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Chicharito, Lord of the Inevitable

A strange, dark cloud hung over Villa Park this weekend. Time and the stars aligned. As Sir Alex Ferguson was hailed for his 26th anniversary at the helm of Manchester United, there was no doubting what was to occur.

"No! No, you're playing right into their hands!" shouted Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert in desperation as Andreas Weimann put his side 2-0 up.

[Disclaimer: MTW has attended several Paul Lambert press conferences and has therefore used a degree of artistic license in describing how he spoke. More likely is that he muttered briefly and tersely about effort, which is presumably why his players didn't heed his warnings.]

Of course, playing into United's hands was exactly what Villa were doing. Against a side who have gone behind so many times already this season, not to mention over 26 years of the Sir Alex era, it was footballing suicide.

On came Chicharito and, before you could say "why isn't that commentator pronouncing the second 'H'?", it was 3-2. The Dubious Goals Panel will decide whether or not the Little one scored a hat-trick but nonetheless he was a poacher with a capital Pea.

As the Mexican continued his resurgence as United's go-to scoring substitute, there was an ominous gesture from fate just 24 hours later.

In Norway, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer celebrated as he led his Molde team to a second consecutive league title. It was as if the universe were pointing first at Chicharito, then to Solskjaer, then back to Chicharito again and declaring in a booming voice: "This is the one."

With the Premier League a defensive bomb site this season, Javier 'Lord of the Inevitable' Hernandez may well be the Chosen One of goals. Manchester City are clearly learning but nobody knows more about the annihilating certainty of scoring even when behind than United.

So, until other clubs wise up and steadfastly refuse to take the lead, the Red Devils appear to have the title sewn up. We might as well all go home and do something else instead.