MANCHESTER, 22 September 2003 — Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy missed an injury-time penalty as 10-man Arsenal returned to the top of the premier league following a dramatic 0-0 draw at Old Trafford yesterday.
Van Nistelrooy blasted his spot-kick against the crossbar after referee Steve Bennett had ruled that Martin Keown had pushed substitute Diego Forlan as he tried to reach a Gary Neville cross. But Arsenal’s hard-earned draw at the home of the champions was overshadowed by another sending-off for captain Patrick Vieira.
The France midfielder collected his ninth and Arsenal’s 52nd red card of Arsene Wenger’s Highbury reign when he clashed with Van Nistelrooy 10 minutes from the end of a previously dull game. Vieira, booked two minutes earlier following a series of fouls, reacted angrily to a challenge by Van Nistelrooy and was dismissed for swinging a boot at the United forward.
The pair had to be separated as Vieira left the field and the bad blood was still simmering as the game ended in disgraceful scenes. Van Nistelrooy’s third missed penalty of the season was greeted with delight by the Arsenal players after the final whistle.
Keown caught Van Nistelrooy as the defender celebrated Arsenal’s escape, sparking another free-for-all, which remarkably ended with Bennett failing to add to his previous seven yellow cards.
The explosive scenes came as a marked contrast to what had gone before in a cagey game in which neither side wanted to lose ground even at this early stage of the title race.
Arsenal’s defense, criticized for conceding three goals to Inter Milan and missing Sol Campbell following the death of his father, did an effective job against a misfiring United, whose lack of sharpness was perfectly summed up by Van Nistelrooy’s late blunder.
With Vieira his usual commanding self in the middle of the pitch, Arsenal formed a formidable barrier for United to pass but had limited attacking ambitions of their own with too few players getting forward to maximize their occasional breaks.
If a point had been their primary target, that certainly became the case when Vieira saw red. Thanks to Van Nistelrooy’s wastefulness they got it.
Rangers maintained their perfect start to the season, crushing Hearts 4-0 to move back to the top of the Scottish Premier League.
Two goals each for Shota Arveladze and Peter Lovenkrands made it six wins out of six for Rangers and completed a good week following their Champions League victory over VfB Stuttgart.
Bresciano Double Gives
Parma Win at Lazio
Two goals from Australian Mark Bresciano, including a spectacular 89th-minute winner, gave Parma an impressive 3-2 victory at Lazio as the winning starts of the top Serie A clubs came to an abrupt end yesterday.
Inter Milan, who like Lazio had won their first two games, were held to a goalless draw at home to Sampdoria and AC Milan’s 100 percent record also ended when they had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Perugia. It was a bad day for European champions Milan, who had striker Filippo Inzaghi carried off injured and midfielder Massimo Ambrosini sent off after Perugia’s Greek striker Zisis Vryzas had canceled out Gennaro Gattuso’s opener for Milan.
After three games Parma, Milan and Inter shared first place with seven points each.
Former Empoli midfielder Bresciano put Parma ahead after just 26 seconds at the Olympic stadium, providing a cool finish after latching on to a cross-field pass from Hidetoshi Nakata.
Lazio’s Dutch defender Jaap Stam put Roberto Mancini’s side level in the 33rd minute with a thundering 20-meter free kick.
But 17 minutes into the second half Parma’s Brazilian striker Adriano restored his team’s lead with a brilliant individual strike, leaving four Lazio defenders standing before unleashing a fierce left-foot shot.
Just a minute later the Brazilian missed a great chance to make it 3-1 and it looked as though he would live to regret that when substitute Simone Inzaghi equalized for Lazio with a 78th- minute header. But Bresciano grabbed a late winner for Parma with a superbly struck left-foot drive from the edge of the area.
Meanwhile, a soccer fan was fighting for his life and more than 30 policemen recovering from injuries yesterday after hundreds of fans, many wearing masks and armed with knives and sticks, invaded a stadium in southern Italy.
The fans stormed the Avellino stadium, some 50 km (30 miles) east of Naples, ahead of a second division game between Avellino and Napoli and attacked policemen, kicking and beating them to the ground.
A Napoli supporter fell 20 meters (yards) from the upper tier of the stadium when the fans pushed into the stand behind him. Doctors said he was in a coma.
The ugly scenes were broadcast on television, shocking Italians who have seen an increase in crowd trouble at football matches in their country and prompted calls from politicians for action to stamp out the violence.
