into the woodwork from 18 yards after he regained the ball from a poor clearance. United held out for 45 minutes, but finally went behind on the stroke of half-time to a Michael Ballack header, after the German had lost his marker to find room at the back post. After the break, United came out a new team, taking the game to Chelsea. After 57 minutes, United conceded a free kick just inside Chelsea's half, but a poor back pass from Ricardo Carvalho allowed Wayne Rooney to pounce on the ball and place a shot beyond Petr Čech into the corner of the net, his first career goal against Chelsea. However, he appeared to have injured himself during his celebration and was soon substituted, making way for Cristiano Ronaldo. The game went quiet for the last 20 minutes, until a Michael Essien cross was handled by Michael Carrick just inside the United penalty area with four minutes left to play. Referee Alan Wiley pointed to the spot, and Ballack stepped up to convert and give Chelsea the win. United went all out for a much needed equaliser, but the closest they came were two shots blocked on the line by Ashley Cole and Andriy Shevchenko. The result brought Chelsea level on points with United with two games to go, United holding on to top spot by virtue of their +53 goal difference. This now meant that United would have to win both of their remaining games to secure the title, provided that Chelsea did not drop any more points. The first of United's last two games was at home to West Ham United at midday on Saturday, 3 May. Needing the win, United got off to a great start, as Ronaldo put them ahead in the third minute with a deflected shot. 20 minutes later, he got his second of the game and 30th league goal of the season. West Ham failed to deal with Owen Hargreaves' left-footed cross, which dropped onto Ronaldo's thigh and bounced over the line. Former West Ham player Carlos Tevez made it 3–0 in the 26th minute, rifling a 25-yard shot over Robert Green in the Hammers goal. However, Dean Ashton pulled one back for West Ham with an audacious bicycle kick after Wes Brown's clearing header only went straight upwards. Just before half-time, as West Ham were looking to be settling into a rhythm,