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| March 7, 2003 | Friday | Muharram 3, 1424 |
Silvestre keeps Man Utd in title race
LONDON, March 6: French defender Mikael Silvestre’s first goal of the season gave Manchester United a precious 2-1 win over Leeds United on Wednesday to move his team within five points of premier league leaders Arsenal.
The title hopes of third-placed Newcastle United suffered a body blow, though, when they lost 1-0 at Middlesbrough in the north-east derby to a second-half strike from Cameroon’s Geremi.
Victory at Old Trafford moved Manchester United onto 58 points, with champions Arsenal on 63 and Newcastle stuck on 55.
Silvestre stooped to head home a quickly-taken free kick by David Beckham in the 79th minute, catching the entire Leeds defence out of position and giving goalkeeper Paul Robinson no chance.
United had taken a 20th-minute lead through an own goal from Leeds’ South African defender Lucas Radebe, as he tried to intercept another Beckham cross, but they failed to make their near-total domination pay and were punished for slack marking by Mark Viduka’s equaliser in the 64th minute.
United responded by piling on the pressure and the win means Ferguson’s men are still set to challenge Arsenal for title honours, while Newcastle have to aim for a Champions League place.
Newcastle, whose strikers Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy failed to make any headway at the Riverside, were condemned to their first defeat in nine league games when Geremi headed home a cross from French defender Franck Queudrue in the 62nd minute.
Boro manager Steve McClaren, whose team moved up to 11th in the table, told Sky Sports: “It was a great goal, I thought we deserved it and that we deserved the win tonight.
Boro could also celebrate a first start this season for Brazil midfielder Juninho, who came on as a substitute to score the equaliser in last Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Everton after a six-month injury absence.
Results:
Manchester United 2 Leeds United 1
Middlesbrough 1 Newcastle United 0
KRAKOW (Poland): Striker Enrico Chiesa struck early in the second half as Lazio came from behind to beat Wisla Krakow 2-1 on Wednesday to reach the UEFA Cup quarter-finals where they will face Besiktas.
Lazio, held 3-3 by the Polish side in the first leg of the fourth round tie in Rome, made a nightmare start on a dreadful Krakow pitch when Wisla’s Marcin Kuzba scored in the third minute after a brilliant run by Kalu Uche.
But the Italians, who will now play the Turkish league leaders Besiktas over two legs on March 13 and 20, kept their nerve and equalised in the 20th minute with a header by Portuguese defender Fernando Couto.
Couto had another shot cleared off the line by a defender minutes later in a see-saw first half that saw scoring opportunities squandered by both sides.
After the break Lazio began to take control and Chiesa neatly volleyed the ball home from just outside the penalty box on 54 minutes.
After grabbing the lead, the Italians shored up their defence and were rarely threatened.
Lazio coach Roberto Mancini told reporters: “Wisla certainly started off well, but we turned out the better. Lazio deserved to advance, we showed our class in the second half.”
The pitch was frozen solid last week, forcing UEFA to postpone the match, before a combination of salt, sand and hot air blowers under makeshift tents defrosted the ground.
The game’s only casualty was referee Stuart Dougal, who limped off the field in the 15th minute with a suspected fractured ankle. Dougal, who was taken to hospital for x-rays, was replaced by fellow Scot Kenneth William Clark.
Wisla’s UEFA Cup run was the furthest any Polish club has gone in a European competition since the mid-1990s.
Revised draw for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup after the legs between Lazio and Besiktas were reversed:
Lazio (Italy) v Besiktas (Turkey)
Celtic (Scotland) v Liverpool (England)
Malaga (Spain) v Boavista (Portugal)
Porto (Portugal) v Panathinaikos (Greece)
First legs: March 13
Second legs: March 20—Reuters
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