LONDON, Aug 26: Champions Manchester United won for the first time this season when a superb shot from debutant Nani was enough to give them a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The 20-year-old Portuguese forward scored his first goal for United since his 8.0 million pounds ($16.02 million) transfer from Sporting Lisbon with an unstoppable shot after 68 minutes.

The win lifted United up from second bottom in the table to mid-table after their poor start of two draws and a defeat in their previous three league matches.

Spurs meanwhile, beaten for the third time in four starts, slipped to 17th.

In Sunday's earlier match Newcastle United led twice but were eventually held to a 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough in a lively Tyne-Tees derby in which Mark Viduka scored for Newcastle against his former club.

Results:

Played on Sunday:

Manchester United 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0

Middlesbrough 2 Newcastle United 2

Played on Saturday:

Arsenal 1 Manchester City 0

Aston Villa 2 Fulham 1

Bolton Wanderers 3 Reading 0

Chelsea 1 Portsmouth 0

Derby County 1 Birmingham City 2

Everton 1 Blackburn Rovers 1

Sunderland 0 Liverpool 2

West Ham United 1 Wigan Athletic 1

—Reuters