Wayne Rooney produced a moment of match-winning magic as his stunning overhead kick gave Manchester United a crucial 2-1 victory over Manchester City in yesterday’s derby at Old Trafford.
United had seen Nani’s first-half opener cancelled out after the break when David Silva deflected in an Edin Dzeko shot, but Rooney’s spectacular late strike ensured Alex Ferguson’s side hold the bragging rights over their bitter rivals.
Rooney’s sixth goal of the season kept league leaders United four points clear of second placed Arsenal, who beat Wolves 2-0, and eight ahead of third placed City.
Ferguson saluted Rooney’s winner as the best he had ever seen at Old Trafford.
“It was stunning,” he said.
“We’ve had some fantastic goals here – Rooney hit a volley against Newcastle some years ago – but in terms of execution you’ll never see that.”
Nani opened the scoring for United in sublime fashion in the 41st minute.
The move began when Rooney flicked on Edwin van der Sar’s huge punt to Ryan Giggs. The Welsh midfielder played a superb pass through to Nani, who produced a fine first touch before surging clear of Pablo Zabaleta to shoot low beyond Joe Hart.
City levelled in the 65th minute thanks to a moment of extreme good fortune.
Shaun Wright-Phillips crossed to Dzeko but the Bosnian substitute’s shot was going wide until it hit Silva and looped past the wrong-footed Van der Sar.
But Rooney stole the show with one of the goals of the season in the 78th minute. Nani’s deflected cross looped towards the England forward and his acrobatic aerial volley flashed past Hart.
At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal kept the pressure on United with a 2-0 win against Wolves.
Van Persie put Arsene Wenger’s team ahead in the 16th minute with an emphatic volley from a Cesc Fabregas cross.
Wolves had ended United’s 29-match unbeaten run last week, but they are back at the bottom of the table after Dutch forward Van Persie delivered the knockout blow with a 56th-minute header.
Wenger, whose side blew a four-goal lead in a 4-4 draw at Newcastle last week, said: “The chances we created and the speed of our play was fantastic.
“We wanted to come back and win after last week – we know what we want to achieve; we are in the title race and in a good position.”
Tottenham climbed above Chelsea into fourth place as Niko Kranjcar’s goal clinched a 2-1 win at Sunderland.
With Spurs defender William Gallas changing his boots on the side of the pitch, Asamoah Gyan took advantage of the extra space to score in the 11th minute.
But Tottenham equalised just before half-time through Michael Dawson’s header and Croatian midfielder Kranjcar bagged the winner for the second successive week in the 57th minute.
Liverpool’s recent revival stalled as struggling Wigan earned a 1-1 draw at Anfield.
Kenny Dalglish’s side, without injured captain Steven Gerrard, struck first when Raul Meireles bagged his fourth goal in five games in the 24th minute.
However, Wigan shocked the Reds when Steve Gohouri prodded in the equaliser in the 65th minute.
West Ham staged a remarkable fightback to draw 3-3 at relegation rivals West Bromwich Albion.
Avram Grant’s side trailed 3-0 in the first half. With former Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson watching from the stands following his appointment as Albion chief on Friday, Graeme Dorrans opened the scoring in the third minute and Jerome Thomas netted the second five minutes later before Winston Reid’s 32nd-minute own goal put Albion further ahead.
But West Ham, who moved off the bottom of the table, refused to surrender and Demba Ba reduced the deficit in the 50th minute.
Carlton Cole netted for the visitors eight minutes later and Senegal striker Ba swept in a superb equaliser in the 83rd minute of a dramatic match.
