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LONDON, Sept 27: Ruud van Nistelrooy produced the perfect response to his critics with a hat trick as Manchester United thrashed Premiership newcomers Leicester 4-1 on Saturday to close in on Arsenal at the top of the Premiership.
Chelsea also moved back to within a point of the leaders after being made to work hard for a 1-0 win over Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.
At the other end of the table, a Kevin Davies equaliser for Bolton denied Wolves their first Premiership victory after they had taken the lead with a stunning 30-yard volley by Alex Rae.
Van Nistelrooy, branded a cheat by Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger after last weekend’s ill-tempered goalless draw at Old Trafford, let his boots do the talking with the fourth hat-trick of his United career.
Paul Scholes marked his return to the United side after a month sidelined by a hernia problem with a delightful chip to set up Roy Keane for United’s opener after 15 minutes.
Van Nistelrooy hammered in a rebound from a Scholes shot to make it two a minute later and further strikes on the stroke of half time and seven minutes after the interval took the Dutch striker’s Premiership tally for the season to seven in seven games.
Frank Sinclair scored a late consolation for the outclassed home side.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink continued his drive to prove he is not surplus to requirements at Chelsea following the arrival of Hernan Crespo and Adrian Mutu with his fifth league goal of the season.
Hasselbaink tapped in from two yards two minutes before the interval after Thomas Sorensen failed to hold a Frank Lampard shot and that proved to be enough to secure all three points.
Birmingham bounced back from their shock League Cup exit at the hands of second division Blackpool with a 2-0 win over Portsmouth.
Midfielder Stephen Clemence and Australian winger Stan Lazaridis scored the goals that lifted Steve Bruce’s side, who are unbeaten in six games in the league, to fourth in the table.
Southampton’s unbeaten start to the season came to an end with a 1-0 defeat at home to Middlesbrough.
Malcolm Christie was Boro’s match-winner with a 13th-minute strike and Southampton’s frustration was underlined when Kevin Phillips was sent off in the closing minutes for kicking out at French defender Franck Queudrue.
Premier League
Birmingham City 2 Portsmouth 0
Bolton Wanderers 1 Wolves 1
Chelsea 1 Aston Villa 0
Leicester City 1 Manchester United 4
Southampton 0 Middlesbrough 1
Played on Friday:
Arsenal 3 Newcastle United 2
STYLISH VICTORY
BERLIN: Bundesliga leaders VfB Stuttgart warmed up for their Champions League clash against Manchester United with a stylish 3-0 win at TSV 1860 Munich on Saturday.
Last season’s runners-up, who have yet to concede a goal this season, stayed a point clear at the top and remain the only side still to lose after seven games.
Werder Bremen moved a place up to second with a 4-1 victory at bottom club Cologne that put them ahead of third-placed Bayer Leverkusen on goal difference.
French playmaker Johan Micoud opened the scoring and was the inspiration behind Werder’s comfortable win, which made Cologne coach Friedhelm Funkel’s position even less comfortable.
Leverkusen confirmed that they have put last season’s tribulations behind when a second-half goal from Germany midfielder Bernd Schneider gave them a 1-0 win and their first Bundesliga victory at VfL Wolfsburg.
In Munich, an early effort from midfielder captain Zvonimir Soldo and a penalty from defender Fernando Meira put Stuttgart 2-0 up at the interval. Belarus playmaker Alexander Gleb wrapped it up after a superb solo run five minutes into the second half.
Bundesliga results
VfL Wolfsburg 0 Bayer Leverkusen 1
Kaiserslautern 1 Hanover 96 0
Borussia Moenchengladbach 2 VfL Bochum 2
Hansa Rostock 1 Bayern Munich 2
Cologne 1 Werder Bremen 4
TSV 1860 Munich 0 VfB Stuttgart 3
Borussia Dortmund 1 SC Freiburg 0
Seven-up for Rangers
GLASGOW: Rangers extended their perfect start to the season to seven matches thanks to a late, late show against Dundee at Ibrox on Saturday.
The visitors came within four minutes of snatching a point only to concede two late goals as Rangers restored their two-point lead over Celtic at the top of the table with a 3-1 victory.
Celtic beat Hibs 2-1 earlier in the day but a red card for Bobo Balde means they will be without the big defender for next weekend’s first Old Firm clash of the season.
Dundee’s Spanish striker Nacho Novo looked to have put his side on course for a share of the points when he equalised 13 minutes from the end.
Scottish Premier League results
Aberdeen 0 Livingston 3
Dundee United 1 Kilmarnock 1
Dunfermline Athletic 2 Partick Thistle 1
Hibernian 1 Celtic 2
Motherwell 1 Hearts 1
Rangers 3 Dundee 1
—Agencies
