After winning against Manchester City in United's opening match of May on Cristiano Ronaldo's penalty kick, Manchester United drew even with Liverpool for the top place in the Premier League. In the 34th minute, Ronaldo scored after being fouled by Michael Ball, who had earlier aggressively trampled on him. 

When Edwin van der Sar stopped Darius Vassell's penalty attempt 11 minutes from time after Wes Brown fouled Ball, City lost their best opportunity. The next day, United won the championship for the first time since 2003 as a result of Chelsea's inability to defeat Arsenal. Additionally, it was United's ninth Premiership championship and 16th overall.

At Stamford Bridge on May 9, United and Chelsea battled to a scoreless tie. Both United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and Chelsea manager José Mourinho used depleted lineups and rested their star players in preparation for the FA Cup Final. (which Chelsea eventually won 1–0). In a game that was largely low-key, Chelsea appeared to be the more likely winner. Tomasz Kuszczak, the United team's inconsistent goalkeeper, made a number of saves, and in the last seconds, Kieran Lee also cleared a shot from Ben Sahar off the line.

West Ham United defeated United 1-0 to end the FA Premier League season, maintaining their Premier League membership thanks to a close-range strike from Carlos Tevez just before halftime. 

As West Ham fought valiantly to save their top-flight position at the cost of Sheffield United, who fell to Wigan, Manchester United missed a number of opportunities. West Ham held tight in order to pull off an incredible relegation escape and ruin Sir Alex Ferguson's championship celebration.