Results and standings
Arsenal 2
Van Persie 16, 56;
Wolves 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 60,050
Birmingham 1
Zigic 90;
Stoke City 0
HT: 0-0. Att: 23,660
Blackburn 0
Newcastle 0
Att: 26,781
Blackpool 1
Grandin 14;
Aston Villa 1
Agbonlahor 10;
HT: 1-1. Att: 16,000
Red card: Makoun (AV) 70;
Liverpool 1
Meireles 24;
Wigan 1
Gohouri 65;
HT: 1-0. Att: 44,609
Man. Utd 2
Nani 41; Rooney 78;
Man. City 1
Silva 65;
HT: 1-0. Att: 75,322
Sunderland 1
Gyan 11;
Tottenham 2
Dawson 44; Kranjcar 57;
HT: 1-1. Att: 40,986
West Brom 3
Dorrans 2; Thomas 8; Reid 32 og;
West Ham 3
Ba 50, 83; Cole 58;
HT: 3-0. Att: 23,916
Playing today
Bolton-Everton - 17:00
Tomorrow
Fulham-Chelsea - 21:00
Leading scorers
19 goals: Berbatov (Man. United)
18 goals: Tevez (Man. City)
11 goals: Carroll (Liverpool)
10 goals: Bent (Aston Villa), Nolan (Newcastle), Van der Vaart (Tottenham), Van Persie (Arsenal)
Next fixtures
Tuesday: Premier League 20.45 Birmingham vs Newcastle.
Wednesday: FA Cup fourth round replay 20.45 Wigan vs Bolton.
Saturday: FA Cup fourth round replay 13.30 Chelsea vs Everton.
FA Cup fifth round 16.00 Birmingham vs Sheffield Wed.; Stoke vs Brighton. 18.15 Man. United vs Crawley.
Sunday: FA Cup fourth round replay 15.00 Man. City vs Notts County. FA Cup fifth round 16.00 Fulham vs Bolton/Wigan; 17.30 Leyton Orient vs Arsenal.
Monday, Feb. 21: FA Cup fifth round 21.00 West Ham vs Burnley.
The Championship
Barnsley 1 - Ipswich 1
Bristol City 0 - Leeds 2
Cardiff 1 - Scunthorpe 0
Coventry 2 - Crystal Palace 1
Derby 0 - Leicester 2
Doncaster 0 - Portsmouth 2
Hull 1 - Preston 0
Middlesbrough 3 - Swansea 4
Norwich 2 - Reading 1
Sheffield Utd 1 - Millwall 1
Watford 1 - Burnley 3
Playing today
QPR - Nottm Forest 14:15
Standings: QPR 59; Cardiff, Norwich 54; Swansea 53; N. Forest, Leeds 52; Leicester 48; Burnley, Millwall 46; Hull 45; Watford 43; Reading 42; Barnsley 41; Coventry 39; Ipswich 38; Doncaster 37; Derby, Ports-mouth, Bristol City 35; M’boro 33; C. Palace 31; Sheffield Utd 28; Scunthorpe 24; Preston 21.
League One
Brighton 4 - Hartlepool 1
Charlton 2 - Peterborough 1
Colchester 2 - Swindon 1
Dagenham 2 - Yeovil 1
Huddersfield 0 - Oldham 0
Ley. Orient 4 - Bristol Rovers 1
MK Dons 1 - Brentford 1
Notts County 0 - Exeter 2
Plymouth 1 - Tranmere 3
Rochdale 2 - Sheff. Wed. 1
Southampton 1 - Carlisle 0
Walsall 0 - Bournemouth 1
Standings: Brighton 56; Bournemouth 53; Huddersfield 50; Southampton 48; Charlton 47; Oldham, MK Dons 45; Rochdale 44; Peterborough 43; Colchester 41; L. Orient 40; Exeter 38; Hartlepool 37; Sheff. Wed., Brentford 36; Car-lisle 35; Tranmere 34; Yeovil, Plymouth 33; N. County 32; Swindon 31; Dagenham 28; Walsall, Bristol R. 27.
League Two
Acc. Stanley p - Southend p
Aldershot 0 - Macclesfield 0
Barnet 0 - Torquay 3
Bradford 1 - Wycombe 0
Cheltenham 0 - Hereford 3
Crewe 1 - Gillingham 1
Lincoln City 2 - Morecambe 0
Oxford Utd 2 - Rotherham 1
Port Vale 1 - Northampton 1
Shrewsbury 1 - Stevenage 0
Stockport 2 - Bury 1
Standings: Chesterfield 55; Shrewsbury 51; Wycombe 50; Rotherham 47; Bury, Gillingham 46; Port Vale 45; Oxford 43; Crewe Alexandra 42; Torquay, Southend, Cheltenham 39; Lincoln 37; Northampton 36; Stevenage, Aldershot 35; Bradford 34; Accrington, Morecambe 33; Hereford 32; Macclesfield 29; Burton, Stockport 28; Barnet 26.