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LONDON, Nov 30: Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the English Premier League to four points Saturday after two more goals by Thierry Henry helped them to a 3-1 home win over Aston Villa.
Midfielder Robert Pires put Arsenal ahead after 17 minutes and red-hot Henry, who grabbed a hat trick in their midweek Champions League win over AS Roma, curled in a superb second from a 49th-minute free kick, and added a late penalty after Thomas Hitzlsperger had briefly raised Villa’s hopes.
Arsenal moved to 35 points, four ahead of Liverpool, who host Manchester United on Sunday. Chelsea climbed to third on 30 after second-half goals by defenders William Gallas and Marcel Desailly and striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink gave them a 3-0 home win over Sunderland. Everton, away to Newcastle United on Sunday, are fourth on 29.
West Bromwich Albion beat Middlesbrough 1-0, their first win in 11 games, Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Brad Friedel saved a penalty as his side beat Fulham 2-1, Manchester City defeated Bolton Wanderers 2-0, and Birmingham City and Tottenham Hotspur drew 1-1 at St Andrews.
Premier League
Arsenal 3 Aston Villa 1
Birmingham City 1 T. Hotspur 1
Blackburn Rovers 2 Fulham 1
Chelsea 3 Sunderland 0
Manchester City 2 Bolton Wanderers 0
W. B. Albion 1 Middlesbrough 0
BERLIN: Two goals from Michael Ballack gave runaway German first division leaders Bayern Munich a 2-0 win over Hertha Berlin Saturday.
The Germany playmaker put the home side in the lead from 17 metres out five minutes from the break and he wrapped it up from the penalty spot in the 71st minute after Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz was brought down in the box by Hertha defender Marko Rehmer.
The victory put Bayern, reduced to domestic duties since bowing out of Europe, eight points clear of champions Borussia Dortmund, who climbed two spots up to second by fighting back from a goal down for a 2-1 win at lowly Nuremberg.
Czech midfielder David Jarolim put Nuremberg ahead in the third minute but Dortmund woke up after the break with goals from midfielder Lars Ricken and Brazilian striker Ewerthon.
Bayern are virtually certain to reach the halfway point in the lead with two games remaining before the winter break, even if Werder Bremen, now third nine points adrift, recapture second place and close the gap to six points by beating VfB Stuttgart Sunday.
German first division results
Energie Cottbus 3 TSV 1860 Munich 4
Nuremberg 1 B. Dortmund 2
Bayern Munich 2 Hertha Berlin 0
Hansa Rostock 3 B’Moenchengladbach 1
VfL Bochum 0 Arminia Bielefeld 3
Bayer Leverkusen 2 Hamburg SV 3
Kaiserslautern 2 VfL Wolfsburg 0
—Reuters
