Manchester United showed why it has been the dominant club in the Premier League era, ending Arsenal's 49-match unbeaten streak and closing within eight points of the league leader.
Ruud van Nistelrooy converted a contentious 73rd-minute penalty and Wayne Rooney scored his first league goal for the club in injury time on his 19th birthday Sunday to lead the Red Devils over Arsenal 2-0 at Old Trafford.
PHOTO: EPA
"It's a great boost," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "When you're not doing well -- and we have been drawing too many games -- getting back on the winning trail is important. It's a good start for us.
"Hopefully we will get on a run of wins now because we need wins to get up beside Arsenal."
Despite the impressive attacking power of Van Nistelrooy, Rooney, Louis Saha and Alan Smith, United had only scored nine league goals before Sunday's match -- one more than Arsenal striker Thierry Henry has all season.
Billed as the match of the season, the game was a fast-paced, fierce midfield contest with tackles flying in from both sides in front of a sellout crowd of 67,862.
"I think we've proved over the years that there's nothing between the two teams," Ferguson said. "There were a lot of great players on the pitch ... on the day we just edged it."
Arsenal still leads the Premier League with 25 points, followed by Chelsea with 23, Everton with 22 and Bolton with 18. United jumps up to 17 points with the win.
"Whether the gap is sufficient or not, I don't know," said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who rated United, Chelsea and Liverpool as Arsenal's biggest rivals for the title. "We are a great side and want to start a new [unbeaten] run again next week."
United dominated the 1990s, with only Blackburn in 1995 and Arsenal in 1998 interrupting their collection of titles since the Premier League started in 1992-1993.
Since 2001, however, the title has switched between Manchester and London, with Arsenal going unbeaten to win the league last season in an unprecedented achievement and taking the upper hand in the rivalry. Arsenal beat United 3-1 in the Community Shield in August.
"They have a deep feeling of injustice, but we can only master our performance," Wenger said. "I'm convinced that what happened will only make us stronger, they'll come back and from next week on be even more determined."
Wenger was angry at the performance of referee Mike Riley, approaching the official on the pitch after the game to express his concerns. He was upset at the lack of punishment toward man-of-the-match Rio Ferdinand for a foul on Freddie Ljungberg during the first half, for failing to spot Van Nistelrooy's apparent stamp on Ashley Cole and claimed Jose Antonio Reyes was "kicked off the park."
He was most angry at Rooney's reaction to a Sol Campbell challenge that led to the penalty.
"Rooney told my players he had not been touched," Wenger said. "The penalty was turning point in the game."
It was sweet revenge for Van Nistelrooy, who missed an injury-time penalty when the two teams met last season in a 0-0 draw that prompted a mass brawl.
"It has taken over a year but I am so pleased he had a chance to put what happened last season behind him," Ferguson said. "I was just starting to think about making a substitution when we got the penalty."
Ferguson said he agreed with Riley's decisions.
"The ref had an impossible job, it seemed to me [Arsenal captain] Patrick Vieira was in charge for long periods, always by the referee's side," Ferguson said. "He's got to be strong about these things and it's difficult for him, impossible I think."
Arsenal broke the previous English record of 42 games without a loss set by Nottingham Forest in the 1977-1978 and 1978-1979 seasons on Aug. 25. Arsenal's last defeat in a league game was a 3-2 loss to Leeds on May 4, 2003.
"Was it painful to lose the record at Old Trafford?" Wenger said. "It is painful to lose whether it's here or anywhere else. It has no special meaning. It just shows that what we did for 49 games was really magnificent."
Scottish League
Defending champion Celtic scored four goals in the first 32 minutes to overwhelm Livingston 4-2 Sunday in Scottish Soccer.
Stilian Petrov, Henri Camara, John Hartson and Chris Sutton found the net before the Scottish also-rans even had a chance. The victory increased Celtic's lead over Rangers to seven points -- 28 to 21. Aberdeen is in third with 19 points with Hibernian and Hearts on 15.
Rangers slogged to a 1-1 draw with Dundee United. In the day's other game, Hearts defeated Hibernian 2-1.
