LONDON, Dec 21: Manchester United swept to the top of the English premier league with a 2-1 away win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

United manager Alex Ferguson opted to include Rio Ferdinand two days after he was sentenced to an eight month ban for missing a drugs test - beginning in January - but the England defender had little to do in a game dominated by the champions, at least for the first hour.

They went ahead in 16th minute when defender John O’Shea got his toe to a low corner and made it 2-0 in the 23rd with a deflected Ruud van Nistelrooy shot following some slick midfield passing.

United remained in charge but were caught on the break when Gus Poyet poked in from close range in the 63rd minute after a clever low cross from the lively Stephane Dalmat.

On Saturday Arsenal drew 1-1 at Bolton Wanderers while Chelsea had a 1-0 away win against Fulham.

Earlier on Sunday Southampton climbed to fourth on 26 points after thrashing local rivals Portsmouth 3-0 at St Mary’s.

The first goal after 34 minutes came direct from a Jason Dodd corner while superb second-half finishes from Marian Pahars — his first goal for 15 months - and James Beattie completed a comfortable success in the first league meeting between the south coast clubs since 1988.

Portsmouth remain stuck in the bottom three and manager Harry Redknapp was furious with their performance.—Reuters