Premier League - United fight their way to top
Manchester United went top of the Premier League table with 3-1 win against a spirited Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.
Ryan Giggs opened the scoring from the penalty spot, only for Spurs skipper Ledley King to level. Nani then regained the lead for United with less than 10 minutes remaining before Giggs converted a second spot-kick to see United go two points above Chelsea at the top of the table with two games left.
Chelsea, whose goal difference is now just one superior to United's, play their game in hand at home to Stoke on Sunday.
Spurs remain on fourth place one point above Manchester City, who failed to take full advantage of the result as they could only manage a goalless draw at Arsenal.
Alex Ferguson said before kick-off that this current Spurs side had the most substance of any he had faced during his tenure as United boss, and the visitors certainly exhibited that in abundance.
The fact that they were optimistic of grabbing their first league win at Old Trafford in 20 years, and become the first side to beat all of the 'big four' clubs in one season since Leeds in 1994-5, was a mark of the progress they have made under Harry Redknapp.
A groin strain ruled England striker Wayne Rooney out of the match, so it was left to former Spurs striker Dimitar Berbatov to lead the line for United.
After a measured opening half-hour from both sides, it was the Bulgarian who had the game's first real chance when a loose ball ran to him on the edge of the six-yard box, but his shot on the turn was blocked heroically by King.
That chance heralded a brief but threatening spell for United, in which Antonio Valencia's low shot was saved by Heurelho Gomes and Patrice Evra fired over the bar after latching on to a delightful chipped reverse pass from Nani.
The Portuguese winger's line of supply was at times incisive, but his defensive contribution yielded a booking for a foul on David Bentley. Tottenham's man of the moment Gareth Bale struck the dead ball, but his effort was high of the target.
Berbatov had another opportunity as half-time approached, bringing Rafael's cross down and turning away from Benoit Assou-Ekotto, but could only fire his strike into the crowd.
For all their defensive solidity and midfield craft, the Spurs strike duo of Roman Pavlyuchenko and Jermain Defoe struggled to get into the match. Pavlyuchenko had a speculative effort in the first half, but he could have opened the scoring right after the break when Bentley's hooked cross bounced off Defoe and down to the Russian striker, but Evra did enough to put him off his stride.
Darren Fletcher should have put United ahead 10 minutes into the half when Berbatov nodded Evra's cross into his path, but the Scotsman could not get a telling touch from close range at full stretch.
Soon afterwards Wilson Palacios and Nani had decent chances saved and hit the sidenetting respectively, before United won the penalty that saw them take the lead.
Berbatov showed great drive to surge into the Spurs box before playing a backheel into the path of Evra. Stand-in right-back Assou-Ekotto slid in rashly on the Frenchman and referee Andre Marriner did not hesitate in pointing to the spot. Gomes got a hand to Giggs's penalty, but he could not stop the United skipper firing his side into the lead.
Redknapp shuffled his pack by bringing on winger Aaron Lennon for his first appearance since December and moving Bale up to the left wing. The move produced the equaliser with 20 minutes remaining after a corner that Bale won was headed in by King. The Spurs captain was fortunate not to be penalised for pushing on the shoulders of Jonny Evans as he rose for the header, and Rafael was caught off balance at the post and was unable to stop the ball hitting the back of the net.
Ferguson responded by bringing on teenage striker Federico Macheda with 10 minutes left, and the Italian gave a contribution that could prove as instrumental as his famous goal against Aston Villa last season when he set up Nani's goal soon afterwards. Macheda rolled the ball into the path of Nani, who lifted a sumptuous chip over Gomes that dropped into the net.
The game was over as a contest five minutes later when Palacios clumsily bundled over Nani inside the area, and Giggs fired an emphatic spot-kick past Gomes to send United top.
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United kembali ke takhta
LONDON - Manchester United kembali menerajui takhta Liga Perdana England selepas mene- waskan Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 di Old Trafford semalam. Kemenangan tersebut menyaksikan United mengumpul 79 mata, dua mata meninggalkan Chelsea yang jatuh ke tangga kedua.
Begitupun, Chelsea diramal kembali menerajui carta liga sekiranya berjaya menewaskan Stoke City di Stamford Bridge malam ini.
Pada aksi semalam, Ryan Giggs terlebih dahulu membuka tirai jaringan buat United apabila berjaya menyempurnakan sepakan penalti yang diperoleh setelah Patrice Evra dijatuhkan dalam kotak penalti pada minit ke-58.
Namun, Spurs berjaya menyamakan kedudukan menerusi jaringan Ledley King minit ke- 70 sebelum Nani meletakkan United kembali di depan mene- rusi jaringan yang cukup mena- rik pada minit ke-81.
NANI meraikan jaringannya ketika United menentang Spurs pada aksi Liga Perdana England di Old Trafford semalam. United menang 3-1.
Giggs melengkapkan hari gemilang United apabila menyumbat gol ketiga juga menerusi sepakan penalti selepas Nani dikasari dalam kotak penalti pada minit ke-86. Pengurus United, Alex Fergu- son ternyata kagum dengan persembahan yang dipamerkan Nani dan menganggap jaringan yang dilakukan pemain antara- bangsa Portugal itu bertaraf dunia.
"Jaringan yang dilakukan Nani sememangnya memiliki kelas yang tersendiri dan itu sudah cukup bagi membuktikan kehe- batannya selaku pemain bola sepak," jelas Ferguson.
Beliau turut mengesahkan Wayne Rooney tidak dapat diturunkan dalam baki dua perla- wanan liga selepas mengalami kecederaan pangkal paha ketika menjalani latihan Khamis lalu.
"Sukar bagi saya untuk menjelaskan mengenai kecederaan yang dialami Rooney itu kerana ia pasti mengambil masa dalam dua hingga tiga minggu untuk kembali pulih.
"Kami akan cuba sedaya upaya untuk memberinya peluang kembali beraksi sebelum perlawanan terakhir liga, namun hanya masa yang akan menentukan," katanya.
Terdahulu, Rooney terpaksa diketepikan dalam masa beberapa minggu berikutan kecederaan buku lali yang dialaminya ketika beraksi dalam saingan Liga Juara-Juara. - AFP
Status : married with two daughter