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On Tuesday, two Premier League matches took place, where the leaders "Man Utd" and "Arsenal" secured victories at home against teams at the bottom of the tournament table.
In Manchester, the hosts took the lead after just 4 minutes - Cristiano Ronaldo broke through several opponents towards the goal, passed the ball to Michael Carrick on the right, who then passed the ball through the goalkeeper into the net. Wayne Rooney almost doubled the score shortly after, but was denied by Sheffield Utd's goalkeeper Paddy Kenny.
W. Rooney celebrated a goal in the 50th minute after receiving a long pass from Ryan Giggs into the penalty area, he controlled the ball and struck it accurately into the bottom corner of the net. P. Kenny then saved his team from R. Giggs and C. Ronaldo's shots. Meanwhile, Sheffield Utd could have restored intrigue at the end of the match, but Michael Tonge's shot shook the crossbar.
After this victory, "Man Utd" pulled ahead by 6 points from their pursuers "Chelsea," but have played 1 more match.
In London, "Arsenal" also scored a quick goal in the match against "Man City" - 12 minutes in, after a pass from Emmanuel Eboue from the right, Czech Tomas Rosicky redirected the ball into the net.
The Gunners continued to pressure their opponents throughout the first half, but just before its end, they conceded a goal against the run of play. Jens Lehmann unsuccessfully tried to clear the ball, it was intercepted by Joey Barton, passed to Michael Johnson, who then made a precise pass to DaMarcus Beasley, and the American scored accurately. Soon after, J. Lehmann saved his team from J. Barton's shot.
"Man City" started the second half with attacks, but the game quickly settled down into its rhythm. A shot from Aleksandr Hleb went wide, and a great header from Emmanuel Adebayor was saved by Andreas Isaksson.
The hosts' pressure paid off. In the 73rd minute, Cesc Fabregas scored with a deceptive long shot for the second match in a row, and in the 80th minute, Julio Baptista sealed the victory with a goal from the penalty spot after A. Hleb's pass.
After the win, "Arsenal" returned to 3rd place in the table.
Three more matches will take place on Wednesday.
Stats:
"Arsenal" 3 - 1 "Man City" 12‘ [1 - 0] Tomas Rosicky 41‘ [1 - 1] DaMarcus Beasley 73‘ [2 - 1] Cesc Fabregas 80‘ [3 - 1] Julio Baptista
"Man Utd" 2 - 0 "Sheffield Utd" 4‘ [1 - 0] Michael Carrick 50‘ [2 - 0] Wayne Rooney
League Table:
