DAYLIGHT! Rooney: If we keep playing like that, the title will be ours.

Byline: DAVID ANDERSON 

ALTHOUGH there is no-one at Old Trafford twisting corkscrews into the bubbly just yet, Wayne Rooney feels we have seen the last twist in the title race.

Rooney claims the title is Manchester United's to lose after they conjured up an amazing comeback, even by their incredible standards, to place one hand firmly on the Premier League trophy.

After spluttering along in the league for weeks, United finally exploded into life - even if they needed the hapless Howard Webb to light the fuse for them.

Webb's clanger in awarding them a penalty at 2-0 down was the turning point of this extraordinary contest.

What followed, though, could not be disputed as United blitzed Tottenham with five goals in a sensational 22- minute spell in the second half.

Poor old Spurs didn't know what had hit them and, after having United on the ropes during the first half, Harry Redknapp's side were KO'd in stunning fashion.

Rooney caused most of the devastation with two goals and two assists and claims those crazy 22 minutes should be the final turning point in United's titanic tussle with Liverpool for the title.

"It's ours to lose now really," he said.

"If we play the way we can do, and the way we did in the second half, I'm sure we will be OK."

Rooney destroyed Spurs from the left wing after Sir Alex Ferguson pulled off a tactical masterstroke, moving him out wide to replace the ineffectual Nani and introducing Carlos Tevez up front.

Tevez produced the energy United had been lacking, while Rooney provided the quality from the left.

They helped spark Cristiano Ronaldo and Dimitar Berbatov into life and United's own Fantastic Four combined to tear Tottenham apart.

"I've played on the left a few times this season,"

said Rooney. "It's not an ideal position for me to play, but if the manager wants me to play there I'll play there.

"I thought Carlos Tevez came on and was a big plus for us. He got the crowd up, chased everything down, and never gave the Tottenham defence any space. He left me and Berba more space to do different things.

"We knew if we got a goal in the second half we'd put them under pressure and the fans would get up for us. You've got to concentrate on getting that first goal to try and give yourself a chance of getting anything out of the game. Once we got the first goal so early in the second half, and then the equaliser, we knew there was only going to be one winner."

United need 10 more points to equal Liverpool's all-time record of 18 league titles and Ronaldo is just as confident as Rooney that they will get them.

The Portuguese star put their dramatic fightback down to their unshakeable belief and said he knew they would win when he slotted home his penalty to make it 2-1.

"This game is top of the most dramatic games I have played in," he said. "To score five goals in the second half is brilliant.

"My team-mates were fantastic - Rooney, Tevez, Berba all played well and now we have more motivation for the next games. We believe in ourselves, that's the most important thing.

"It's five games left in the Premier League and we know if we win three more games, or four, we win the league. We have to believe and I'm very, very confident we are going to win the league again."

Ferguson admitted United had a break for their spot-kick - Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes clearly got the ball before Michael Carrick went flying. But he made no apologies, claiming it was payback for Spurs boss Harry Redknapp after Portsmouth got the luck when they won here in the FA Cup last season.

Redknapp and Spurs deserved better because they were excellent in the first half as Aaron Lennon and Luka Modric took Patrice Evra and Rafael Da Silva to the cleaners.

Tottenham took the lead in the 29th minute when Rio Ferdinand failed to deal with Vedran Corluka's cross and Darren Bent pounced to fire home.

Three minutes later it was 2-0 when Lennon beat Evra and centred for Modric to score at the back post.

When Webb's spot-kick blunder on 57 minutes knocked the stuffing out of Tottenham, United took full advantage.

Rooney ran amok and he squeezed home the equaliser through Corluka's legs before crossing for Ronaldo to head United in front.

Ronaldo then returned the compliment, setting up Rooney to score the fourth which was dragged over the line by Jonathan Woodgate.

And Berbatov went some way to improving his standing among United fans after his fluffed spot-kick against Everton by knocking home the fifth after Gomes had saved his header from Rooney's cross.

A dejected Redknapp can't see anyone catching United with the luck they are enjoying.

The Spurs boss said: "At 2-0 at halftime, Alex is probably looking at it thinking 'if we get done here today, it's game on.' It would have been an incredible finish to the season, but they got out of jail. I don't see them slipping up now. I don't see them getting beaten anywhere."

CAPTION(S):

United may have needed a controversial penalty, but their comeback, courtesy of a Rooney-Ronaldo double and one from Berbatov, was breathtaking DON'T THROW IT AWAY NOW Ronaldo celebrates after making it 3-2