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Ronaldo double send United top
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Manchester United ended its goal drought Saturday by beating Wigan 4-0 to move top of the Premier League.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice while Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez also scored to give United 20 points - one more than Arsenal, which hosts Sunderland on Sunday.
Ronaldo scored in the 60th and 76th minutes. Ryan Giggs sent the ball into the box and, after Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland pushed away his deflected shot, Ronaldo headed in at close range for his first goal.
Rooney crossed for Ronaldo to score his second goal and added the third for United with a 82nd-minute header.
Tevez had put United in the lead in the 54th, evading two Wigan defenders and dribbling around the approaching Kirkland to score.
It was the first time this season that United has scored more than two goals in any competition. United's 1-0 victory Tuesday over AS Roma in the Champions League was its sixth single-goal victory in eight matches this season.
Later Saturday, Aston Villa played West Ham.
On Sunday, it's: Arsenal vs. Sunderland; Reading vs. Derby; Liverpool vs. Tottenham; Bolton vs. Chelsea; Newcastle vs. Everton; Manchester City vs. Middlesbrough; Blackburn vs. Birmingham; and Fulham vs. Portsmouth.
It was a bad day for United injury-wise, with defenders Nemanja Vidic and John O'Shea taken off in the first half, and striker Louis Saha hurt in the warmup.
Vidic hurt his head in an aerial collision with Wigan defender Marcus Bent in the second minute and needed treatment.
Fifteen minutes later, Vidic was again looked at by medical staff on the side of the field and talked at length with United manager Alex Ferguson. He was taken off in the 21st minute for Anderson, forcing a reshuffle of the United defence.
It didn't last long. O'Shea, who had moved back to central defence to allow Anderson to play in midfield, came off in the 30th minute with a leg injury. He was replaced by fullback Daniel Simpson for his second United appearance.
Injuries had already prompted Ferguson to give Gerard Pique his second Premier League start at right back. And after Saha was hurt during the warmup, midfielder Chris Eagles replaced him on the bench.
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