November 05, 2006	Sunday	Shawwal 12, 1427

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LONDON, Nov 4: Manchester United celebrated 20 years under Alex Ferguson's command with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Portsmouth to stay top of the Premier League on Saturday.

The points were effectively in the bag after 10 minutes at Old Trafford with a Louis Saha penalty and a dazzling free kick from Cristiano Ronaldo. Nemanja Vidic headed the third midway through the second half.

With champions Chelsea not in action until Sunday, United forged three points clear with 28 from 11 games. Chelsea have 25 while third-placed Bolton Wanderers (20) lost ground by slumping 1-0 at home to Wigan Athletic.

Draw specialists Watford notched their first victory of the season, moving out of the bottom three with a 2-0 defeat of Middlesbrough while Charlton Athletic climbed off the bottom with a 1-0 home win over Manchester City.

Everton missed a chance to rise into the top four when they went down 1-0 at Fulham. Improving Liverpool joined them on 17 points thanks to a Dirk Kuyt double in a comfortable 2-0 home win against Reading.

Results:

Bolton Wanderers 0 Wigan Athletic 1

Charlton Athletic 1 Manchester City 0

Fulham 1 Everton 0

Liverpool 2 Reading 0

Manchester United 3 Portsmouth 0

Watford 2 Middlesbrough 0

—Reuters