Red Devils break long-held mark for home wins
LONDON (AP) ― Manchester United broke a century-old club record by winning its 19th straight league home game, 2-0 over Norwich, and Manchester City moved on from the turmoil of Carlos Tevez’s apparent refusal to play with a resounding 4-0 victory at Blackburn on Saturday.
Anderson put United ahead in the 68th at Old Trafford, and Danny Welbeck clinched the win with a goal in the 87th.
With Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez returning from injuries, United broke its record for consecutive home league wins, a mark that had stood since 1904-05. Anders Lindegaard took over in goal from David De Gea following Tuesday’s 3-3 tie at home against Basel in the Champions League.
Manchester United and Manchester City are both 6-0-1, but defending champion United leads the Premier League on goal difference.
Adam Johnson, Mario Balotelli, Samir Nasri and Stefan Savic scored second-half goals to ensure City kept pace.
Newcastle (4-0-3) is third with 15 points after a 2-1 win over Wolverhampton stretched its unbeaten start to the season. Demba Ba and Jonas Gutierrez built a two-goal lead for Newcastle.
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Manchester United’s Park Ji-sung attempts a shot on goal against Norwich City. (AP-Yonhap News) |
Italy
Napoli moved into the Serie A lead with a controversial 3-0 win at Inter Milan.
Inter midfielder Joel Obi was ejected after picking up his second yellow card for a foul on Christian Maggio in the 41st minute that resulted in a Napoli penalty kick, although replays showed that he pushed Maggio outside the area.
Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar blocked Marek Hamsik’s penalty kick, but Napoli’s Hugo Campagnaro ― who clearly was inside the area before Hamsik’s kick ― scored from the rebound.
The half ended amid fierce protests and new Inter manager Claudio Ranieri was ejected during the break.
Maggio doubled Napoli’s lead in the 56th when he beat Japan fullback Yuto Nagatomo to lift the ball over Julio Cesar. Hamsik added a goal in the 75th, beating an offside trap.
Napoli (3-1-1) has 10 points, two ahead of Juventus, Udinese and Roma (all 2-1-2). Juventus hosts defending champion AC Milan (1-1-2) on Sunday night.
AS Roma finally found its footing under new coach Luis Enrique in a 3-1 win over an Atalanta.
Spain
New Jersey-born Giuseppe Rossi and Hernan Perez scored as Villarreal twice rallied to rescue a 2-2 draw against Zaragoza in Spain.
Zaragoza twice took the lead through Luis Garcia and Pablo Barrera, but Italy striker Rossi chipped a penalty to level the score for the first time in the 41st minute before Perez found space at a corner in the 84th, four minutes after Maurizio Lanzaro was sent off for Zaragoza. Rossi has five goals this season, including three in the league.
Germany
Forward Edson Buddle scored two goals in Ingolstadt’s 5-3 defeat to visiting Bochum in the German second division. Buddle fired his side ahead in the ninth minute before adding his fifth goal of the season in the 20th. Ingolstadt twice blew a two-goal leads.
In the top division, Robert Lewandowski’s hat trick led defending champion Borussia Dortmund to a 4-0 win over Augsburg in the Bundesliga, and Hoffenheim ended Bayern Munich’s winning run in a 0-0 draw.
