Flying high

By Chris O'Brien
January 31 2008

Manchester United stormed straight back to the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over Portsmouth at Old Trafford. Cristiano Ronaldo continued his sensational goalscoring form with both strikes as the Red Devils leap-frogged Arsenal to go top of the tree on goal difference. The hosts went onto miss numerous chances as they outplayed the visiting side.

Harry Redknapp’s men started in ambitious fashion but any hopes the south coast club of staging an upset lay in tatters after only thirteen minutes. Ronaldo slotted home a Nani pass from six-yards out before firing home a superb free-kick from 25 yards.

United went onto dominate proceedings but couldn’t break through a resilient Pompey backline for a third time. Wes Brown fired over the bar; Nani hit a looping effort just wide and later smashed a thunderbolt effort narrowly over the crossbar. Other good chances saw a Rio Ferdinand header well saved by David James, whilst Andersen watched an ambitious chip trickle inches outside the far post.

Edwin van der Sar was virtually a pedestrian in the United goal as the visiting side struggled to create any sort of opportunity. This was a comfortable win for United who go straight back to the top of the league after Arsenal's emphatic win over Newcastle on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Chelsea beat Reading 1-0 and its shaping up to be an exciting three-horse race at the top of the table.

Full Time - Manchester United 2-0 Portsmouth
Attendance - 75,415