31 August 2004	Tuesday	14 Rajab 1425

MANCHESTER, Aug 30: Manchester United's Premiership title challenge took a nosedive on Monday when they were held to a 0-0 draw by Everton. The result leaves United floundering in mid-table, seven points adrift of Arsenal and Chelsea, who have both won their first four matches.

David Moyes Everton produced a defiant display at Old Trafford on the day the Mersey siders are supposed to lose their star striker Wayne Rooney to United. Whether Rooney is the answer to United's problems remains to be seen, but on the evidence of this display there is no doubt about the need for an injection of imagination if United are to close the gap on their title rivals.

With a bit more luck in front of goal, they would have collected all three points from this rescheduled lunchtime fixture. But Everton deserved credit for a disciplined defensive performance that suggests there will still be life in Moyes's side once Rooney completes his expected move.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Alan Smith both came close to snatching victory for the home side with second half shots that beat Nigel Martyn only to come back off the woodwork.

Everton also had their veteran goalkeeper to thank for two fine saves in the closing minutes - one to tip over a back-header from his own defender Alan Stubbs and another reflex effort that denied Paul Scholes from close range.

But despite the frantic rearguard action towards the end, the visitors did not simply defend in numbers and they might even have come away with a win if referee Dermot Gallagher had spotted an apparent handball by Mikael Silvestre.

Shortly after Ronaldo had skipped past two defenders and thumped his shot off the post, Everton counter-attacked and Silvestre appeared to handle a cross from Lee Carsley. The visitors had also been the more positive of the two sides in the opening stages.

Alessandro Pistone sent a fourth minute header over the bar and Tim Howard had to race from his line to prevent Kevin Kilbane from capitalising on an error by teenage defender Jonathan Spector, who lost possession in the middle of the park to allow the Ireland winger a clear run at goal.

United gradually began to come into the match and might have gone ahead when Scholes released Gary Neville inside the area. The England full-back opted to shoot, missing the target when a return pass to Scholes might have yielded a better result.

SPANISH RESULTS

MADRID: Results of Spanish Primera Liga soccer matches played on Sunday:

Osasuna 1 Athletic Bilbao 1

Real Mallorca 0 Real Madrid 1

Real Sociedad 1 Levante 1

Real Zaragoza 3 Getafe 1

Sevilla 1 Albacete 0

R Santander 0 Barcelona 2

Atletico Madrid 2 Malaga 0

Espanyol 1 Deportivo Coruna 1

Numancia 1 Real Betis 1. -AFP