Stern hits last minute equaliser

LONDON: Louis Saha scored on his Manchester United debut as the football champions beat Southampton 3-2 at Old Trafford to go top of the Premier League yesterday.

The win takes United to 53 points, one ahead of Arsenal, who meet Manchester City at home today. Chelsea, playing at Blackburn Rovers today, are third on 46. The race for fourth place remains equally tight after Newcastle United and Liverpool both drew while Charlton Athletic lost. Charlton are fourth on 37 points after losing 2-1 at home to in-form Bolton Wanderers with Liverpool and Newcastle both on 34. Liverpool somehow drew 0-0 at home with Everton in an action-packed 197th Merseyside derby riddled with outstanding chances and superb goalkeeping at both ends.

Newcastle seemed on course for all three points at St Andrews thanks to Gary Speed’s excellent 37th-minute shot but a last-minute equaliser by Stern John earned Birmingham City a 1-1 draw. Fulham are seventh on 34 after a 2-1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur — Spurs’s first defeat of the year — while Aston Villa scored five goals in 20 second-half minutes to thrash Leicester City 5-0 away. Leeds United remain bottom after going down 3-0 at home to Middlesbrough while Portsmouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers drew 0-0 in another relegation tussle at Fratton Park.

The day’s action began in front a record Premier League crowd of 67,758 at Old Trafford where Manchester United, who had not lost at home to Southampton since 1988, seemed on course for another straightforward win when they led 2-0 after 37 minutes. Saha, who arrived from Fulham for ?12.8 million (US $23.2 million) eight days ago, scored with a deflected free kick and Paul Scholes got the second after Saha’s shot was blocked. However, two long-range goals by Kevin Phillips either side of halftime brought the visitors back into the match.

Ruud Van Nistelrooy then pounced in a goalmouth scramble after an hour to restore United’s lead but they were forced to hang on as Southampton finished with a flourish. Southampton manager Gordon Strachan was unhappy with some of the referee’s decisions, particularly for the third goal when he considered Van Nistelrooy to be offside. “It was a farce,” Strachan told Sky Sports TV. “He was definitely interfering with play — you might as well scrap offside if you are not going to rule that offside.” United manager Alex Ferguson, who received great support from the home fans after a week of accusations of improper transfer dealings, agreed that the law was unclear. “This first-phase rule is confusing,” he said. “But Ruud is a clever player, it’s hard to pin him down.”