Robin van Persie swept Manchester United to a 20th English league title on Monday, scoring a first-half hat trick in a 3-0 win over Aston Villa to cap a perfect first season with the new champions. Signed by Alex Ferguson to score the goals to regain the title from Manchester City, van Persie maintained his rich vein of form this season by opening the scoring after only 83 seconds and then adding further goals in the 12th and the 33rd minutes. "It is a great feeling," said the Netherlands striker, who is the top scorer in the league with 24 goals. "It is a fantastic team and fantastic players. It is a championship for every single one of them." United clinched a 13th title in 21 seasons of the Premier League with four games to spare - it is the earliest a club has clinched the Premier League title since United in 2001. United is now 16 points clear of second-place City. Ferguson's decision to sign van Persie last offseason for 24 million pounds ($36 million) -- a hefty price for a previously injury-prone player with just a year left on his Arsenal contract -- has turned into a masterstroke. "I'm very happy but it's weird. I had to wait for so long for my first title," the 29-year-old van Persie said. Read more http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1422123/manchester-united-wins-premier-league-title?cc=5901
