LONDON (AP)—Manchester United maintained its title charge on Saturday by beating Tottenham 5-2 after a remarkable second-half comeback wiped out the visitors’ two-goal advantage.Darren Bent and Luka Modric put Spurs in control before halftime, but Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney each scored twice before Dimitar Berbatov grabbed a fifth to keep the defending champions three points clear at the top of the Premier League.“It was a brilliant comeback—the first half we played too slowly and Tottenham caused us problems on the right hand side,” Rooney said. “Now we’re obviously in a great position.”
Spurs were furious that Ronaldo was able to start the rally from the penalty spot in the 57th. Goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes was penalized for hauling down Michael Carrick, despite protests that he touched the ball first.“I think we were a bit fortunate,” United manager Alex Ferguson said.The 17-time English champions have a game in hand over Liverpool, which won 3-1 at 10-man Hull as Dirk Kuyt scored twice on his 100th appearance. Chelsea remains six points off the lead after its 1-0 win at West Ham.
Hull’s third straight loss left it three points above the relegation zone, having been in the top four in October.Bottom-placed West Bromwich Albion won for the first time in three months, dispatching Sunderland 3-0 to close the gap on next-from-bottom Newcastle to two points.
At Upton Park, Chelsea took until the 55th to score, with Salomon Kalou controlling Frank Lampard’s cross and firing it past West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green.Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech saved a second-half penalty from Mark Noble.
Fulham dislodged West Ham from the seventh European qualification spot by beating Stoke 1-0 thanks to Erik Nevland’s goal.
Manchester City is just three points behind the London club after winning 2-1 at FA Cup finalist Everton—just its second away win of the season.
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