Manchester United remain at the top of the Barclays Premier League after second-half strikes from Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo gave them a 2-0 victory over Reading at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday. Sir Alex Ferguson's side had been frustrated for large periods of the game but eventually got the breakthrough in the 77th minute through Rooney. A clever dinked ball from Carlos Tevez was met by Rooney inside the penalty area and he was able to direct the ball past goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann into the bottom right corner of the net. Ronaldo added a second in the third minute of injury time after United broke with a swift counter-attack and the Portuguese winger calmly slotted home. Arsenal remain behind United on goal difference after striker Emmanuel Adebayor struck twice to help his side a 3-0 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage. The visitors had applied the early pressure and it paid off in the 19th minute when they took the lead through the Togo international. Neat interplay allowed Gael Clichy to break clear down the left flank and his cross picked out Adebayor, who powerfully headed the ball past a static Antti Niemi and into the bottom right corner of the net. Adebayor collected his 15th Premier League goal of the season in the 38th minute when he headed an Alexander Hleb cross past Niemi. Midfielder Tomas Rosicky capped a fine performance and scored Arsenal's third with a volleyed finish in the 81st minute. Chelsea kept up the pressure on the top two after they claimed a 1-0 win over a battling Birmingham side at St Andrews. Striker Claudio Pizarro headed home a Juliano Belletti corner in the 79th minute to give Avram Grant's side victory. Kevin Keegan's return to Newcastle for a second spell as manager ended with a 0-0 draw against Bolton on Tyneside. The best chance fell late on to Trotters substitute Jlloyd Samuel but his effort was saved by Shay given. Benjani Mwaruwari grabbed a hat-trick as Portsmouth ended their a six-match goal drought at Fratton Park with a 3-1 win over Derby. Defender Lewin Nyatanga had given the visitors the lead in the fourth minute with a close-range header but Harry Redknapp's side responded positively, Benjani equalised in the 38th minute after he latched on to pass Pedro Mendes and turned to smash the ball into the top right corner. The Pompey striker added a second four minutes later after he headed a cross from Hermann Hreidarsson past Derby goalkeeper Lewis Price. Mwaruwari added his 12th Premier League goal of the season 10 minutes after the half-time break following a swift counter-attack. The Zimbabwe international was put clean through by Mendes before he calmly stroked the ball past the despairing dive of Price and into the bottom right corner. Tottenham claimed a 2-0 win over Sunderland at White Hart Lane thanks to goals from Aaron Lennon and Robbie Keane. Spurs took the lead the second minute, with Lennon netting on his 100th appearance for the club. Jamie O'Hara's perseverance created the chance after he stole the ball off Sunderland defender Paul McShane and crossed the ball from the left flank. O'Hara's cross squirmed past Dimitar Berbatov and Danny Collins but Lennon was able to stab the ball past Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon. Keane latched on to a long ball from goalkeeper Radek Cerny before he unleashed an 18-yard strike in the second minute of added time. Blackburn missed out on the chance to push themselves into the UEFA Cup places after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Middlesbrough. Gareth Southgate's side opened the scoring at Ewood Park in the 13th minute from a set-piece that caught the home side napping. David Wheater raced in on the blindside to get his head on the end of Stewart Downing's free-kick and Brad Friedel managed to get a hand to the ball but was unable to prevent it going into the net. But Mark Hughes' side equalised in the 75th minute through Matt Derbyshire who tapped home Jason Roberts' knockdown inside the six-yard box. Source : www.sportinglife.com
