Double delight for Manchester

Manchester City won the FA Cup with a 1-0 victory over Stoke City on Saturday as Yaya Toure blasted in an unstoppable shot after 74 minutes to secure their first trophy in 35 years.

Manchester United were crowned English champions for a record 19th time when Wayne Rooney's penalty earned a 1-1 draw at Blackburn Rovers and the point they needed to win the Premier League title.

Rooney, who came close to quitting United earlier in the season, struck the equaliser in the 73rd minute to take United seven points ahead of Chelsea, who have two games to play.

It is United's 12th title since the Premier League began in 1992-93 and 19th in total, surpassing the record they had shared with Liverpool.

"The players worked their socks off," said manager Alex Ferguson, who leapt in delight as the final whistle sounded.

"We gave away a bad goal but we kept on," added Ferguson. "That's a good quality."
It had been a nervous afternoon for United after they fell behind to a Brett Emerton goal on 20 minutes. While they enjoyed most of the possession, clear chances were hard to come by until Javier Hernandez was sent sprawling by a challenge from goalkeeper Paul Robinson.  Referee Phil Dowd consulted with a linesman and after furious arguments involving players from both teams, Rooney stepped up to score the equaliser.

"It was terrifying," said Rooney, who changed his mind about leaving United in October, signed a long-term contract and has since rediscovered his scoring form.

"I had to compose myself before taking the penalty because there was quite a long delay," he told Sky Sports.

"After the year I've had, so many ups and downs, this is fantastic. Winning the Premier League is amazing, getting that 19th title. For me personally, for the fans and the club, it's a great feeling for us."

United have 77 points from 37 matches with Chelsea on 70 from 36. They now have the chance to seal a Premier League and Champions League double against Barcelona in the Champions League final at Wembley on May 28.

Ryan Giggs has been in all 12 Premier League-title winning teams.  "Obviously we're rubbish -- we've won the Premier League and we're in the Champions League final," he joked. "Twenty years ago we were nowhere near Liverpool, but we've gone past our biggest rivals. This is why I keep going, for days like this. It's amazing."

Although relegation-threatened Blackpool, Blackburn Rovers and Wolverhampton Wanderers were all in action, the results proved inconclusive as far as the drop was concerned.

Blackpool won a thriller 4-3 against Bolton Wanderers -- the same score as their famous victory over them in the 1953 FA Cup final -- but remained in the bottom three as Wolves won 3-1 at Sunderland where Mick McCarthy earned a vital victory against his former club.  Blackburn's 1-1 draw with United kept them one point above the drop zone and West Bromwich Albion beat Everton 1-0.

Toure to the fore
Toure, who scored the goal that beat Manchester United in the Wembley semifinal to take City into their first final for 30 years, almost broke the net with his drilled low finish after Stoke failed to clear a David Silva shot.

City dominated the match against a Stoke team appearing in the final for the first time.
They were kept at bay only by some desperate defending and the good goalkeeping of Thomas Sorensen and fully deserved their fifth FA Cup triumph and first since 1969.