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LONDON. — Wayne Rooney scored a brace as Manchester United twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at Tottenham Hotspur in an entertaining Premier League encounter yesterday.
Spurs led twice, through a Kyle Walker free-kick and then a stunning strike from Sandro, but Rooney hit back on each occasion to extend United’s unbeaten record to 12 games in all competitions.
David Moyes’ side were thankful to leave White Hart Lane with a point, but having also drawn 2-2 at Cardiff City last weekend, this was another missed opportunity to gain ground on the top four.
Following the euphoria of the 5-0 mid-week thrashing of Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, it was a reality check for the champions, who remain in eighth place, nine points behind leaders Arsenal.
“We had a great win in mid-week and, but for a minute at Cardiff near the end, you’d have been saying Manchester United have had a really good week,” said United manager Moyes. “But United have to win. That’s why at the end we were still trying to get a way of getting the third goal, but we couldn’t quite get it.”
It is now 13 games since Spurs last beat United at home, but they were unrecognisable from the team thrashed 6-0 at Manchester City last weekend and continue to trail United by only a point.
Meanwhile, both Chelsea and Manchester City capitalised on Liverpool’s shock defeat by Hull yesterday to leapfrog the Merseysiders and close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Chelsea recovered from conceding a goal inside the first minute at Stamford Bridge, when Jay Rodriguez pounced on a poor backpass from Michael Essien, to beat high-flyers Southampton 3-1.
Second-half goals from central defenders Gary Cahill and John Terry, on his 400th league appearance, put Chelsea in front before substitute Demba Ba sealed victory with a 90th minute effort.
The win took Chelsea, now in second place, to within four points of Arsenal while City, who went third, were six points adrift of the leaders after another impressive home display saw Swansea beaten 3-0.
Samir Nasri scored twice after Alvaro Negredo broke the deadlock in just the eighth minute at Eastlands.
Earlier, Hull beat Liverpool for the first time in their history with a 3-1 win at the KC Stadium.
Liverpool started the match in second place but this result dropped them to third, even before Chelsea had kicked-off and City’s win meant they finished the day in fourth place. Hull took a 20th minute lead when Jake Livermore, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, scored his first Premier League goal with a deflected 25-yard shot
But Liverpool were level seven minutes later when England captain Steven Gerrard swept in a 20-yard free-kick.
Hull though put the result beyond doubt with two goals inside the final 20 minutes, David Meyler capitalising on a defensive lapse by Kolo Toure before Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel turned Tom Huddlestone’s shot into his own net.
“It is always nice to turn over Liverpool, but it was the response after the loss to Crystal Palace that pleased me,” said Hull manager Steve Bruce. Egyptian businessman Allam, in a controversial interview published just hours before the Liverpool match, told the Independent on Sunday: “I don’t mind ‘City till we die’.
“They can die as soon as they want, as long as they leave the club for the majority who just want to watch good football.”
Meanwhile, English Premier League strugglers Fulham have sacked manager Martin Jol, the club announced yesterday.
The London side have won just three out of 13 league games under the Dutchman this season, with only Sunderland and Crystal Palace below them in the table.
Fulham said former Manchester United assistant manager Rene Meulensteen, who only recently arrived at Craven Cottage as a coach to work under Jol, would assume responsibility for the first team with “immediate effect”.
Saturday’s 3-0 loss away to London rivals West Ham was Fulham’s sixth consecutive defeat and chairman Shahid Khan said “supporters deserve better” than to see the club in the relegation zone.
“Today I spoke with Martin to thank him for his efforts on behalf of Fulham Football Club over the past three seasons and, in particular, since my becoming chairman earlier this year,” Khan said in a statement on Fulham’s website. — AFP.
Online Reporter