United goes top as City stumbles
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, March 12, 2012
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Wayne Rooney of Manchester United celebrated after scoring against West Bromwich in a Premier League match on Mar. 11, 2012.[Source: Sina.com] |
Manchester United went above Manchester City at the top of the English Premier League table when it beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 at Old Trafford yesterday while City went down to a 0-1 defeat at Swansea City.
Two goals from Wayne Rooney, the first after 36 minutes and the second from a 71st-minute penalty, lifted United on to 67 points from 28 games, with City slipping back to second on 66.
With United already 1-0 up, the game turned against West Brom in a five-minute spell in the second half after Jonas Olsson was sent off for tripping Javier Hernandez after 66 minutes. Five minutes later Keith Andrews conceded the penalty by hauling down Ashley Young.
City did not play well at the Liberty Stadium and was beaten by an 83rd-minute header from the unmarked Luke Moore to give Swansea, which missed a first-half penalty, victory.
On Saturday, Tottenham Hotspur blew open the race for the final two Champions League spots, slumping to a third straight loss as Chelsea closed on its London rival thanks to Didier Drogba's 100th goal in England's top division.
Spurs' hold on to third place loosened after Nikica Jelavic's winner in a 1-0 defeat at Everton, allowing fifth-place Chelsea to move within four points after Drogba's second-half goal in a 1-0 win over 10-man Stoke.
The battle to avoid relegation, meanwhile, was tinged with controversy after Queens Park Rangers was denied a headed goal by Clint Hill that clearly crossed the line in the match against fellow struggler Bolton, reigniting the debate over goal-line technology.
The incident occurred with the score at 0-0 and QPR went on to lose 1-2 by conceding a late goal, taking Bolton's place in the bottom three with just 10 games remaining.
Liverpool lost 0-1 at Sunderland thanks to Nicklas Bendtner's 56th-minute goal to leave the League Cup winner 10 points off Chelsea and Arsenal, which was hosting Newcastle United today.
