First-half goals from Javier Hernandez and captain Nemanja Vidic clinched a deserved victory which means Sir Alex Ferguson's side need just one point from their remaining games against Blackburn and Blackpool to clinch the Premier League championship.
Afterwards a delighted Ferguson backed his side to finish the job.
"Knowing the players, they won't muck it up," Ferguson said.
"They'll get their point. There's no doubt about that."
Man-of-the-match Ryan Giggs admitted United was tantalisingly close to clinching the Premier League, a championship triumph that will see them pass Liverpool as English football's most successful club.
"It's a massive step forward," Giggs told Sky Sports.
"Mathematically it's not done yet, but we're nearly there. We've just got to finish the job next week."
Giggs, who is on course to collect an astonishing 12th Premier League winners medal, said supplanting Liverpool would be a "great achievement."
"Fifteen or 20 years ago you'd have never thought it. It's a great achievement by the team and the manager to overhaul our biggest rivals of the 70s, 80s and 90s," the 37-year-old veteran added.
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti admitted his team had never recovered after Hernandez opened the scoring after just 37 seconds.
"We lost the game in the first minute. We started so badly. Conceding the goal in the first minute, it was very difficult to come back," Ancelotti said.
"United played better than us and deserved to win, this is football and we have to accept this."
Chelsea - which scored through Frank Lampard - had clawed back a 15-point deficit to leave themselves only three points behind United heading into the heavyweight encounter.
But the reigning champions were blown away in a devastating opening period which saw United take a 2-0 lead within 23 minutes, Hernandez scoring in the first minute to trigger delirium at Old Trafford.
South Korean international Park Ji-Sung surged into space from midfield before sliding a pass through to the young Mexican international, who nipped in behind David Luiz and slotted past Petr Cech.
It got better for United when a short corner routine saw Park feed Giggs, who jinked past Salomon Kalou before whipping over a cross for Vidic, who shrugged off Branislav Ivanovic to nod home.
The double strike left Chelsea reeling although the Londoners did have their chances to get back in the game, United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar blocking Kalou's close-range header superbly.
The veteran Dutch international was pressed into action again soon afterwards, blocking a long-range Luiz shot with his midriff.
Lampard gave Chelsea hope on 68 minutes, prodding in from close range after Ivanovic knocked down a deflected Ramires cross, but United was not to be denied.
Earlier Sunday, Arsenal was eliminated from the title race after slumping to a 3-1 defeat at Stoke.
First-half goals from Kenwyne Jones and Arsenal old boy Jermaine Pennant gave the Potters a deserved lead at the Britannia Stadium.
Robin van Persie pulled a goal back to give Arsenal hope on 81 minutes but Stoke hit back almost immediately through Michael Walters after another defensive lapse from the Gunners.
Wolves edged closer to survival with a 3-1 victory over midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion that lifted them out of the relegation zone.
Scottish striker Steven Fletcher scored either side of an Adlene Guedioura strike as Mick McCarthy's side moved up to 17th spot at the expense of Blackpool, which dropped down to 18th, one point behind.
Peter Odemwingie scored West Brom's lone goal from the penalty spot on 55 minutes after Guedioura brought down Jerome Thomas.
The victory at Molineux means Wolves' bid to beat the drop is in their own hands, with only matches against Sunderland and out-of-form Blackburn to come.
-AFP
Tags: sport, football, english-premier-league, united-kingdom, england First posted May 9, 2011 06:08:00
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