Ten-man Manchester United beat West Ham 4-1 Saturday with two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo to increase the pressure on title rival Chelsea in the Premier League.
United moved three points clear at the top with 84 points and a game left to play. United’s only rival Chelsea has 81 points with a game in hand and plays Newcastle on Monday.
“It’s been a great day for us and we’ve got a big chance,” Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said. “Our players have been absolutely fantastic this season. We were down to 10 men today and I said to try to run the clock down, keep possession and be patient in the second half and I’m very pleased because there was a bit of tiredness.”
United and Chelsea also play in the Champions League final on May 21 in Moscow.
Also Saturday, it was: Aston Villa 0, Wigan 2; Blackburn 3, Derby 1; Fulham 2, Birmingham 0; Middlesbrough 2, Portsmouth 0; and Reading 0, Tottenham 1; and Bolton 2, Sunderland 0.
On Sunday, Arsenal hosts Everton and Manchester City is at Liverpool.
Bolton effectively secured its place in next season’s Premier League with a 2-0 win over Sunderland. It now has 36 points in 16th place but has a much better goal difference than 18th-place Reading.
“We know we’re not mathematically safe, but it puts us on the road to being safe,” Bolton captain Kevin Nolan said.
That whittles the relegation battle down to three clubs.
Fulham moved out of the relegation zone for the first time this year with its win over Birmingham — pushing Reading down into the bottom three.
Fulham has 33 points for 17th place, ahead of Reading on goal difference. Birmingham is in 19th place with 32 points, with already-relegated Derby with 11 points.
“The atmosphere right now is euphoric and I’m happy about that because you need to take all the good moments that come in football,” Fulham manager Roy Hodgson said. “But it’s not finished yet and the euphoria of this week could turn into sadness next Sunday if we’re relegated.”
Ronaldo brought his goal tally to 40 this season with goals in the third and 24th minutes. Carlos Tevez and Michael Carrick also scored for United, which played with 10 men from the 37th minute after Nani was sent off.
For Ronaldo’s first goal, he took a goal kick from Edwin van der Sar, then dribbled from the sidelines into the box to score, with his shot deflecting in off West Ham defender George McCartney.
His second was more fortuitous. Owen Hargreaves crossed the ball into the box and, as it landed on his raised thigh, Ronaldo turned to divert the ball into goal.
It was Ronaldo’s 30th league goal and 40th of the season. He was taken off in the 64th minute for Darren Fletcher.
“Cristiano has had a fantastic season and he develops all the time,” Ferguson said.
Carlos Tevez made it 3-0 in the 26th against his former club, dipping in a shot from outside the box.
West Ham pulled a goal back in the 38th through an acrobatic backward scissors kick from Dean Ashton.
Manchester United had Nani sent off in the 37th minute for headbutting West Ham defender Lucas O’Neill, who was shown a yellow card.
Despite the man disadvantage, Michael Carrick made it 4-1 for United with a long range shot that deflected in off O’Neill.
United striker Wayne Rooney watched the match from the bench. He and defender Nemanja Vidic were not in the squad because of injury.
Fulham’s third straight win came after Brian McBride headed in a free kick from Jimmy Bullard in the 52nd minute and Erik Nevland made it 2-0 in the 87th. Fulham is at Portsmouth on the final day of the season — and Pompey will have one eye on the FA Cup final on May 17. {read more at source}
I also added loads of pics to the “unsorted” section [I decided to add all the pics from previews match to it -otherwise it’d take me ages until everything was organized - so expect more pics soon.
