MANCHESTER: Striker Wayne Rooney produced another superb performance by scoring two goals to steer Manchester United to a 3-0 win over West Ham at Old Trafford this morning.

Michael Owen scored for the first time since that hattrick at Wolfsburg last December as United closed to within a point from Premier League leaders Chelsea but the Blues have one match in hand.

LONDON: Midfielder Scott Parker says West Ham enter the Premier League clash with Manchester United tomorrow (4am) in confident mood following back-to-back wins over Birmingham and Hull.

The Hammers enjoyed successive Premier League wins for the first time since March 2009 when they crushed nine-man Hull 3-0 at Upton Park on last Saturday.

The victory pushed West Ham into 13th place in the table and optimism has returned ahead of the trip to Old Tafford.

LONDON: Chelsea took advantage of Manchester United's slip-up away to Everton when they won 2-0 at Wolverhampton Wanderers this morning to go four points clear of the champions at the top of the Premier League.

MILAN: Red-hot striker Wayne Rooney struck two goals via superb headers within eight minutes in the secondhalf to steer Manchester United to a 3-2 win over AC Milan in the Champions League last 16 first-leg match at San Siro this morning.

LONDON: Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson expects a more forceful Champions League challenge from Italy but he still believes champions Barcelona hold the biggest threat.

Serie A suffered a last-16 wipeout last season with Inter Milan, Roma and Juventus all eliminated at the hands of English opposition in Europe's elite competition.

LONDON: Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher is pleased that the Red Devils will get the chance to rest before next week's Champions League last 16 tie at AC Milan.

United were knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round by Leeds United which means they won't be in action in this weekend's fifth round ties.

Fletcher feels the break will benefit his side, after United played the majority of last Wednesday's 1-1 draw at Aston Villa in the league with 10 men following the sending off of midfielder Nani.

LONDON: Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson believes referee Peter Walton’s decision to send Nani off in this morning’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa at Villa Park was correct.

LONDON: Manchester United defender Wes Brown says they have reached the stage where wanting a victory is not good enough, winning is now a must. The Red Devils face this tricky task when they take on Aston Villa at Villa Park tomorrow (3.45am).

MANCHESTER: Red-hot striker Wayne Rooney says Manchester United are firmly focused on becoming the first ever side to win four league titles in a row. The Red Devils are the only side to twice win three consecutive top-flight crowns and they are now looking to make history.

MANCHESTER: Midfielder Park Ji-sung maintains Manchester United can deal with the pressure as the Premier League title race hots up. The South Korean was among the scorers as the champions brushed aside third-placed Arsenal 3-1 at Emirates Stadium to close within a point of leaders Chelsea.

Chelsea, though, can extend their advantage with victory from their game in hand at Hull tomorrow (3.45am). Nevertheless, Ji-sung insists Alex Ferguson’s men have the qualities to last the distance.