Barry Robson got the equalizer for Dundee United in second-half injury time after Nacho Novo had given Rangers the lead in the 69th.
Spanish League
Samuel Eto'o scored two goals and Ronaldinho added another from the penalty spot to help league leader FC Barcelona blank Osasuna 3-0 and maintain its five-point lead at the top of the standings.
Barcelona, which lost its first match of the season against AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday, struggled early but got two goals in a four-minute spell just before halftime to put the leaders in control.
Sevilla, which beat Atletico Madrid 2-1, moved into second place as Aitor Ocio and Brazilian forward Julio Baptista scored one goal each.
Elsewhere, Espanyol beat Levante 2-0 to inflict the newly promoted team's first home defeat of the season, while Zaragoza also lost ground after suffering a 1-0 loss against lowly Racing Santander.
Barcelona has 22 points, while Sevilla has 17, three more than Valencia. Espanyol, Atletico, Levante, Real Madrid, Zaragoza and Osasuna all have 13 points.
On Saturday, Michael Owen scored his first Spanish league goal to lead Real Madrid over defending champion Valencia 1-0, while Deportivo La Coruna and Malaga drew 1-1.
Bundesliga
VfB Stuttgart's 13-match unbeaten streak under coach Matthias Sammer ended Sunday with a stunning 2-0 loss to Freiburg, which also stopped his squad from moving to the top of the standings.
Stuttgart, which hadn't been beaten in any competition this year including the UEFA Cup, was shocked by a team stuck in the demotion zone that had trouble scrapping together a suitable starting 11 due to injuries.
Alexander Iaschwili surprised the league's stingiest defense in the 34th minute, sidefooting in a cross after the defenders failed to pick him up charging toward the goal.
In injury time, Soumaila Coubaily's free kick sealed the win, which lifted Freiburg from 15th to 12th.
Sammer said he didn't believe his charges underestimated Freiburg after recording a series of routs in recent matches. Many believe it has been the Bundesliga's most impressive side this season.
The loss left Wolfsburg (7-0-2) at the head of the table with 21 points, with Stuttgart (6-2-1) right behind with 20 points. It also set up a showdown Tuesday between the surprise leaders and third-place Bayern Munich, which has 17 points.
In the day's second match, Ailton scored his first goal for Schalke to lift his team to a 2-1 victory over Mainz 05. The Brazilian jumped into the club mascot's arms in relief after he chipped a through pass from Lincoln over the goalkeeper in the 68th minute.
Dutch League
An in-form PSV beat the struggling Ajax in Eindhoven in one of the most crucial meetings of the season.
Feyenoord Rotterdam beat RKC Waalwijk 4-0 and is level with PSV on points and goal difference, but PSV tops the standings with a game in hand. Also Sunday Roda JC waltzed over Den Bosch 5-0, SC Heerenveen won at FC Utrecht 2-1 and De Graafschap beat ADO in The Hague 2-1.
Ajax fell to sixth place, trailing not only PSV and Feyenoord, but also AZ Alkmaar, Utrecht and Heerenveen.
Manchester United said Monday it has rejected a business plan from Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer and ended takeover talks based on the plan.
Glazer last week raised his stake in Manchester United PLC to 28.11 percent. If Glazer's ownership reaches 30 percent, he is required by British law to make an offer to buy out the remaining stockholders.
Influential Manchester United fan groups, which helped block a takeover bid by Rupert Murdoch in 1999, have opposed Glazer's takeover bid. They contend Glazer is interested only in making a profit and would raise ticket prices.
In a statement yesterday to the London Stock Exchange, Manchester United said that Glazer's business plan was not in its best interests because any offer would rely too heavily on borrowed money.
"The board has informed the Glazer Family of these views and that it has therefore terminated discussions with respect to the current proposals," the statement said.
But the club pledged to continue discussions with Glazer, who is just short of the stake held by major shareholders John Magnier and J.P. McManus. The Irish racehorse owners retain a 28.9 percent stake through their Cubic Expression investment company.
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