Ronaldo double lifts United clear
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
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Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Manchester United FC beat Bolton Wanderers FC to move five points above Chelsea FC, held 4-4 at Tottenham Hotspur FC.
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Cristiano Ronaldo maintained his remarkable scoring run to help Manchester United FC climb three points clear of Arsenal FC at the top of the Premier League. Ronaldo's two first-half goals secured a comfortable 2-0 home victory over Bolton Wanderers FC on a night when Chelsea FC missed the chance to close the gap on the leading pair after a thrilling 4-4 draw at Tottenham Hotspur FC.
Ronaldo betters Best
Ronaldo opened the scoring against third-bottom Bolton after nine minutes when the ball fell his way following a Nani corner. The Portugal winger stabbed his shot into the turf and the ball bounced up and over Ali Al-Habsi and Danny Guthrie on the goal-line. Ten minutes later he doubled the lead with a superbly struck free-kick from over 25 metres out. Ronaldo has now reached 33 goals in all competitions this season, surpassing the season-best tally of another famous United No7, George Best.
Chelsea spurn opportunity
While United have 70 points, third-placed Chelsea lost the lead three times against London rivals Tottenham, thus spurning the opportunity to draw level on 67 points with Arsenal. Seeking revenge for their League Cup final defeat against Tottenham, Chelsea took a third-minute lead through Didier Drogba and although Jonathan Woodgate drew the home team level nine minutes later, Avram Grant's team regained control, striking twice more through Michael Essien (20) and Joe Cole (52).
Keane equaliser
Tottenham responded in style with Dimitar Berbatov (61) and Tom Huddlestone (75) making it 3-3 but Cole looked to have won the match for Chelsea when he restored their lead with ten minutes remaining. However, Tottenham had the last say when captain Robbie Keane struck a spectacular fourth goal from long range to rescue a point for Juande Ramos's team in the 88th minute.