Manchester United remain clear at the top

Manchester United maintained their lead at the top of the Premier League table with a vital win over fierce rivals Liverpool, while Man City beat Arsenal in the later game...

 

Manchester United beat their arch Premier League rivals Liverpool 2-1 this afternoon to move 10 points clear in the title race before Manchester City kicked-off in the later game at the Emirates Stadium.

 

Wayne Rooney was unfit to play so Sir Alex Ferguson opted for Danny Welbeck to partner Robin van Persie in attack, while in the centre of defence Nemanja Vidic partnered Rio Ferdinand for the first time since September. For Liverpool, new £12m striker Daniel Sturridge was left on the bench.

 

United started the game in the more positive fashion and deservedly took the lead just before the 20 minute mark.

 

Shinji Kagawa was heavily involved in a slick passing move before Patrice Evra fired a ball in towards the penalty spot where Van Persie was on hand to turn the ball home. The United striker - scoring his 21st goal of the season already - was matched at 7.0 in the First Goalscorer market.

 

United nearly made it two just before the interval but a Van Persie back heel was cleared off the line and Kagawa's follow up was saved.

 

The Half Time 1-0 score was matched at a high of 5.1 In-Play.

 

It wasn't long before the Red Devils did get their second goal however, just 10 minutes in to the second half and a Van Persie free-kick was headed towards goal by Evra before being deflected into the back of the net by his fellow defender Vidic. The centre-back was matched at 26.0 To Score anytime.

 

Liverpool responded quickly with Steven Gerrard forcing David De Gea to parry a 20-yard shot into the path of second half substitute Sturridge who made no mistake with the finish. The Reds striker was matched at 9.4 in the To Score market.

 

Despite enjoying much more possession as the game approached its conclusion Liverpool couldn't find the goal that would have earned Brendan Rodgers' men a share of the spoils; Sturridge being the main culprit in missing a half chance or two.

 

A Manchester United victory was matched at a high of 2.2 In-Play, with the 2-1 Correct Score being backed at 11.0.

 

United's brief 10-point lead at the top of the table was reduced back to seven a few hours later when Manchester City beat Arsenal 0-2 in a game that saw two dismissals and a missed penalty.

 

Laurent Koscielny saw red early in the game for holding back Edin Dzeko, though the Man City striker missed the penalty that was awarded for the incident. A Sending Off was matched at 5.2 while a Penalty Taken was backed at 4.0 prior to kick-off.

 

Goals from James Milner (backed at 38.0 in the First Goalscorer market) and Dzeko sealed the points for the champions however, though Vincent Kompany's late red card tainted the victory somewhat.

 

City were matched at a high of 2.98 to win the game In-Play with the 0-2 Correct Score being matched at 23.0.

 

Today's results mean United remain the strong 1.39 favourites to win the Premier League title with Man City available to back at 4.3 and third-placed Chelsea at 22.0.

 

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