United recover to reclaim seven-point cushion

Edwin van der Sar's British record run of clean sheets was ended but Peter Løvenkrands' early strike for Newcastle United FC was not enough to prevent Manchester United FC from reclaiming their seven-point cushion at the summit as they recovered to win 2-1.

United comeback
Van der Sar's attempt to break Belgian Dany Verlinden's record of not conceding in a European top-flight fixture ended 79 minutes short on 1,311 when Løvenkrands tapped in for relegation-threatened Newcastle after the goalkeeper spilled Jonás Gutiérrez's shot. Wayne Rooney swiftly responded to that ninth-minute goal as he beat Steve Harper after turning sharply inside the area. Dimitar Berbatov then struck the winner on 56 minutes to ensure United stretched their lead over Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC, both of whom were victorious on Tuesday.

Villa slip
Fourth-placed Aston Villa FC's recent stumble continued as they were beaten 2-0 at Manchester City FC, leaving them just three points clear of Arsenal FC. Elano Blumer's first-half penalty and a late Shaun Wright-Phillips strike took City up to eighth, four points behind West Ham United FC after the east London side won 1-0 at Wigan Athletic FC. Carlton Cole scored the winner and was sent off, as was Wigan's Lee Cattermole.

Relegation race
At the other end of the table, there were vital home wins for Tottenham Hotspur FC (4-0 v Middlesbrough FC) and Stoke City FC (2-0 v Bolton Wanderers FC) while Hull City AFC beat Fulham FC 1-0 away. Boro remain in the bottom three along with West Bromwich Albion FC and Blackburn Rovers FC, who held sixth-placed Everton FC 0-0 tonight.