Premier League : Title Race Down The Final Game of The Season

Manchester United took a giant stride towards the title, while Fulham climbed out of the relegation places for the first time this year.Cristiano Ronaldo took his tally for the season to an astonishing 40 goals with a brace in 10-man United's romp against West Ham.Sir Alex Ferguson's side are now three points clear of Chelsea, who travel to Newcastle on Monday, and know victory at Wigan next weekend will secure their 10th Premier League crown.

Fulham's astonishing fight against the drop continues after they defeated relegation rivals Birmingham 2-0 on a tension-filled afternoon at Craven Cottage, with Brian McBride and Erik Nevland on target.Birmingham and Reading are now the unhappy holders of the two remaining relegation berths, after the Royals' miserable run continued with a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Spurs, with Robbie Keane on target.

Wigan made sure of their top-flight status for another season with two goals from Antonio Valencia stunning Aston Villa, and leaving Everton in pole position to claim fifth place and a spot in the Uefa Cup.Middlesbrough also banished any lingering relegation fears with a routine 2-0 victory over FA Cup finalists Portsmouth, as Chris Riggott and Tuncay Sanli found the net.Derby will end the season as officially the worst side in Premier League history, with a 2-1 defeat at Blackburn meaning they are destined to finish with the worst points haul in the history of the competition, beating Sunderland's mark of 15 from 2005/06.

Reading's relegation woes increased as they were beaten at home by Tottenham to extend their miserable run without a win or a goal to six games and leave Steve Coppell's men in the drop zone.Spurs took the lead in the 16th minute with star striker Keane starting and finishing an excellent attack.The highly-rated Valencia scored twice as Wigan made sure of their top-flight status for another year with a shock victory over Aston Villa.Valencia grabbed his first in the 52nd minute when he received the ball on the right edge of the Villa box, with his shot taking a huge deflection off defender Wilfred Bouma before looping beyond the helpless Scott Carson.

Bolton effectively clinched their survival with a 2-0 victory over Sunderland in the day's late game.El-Hadji Diouf put Gary Megson's side in front with a composed finish three minutes before half-time, and Daryl Murphy then headed into his own goal in the 83rd minute.Middlesbrough took the lead five minutes before the interval against Portsmouth when Fabio Rochemback's corner from the left was headed powerfully beyond Jamie Ashdown by Riggott.And FA Cup finalists Pompey failed to learn any lessons as they conceded in similar fashion after the interval.This time it was Stewart Downing with the corner and Tuncay providing the near post finish to make it 2-0.

Michael Ballack was again Chelsea's hero as the Londoners took the Premier League title race down the final game of the season.The German, whose double against Manchester United last week took them level with their rivals at the top, broke a stubborn Newcastle with a crucial 60th-minute opener at St James' Park.But it was not until Florent Malouda added a second eight minutes from time that the points were safe as the spirited Magpies did their best to preserve a seven-game unbeaten run.The Blues need The Red Devils to drop points at The JJB as they have a superior goal difference over Avram Grant's side in the race for Premier League glory.