When the moment arrived it was poetic that it should fall to a man that spans the generations and the Ferguson years. There have been three, arguably four, great teams produced at Manchester United by Sir Alex Ferguson, but only one player has been constant through them all. Ryan Giggs, 758 games old, if one considers his legs, or young, if one studies the spirit in which he plays each game, slipped between two Wigan Athletic defenders and ensured that the league trophy will remain at Old Trafford for another season.

In that instance, and for the first time in a tense afternoon, the travelling supporters felt empowered to sing a song about winning the title. Until then, few had been willing to tempt fate. The single-goal lead that United held for about 50 minutes was enough to keep them ahead of Chelsea on points but remained perilously vulnerable to an equaliser from a Wigan team who made a mockery of the idea that this would be a cosy conclusion to the season for the champions-elect. The announcer at the JJB Stadium played Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis before kick-off, but there all hint of a carve-up ended.

United were made to battle all the way for their prize in conditions that were not conducive to sure feet or calm minds. The heavens opened, but when they did it was to reveal fortune smiling on United, who benefited from three crucial decisions in their favour in the first half, only one of which was proven correct. The penalty that Steve Bennett, the referee, gave to United was justified and replays showed Emmerson Boyce, the Wigan defender, taking the legs of Wayne Rooney in a panicked, clumsy fashion.

Less sharp-eyed was Bennett’s failure to spot Rio Ferdinand’s earlier deflection of Jason Koumas’s shot, which was achieved by moving his upper body towards the ball and connecting with his left arm. It was as much a penalty as the foul on Rooney and could have heaped pressure on United. Soon after, Paul Scholes, who had been booked for a foul on the hugely impressive Wilson Palacios, body-checked the same player when he was in an excellent position as Wigan broke on the counter-attack. A second yellow card could not have drawn a murmur of protest, but Bennett went with a lecture instead. A cynic may say that he bottled it. Steve Bruce, the Wigan manager and United’s first title-winning captain under Ferguson, plainly thought so.

“All week I have been asked about the integrity of my players, but today someone should ask about the integrity of the referee,” he said. “My goodness, those decisions were horrendous. Rio should have been wearing gloves, the way he tried to catch it, and Scholes should have been off. He will go down as one of the greatest players in Manchester United history, but there are days when you know you got away with it, and he got away with it.”

The result did not matter to Wigan and it is surely to Bennett’s relief that, with Chelsea failing to win and Giggs putting air into United’s scoreline, his erratic officiating will in time become a footnote rather than the main theme. For the best team won: the match and the league title. Wigan were proud and resilient here, but their best player was Chris Kirkland, the goalkeeper, which is usually a sign.

As for Chelsea, they chased United gamely all the way down the home straight, but finished two points adrift. Ultimately, the season belonged to United’s immense defence — this was their 21st clean sheet of the league season and Nemanja Vidic was probably the best player on the pitch yesterday — their enterprising forwards and to one man, the Footballer of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo, whose goal total stands at 41 in all competitions, eight clear of his nearest rival, Fernando Torres, the Liverpool striker, and almost double the nearest midfield player, Steven Gerrard, of Liverpool.

Ronaldo was not at his best again here, and looks increasingly in need of a rest, but even when he is below par, his willingness to take responsibility in the tightest corners makes him indispensable and when United were awarded that penalty, there was no suggestion of trepidation in his body language when electing to take it, despite his miss in the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona.

Ferguson believes that the strength of this team is that it contains young players performing without fear, and that was very much in evidence in Ronaldo’s manner at such a pivotal time. Not a run-up so much as a stroll up to the ball, almost lazy in the way he waited for Kirkland to give a hint of preference for one corner, then placing it smartly in the other with a scornful confidence, the outcome never in doubt. Penalties might be his bread and butter compared to the unique method of his free kicks, his exquisite skill, his vision, the bravery of his headed goals, but it is still impressive to see a young man stand over a penalty with barely a tingling nerve ending in his body; particularly to a watching Englishman.

And while it is easy to deride the art of penalty taking, the fact is that at the time Ronaldo stepped up, this match, and therefore the title itself, was in the balance. Wigan were performing with great verve, United slightly on edge and the best chances had fallen to Marcus Bent, the Wigan striker, and Boyce, after a goalmouth scramble. It was only once Ronaldo had settled United’s nerves that they came out to play and Kirkland was forced into increasingly agile saves from Ronaldo, Rooney and Carlos Tévez.

The minute it started raining heavily, Ferguson said, he was looking for a way to introduce Giggs, because his sense of balance makes him fantastic on soft ground. With Scholes on a booking, a lucky escape and the surface becoming an unwelcome aid to mistimed tackles, the manager got the nudge he needed. Giggs came on in the 67th minute, therefore equalling Sir Bobby Charlton’s appearance record for Manchester United, and 13 minutes later fate provided the perfect memento.

Rooney’s pass set up the goal, but it was the wit of Giggs in finding the space between Titus Bramble and Paul Scharner, leaving him with only Kirkland to beat, that was so beguiling. It was like watching a master magician perform a sleight-of-hand. You think you are studying the cards intently, you think no subterfuge can evade your attention and, suddenly, there is Giggs, in yards of space, the match and the title at his mercy.

How did he do that, you think; how did he slip that past me, how did it happen? And the magician asks: is that your winning goal, sir? And, of course, it was.

How they rated

Wigan Athletic (4-5-1): C Kirkland 8 E Boyce 5 T Bramble 6 P Scharner 6 M Figueroa 7 A Valencia Y 6 W Palacios Y 8 M Brown 6 J Koumas 7 E Heskey Y 6 M Bent 6 Substitutes: A Sibierski 6 (for Bent, 69min), M King (for Brown, 81). Not used: M Pollitt, R Taylor, J Skoko.

Manchester United (4-3-3): E van der Sar 7 W Brown 7 R Ferdinand 7 N Vidic 8 P Evra 7 M Carrick 7 P Scholes Y 5 Park Ji Sung 6 C Ronaldo 6 C Tévez 7 W Rooney Y 7 Substitutes: O Hargreaves 5 (for Scholes, 66min), R Giggs 7 (for Park, 67). Not used: T Kuszczak, M Silvestre, L Saha.

Referee: S Bennett
Attendance: 25,133

End-of-term report

Wigan Athletic

Season’s summary: A third season of overachievement.
How to improve: Buy a striker with an idea of where the goal is.
Player of season: Wilson Palacios.

Manchester United

Season’s summary: New signings settled quickly to give squad depth that carried them to title.
How to improve: Identify Edwin van der Sar’s successor in goal.
Player of season: Cristiano Ronaldo.