Manchester United stays clear on top of the Premiership

By Vic Mills

LONDON (JP): Manchester United remains one point clear of Liverpool at the top of the English Premiership, thanks to a 2-1 win Wednesday night at Arsenal.

The Merseyside club renewed its title challenge with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Leeds United.

An ill-tempered game at Highbury reached the boiling point in the 76th minute, when goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel remained on the ground after a clash with Ian Wright. The Arsenal striker, booked earlier for a foul on Dennis Irwin, claimed Schmeichel had attempted to get him sent off.

The two clashed again in the tunnel, with Wright having to be restrained by stewards. Police eventually intervened to keep the two apart. The running feud relates back to the previous meeting between the clubs, during which Wright alleged that Schmeichel made racist remarks.

Rising above the personal vendettas, Andy Cole reaffirmed his return to form by scoring one and making another.

The frustrations of a season dogged by injury and illness evaporated in the 18th minute as Cole, in his first full game of the campaign, latched on to a long ball from Gary Neville before taking it round John Lukic and into an empty net.

Rejected by Arsenal as a youngster, Cole set up United's second for Norway's Ole Solskjaer in the 32nd minute. A counter- attack at pace following an Arsenal corner saw Giggs and Poborsky involved before Cole delivered a perfectly weighted pass for Solskjaer to hammer home.

Back after suspension, Dennis Bergkamp scored for Arsenal in the 69th minute, but it was not enough to prevent United taking the points.

Coming on top of a defeat by Leeds United in the F.A. Cup and a goalless draw last Saturday against Tottenham, Arsenal's season has reached something of a watershed. Unless results improve, the likelihood is that the championship race, initially the most open in years, will develop into a straight fight between Manchester United and Liverpool.

The Merseyside giant left no one in doubt as to its title intentions with the 4-0 destruction of a tepid Leeds United side. The match marked an unhappy return to Anfield for former Kop idol Ian Rush. His appearance as a substitute in the 73rd minute nevertheless sparked a thunderous reception from the home crowd.

Sharpest

Benefiting from a two-week break due to World Cup commitments, Liverpool looked at its sharpest for weeks. Two goals from Stan Collymore and one from Robbie Fowler saw the game, as a contest, over by the interval. Jamie Redknapp added a fourth midway through the second half as the Kop chorused Liverpool's every touch.

With Newcastle's game at West Ham postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, the remainder of the mid-week program focused on the Midlands.

In Birmingham, Aston Villa scored all three goals in its 2-1 win over near neighbor Coventry City. Dwight Yorke continued his impressive season with two goals and Steve Staunton added an own goal for Coventry, which has not won at Villa Park in 23 league matches dating back to 1937.

The win takes Villa above Chelsea and Wimbledon into fifth place in the Premiership. Coventry remains deep in trouble, fifth from the bottom.

A short distance down the A46, Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday shared four goals and the points at the Baseball Ground.

The English League Cup semifinal first leg between second division Stockport and Premier League Middlesbrough has been called off because of a waterlogged pitch.

Referee David Elleray called off the tie two hours before kickoff because heavy rain made the Edgeley Park pitch unplayable.

Stockport kept the pitch covered until 4 p.m., but a downpour left large areas of standing water.

Elleray arrived at the grounds just before 6 p.m. -- two hours before kickoff -- and made a brief pitch inspection before revealing his decision to call it off.

Stockport manager Dave Jones accepted that the referee had made the right decision to call the game off.

The match gives breathing space to under-fire Middlesbrough boss Bryan Robson, whose side are currently bottom of the Premiership, though the club's chief executive, Keith Lamb, did back him earlier Wednesday.

Results

English league and cup matches Wednesday:

League Cup semifinal, first leg: Stockport v Middlesbrough postponed (pitch waterlogged)

Premier league: Arsenal 1 Manchester United 2 Aston Villa 2 Coventry 1 Derby 2 Sheffield Wednesday 2 Liverpool 4 Leeds 0

West Ham v Newcastle postponed (pitch waterlogged)