Paul Scholes scored a fairy-tale goal as Manchester United outclassed Bolton Wanderers 3-0 to go level on points with Premier League leaders Manchester City yesterday.
Playing his first game at Old Trafford since making a shock return from retirement in the FA Cup win over City on Sunday, Scholes fired United ahead in first-half injury time.
The 37-year-old’s strike was his 103rd goal in the Premier League and came just under 18 years after his first, scored on his debut against Ipswich Town in September 1994.
Late goals from striker Danny Welbeck and Michael Carrick made sure of the points as United – who also had a Wayne Rooney penalty saved – ended a run of two league defeats to leave Bolton firmly stuck in the relegation quagmire.
United manager Alex Ferguson was delighted by Scholes’s opener.
“He’s a great player. Some of the press has been negative about his return but that’s probably because it’s United but he’s still a fantastic player,” Ferguson said.
“He’s been in intensive training the last few weeks to get back to where he was today, and he showed what he’s had for the last 10 years.
“It was an important goal.”
Tottenham, meanwhile, missed the opportunity to join United and City at the top after being held to a 1-1 draw by Wolves at White Hart Lane.
Wolves stunned Spurs by taking the lead, Steven Fletcher bagging his ninth goal of the season after Roger Johnson headed on Matt Jarvis’s corner.
Spurs ramped up the pressure after the restart and soon drew level, Croatian midfielder Luka Modric rifling in the equaliser from the edge of the area.
Elsewhere, Chelsea clung on for a 1-0 victory over Sunderland at Stamford Bridge to remain four points clear of Arsenal in fourth place.
Chelsea took the lead on 13 minutes when Fernando Torres’s volley thundered off the underside of the crossbar and rebounded into the net off Frank Lampard.
Chelsea were forced to work hard for the win, however, and survived strong Sunderland penalty claims in the second half when Nicklas Bendtner appeared to be shoved over by Ashley Cole.
Liverpool’s push towards a top-four finish suffered another setback when they were held to a 0-0 draw at Anfield by Stoke City.
The stalemate was Liverpool’s seventh draw in 11 home matches this season, once again drawing attention to the Merseysiders’ failure to find a reliable goalscoring threat this season.
An eventful game at Ewood Park saw Blackburn Rovers recover from the early dismissal of striker Ayegbeni Yakubu to cling on for a 3-1 win over Fulham which moved the club out of the relegation zone for the first time in four months.
Yakubu was given his marching orders for a wild tackle on Fulham’s Danny Murphy mid-way through the first half, but Rovers shrugged off the setback to take a 2-0 lead with goals from Morten Gamst Pedersen and David Dunn.
Fulham were given hope when Damien Duff pulled a goal back against his former club on 56 minutes.
But Rovers striker Mauro Formica scored a late goal on the counter-attack to seal a win that moved Blackburn out of the bottom three on goal difference at the expense of QPR, who play Newcastle today.
Results and standings
Aston Villa 1
Bent 56;
Everton 1
Anichebe 69;
HT: 0-0. Att: 31,853.
Blackburn 3
Pedersen 45; Dunn 46; Formica 79;
Fulham 1
Duff 56;
HT: 1-0. Att: 18,003.
Red card: Yakubu (B) 23.
Chelsea 1
Lampard;
Sunderland 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 41,696.
Liverpool 0
Stoke City 0
Att: 44,691.
Man. United 3
Scholes 45; Welbeck 74; Carrick 83;
Bolton 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 75,444.
Missed penalty: Rooney (MU) 22.
Tottenham 1
Modric 51;
Wolves 1
Fletcher 22;
HT: 0-1. Att: 36,194.
