Manchester United 3 points clear of Blackburn Rovers

By Vic Mills

LONDON (JP): There is an all too familiar look to English Premier League after the latest round of matches with Manchester United three points clear of Blackburn Rovers followed by Chelsea and Arsenal a further point behind.

Goals from Roy Keane and Paul Scholes were enough to take United back to the top, but not before John Hartson had given West Ham a shock lead by pouncing on a weak backpass from Gary Pallister.

United, though, was still some way short of its imperious beat. Ryan Giggs, suffering from a hamstring pull, was fitful and unproductive and, in attack, Andy Cole looked out of place amidst the rich talent around him.

Manager Alex Ferguson will be hoping for a speedy return from injury for strikers Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Teddy Sheringham. In the meantime, United remains unbeaten without having yet played its best soccer.

Defensive frailties denied Blackburn a swift return to the top on Sunday as it missed out in a seven-goal thriller at home to Leeds United. The goals all came in an incredible opening 32 minutes.

Leeds went ahead in the first five minutes through Rod Wallace and Robert Molenaar only for Rovers to level through Kevin Gallacher and a Chris Sutton penalty. Wallace and David Hopkin restored the visitors' two goal advantage before Martin Dahlin completed the scoring.

As if to add to the chaos, the referee booked seven players, six of them from Leeds, sent off the visitors' left-sided midfield player, Harry Kewell, in the 78th minute and ignored two penalty claims by Blackburn that appeared to be valid.

There was no such drama at Selhurst Park where Chelsea moved serenely into third place with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace. Ruud Gullit has yet to use the same two strikers in consecutive games and he shuffled his pack again to pair the gangly Tor Andre Flo with Mark Hughes.

The Welsh International opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a trademark volley from Frank Leboeuf's perfectly measured 50-yard pass, the Frenchman struck from the penalty spit six minutes later and Graeme Le Saux concluded proceedings with a ferocious drive in the final seconds.

As significant as either scoreline or performance was the Chelsea substitutes bench which read like a Who's Who of Italian soccer with Roberto Di Matteo, Gianluca Vialli and Gianfranco Zola all saved for the battles ahead. The most immediate of which is at home to Arsenal next Sunday.

Arsenal gave notice to its intentions for the derby game by sweeping aside Bolton Wanderers 4-1 at Highbury. On a day of great personal achievement, Ian Wright became the club's all time leading scorer; a princely hattrick taking him two beyond Cliff Bastin's aggregate record of 178.

Victories

Confirming its early season form, Leicester City moved fifth after a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Filbert Street. Level at half-time, the woodwork having denied first Emile Heskey and then Ian Marshall, Leicester deservedly went ahead in the 54th minute through Steve Walsh. Further goals from Steve Guppy and the impressive Heskey completed a dismal afternoon for Spurs.

Another faltering performance on Merseyside saw Liverpool scrape home 2-1 against Sheffield Wednesday. Back to his Trojan best, Paul Ince single-handedly attempted to lift the ailing Anfield side. He scored in the 55th minute and managed with instinct and intimidation to hold sway in midfield. Late goals from Michael Thomas and Wayne Collins took the game to the wire.

It was back to the bad old days on Tyneside as defensive errors gifted bottom club Wimbledon a shock 3-1 victory over Newcastle United. Carl Cort and Chris Perry scored as defenders loitered without intent, while Efan Ekoku teased and turned Allesandro Pistone before firing home.

Everton was no less charitable at Pride Park where Darryl Powell and Robin Van der Laan were among the scorers as Derby County moved into mid-table with a 3-1 victory.

Elsewhere, Aston Villa beat Barnsley 3-0 with goals from Ugo Ehiogu, Mark Draper and Ian Taylor, while Coventry and Southampton drew nil-all.

On the European scene, there was a first goal in Italian soccer for Ronaldo as Serie A leader Inter Milan beat Bologna 4- 2. The Brazilian skillfully evaded Massimo Paginin before hammering home a left foot shot. The goal overshadowed two for Bologna by Roberto Baggio.

Fiorentina, the only other unbeaten side in Serie A, won comfortably 3-1 at home to Bari with two from Gabriel Batistuta and another from Andrei Kanchelskis. There was still no joy for AC Milan, however, as a last minute, penalty for Lazio by Giuseppe Signori canceled out an earlier strike from Ibrahim Ba. Juventus fared little better, drawing nil-all with Roma in the Stadio Olimpico.

In Germany, newly promoted Kaiserslautern held on to top spot in the Bundesliga with a thrilling 4-3 victory at home to VfB Stuttgart. Bayern Munich remains second, three points behind, with goals from Brazilian Giovane Elber, Carsten Jancker and Thomas Strunz in their 3-0 win over Hertha Berlin.

The positions remain unchanged at the top of the French first division where Metz, 2-0 winner at home to Cannes, holds a one point lead over Paris St Germain which beat third place Bastia 2- 0.

Familiar names top the league in Holland where Ajax, 4-1 victory over FC Groningen, leads Feyenoord, which drew 1-1 at home to PSV Eindhoven, by four points; and in Spain, where Barcelona, 2-1 winner over Deportivo la Coruna, leads Real Madrid, 2-0 conqueror of Real Sociedad, by two points.