Man U, Man City stay tied at the top

LONDON (AP):

Manchester United and Manchester City both won yesterday to stay tied on points at the top of the Premier League.

Wayne Rooney scored his first goal from open play since March to help United to a 2-1 win at West Bromwich Albion, and Adam Johnson gave City a 1-0 win over Blackpool.

The Manchester teams each have 41 points, although United have played two games fewer than their rivals' 21. Arsenal are just two points back after a 3-0 win at Birmingham.

Tottenham moved back into fourth place after Gareth Bale's 11th goal of the season earned a 1-0 win over Fulham, but Chelsea are likely to move back into the final Champions League spot when they host ailing Aston Villa today.

Joe Cole scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool in the last minute for a 2-1 win over Bolton that should lift some of the pressure on manager Roy Hodgson, while West Ham finally made it out of the relegation zone with a 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Rooney opened the scoring for United in the third minute when he headed in Patrice Evra's cross, but James Morrison equalised 11 minutes later with a long-range shot.

Wasted penalty

West Brom then thought they should have had a first-half penalty when referee Chris Foy turned down appeals for a foul by Gary Neville on Graham Dorrans. But striker Peter Odemwingie wasted the second-half penalty Foy did award, putting a weak kick wide in the 63rd after United defender Rio Ferdinand had fouled Jerome Thomas.

"Gary was lucky to stay on," Ferguson said. "It was a penalty. At first I thought he had got a touch, but when I saw it again, he was lucky."

Hernandez came on as a 61st-minute substitute for leading scorer Dimitar Berbatov and headed in unmarked from a corner to clinch an 11th win from 19 games.

Yesterday's results:

England Premier League: Birmingham 0 Arsenal 3; Liverpool 2 Bolton 1; Manchester City 1 Blackpool 0; Stoke 2 Everton 0; Sunderland 3 Blackburn 0; Tottenham 1 Fulham 0; West Bromwich Albion 1 Manchester United 2; West Ham 2 Wolverhampton 0.

League Championship: Bristol City 3 Cardiff 0; Burnley 4 Sheffield United 2; Coventry 1 Ipswich 1; Doncaster 3 Scunthorpe 0; Hull 0 Leicester 1; Leeds 1 Middlesbrough 1; Millwall 3 Crystal Palace 0; Norwich 1 Queens Park Rangers 0; Nottingham Forest 2 Barnsley 2; Preston 1 Derby 2; Swansea 1 Reading 0; Watford 3 Portsmouth 0.

League One: Brentford 2 Dagenham & Redbridge 1; Brighton 5 Leyton Orient 0; Carlisle 2 Huddersfield 2; Colchester 3 Charlton 3; Hartlepool 4 Oldham 2; MK Dons 2 Bristol Rovers 0; Plymouth 0 Yeovil 0; Rochdale 3 Tranmere 2; Southampton 4 Exeter 0; Swindon 1 Bournemouth 2; Walsall 0 Notts County 3.

League Two: Barnet 1 Aldershot 2; Burton Albion 0 Shrewsbury 0; Bury 2 Macclesfield 2; Cheltenham 1 Wycombe 2; Chesterfield 4 Stockport 1; Crewe 2 Northampton 0; Gillingham 1 Stevenage 0; Hereford 2 Torquay 2; Lincoln 1 Bradford 2; Morecambe 1 Accrington Stanley 2; Oxford 0 Southend 2; Rotherham 5 Port Vale 0.

Scotland Premier League: Aberdeen 1 Dundee United 1; Hamilton 0 Motherwell 0; Hearts 1 Hibernian 0.