Manchester United made amends for their humbling by Burnley as Wayne Rooney’s double and Michael Owen’s first goal for the Premier League champions inspired a 5-0 win at Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
Sir Alex Ferguson reacted to Wednesday’s shock 1-0 loss at newly-promoted Burnley by making seven changes and the United manager was rewarded with a superb second-half display.
It took the revamped United line-up a while to find their rhythm, but after a goalless first half, Rooney struck in the 56th minute when he met a cross from former Wigan winger Antonio Valenica with a perfect header.
PHOTO: REUTERS
That was Rooney’s 100th goal for United and it opened the floodgates.
Dimitar Berbatov put United in complete control in the 58th minute. The Bulgarian finished a flowing move by chipping over Chris Kirkland and shooting into an empty net.
Rooney ended any doubts about the result in the 65th minute when his shot deflected off Mario Melchiot and flashed past the wrong-footed Kirkland.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Owen, signed from Newcastle United in the close-season, came off the bench to score for the first time since Janaury with a sublime clipped finish.
Nani, who set up Owen’s goal, got on the score sheet himself in the 90th minute.
“You have to react to a defeat, that’s always the challenge,” Ferguson said. “We got a reaction, I thought our performance was really good. It’s great for Wayne to get 100 goals. He’s only a young lad and there are players who have been here longer who have got nowhere near that total. I’m pleased for Michael as well. He needed a goal, but he’s one of the best finishers our country has had.”
Arsenal maintained their impressive start to the season with a 4-1 victory over struggling Portsmouth at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners had confounded critics who wrote off their title hopes by thrashing Everton 6-1 last weekend, then winning at Celtic in the Champions League in midweek.
Wenger still made four changes to the side that beat Celtic, but it proved a successful move as French midfielder Abou Diaby, brought into the team for his 100th Arsenal appearance, opened the scoring in the 18th minute from Eduardo’s pass.
Diaby converted Emmanuel Eboue’s cross for his second goal three minutes later, but Portsmouth reduced the deficit when Younes Kaboul, out-jumping keeper Manuel Almunia, headed home in the 37th minute.
Any hopes of a fightback from Paul Hart’s team were ended in the 51st minute through William Gallas’ scrambled effort.
Aaron Ramsey confirmed Portsmouth’s third successive defeat in the 68th minute with his first league goal for Wenger’s team.
Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor repaid another slice of his £25 million (US$41 million) transfer fee as the Togo star’s cool finish sealed a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Eastlands.
City handed Carlos Tevez his full debut and the former Manchester United forward’s cushioned 17th-minute pass picked out Adebayor, who drove in his second goal in two games since joining City from Arsenal.
Trinidad and Tobago forward Kenwyne Jones fired Sunderland to a 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers.
Sam Allardyce’s Rovers, without defender Stephen Warnock as rumors of a move to Aston Villa gathered momentum, took the lead in the 21st minute when French defender Gael Givet smashed a long-range effort past Marton Fulop.
Sunderland, however, equalized after 32 minutes when Jones took advantage of a slip by Christopher Samba to slot home.
Jones wasn’t finished there. In the 53rd minute he met Lee Cattermole’s cross with a bullet header to seal the points for Steve Bruce’s team.
Hull City won for the first time in 13 league matches as Algeria striker Kamel Ghilas’ first goal for the club earned a 1-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers at the KC Stadium.
Ghilas was making his first start for the Tigers after signing from Spanish club Celta Vigo earlier this month.
He marked the occasion in the 61st minute with a blistering volley from Jozy Altidore’s pass.
Stoke City recovered from their midweek thrashing by Liverpool by grinding out a 0-0 draw at Birmingham City.
Tony Pulis’ side went down 4-0 at Anfield, but they were far more resilient in a scrappy encounter against newly-promoted City.
Result from yesterday’s early English Premier League kick-off:
• West Ham 1, Tottenham 2
Tainan TSG Hawks slugger Steven Moya, who is leading the CPBL in home runs, has withdrawn from this weekend’s All-Star Game after the unexpected death of his wife. Moya’s wife began feeling severely unwell aboard a plane that landed at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday evening. She was rushed to a hospital, but passed away, the Hawks said in a statement yesterday. The franchise is assisting Moya with funeral arrangements and hopes fans who were looking forward to seeing him at the All-Star Game can understand his decision to withdraw. According to Landseed Medical Clinic, whose staff attempted to save Moya’s wife,
Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday homered for the fifth consecutive game, tying a Los Angeles Dodgers franchise record. Yankees star Aaron Judge was the last player to homer in five consecutive games, accomplishing that feat last year. Ohtani, who leads the National League with 37 home runs, homered in the first inning off Minnesota Twins starter Chris Paddack. He hit a slow curveball 134m to center. He carried the bat midway down the first-base line and then did a bat flip. He did not hit a home run later in the game with the Dodgers trailing, but his presence was felt. With two outs
Taiwan’s world No. 6 shuttler Chou Tien-chen yesterday defeated India’s H.S. Prannoy to advance to the quarter-finals of the China Open in Changzhou. It was former world No. 2 Chou’s eighth win in 14 matches against Prannoy, who had earlier this week lamented the age divide between him and up-and-comers, although he is only two years younger than 35-year-old Chou. The Taiwanese, who is seeded sixth at the tournament, rebounded from a close 21-18 loss in game 1 on Court 2 at the Olympic Sports Center Gymnasium. He bounced back to take the next games 21-15, 21-8 and set up a tough quarter-final
The Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday acquired Taiwanese-American outfielder Stuart Fairchild from the Atlanta Braves for cash considerations to fill the roster after All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe was placed back on the injured list. Fairchild was designated for assignment by the Braves on Monday after hitting .216/.273/.333 in 28 games for Atlanta, with most of his work coming as a pinch runner or defensive replacement. He joins Tampa Bay as a versatile fourth outfielder option. To make room for Fairchild on the 40-man roster, the Rays transferred relief pitcher Manuel Rodriguez (forearm strain) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day