Man U beat Newcastle 2-1, reclaim seven point lead over Chelsea, Liverpool
Man U beat Newcastle 2-1, reclaim seven point lead over Chelsea, Liverpool Manchester United took another big step towards a third straight English Premier League title after coming from behind to beat Newcastle 2-1 and reclaim a seven-point lead at the top of the table.
Wins for Liverpool and Chelsea 24 hours earlier had encouraged thoughts of the title battle being opened up once more, which were further encouraged by Peter Lovenkrands 9th-minute opener for Newcastle.
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Newcastle United's Alan Smith tries to tackle Dimitar Berbatov during an EPL game yesterday. Manchester United won 2-1. PIC/AFP |
But the stumble United's rivals had hoped for failed to materialise as United hit back through Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admitted his side had not been at their best but paid tribute to his players' determination.
"It wasn't a great performance," admitted the Scot. "We got off to a terrible start, and Newcastle were pumped up for it.
"But coming from 1-0 down was a good result for us. It required a lot of grit."
As well as a seven-point cushion, United have a game in hand over their rivals as they seek to close out the campaign.
Newcastle ended Edwin van der Sar's record-breaking run without conceding a goal in a league match at 1,311 minutes courtesy of a rare error by the Dutchman but the Magpies proved incapable of defending their early lead.
Elsewhere, Manchester City dented Aston Villa's hopes of securing Champions League football next season with a 2-0 win at Eastlands while Stoke escaped from the relegation zone by beating Bolton by the same margin.
Elano celebrated his return to Manchester City's starting line-up by netting a first-half penalty as City ended Villa's run of ten consecutive away victories in the league with a 2-0 win at Eastlands.
Stoke's win over Bolton came courtesy of a well-taken early strike by James Beattie and a late effort from Ricardo Fuller.
Tottenham bounced back from Sunday's penalty shoot-out defeat by Manchester United in the League Cup final with a 4-0 win over Middlesbrough that significantly eases their survival concerns and leaves Gareth Southgate's side mired in the relegation zone.
Robbie Keane opened the scoring with his first strike for Spurs since his January return from Liverpool. Roman Pavlyuchenko doubled the lead and a brace for Aaron Lennon saw Harry Redknapp's side cruise towards safety.
