Sports News
Arsenal Beats Manchester United 2-1
Liverpool and Arsenal returned to winning ways Saturday to assert their Premier League title credentials, while Hull lost its third straight match after an impressive start to its debut campaign in the top flight.
Robbie Keane scored his first two league goals since joining Liverpool in the off-season in a 3-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion.
Samir Nasri also had a double, leading Arsenal to a 2-1 victory over defending champion Manchester United and easing the pressure on manager Arsene Wenger by snapping a three-match winless streak in all competitions.
Liverpool leads the standings by three points ahead of Chelsea, which is at Blackburn on Sunday. The Gunners moved over United into third place.
Bolton saw off Hull 1-0 courtesy of Matt Taylor's 50th-minute goal, while Portsmouth won for the first time since Tony Adams replaced Harry Redknapp two weeks ago. Jermain Defoe converted a 90th-minute penalty to beat Sunderland 2-1.
Everton rallied with three goals in the last seven minutes to beat West Ham 3-1, and Wigan and Stoke played out a 0-0 draw.
Liverpool was dominating West Brom, but took until the 34th to take the lead when Steven Gerrard pierced the visiting defence with a precision pass to Keane, who lofted over advancing goalkeeper Scott Carson.
Carson was again stranded on the edge of the area after Fabio Aurelio's pass split the defence two minutes before the break, allowing Keane to round the former Liverpool goalkeeper to score his second. ''It's nice, it's been a while coming, but I don't get down about these things,'' Keane said. ''Robbie Keane is hopefully back to his best, it's been a bit stop-start, but I'm getting better and better.''
Keane was denied a hat trick when manager Rafa Benitez replaced him in the 72nd with Fernando Torres, who returned from injury. Alvaro Arbeloa curled in the third goal in the 90th.
Arsenal's victory over United banished questions marks over Wenger's future after 12 years in charge.
The Gunners had drawn 0-0 with Fenerbahce in the Champions League, been held 4-4 by fierce rival Tottenham and lost 2-1 at Stoke in their last three games.
Nasri, an off-season signing from Marseille, halted the slump with Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie ruled out.
''I knew today that it was a big game for the future of the team, not the club, to keep in the race and knowing you can win big games is vital,'' Wenger said. ''It was a very important result. I couldn't imagine what would have happened if we had lost today.''
The breakthrough came in the 22nd when Cesc Fabregas crossed from the left and Dimitar Berbatov's headed clearance fell to Nasri, whose shot deflected off United right back Gary Neville to beat goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.
Three minutes after halftime, Arsenal strung together 15 passes - including an inspired run by Walcott on the left - to rip through United, and Nasri completed the move after receiving a pass from Fabregas to shoot over a sliding Vidic into the top corner.
United's failure to score until the match entered its final minutes wasn't through a lack of opportunities.
With Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo finding the target elusive, they were upstaged by an 18-year-old defender. Rafael da Silva, who replaced Neville in the 63rd, chested down William Gallas' half-clearance and volleyed past Almunia for a consolation goal.
''We could have been four up before they scored,'' United manager Alex Ferguson said. ''You hope to do better than that in big games, but it will come. We are making chances, that is the main thing. ''It was fantasy football, it was like playground stuff - you attack, we attack - and they got the goals that mattered.''
It was a loss to Hull in September that first put Wenger under pressure, but reality is now biting for the league newcomer.
Phil Brown's side found no way back after failing to clear a corner and Taylor's volley went to the right of goalkeeper Boaz Myhill.
West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola thought his first win since September was secure until, with seven minutes left, Joleon Lescott canceled out Jack Collison's 63rd-minute goal on his home debut.
Louis Saha clinched Everton's victory in the 85th and added another for good measure within two minutes.
Sunderland went ahead in the fourth minute through Djibril Cisse, but Nadir Belhadj equalized six minutes into the second half.
Defoe was denied a Pompey winner with three minutes remaining, but found the net from the penalty spot after Glen Johnson was tripped by El-Hadji Diouf.
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