Slick United down Villa as Everton falls

LONDON – Revitalised Manchester United beat Aston Villa 2-0 on Saturday with a goal in each half by strikers Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney.

Elsewhere on Saturday fifth-placed Bolton Wanderers crushed Everton 4-0 at Goodison Park and Portsmouth marked manager Harry Redknapp’s first home match back in charge with a 1-0 win over fellow strugglers West Bromwich Albion. Senegalese forward Henri Camara hit a hat-trick to give Wigan Athletic a 3-0 home win over Charlton Athletic and England striker Michael Owen also scored three in Newcastle United’s 4-2 win at West Ham United.Fulham beat Blackburn Rovers 2-1.Manchester City thrashed Birmingham City 4-1 in a late game in the northwest that will turn up the pressure on the visitors’ manager Steve Bruce.United quickly took control at Villa Park and almost opened the scoring when South Korean midfielder Park Ji-sung fired against the post.Two minutes later Van Nistelrooy put them in front when he collected a Darren Fletcher pass, shrugged off his marker and lifted the ball over Villa goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen.Rooney added a second with an emphatic low finish from Park’s pass five minutes into the second half.Everton’s mini-revival has ground to a halt, with Greek striker Stelios Giannakopoulos’s double strike the highlight of Bolton’s emphatic victory at Goodison.Portsmouth earned their first home win of the season thanks to Bulgarian striker Svetoslav Todorov.His 56th-minute winner assured Redknapp of a perfect reception in his first match back at Fratton Park since his controversial switch to their south-coast rivals Southampton.Camara doubled his tally for the season with a sparkling treble against Charlton to end Wigan’s poor recent run and lift them up to sixth place.Newcastle’s match at West Ham was subject to a delayed kick-off due to a traffic accident but it proved to be worth the wait for the visitors.Three cool finishes by Owen and a spectacular strike by former England captain Alan Shearer left West Ham in tatters at Upton Park and eased further the pressure on Newcastle manager Graeme Souness.Portuguese forward Luis Boa Morte netted what proved to the winner in Fulham’s much-needed win over Blackburn.-Nampa-ReutersSenegalese forward Henri Camara hit a hat-trick to give Wigan Athletic a 3-0 home win over Charlton Athletic and England striker Michael Owen also scored three in Newcastle United’s 4-2 win at West Ham United.Fulham beat Blackburn Rovers 2-1.Manchester City thrashed Birmingham City 4-1 in a late game in the northwest that will turn up the pressure on the visitors’ manager Steve Bruce.United quickly took control at Villa Park and almost opened the scoring when South Korean midfielder Park Ji-sung fired against the post.Two minutes later Van Nistelrooy put them in front when he collected a Darren Fletcher pass, shrugged off his marker and lifted the ball over Villa goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen.Rooney added a second with an emphatic low finish from Park’s pass five minutes into the second half.Everton’s mini-revival has ground to a halt, with Greek striker Stelios Giannakopoulos’s double strike the highlight of Bolton’s emphatic victory at Goodison.Portsmouth earned their first home win of the season thanks to Bulgarian striker Svetoslav Todorov.His 56th-minute winner assured Redknapp of a perfect reception in his first match back at Fratton Park since his controversial switch to their south-coast rivals Southampton.Camara doubled his tally for the season with a sparkling treble against Charlton to end Wigan’s poor recent run and lift them up to sixth place.Newcastle’s match at West Ham was subject to a delayed kick-off due to a traffic accident but it proved to be worth the wait for the visitors.Three cool finishes by Owen and a spectacular strike by former England captain Alan Shearer left West Ham in tatters at Upton Park and eased further the pressure on Newcastle manager Graeme Souness.Portuguese forward Luis Boa Morte netted what proved to the winner in Fulham’s much-needed win over Blackburn.-Nampa-Reuters