The fact they are champions is kinda irrelevant, that was with Ferguson in charge and they guy worked miracles given how average his squad was, but then he was once of the world's best ever managers.
The fact we hardly beat them is again due to our inadequacies, it doesn't reflect how good they are (not this season anyway). If you look at how poor they have been this season and they're results in even the most recent times they are not a good side.
If you're basing it on our psychological block and their past achievements under a previous manager then yes it's a good result, if you're basing it on their side this season and their performances however it isn't, it's a result people should expect.