LONDON, 7 October 2007 — Champions Manchester United went top of the Premier League for the first time this season when they scored four times in the second half to crush Wigan Athletic 4-0 at Old Trafford yesterday.

Two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and one each from Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney secured United’s sixth successive league win without conceding a goal and took them above Arsenal into first place.

United have 20 points from nine games but Arsenal, who have 19 points from seven, will go back on top if they beat Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium today.

In the only other Premier League match played yesterday, Aston Villa beat West Ham United 1-0 at Villa Park with a 24th-minute free kick from Craig Gardner. Villa climb from ninth to fifth in the standings with 14 points from their opening eight games.

United, who had been struggling for goals this season, dominated the match against their near neighbors but did not make the breakthrough until the 54th minute when Tevez opened the scoring with a superbly taken effort. He held off a strong challenge from the Wigan defenders before making space for himself and firing low past Chris Kirkland in the Wigan goal.

Ronaldo added the second five minutes later with a header and he made it 3-0 after 76 minutes when Rooney’s perfectly placed low cross allowed him to score from the simplest of chances.

Rooney scored his first league goal of the season with a header to complete the rout eight minutes from time.

United’s performance delighted manager Alex Ferguson, especially as they lost French striker Louis Saha, who injured himself in the warm-up, and were then forced into two first half substitutions. Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic and Irish defender John O’Shea were both injured and substituted within the first half hour.

Karlsruhe Beat Schalke 2-0

to Jump Into Second

In Berlin, Christian Timm scored two second-half goals to lead promoted Karlsruhe into second place behind Bayern Munich with a stunning 2-0 victory at Schalke 04 yesterday.

It was the fourth away victory in five matches for Karlsruhe, the surprise package of the season with 18 points from nine matches. Last season’s second division champions have also won two of four at home. Bayern, who host Nuremberg in a Bavarian derby today, lead the table with 20 points from eight matches.

Champions VfB Stuttgart, reduced to 10 men from the seventh minute when Fernando Meira was sent off for a handball in front of his goal, capped a miserable week with a 2-0 loss to Hanover 96 after being beaten by the same score by Barcelona in the Champions League. Werder Bremen bounced back from their dispiriting 3-1 Champions League loss at home to Olympiakos Piraeus on Wednesday with a 3-1 victory over MSV Duisburg, lifting them to third place on 17 points.

Hamburg SV moved into fourth on 17 points with a 1-0 win at Arminia Bielefeld. Rafael van der Vaart scored four minutes after the break. It was the seventh match in a row he scored in, equaling a HSV record set by Uwe Seeler in the 1967-68 season.

Karlsruhe’s Timm scored his first goal of the season against the run of play in the 69th minute, latching on to a superb through ball from Hungary midfielder Tamas Hajnal and beating Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer with a fine individual effort. It was the first time Neuer had to retrieve a ball out of his net in 446 minutes. He doubled Karlsruhe’s lead 14 minutes later, silencing the crowd of 61,482 just as Schalke were pressing for the equalizer, with a hard, low shot into the right corner — again set up nicely by Hajnal. Schalke, who won 2-0 at Rosenborg Trondheim in the Champions League on Wednesday but looked tired in their seventh match in three weeks, were incensed that a goal by Germany striker Kevin Kuranyi in the 64th minute was disallowed for offside.

Hibernian Go Top After

Winning at Rangers

In Glasgow, David Murphy scored the only goal to put Hibernian top of the Scottish Premier League with a 1-0 win at Rangers yesterday. Rangers suffered their first home defeat of the season after Murphy cracked in a shot after 61 minutes. The goal-scorer also cleared a Davie Weir header off the line as Hibs came under late pressure. “We could have nicked one or two more goals but overall I thought we deserved the victory,” Hibs manager John Collins told BBC Radio Scotland.

“Rangers being involved in the midweek game (against Olympique Lyon in the Champions League) may have benefited us.” Hibs have 21 points from nine games, with Celtic and Rangers on 19.

Elsewhere, Dundee United inflicted a 1-0 defeat on Motherwell after Darren Dods headed in a Barry Robson corner in the 77th minute. Hearts beat Falkirk 4-2 and Kilmarnock drew 2-2 with Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Late Dernis Goal Earns St. Etienne 1-0 Win Over Marseille

In Paris, a last-gap strike by substitute Geoffrey Dernis earned St Etienne a 1-0 victory over Olympique Marseille in an early Ligue 1 game yesterday.

Midfielder Dernis, who replaced striker Dimitri Payet 14 minutes from time, netted in the 93rd minute with a 20-meter shot that flew under Steve Mandanda’s crossbar.

Until then, France Under-21 goalkeeper Mandanda had put on a scintillating display, producing some superb saves to deny St. Etienne strikers Ilan and Bafetimbi Gomis.

Marseille, who became the first French club to win at Anfield when they beat Liverpool 1-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday, were under constant pressure throughout.

Les Verts were either too clumsy in front of goal or thwarted by the superb Mandanda.

However, after Marseille defender Taye Taiwo was sent off for a second bookable offense in the 88th minute, the home side finally made the breakthrough to clinch the points. St. Etienne are eighth in the standings with 14 points from 10 games while Marseille, now managed by Belgian Eric Gerets, drop to third from bottom seven points behind their opponents.