Man United stays in command

LONDON – Wayne Rooney rescued Manchester United with a double strike to maintain their three-point lead over champions Chelsea at the top of the English Premiership on Saturday.

The England striker inspired the Red Devils’ comeback from a goal behind as they beat Sheffield United 2-1 while Chelsea defeated West Ham 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to keep themselves in hot pursuit. Arsenal’s patchy home form continued in a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United and Liverpool’s stuttering attempt to kick-start their season failed again in a goalless draw at Middlesbrough.Sheffield United took a shock 13th-minute lead at Bramall Lane through Keith Gillespie’s header against his old club.Rooney equalised in the 30th minute, beating Paddy Kenny with some good footwork.The Republic of Ireland goalkeeper, who had an eyebrow bitten off by a friend in a late-night brawl outside a curry house, had his week of misery completed by Rooney’s 75th-minute winner from close range.”They were two marvellous finishes,” Red Devils boss Alex Ferguson said.”The first came from a run across the defender.He has caught him on the hop, off-guard, and it was a great strike.”The second was terrific.Taking that kind of finish, when you are under pressure and you need to win, it makes it more special.”Chelsea kept up the pressure on both the Red Devils and West Ham boss Alan Pardew as they beat the visiting Hammers by a single goal, Geremi’s curled 22nd-minute free kick.”It would be unfair if they scored in the last period of the game because we were the better team, but it was a good game because both teams played with a good attitude,” Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho said.”They played an open game, they gave us problems – West Ham at least deserve to leave the stadium with self-belief about their future.”Struggling Newcastle United stunned hosts Arsenal thanks to Keiron Dyer’s 30th-minute goal at Emirates Stadium.Substitute Thierry Henry rescued a point, the club legend firing in a 70th-minute free kick.Liverpool were held at the Riverside in a 0-0 draw which left them ninth in the Premiership table and 16 points behind Manchester United, further denting their dreams of reviving a title tilt.Liverpool boss Jose Mourinho denied the Reds were lacking confidence.There was no fairytale start for rock-bottom Charlton’s new boss Les Reed as hosts Reading won 2-0 at the Madejski Stadium.Charlton had sacked manager Iain Dowie just 15 games into his reign in an attempt to stop the rot.But the trick failed due to goals from South Korea forward Seol Ki-Hyeon and Kevin Doyle.Everton had lost their previous three matches but returned to form at home to Bolton with a 1-0 win at Goodison Park through Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta’s 60th-minute long-range strike.”It took a special player to open the game up,” Toffees boss David Moyes said.Portsmouth came from behind to steal a 2-1 win over visitors Watford in the final minutes at Fratton Park.American defender Jay DeMerit put the Hornets ahead but in-form Portsmouth striker Nwankwo Kanu equalised just before the interval.Lomano LuaLua scored an 89th-minute penalty to leave the hosts third in the Premiership table at Watford second-bottom.Manchester City beat visitors Fulham 3-1 at Eastlands as Bernardo Corradi finally got on the score sheet for the home side.The Italian forward struck twice and Joey Barton added a third before Collins John scored a consolation goal.Nampa-AFPArsenal’s patchy home form continued in a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United and Liverpool’s stuttering attempt to kick-start their season failed again in a goalless draw at Middlesbrough.Sheffield United took a shock 13th-minute lead at Bramall Lane through Keith Gillespie’s header against his old club.Rooney equalised in the 30th minute, beating Paddy Kenny with some good footwork.The Republic of Ireland goalkeeper, who had an eyebrow bitten off by a friend in a late-night brawl outside a curry house, had his week of misery completed by Rooney’s 75th-minute winner from close range.”They were two marvellous finishes,” Red Devils boss Alex Ferguson said.”The first came from a run across the defender.He has caught him on the hop, off-guard, and it was a great strike.”The second was terrific.Taking that kind of finish, when you are under pressure and you need to win, it makes it more special.”Chelsea kept up the pressure on both the Red Devils and West Ham boss Alan Pardew as they beat the visiting Hammers by a single goal, Geremi’s curled 22nd-minute free kick.”It would be unfair if they scored in the last period of the game because we were the better team, but it was a good game because both teams played with a good attitude,” Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho said.”They played an open game, they gave us problems – West Ham at least deserve to leave the stadium with self-belief about their future.”Struggling Newcastle United stunned hosts Arsenal thanks to Keiron Dyer’s 30th-minute goal at Emirates Stadium.Substitute Thierry Henry rescued a point, the club legend firing in a 70th-minute free kick.Liverpool were held at the Riverside in a 0-0 draw which left them ninth in the Premiership table and 16 points behind Manchester United, further denting their dreams of reviving a title tilt.Liverpool boss Jose Mourinho denied the Reds were lacking confidence.There was no fairytale start for rock-bottom Charlton’s new boss Les Reed as hosts Reading won 2-0 at the Madejski Stadium.Charlton had sacked manager Iain Dowie just 15 games into his reign in an attempt to stop the rot.But the trick failed due to goals from South Korea forward Seol Ki-Hyeon and Kevin Doyle.Everton had lost their previous three matches but returned to form at home to Bolton with a 1-0 win at Goodison Park through Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta’s 60th-minute long-range strike.”It took a special player to open the game up,” Toffees boss David Moyes said.Portsmouth came from behind to steal a 2-1 win over visitors Watford in the final minutes at Fratton Park.American defender Jay DeMerit put the Hornets ahead but in-form Portsmouth striker Nwankwo Kanu equalised just before the interval.Lomano LuaLua scored an 89th-minute penalty to leave the hosts third in the Premiership table at Watford second-bottom.Manchester City beat visitors Fulham 3-1 at Eastlands as Bernardo Corradi finally got on the score sheet for the home side.The Italian forward struck twice and Joey Barton added a third before Collins John scored a consolation goal.Nampa-AFP