Manchester United left it late to close the gap on leaders Chelsea as Park Ji-sung’s stoppage-time strike clinched a dramatic 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s side moved within two points of Chelsea thanks to Park’s heroics on a miserable day for United midfielder Owen Hagreaves, whose comeback from a long injury absence lasted less than six minutes.
South Korea midfielder Park gave United the lead just before the break when he latched onto Darren Fletcher’s pass and fired home.
Photo: EPA
Former United trainee Sylvan Ebanks-Blake stunned Old Trafford when he equalized in the 66th minute with his first contribution after coming off the bench, pouncing on a poor shot from Nenad Milijas and driving past Edwin van der Sar, but Park stole the show with a fine individual effort in the last seconds.
While United were celebrating, there was despair for Hargreaves as the United midfielder limped off with a hamstring injury just six minutes into his first start for more than two years following recurring knee problems.
“It was a long struggle,” Ferguson told MUTV. “Given the changes I had to make, trying to get the continuity of performance was difficult. Some players played with touches of flu and others with diarrhea, so we’ve done really well to get a result.”
Photo: Reuters
Bolton Wanderers brought Tottenham Hotspur back down to earth after their Champions League heroics as the hosts beat Harry Redknapp’s team 4-2 at the Reebok Stadium.
Just four days ago, Spurs were the toast of Europe after their Gareth Bale-inspired victory against holders Inter, but Kevin Davies fired Bolton ahead from an offside position in the first half, before Gretar Steinsson increased their lead after the halftime interval.
Davies added a third from the penalty spot and, although Alan Hutton and Roman Pavlyuchenko struck for Tottenham to set up a nervous finish, Martin Petrov netted Bolton’s fourth.
“The goals we shipped were poor goals, but they weren’t going to stand off us and let us play. They worked their socks off and made it difficult for us,” Redknapp said.
Birmingham City piled on the misery for West Ham United co-owner David Gold as Alex McLeish’s side battled back for a 2-2 draw at St Andrew’s.
Gold was barred from the directors box after angering Birmingham supremo Carson Yeung with some controversial comments about the club he used to own with David Sullivan.
His bottom of the table team were cruising when Frederic Piquionne struck in the 48th minute and Valon Behrami netted 10 minutes later, but Cameron Jerome got one back for Birmingham in the 64th minute and Liam Ridgewell equalized in the 73rd minute after Rob Green parried Sebastian Larsson’s free-kick.
Everton’s Seamus Coleman returned to haunt Blackpool as he rescued a 2-2 draw at Bloomfield Road.
Ian Holloway’s hosts went ahead when Neal Eardley marked his 22nd birthday with a superb 10th-minute free-kick.
Everton leveled when Australia midfielder Tim Cahill met Ayegbeni Yakubu’s cross in the 13th minute to head home his 50th Premier League goal.
David Vaughan’s deflected effort restored Blackpool’s lead in the 48th minute, but Coleman, who helped Blackpool win promotion during a loan spell last season, equalized two minutes later when Matt Gilks allowed his shot to squirm into the net.
“We showed a lot of character, but we started badly. We made the wrong decision too many times,” Everton manager David Moyes said.
Fulham defender Brede Hangeland bagged a last-gasp equalizer as the Cottagers rescued a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa, who had taken the lead through Marc Albrighton.
Morten Gamst Pedersen and Jason Roberts scored as Blackburn Rovers climbed out of the relegation zone with a 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic that sent their opponents into the bottom three.
Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan marked his first Premier League start with a brace as his side defeated 10-man Stoke City 2-0 at the Stadium of Light after central defender Ryan Shawcross saw red.
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