Wayne Rooney scored two goals on Saturday for Manchester United to beat Sheffield United 2-1 and maintain its three-point lead atop the Premier League.
Rooney scored in the 30th and 75th minutes, rallying the Red Devils who fell behind to a 13th-minute goal by Keith Gillespie. It was Man United's seventh straight league victory.
Two-time defending champion Chelsea kept winning too, beating West Ham 1-0 at Stamford Bridge thanks to Geremi's 22nd-minute free kick.
PHOTO: AFP
Manchester United has 34 points, three more than Chelsea.
Portsmouth moved into third place with 23 points, rallying for a 2-1 victory on a late penalty in the 89th by Lomana LuaLua.
Arsenal slipped further off the pace, drawing 1-1 at home against struggling Newcastle for 22 points.
Kieron Dyer gave the Magpies a 1-0 lead in the 30th, and Thierry Henry -- rested in the first half by manager Arsene Wenger -- equalized in the 70th.
Man United manager Alex Ferguson credited his midfield for the victory.
"A certain maturity is helping us," Ferguson said. "I think Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes are using all that experience in the midfield, taking their time, being patient, probing away for opportunities. And when you've got front players like we've got -- if we get chances, one or two will take them."
Mourinho gave credit to Geremi, who seldom plays for the Blues but scored the winner from a perfectly placed free kick.
"He [Geremi] takes free kicks, but he doesn't play a lot," Mourinho said. "He practices a lot, but I don't give him a lot of chances to play. So now I am giving him chances to play and he's playing well."
Wenger defended his decision to start Henry on the bench after he'd played for France a few days earlier.
"He was tired from the France game, and that was my decision," Wenger said. "You cannot play Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday, Tuesday. It is impossible for one man."
MOTHER KNOWS BEST: Warriors’ coach Kerr said his 91-year-old mother criticized him for his attitude toward officials that led to his ejection from Monday’s game Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Wednesday rescued the Oklahoma City Thunder with a game-tying buzzer-beater before finishing with 46 points in a 129-125 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz. The reigning NBA champions looked to be heading for a third straight loss after the Jazz inched into a 114-112 lead following Lauri Markkanen’s layup with just three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. However, NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander drained a superb 13-foot jump shot to tie it up at 114-114 as the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime. Gilgeous-Alexander then took over in the extra period with nine points as the Western
Manchester City have confirmed defender Josko Gvardiol suffered a broken leg in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium. Gvardiol was one of two City centerbacks who went off injured in the second half, along with Ruben Dias, before Enzo Fernandez scored a stoppage-time equalizer for the visitors. The draw left second-placed City six points behind English Premier League leaders Arsenal. City, announcing Gvardiol sustained a tibial fracture to his right leg, added in a statement issued on Monday: “The defender will have surgery later this week and assessment remains ongoing to ascertain the full extent of the
His team were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in agonizing fashion on Tuesday, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DR Congo) human statue Michel Kuka Mboladinga would be remembered as the tournament’s most remarkable supporter. The colorfully dressed Kuka has earned fame as the fan who stands completely immobile throughout his team’s games, looking toward the sky with his right arm raised and palm open. He has become a media star and on Tuesday was accompanied by a delegation of several hundred Congolese supporters whose trip to Morocco was paid for by the country’s government. They took their
Bangladesh will not play their Twenty20 World Cup matches in India after Mustafizur Rahman was released by his Indian Premier League team amid growing tensions between the countries, Bangladesh’s sports adviser Asif Nazrul said on Sunday. Kolkata Knight Riders said on Saturday they had released the Bangladeshi bowler after being told to do so by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Bangladesh are scheduled to play three Twenty20 World Cup matches in Kolkata next month, with the Feb. 7-March 8 tournament being cohosted by India and Sri Lanka. “Bangladesh will not go to India to play the
RSS