Ruud van Nistelrooy helped Manchester United get another shutout victory Saturday, beating Aston Villa 1-0 Saturday to put the Reds level on points with co-leaders Tottenham and Charlton after two rounds.
Tottenham leads on goal difference after beating Middlesbrough 2-0 at White Hart, while Charlton edged promoted Wigan 1-0.
Chelsea and Arsenal play today at Stamford Bridge, with the victor drawing level in the standings with the leading trio.
PHOTO: EPA
Unlike last season's dismal start -- winning just once in the first five games -- Manchester United has made a fast start to the new campaign.
Van Nistelrooy scored in the 66th minute to follow up the Red Devils' 2-0 victory at Everton last week and its 3-0 defeat of Hungary's Debrecen in the Champions League earlier this month.
"There are goals here. I can smell them," said Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, whose team finished 18 points behind champion Chelsea last season. "We had some chances and their defense and 'keeper had fantastic games."
PHOTO: AFP
Jermain Defoe and Mido scored Tottenham's goals against 'Boro at White Hart Lane, while Darren Bent netted Charlton's winner against Wigan, which has started its first season in the top flight with two 1-0 losses.
West Ham, which was promoted last season through the League Championship playoffs, drew 0-0 at Newcastle despite having Paul Konchesky sent off soon after halftime and lies in fourth place. The Hammers are level on points with Manchester City, which won at Birmingham City 2-1, and West Bromwich Albion, which beat Portsmouth 2-1 thanks to two goals from Geoff Horsfeld.
Man City came from behind to win at Birmingham. Nicky Butt scored his first goal for the home side but Joey Barton and Andy Cole hit back at St. Andrews.
A spectacular long-range free kick from Xabi Alonso earned Liverpool a 1-0 victory over another promoted club, Sunderland, which had Andy Welsh sent off near the end.
Blackburn edged Fulham 2-1 with Denmark striker Morten Pedersen and Turkey midfielder Terimoglu Tugay scoring on either side of a goal by Fulham's Brian McBride.
Bolton and Everton meet today, each seeking a first victory of the season.
Park Ji-sung almost scored his first Manchester United league goal since his transfer from PSV Eindhoven, but Villa goalkeeper Thomas Soerensen pushed the South Korean's powerful long-range drive onto the crossbar in the first half.
Park was replaced midway through the second half by Cristiano Ronaldo, and the Portuguese winger set up the goal that made the breakthrough.
Rio Ferdinand broke from defense and fed the ball to Ronaldo on the right. The winger curled in a cross and the ball flicked off Villa defender Olof Mellberg and straight into the path of Van Nistelrooy, who scored with a tap in.
With four players missing through injury and suspension, Villa manager David O'Leary defended his team's negative tactic of playing one striker, Juan Pablo Angel.
"I am an attack-minded coach and like to take people on but circumstances dictated my plans because we had a few players injured," O'Leary said. "Within the budget we are trying to bring players in but we have to get on with it. That's life. The only worry I have is we will lose players through injury."
Reading went to the top of the League Championship with a 5-0 win over Millwall and was joined on nine points by Sheffield United, which hit back from a goal down to beat Preston 2-1. Luton's impressive start ended with a 2-1 loss at Stoke.
US international Eddie Lewis scored his first goal for Leeds United in a 2-0 win over Wolves.
Glasgow Rangers took full advantage of the first-half ejection of Alan Thompson to beat crosstown rival Celtic 3-1, while league leader Hearts maintained its 100 percent record by beating Aberdeen 2-0.
Croatia striker Dado Prso and Belgian forward Thomas Buffel put Rangers 2-0 ahead after Thompson had been shown the red card midway through the first half for an illegal tackle on striker Nacho Novo.
Shaun Maloney, a second-half substitute for Japanese star Shunsuke Nakamura, replied for Celtic from the penalty spot with four minutes to go. But Novo penalty added a third from the penalty spot for defending champion Rangers.
