Manchester United 1 Point From EPL Title
Wigan's Hugo Rodallega had given the Latics a deserved half-time lead but substitute Carlos Tevez came off the bench to grab the equalizer, before Michael Carrick smashed home the winner with five minutes remaining.
It was far from vintage United, but just as champions do, they ground out a victory despite not playing well against Steve Bruce's stubborn side.
The hosts wasted a wonderful opportunity to grab an early lead with only a minute on the clock.
Antonio Valencia - reportedly a summer target for United - outpaced Johnny Evans and Nemanja Vidic to go clear on goal but when faced with only Edwin van der Sar to beat, the Ecuadorian made a mess of his attempted chip, miscuing the ball horribly wide.
The let-off stirred the champions but unusually, their finishing let them down twice in the space of 60 seconds as they began to take control.
Firstly, Wayne Rooney headed horribly wide in the tenth minute following superb work from Dimitar Berbatov on the right, before the England striker almost made amends by crossing low for Carrick, who was narrowly off target with a first-time effort from close range.
Van der Sar was then called upon to tip Valencia's free-kick around his post before fielding Rodallega's drive from outside the box as the Latics showed they were not prepared to roll-over for the title-chasing Red Devils, despite having little but pride to play for.
Rodellaga rammed home that point when he put Wigan in front on 27 minutes. The Columbian hitman out-muscled Nemanja Vidic to win a long-ball into the United box, before recovering his composure to lash the ball home inside van der Sar's near post.
Going behind clearly rattled United, who struggled to break down the stubborn Latics resistance after their two early misses.
The second-half's early exchanges showed no real sign of a United fightback so Tevez was thrown on for Anderson just before the hour mark, and the United fans' favourite took just four minutes to make his impact.
Carrick miscued his shot from distance but with the ball heading wide, Tevez turned himself inside-out to brilliantly flick the ball past Richard Kingson.
The goal inspired United but they had to wait until five minutes from time to grab their winner.
John O'Shea bombed forward to cut the ball back to Carrick, who lashed home superbly with his left foot from the edge of the box.
The late winner leaves United needing only one point from their last two games to seal their third consecutive title, something they can do on home soil by avoiding defeat against Arsenal at Old Trafford on Saturday lunchtime.
(Soccer365.com)
