but it's just not an easy thing to do. What I've always said, though, is that a club like Manchester United should have done better in European competitions. That's what's driving me at the moment, winning in Moscow gave me more satisfaction than winning the title last year. I'm not saying we should be matching Real Madrid, they won a lot of their titles before the rest of Europe was really focused, but there's no reason why a club like this shouldn't be in the next band. We've still got ground to make up on the likes of Ajax and Bayern Munich, as well as Milan and Liverpool."

There are one or two defensive drills to tighten up first, though when the last of United's second-half goals went in, in front of their adoring public, those first-half jitters seemed to belong to a different game, a long time ago.