Manchester United rallied with two second-half goals from Wayne Rooney and John O'Shea to win 2-1 at West Ham on Sunday, moving the Red Devils into second place in the English Premier League, 10 points behind Chelsea.
The Hammers took the lead after only 52 seconds when Matthew Etherington send a perfect pass from the left wing which Marlon Harewood chipped behind United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.
Rooney equalized in the 47th. Captializing on a defensive mistake, Ruud van Nistelrooy found the England striker, who faked with his left foot and then shot with his right to beat former Manchester Untied 'keeper Roy Carroll.
Carroll frustrated Manchester United in the first half, stopping Van Nistelrooy, Paul Scholes and Rooney on point-blank chances.
O'Shea scored the decider in the 56th after timing a corner perfectly and rushing toward the area to head the ball home just as Carroll attempted to catch the corner.
In Sunday's sellout at Upton Park, fans did what many others did this weekend across Britain. Asked to honor George Best with a minute's silence, the crowd in east London instead applauded the former Manchester United star who died Friday.
Best is expected to be buried Friday in Belfast, Northern Ireland, alongside his mother, Ann. The funeral will be one of the biggest in Britain since the death of Princess Diana in 1997.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson likened Rooney to Best.
"Well, he's only 20," Ferguson said of Rooney. "Without question, he's the best young player I've seen in my time. If he keeps developing and matures -- goodness knows what he will become. At the moment he's a breath of fresh air to the game."
Asked to compare himself to Best, Rooney replied: "George Best was one of the best players, if not the best player in the world. I'm sure I've got a long way to go before I reach those heights."
Earlier Sunday, it was: Everton 1, Newcastle 0; Fulham 2, Bolton 1; and Middlesbrough 2, West Brom 2.
Joseph Yobo scored with a header early in the second half to lift Everton to a 1-0 victory over Newcastle at Goodison Park, moving the Toffees out of the relegation zone.
Everton improved to 13 points from 13 games, good for 16th place.
The victory was Everton's third in its last four league games, helping the team move up the standings after a disastrous start.
Newcastle striker Michael Owen missed the game with a groin injury.
Fulham eased away from relegation on goals by United States striker Brian McBride. Bolton scored in second-half injury time on an own-goal by Sylvain Legwinski.
Fulham improved to 15 points. Bolton stayed on 23 points, absorbing its first loss following three consecutive league victories.
Middlesbrough and West Brom each led in their game, with neither able to hold on. West Brom improved to 12 points -- good for 17th place -- with 'Boro on 19 at midtable.
Mark Viduka gave 'Boro a 1-0 lead in the 12th, and Nathan Ellington equalized in the 18th. West Brom went up 2-1 on Kanu's goal in the 57th, but Aiyegbeni Yakubu equalized nine minutes later on a penalty.
On Saturday, it was: Arsenal 3, Blackburn 0; Aston Villa 1, Charlton 0; Manchester City 0, Liverpool 1; Sunderland 0, Birmingham 1; Wigan 1, Tottenham 2; and Portsmouth 0, Chelsea 2.
Chelsea leads the league with 37 points, followed by Manchester United with 27, Arsenal with 26, Wigan with 25, Tottenham with 24 and Bolton with 23. At the bottom, Sunderland has five, topped by Birmingham City with nine and Portsmouth with 10.
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