LONDON, Jan 18: Manchester United beat Chelsea 2-1 at Old Trafford to move within two points of leaders Arsenal in the English premier league on Saturday.

Uruguayan substitute Diego Forlan scored the winner in injury time after Paul Scholes levelled Eidur Gudjohnsen’s opener for Chelsea who started the day in third place but ended it in fourth after Newcastle United beat Manchester City 2-0.

Alan Shearer equalled the record for the premier league’s quickest goal when he scored after just 10 seconds against Manchester City to give his side a superb start with Craig Bellamy adding the second after 64 minutes.

Shearer’s 10-second goal equalled the record set by Ledley King of Tottenham against Bradford City in December 2000.

Everton moved up to fifth place with American Brian McBride scoring twice on his home debut to seal the points in a 2-1 win against relegation-threatened Sunderland who led at halftime with a 34th minute Kevin Kilbane goal.

Bottom-placed West Bromwich Albion fought out a 0-0 draw at Leeds despite having Andy Johnson sent off late in the game.

Bolton remained locked in the relegation fight despite drawing 1-1 at Charlton where South African defender Mark Fish scored for the first time since April 2001 and Youri Djorkaeff equalised with a stunning bicycle kick late in the game.

In other action Tottenham won 1-0 at Aston Villa for the first time since 1986 and Blackburn, who had defender Andy Todd sent off after 28 minutes, drew 1-1 with Birmingham at Ewood Park.

Southampton were playing Liverpool later on Saturday while Arsenal host West Ham and Fulham meet Middlesbrough on Sunday.

Saturday’s results:

Aston Villa 0 Tottenham 1

Blackburn Rovers 1 Birmingham City 1

Charlton 1 Bolton 1

Everton 2 Sunderland 1

Leeds United 0 West. Bromwich 0

Manchester United 2 Chelsea 1

Newcastle United 2 Manchester City 0

—Reuters

Opinion

Editorial

A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...
GB polls’ aftermath
Updated 11 Jun, 2026

GB polls’ aftermath

The new administration must address the region’s issues proactively.
Peace in retreat
11 Jun, 2026

Peace in retreat

THE ceasefire announced in April was supposed to create space for negotiations. Instead, it has been repeatedly...
A few good men
11 Jun, 2026

A few good men

IT was a brave move, no doubt. This Tuesday, in the land of the Afghan Taliban, a few good men decided to take a...