Manchester United went five points clear at the top of the Premier League after late goals by Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young sealed a 2-0 win at struggling Blackburn last night

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side looked set for an evening of frustration at Ewood Park as an entertaining game appeared to be heading towards a goalless draw.

But United’s patience was finally rewarded with two fine strikes in the closing stages of the match.

With 10 minutes remaining, Valencia received possession from Rafael, found room inside the Blackburn box and powered a curling right-footed shot into the corner, giving Robinson no chance.

Substitute Young made sure with a well-executed finish from the edge of the area to send Blackburn back into the relegation zone.

The result leaves United clear favourites to secure a fifth title in six seasons.

They will go eight points clear at the summit if they defeat QPR at Old Trafford in their next match as nearest rivals Manchester City are not in action until late Sunday afternoon.


 P W D L F A Pts
Man. United 31 24 4 3 76 27 76
Man. City 31 22 5 4 75 25 71
Arsenal 31 18 4 9 62 41 58
Tottenham 31 17 7 7 56 36 58
Chelsea 31 15 8 8 53 36 53
Newcastle 31 15 8 8 46 22 53
Everton 31 12 7 12 32 32 43
Liverpool 31 11 9 11 36 33 42
Sunderland 31 11 8 12 42 37 41
Fulham 31 10 9 12 39 42 39
Swansea 31 10 9 12 35 39 39
Norwich 31 10 9 12 42 49 39
Stoke 31 10 8 13 29 43 38
West Brom 31 10 6 15 36 43 36
Aston Villa 30 7 12 11 33 42 33
Bolton 30 9 2 19 36 60 29
QPR 31 7 7 17 35 54 28
Blackburn 31 7 7 17 43 64 28
Wigan 31 6 10 15 29 55 28
Wolves 31 5 7 19 33 68 22

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