LONDON, 28 January 2008 — Two goals from irrepressible midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo helped Manchester United to a 3-1 home win over 10-man Tottenham Hotspur in an entertaining FA Cup fourth-round tie yesterday.
United, FA Cup winners a record 11 times, trailed to an early Robbie Keane goal but Carlos Tevez equalized and Ronaldo put them ahead from the penalty spot in the 69th minute and finished things off two minutes from time with the 25th goal of his remarkable season.
Manchester City, however, were knocked out when they lost 2-1 at Championship (second division) Sheffield United, to leave a record low six Premier League teams among the 16 that go into today’s fifth-round draw after none of the fourth-round ties went to a replay.
Spurs, without a win at Old Trafford since 1989, went ahead after 24 minutes when winger Aaron Lennon’s low cross was turned in from point-blank range by Keane.
United upped the pressure and it was no surprise when Tevez drove in the equalizer seven minutes before halftime.
In yesterday’s other game Cardiff City won 2-1 at Hereford.
Inter Held to Goalless Draw at Udinese
In Milan, Leaders Inter Milan failed to win in Serie A for the first time in nine matches when they were held to a 0-0 draw at Udinese yesterday.
The unbeaten champions had Brazilian winger Cesar sent off for two quick bookings after just 21 minutes but still had the better chances to beat fifth-placed Udinese with Julio Cruz and strike partner Zlatan Ibrahimovic going close.
Inter’s lead from last week has been cut to five from seven points after second-placed AS Roma won 1-0 at home to Palermo on Saturday. Juventus, 13 points behind Inter in third, visit Livorno in the late game.
Brazilian striker Pato scored twice in the second half to give AC Milan a 2-0 win over 10-man Genoa and lift the stuttering European champions to seventh.
The 18-year-old has now scored three in his first four games for the club and three in two at the San Siro where Milan had failed to win against Italian opposition before his arrival at the start of the month. Fourth-placed Fiorentina moved level on points with Juventus after Adrian Mutu’s 13th league goal of the season set up a 2-0 victory at second bottom Empoli.
Basement side Cagliari are now just three adrift of Empoli after a stunning late comeback against Napoli. Alessandro Matri and Daniele Conti both scored late in stoppage time to record a 2-1 win, their first since Sept 30. Substitute Rolando Bianchi had a debut to forget when he was sent off after five minutes of Lazio’s 0-0 draw at Torino.
Atletico, Espanyol Lose More Ground on Top Three
In Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Espanyol both lost in the Primera Liga yesterday, as their vague pretensions of challenging for the title were knocked back even further. Fourth-placed Atletico, on 37 points, fell to a goal from Venezuela striker Juan Arango at Real Mallorca, making it three defeats in a week for Javier Aguirre’s side.
Espanyol, a point back in fifth, lost 2-1 at home to Real Betis for their third consecutive league defeat. They stayed three points ahead of sixth-placed Racing Santander who scrambled a 2-2 draw at home to Real Zaragoza, thanks to a last-minute goal from striker Mohamed Tchite.
Elsewhere, problems mounted for under-fire coach Ronald Koeman as Valencia made it nine games without a win, losing 1-0 at home to promoted Almeria.
McDonald Spares Celtic’s
Blushes at Falkirk
In Glasgow, a first-half header from Scott McDonald gave champions Celtic a 1-0 win at Falkirk in the Scottish Premier League yesterday and cut Rangers’ lead at the top to four points. The Australian striker glanced a close-range effort over keeper Robert Olejnik in first-half stoppage time following Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura’s chipped cross from the side of the box.
Celtic are second on 49 points from 22 games while Rangers have 53 from 22 after their 4-0 win over 10-man St Mirren on Saturday.
It was far from a polished performance from Celtic and Falkirk had a strong penalty claim turned down on 15 minutes when defender Gary Caldwell handled a high ball into the box.
There was more misery for the home side when they had Dean Holden carried off on a stretcher 20 minutes later with a suspected broken leg following a sliding challenge from Celtic’s Stephen McManus.
McDonald made the breakthrough just before the interval but the second half was a tense affair and Celtic survived another penalty claim when Italian midfielder Massimo Donati brought down Falkirk’s Kevin McBride.
Dutch striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink came close to scoring for Celtic in the final minute with an angled shot from the right that flew low beyond Austrian keeper Olejnik only to strike the base of the far post.
