Sir Alex Ferguson set his sights on leading Manchester United to a record fourth successive Premier League title after his side went top of the table with a 2-0 win at Stoke City.
United will become the first team ever to win the English crown four years in a row if they retain the title this season and Ferguson is confident they can last the pace after knocking Chelsea off top spot on Saturday.
After a tight first hour at the Britannia Stadium, United finally broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute when Ryan Giggs, on as a substitute, slipped a pass for Dimitar Berbatov to tap in.
United defender John O’Shea ensured there was no way back for Stoke when he headed in a Giggs free-kick in the 77th minute.
“I wish we were saying this [being top of the table] at the beginning of May,” Ferguson said. “There is a long way to go, but it has been a good day for us.”
While United are in fine fettle, Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti saw his 100 percent record come to an end as Wigan Athletic won 3-1 at the DW Stadium.
Chelsea fell behind in the 16th minute when Charles N’Zogbia’s cross was headed home by Titus Bramble.
Ancelotti’s team leveled in the 48th minute when Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland allowed Didier Drogba’s shot to squirm into the net, giving the Ivorian his 100th Chelsea goal.
Wigan regained the lead, however, when Hugo Rodallega tumbled under the slightest contact from Petr Cech to win a penalty in the 53rd minute.
Cech was sent off by referee Phil Dowd and Rodallega picked himself up to smash the spot-kick past substitute goalkeeper Hilario.
Paul Scharner’s 90th minute goal sealed Chelsea’s fate.
“We didn’t play a good game, it was a bad performance,” Ancelotti said. “I don’t know why we didn’t play well, but these things can happen after a lot of victories. We have to accept this loss and fix things for our next match.”
Fernando Torres hit a hat-trick as Liverpool routed struggling Hull City 6-1 at Anfield.
Torres gave Liverpool the lead in the 12th minute with a fine finish from Albert Riera’s cross.
Hull hit back three minutes later when Brazilian midfielder Geovanni guided a volley past Jose Reina, but Spain striker Torres restored Liverpool’s advantage in the 28th minute. He took Yossi Benayoun’s pass and danced past Ibrahima Sonko and goalkeeper Boaz Myhill before slotting home.
Torres sealed the third hat-trick of his Liverpool career in the 47th minute when he converted another Benayoun pass.
Steven Gerrard added the fourth with a cross-shot in the 61st minute, then Ryan Babel scored twice in the last two minutes.
Arsenal rode their luck as Robin van Persie’s goal and a fine performance from young Italian goalkeeper Vito Mannone secured a 1-0 win at Fulham.
Van Persie gave Arsenal the lead in the 52nd minute with an impressive finish from a Cesc Fabregas pass, but it took several excellent saves from Mannone to preserve the victory.
Tottenham Hotspur striker Robbie Keane scored four times to inspire a 5-0 demolition of Burnley at White Hart Lane.
Ten-man Blackburn Rovers defeated Aston Villa 2-1 at Ewood Park.
Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor opened the scoring in the third minute, but Christopher Samba headed an equalizer for Rovers in the 24th minute.
Sam Allardyce’s Rovers had Australia midfielder Vince Grella sent off for a second booking midway through the second half, but won it in the 89th minute when David Dunn scored a penalty.
South Korea midfielder Lee Chung-yong scored his first goal for Bolton Wanderers to earn a dramatic 2-1 victory at Birmingham City.
Tamir Cohen headed in from close range for Bolton’s opener, then Kevin Phillips equalized for Birmingham in the 84th minute, before Lee’s winner two minutes later.
Louis Saha condemned Portsmouth to a seventh successive Premier League defeat as the France striker gave Everton a 1-0 victory at Fratton Park.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
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Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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