Celtic finished with nine men after fiery Northern Ireland midfielder Neil Lennon was also shown the red card for lambasting referee Stuart Dougal at the final whistle.
Hearts made it four wins out of four with Czech striker Rudi Skacel maintaining his record of scoring in each of his four games for the club. Michal Pospisil added a second five minutes from the end.
George Burley's team has 12 points from four matches with Rangers second with nine. Celtic is one of four teams tied on seven.
Hibernian scored a 2-0 victory at struggling Falkirk, last-place Livingston captured a point in a 1-1 draw at home to Dunfermline and Inverness tied 2-2 with Kilmarnock.
The highest-scoring match was at Motherwell, where Terry Butcher's side led 3-1 and 4-2 only to lose 5-4 at home to Dundee United. Lee Miller and Grand Brebner scored two goals each for the visitor at Fir Park.
Inter Milan captured the Italian Super Cup by beating rival Juventus 1-0 in extra time.
Midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron, fed by Brazilian teammate Adriano, scored the game-winner in the sixth minute of the first period of extra time with a right-foot shot from the area edge.
It was the second Super Cup title for the Milan side, which last won the trophy 16 years ago. Juventus, the Serie A champion, failed to equal AC Milan's record of five titles.
David Trezeguet had a first-half goal for Juventus disallowed for a dubious offside position, while a header by Patrick Vieira struck the post and bounced out in the 57th minute.
The match at Stadio delle Alpi in front of 35,000 fans was tense and well played despite battering rain.
"It was a tough match, and my players were almost exhausted in extra time. Beginning tomorrow we will think of Shakhtar Donetsk," Inter coach Roberto Mancini said.
Inter will play Shakhtar at San Siro on Wednesday in the second leg of the Champions League preliminary round. Inter has a 2-0 lead from the first leg.
The Serie A kicks off on Aug. 27, with Juventus, Inter and AC Milan as the favorites.
FC Barcelona won the Spanish Super Cup even though the league champions lost to visiting Real Betis 2-1.
The defending champions won the trophy 4-2 on aggregate.
Samuel Eto'o opened the scoring in the second leg at the Camp Nou, but Dani Martin scored twice for the Copa del Rey winners.
Barcelona began well and added to its 3-0 first-leg advantage after 15 minutes when Eto'o robbed defender Juan "Melli" Andreu and burst forward before firing the ball past goalkeeper Pedro Contreras.
Betis, which reserved six first-teamers for Tuesday's Champions League qualifier against Monaco, soon answered with two goals by the 30th minute.
Dani volleyed from Xisco Munoz's sweeping left-sided cross in the 24th, and the second arrived six minutes later when the striker took advantage of a poor clearance from defender Oleguer Presas to shoot home from close range.
With Ronaldinho demonstrating the skills which won him FIFA's World Player of the Year last December, Barcelona dominated the second half and should have leveled in the 66th minute when Eto'o shot tamely into Contreras' arms.
Barcelona right winger Ludovic Giuly was replaced by Sweden's Henrik Larsson in the 85th minute, but Betis held firm to gain a morale-boosting victory a week ahead of the new Spanish season.
Betis visits Valencia, while Barcelona plays at newly promoted Alaves in the opening round of Serie A football.
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
STRONG CONNECTION: Although she has considered switching nationalities, Garland said that if it was not for Taiwan’s support throughout her career, she would not be in Paris British-Taiwanese player Joanna Garland on Tuesday became the first Taiwanese to clinch a victory in a main singles draw of the French Open since 2020 after she outlasted the US’ Katie Volynets in Paris. The world No. 175, Taiwan’s highest-ranked female player in singles, said she would rely on her self-belief as she prepares for her second-round match at the French Open after overcoming a serious injury to qualify for a maiden Grand Slam appearance. After navigating her way through the qualifiers last week, Garland secured her first win at the main draw of a Grand Slam by battling past world No.
RSS