West Brom 1
Long 68 pen;
Norwich City 2
Surman 43; Morison 79;
HT: 0-1. Att: 22,474.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Man. City | 20 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 56 | 16 | 48 |
| Man. United | 21 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 52 | 20 | 48 |
| Tottenham | 21 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 39 | 21 | 46 |
| Chelsea | 21 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 40 | 25 | 40 |
| Arsenal | 20 | 11 | 3 | 6 | 36 | 28 | 36 |
| Liverpool | 21 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 24 | 18 | 35 |
| Newcastle | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 29 | 25 | 33 |
| Stoke City | 21 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 22 | 31 | 30 |
| Norwich City | 21 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 32 | 36 | 28 |
| Everton | 21 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 21 | 25 | 25 |
| Sunderland | 21 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 27 | 24 | 24 |
| Aston Villa | 21 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 23 | 27 | 24 |
| Swansea | 20 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 20 | 23 | 23 |
| Fulham | 21 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 23 | 29 | 23 |
| West Brom | 21 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 20 | 30 | 22 |
| Wolves | 21 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 23 | 37 | 18 |
| Blackburn | 21 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 32 | 44 | 17 |
| QPR | 20 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 19 | 35 | 17 |
| Bolton | 21 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 25 | 46 | 16 |
| Wigan Athletic | 20 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 18 | 41 | 15 |
Playing today
Newcastle vs QPR - 14:30
Swansea City vs Arsenal - 17:00
Tomorrow
Wigan vs Man. City - 21:00
Leading scorers
17 goals: Van Persie (Arsenal).
15 goals: Ba (Newcastle).
14 goals: Aguero (Man. City).
13 goals: Rooney (Man. United).
12 goals: Yakubu (Blackburn).
10 goals: Dzeko (Man. City).
Next fixtures
Saturday: 13.45 Norwich vs Chelsea. 16.00 Everton vs Blackburn; Fulham vs Newcastle United; QPR vs Wigan Athletic; Stoke City vs West Brom; Sunderland vs Swansea; Wolves vs Aston Villa. 18.30 Bolton vs Liverpool.
Sunday: 14.30 Man. City vs Tottenham. 17.00 Arsenal vs Man. United.
The Championship
Brighton 2 - Bristol City 0
Crystal Palace 1 - Leeds 1
Derby 1 - Coventry 0
Doncaster 0 - Cardiff 0
Hull 1 - Peterborough 0
Ipswich 2 - Blackpool 2
Leicester 1 - Barnsley2
Middlesbrough 0 - Burnley 2
Millwall 0 - Birmingham 6
Nottm Forest 0 - Southampton 3
Portsmouth 0 - West Ham 1
Watford 1 - Reading 2
Standings: Southampton, West Ham 50; Cardiff 46; Middlesbrough 45; Reading, Hull 42; Birmingham, Derby 40; Blackpool, Burnley, Leeds 39; Brighton 38; Crystal Palace 37; Barnsley 36; Leicester City 35; Peterborough 33; Portsmouth 31; Watford 30; Ipswich Town 28; Bristol City 27; Millwall 26; N. Forest 24; Doncaster 23; Coventry 19.
League One
Bournemouth 2 - Notts County 1
Brentford 0 - Walsall 0
Bury 0 - Sheffield Utd 3
Colchester 1 - Scunthorpe 1
Exeter 0 - Hartlepool 0
Huddersfield 1 - Oldham 0
Ley. Orient 1 - Chesterfield 1
MK Dons p - Carlisle p
Preston 3 - Wycombe 2
Rochdale 1 - Stevenage 5
Sheffield Wed. 0 - Charlton 1
Yeovil 2 - Tranmere 1
Standings: Charlton 57; Sheffield Utd 53; Huddersfield 50; Sheffield Wed. 49; MK Dons 46; Stevenage, Carlisle 41; Brentford, Bournemouth 37; Preston 35; Bury 34; Colchester, Hartlepool 33; Notts County, Leyton Orient 32; Oldham Athletic 31; Tranmere 30; Exeter 26; Scunthorpe, Walsall, Yeovil 24; Wycombe, Rochdale 20; Chesterfield 17.
League Two
Accrington 0 - Barnet 3
Bradford 2 - Morecambe 2
Bristol Rovers 0 - Crawley 0
Cheltenham 2 - Aldershot 0
Dagenham 0 - Hereford 1
Macclesfield 1 - Torquay 2
Northampton 2 - Southend 5
Oxford Utd 0 - Crewe 1
Plymouth 2 - Burton Albion 1
Port Vale 1 - Wimbledon2
Rotherham 1 - Swindon 2
Shrewsbury 2 - Gillingham 0
Standings: Southend, Cheltenham 52; Crawley 51; Swindon Town 46; Shrewsbury 45; Oxford, Gillingham, Torquay 41; Burton 40; Accrington 39; Rotherham 37; Morecambe, Crewe 36; Port Vale 35; Macclesfield 30; Wimbledon 29; Aldershot, Bristol Rovers 27; Bradford, Barnet 26; Hereford 25; Dagenham, Plymouth, Northampton 21.