LONDON, 28 September 2003 — Ruud van Nistelrooy, the target of Arsenal’s wrath a week ago, was in the spotlight for the right reason yesterday, scoring a hat trick in Manchester United’s 4-1 Premier League win at Leicester City.
The Dutchman’s treble, after Roy Keane’s opener, took United to 16 points, one behind Arsenal, who beat Newcastle United 3-2 at Highbury on Friday with two goals for Thierry Henry — and no bookings.
Chelsea are also on 16, second on goals scored, after Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s 43rd-minute goal saw them to a labored 1-0 home win over hard-working Aston Villa.
Birmingham City are up to fourth on 14 after beating Portsmouth 2-0 with goals for Stephen Clemence and Stan Lazaridis. Middlesbrough collected their first away win of the season when an early Malcolm Christie goal was enough to beat Southampton.
Bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers looked on course for their first win anywhere after a spectacular 30-meter volley by Alex Rae but Kevin Davies equalized five minutes from time for Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok .
After a week when Van Nistelrooy had been criticized for some of his theatrical reactions to tackles, he reminded everyone that he was also the supreme center forward. His first came in the 16th minute when he intercepted a Paul Scholes shot to double a lead earned a minute earlier through Roy Keane.
Van Nistelrooy got his second just before the break after creating space with more exquisite control and completed the treble in the 52nd when he raced on to a pass from Eric Djemba Djemba .
United, who visit Bundesliga leaders VfB Stuttgart in the Champions League on Wednesday, eased off after that and were none too concerned by Frank Sinclair’s consolation header. Aston Villa did a good job of stifling Chelsea with a five-man midfield but fell behind in the 43rd minute when goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen could only push Frank Lampard’s shot into the path of Hasselbaink.
Rangers Stay Top With 3-1
Home Win Over Dundee
In Glasgow, Rangers scored twice in the last four minutes to beat Dundee 3-1 at home and maintain their 100 percent record at the top of the Scottish Premier League yesterday.
The defending champions remain two points ahead of Celtic, who came from behind to beat Hibernian 2-1 at a rain-soaked Easter Road, after seven matches.
Third-placed Hearts were held 1-1 at Motherwell, while Dunfermline Athletic enjoyed their first win on the club’s new plastic pitch with a 2-1 success against Partick Thistle to climb above Dundee into fourth place. In yesterday’s other games, Livingston won 3-0 at Aberdeen while Dundee United drew 1-1 at home to Kilmarnock.
Stuttgart Warm Up for
United With Stylish Win
In Berlin, Bundesliga leaders VfB Stuttgart warmed up for their Champions League clash against Manchester United with a stylish 3-0 win at TSV 1860 Munich yesterday.
Last season’s runners-up, who have yet to concede a goal this season, stayed a point clear at the top and remain the only side still to lose after seven games.
Werder Bremen moved a place up to second with a 4-1 victory at bottom club Cologne that put them ahead of third-placed Bayer Leverkusen on goal difference. Leverkusen confirmed that they have put last season’s tribulations behind when a second-half goal from Germany midfielder Bernd Schneider gave them a 1-0 win and their first Bundesliga victory at VfL Wolfsburg.
In Munich, an early effort from midfielder captain Zvonimir Soldo and a penalty from defender Fernando Meira put Stuttgart 2-0 up at the interval. Belarus playmaker Alexander Gleb wrapped it up after a superb solo run five minutes into the second half.
Champions Bayern Munich needed a late goal from Dutch striker Roy Makaay for a 2-1 win at Hansa Rostock that lifted them up one place up to fourth, three points off the pace.
Borussia Dortmund, also hampered by a string of injuries, moved into fifth place just behind Bayern by beating SC Freiburg 1-0 courtesy a second-half goal from Brazilian striker Ewerthon.
Kaiserslautern coach Erik Gerets breathed a sigh of relief when Germany striker Miroslav Klose struck two minutes into stoppage time to give the troubled four-times champions a 1-0 win over Hanover 96 that took them two spots up to 11th.
Di Vaio and Nedved Earn
Juve 2-0 Win at Reggina
In Milan, goals from Marco Di Vaio and Pavel Nedved gave Italian champions Juventus a 2-0 victory at Reggina in Serie A yesterday.
The win temporarily sends Juventus clear at the top of the table on 10 points from four games. Di Vaio, leading the attack in the absence of the injured Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet, opened the scoring from close range in the 13th minute after Reggina keeper Emanuele Belardi failed to deal with a low cross from Nedved.
