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LONDON — Samuel Eto’o’s first hat-trick in English football gave Chelsea a 3-1 win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge as Jose Mourinho, who celebrated his first win in the Premiership over the Red Devils, sealed his 100th win with victory over the same opponents.Mourinho became the fastest coach to reach the 100-win milestone.
It was another bad day for United boss David Moyes and former England captain, Gary Lineker, who is now a broadcaster, rubbed salt into his wounds by wondering where the Red Devils would be today if they had appointed Mourinho. “I wonder where United would now be if they had appointed Mourinho?” Lineker tweeted soon after the match.
United had begun brightly, but it was Chelsea who broke the deadlock with one of their first attacks on 17 minutes as Eto’o saw a shot deflect off Michael Carrick and over a helpless David De Gea. De Gea could do little with Eto’o’s second which arrived just before half-time, as United failed to clear a corner and Gary Cahill crossed for the Cameroonian star to fire home from six-yards.
United would have looked to get back into the match early in the second-half but the game was put well and truly out of their reach as Eto’o helped himself to his third just minutes after the re-start. And it was again Cahill who played his part as he met Willian’s corner, De Gea could only parry and Eto’o was on hand to turn it home from close-range.
There was time for United to get on the score-sheet as substitute Javier Hernandez converted what proved to be no more than a mere consolation for David Moyes’s side.
And to make matters even worse, United captain Nemanja Vidic was shown a straight red in injury time for diving in on Eden Hazard.
The three points see Chelsea move back to within touching distance of leaders Arsenal and second-placed Manchester City — although the win — Jose Mourinho’s 100th in the Premier League — does mean the top-three are now six-points clear.
United stay in seventh, six points adrift of fourth place and 14-points off the top and the defence of their title surely now looks in tatters.
Emmanuel Adebayor scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur maintained their impressive Premier League run under manager Tim Sherwood with a 3-1 win away to Swansea yesterday.
Victory saw Tottenham make it five wins and a draw in the league since Sherwood replaced the sacked Andre Villas-Boas as they went level on points with fourth-placed Liverpool.
But this defeat at the Liberty Stadium meant Swansea had now gone eight league games without a win and were left just three points above the relegation zone. Adebayor’s first-half header sent Sherwood’s side on their way, with Chico Flores inadvertently turning a Kyle Walker cross into his own net eight minutes into the second half to seal Swansea’s fate. Adebayor made the game doubly safe, 20 minutes from time, with his second goal of the game and his fifth in his last six league games. Wilfried Bony bagged a late consolation but it was too little, too late for the Swans. — SkySports/SuperSport.
Online Reporter