Manchester United remained two points clear at the top of the English Premier League yesterday as Manchester City moved up into second place in the table.
Dimitar Berbatov’s double saw United beat Sunderland 2-0 at Old Trafford while City, who were third on goal difference at the start of the day, won 3-1 at Newcastle in a match where Carlos Tevez scored twice.
Tottenham Hotspur stayed in touch with the top four after winning 2-1 at Aston Villa despite having striker Jermain Defoe sent off after 28 minutes.
Arsenal, who started the weekend in second, and fourth-placed champions Chelsea will look to maintain their title challenges when they meet at the Emirates Stadium tonight.
United were ahead as early as the fifth minute when Ryan Giggs’s run saw him find Wayne Rooney, whose cross was headed in by the unmarked Berbatov at the far post.
United had several chances to double their lead before Bulgarian striker Berbatov made it 2-0 in the 57th minute when his shot deflected off Sunderland’s Anton Ferdinand – brother of United’s Rio.
“Dimitar could have scored four or five today,” United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. “He had some terrific opportunities.”
United are the only unbeaten team in the league this season with 10 wins and seven draws and Ferguson added: “We have come into good form.
“We are getting that consistency, particularly in our defending. These are good signs for us.”
Two defensive blunders saw Manchester City go 2-0 up inside five minutes away to Newcastle thanks to goals from Gareth Barry and Tevez.
Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul’s poor clearance was cut out by Tevez and the striker released Barry who scored from inside the area.
Tevez doubled City’s lead at St James’ Park just three minutes later after Newcastle’s Cheik Tiote gave the ball away.
The Argentine striker pounced and fed James Milner before getting on the end of the midfielder’s return cross and finishing emphatically.
Newcastle got back into the match when striker Andy Carroll headed in a Joey Barton corner in the 72nd minute.
However, Tevez sealed City’s win nine minutes from time when, after linking with Adam Johnson, his shot deflected off Newcastle’s Fabricio Coloccini.
At Villa Park, Rafael van der Vaart scored twice on his return for Tottenham Hotspur.
The Dutchman had already poked home Spurs’ 23rd minute opener when striker Defoe was shown a red card, perhaps harshly, after catching James Collins with an elbow when jumping for the ball.
But Tottenham hit Villa on the break and Van der Vaart applied a fine finish to find the net in the 67th minute.
Although Marc Albrighton got one back for Villa with eight minutes left, they could not find an equaliser.
West Ham moved off the bottom with a 3-1 win at Fulham as Wolves were left propping up the table after a 2-1 loss at home to relegation rivals Wigan.
England striker Carlton Cole scored two goals for West Ham, first cancelling out an opener from Fulham’s Aaron Hughes before concluding the scoring after Frederic Piquionne put the Hammers in front.
West Ham’s first away win in 27 attempts saw some of the pressure on their manager Avram Grant transferred to Fulham boss Mark Hughes.
At Molineux, Wigan went ahead in the ninth minute when Wolves failed to clear a corner and Hugo Rodallega volleyed home.
The Latics then doubled their lead 11 minutes later when Rodallega turned provider to find Tom Cleverley, on loan from Manchester United, who slid in their second goal.
Wolves pulled one back through Steven Fletcher three minutes from time.
Bolton sixth
Bolton Wanderers went sixth with a 2-0 victory at home to West Brom.
Matt Taylor started and finished a move with South Korea’s Lee Chung-Yong in the 40th minute before Johan Elmander made the game safe in the 86th minute.
Stoke moved up into eighth with a 2-0 away win at Blackburn. Robert Huth headed in a 51st minute corner before Marc Wilson’s last-minute strike secured all three points.
Blackpool’s match at home to Liverpool was postponed because of a frozen pitch while the clash between Everton and Birmingham also fell victim to the weather.
Results and standings
Premier League
Aston Villa 1
Albrighton 82;
Tottenham 2
Van der Vaart 23, 67;
HT: 0-1. Att: 39,411.
Red card: Defoe (T) 28.
Blackburn 0
Stoke2
Huth 51; Wilson 90;
HT: 0-0. Att: 25,440.
Blackpool p
Liverpool p
Bolton 2
Taylor 40; Elmander 86;
West Brom 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 23,413.
Everton p
Birmingham p
Fulham 1
Hughes 11;
West Ham 3
Cole 37, 73; Piquionne 45;
HT: 1-2. Att: 25,332.
Man. United 2
Berbatov 5, 57;
Sunderland 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 75,269.
Newcastle 1
Carroll 72;
Man. City 3
Barry 2; Tevez 5, 81;
HT: 0-2. Att: 51,675.
Wolves 1
Fletcher 87;
Wigan 2
Rodallega 9; Cleverley 20;
HT: 0-2. Att: 26,901.
Playing today
Arsenal-Chelsea - 21:00
Leading scorers
13 goals: Berbatov (Man. United)
12 goals: Tevez (Man. City)
11 goals: Carroll (Newcastle)
9 goals: Cahill (Everton), Elmander (Bolton)
8 goals: Nasri (Arsenal), Nolan (New-castle), Drogba (Chelsea), Van der Vaart (Tottenham)
Next fixtures
Tomorrow: 16.00 Man. City vs Aston Villa; Stoke City vs Fulham; Sunderland vs Blackpool; Tottenham vs Newcastle; West Brom vs Blackburn. 18.30 West Ham vs Everton. 21.00 Birmingham vs Man. United.
Wednesday: 20.45 Chelsea vs Bolton; Wigan vs Arsenal. 21.00 Liverpool vs Wolves.
Saturday, Jan. 1: 13.45 West Brom vs Manchester United. 16.00 Liverpool vs Bolton; Man. City vs Blackpool; Stoke vs Everton; Sunderland vs Blackburn; Tottenham vs Fulham; West Ham vs Wolves. 18.30 Birmingham vs Arsenal.
Sunday, Jan. 2: 14.30 Chelsea vs Aston Villa. 17.00 Wigan vs Newcastle.
The Championship
Barnsley 1 - Burnley 2
Cardiff 2 - Coventry 0
Crystal Palace p - Norwich p
Derby p - Doncaster p
Ipswich p - Watford p
Leicester 2 - Leeds 2
Middlesbrough p - N. Forest p
Portsmouth 1 - Millwall 1
QPR 4 - Swansea 0
Reading 4 - Bristol City 1
Scunthorpe p - Preston p
Sheff. Utd 2 - Hull 3
Standings: QPR 44; Cardiff 40; Leeds 39; Swansea 37; Norwich 36; Coventry 34; Reading 33; Burnley 32; N. Forest, Derby, Watford, Doncaster 30; Millwall, Ports-mouth, Hull, Barnsley, Leicester 29; Ipswich 27; Bristol City 26; Sheffield Utd. 25; M’boro, C. Palace 21; Scunthorpe 20; Preston 19.
League One
Huddersfield 0 - Hartlepool 1
League Two
Wycombe 2 - Hereford 1
Note: Several matches postponed due to frozen pitches.