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Manchester United returns to top spot

— PHOTO: AFP

WELL DONE: Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs (left) is congratulated by Cristiano Ronaldo after scoring the match-winner against West Ham.

LONDON: Manchester United hammered out a statement of intent to its title rivals as the champion returned to the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win at West Ham on Sunday.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side had arrived in east London in second place after Liverpool’s late 3-2 fightback at Portsmouth on Saturday. But United showed it has no intention of relinquishing its crown as Ryan Giggs’s goal in the 62nd minute sent it two points clear of Rafael Benitez’s second placed side.

United’s defensive excellence in recent weeks has reached record-breaking levels and it chalked up another milestone en route to a 13th consecutive clean sheet and an eighth successive win.

Arsenal earns draw

Earlier, Arsenal survived defender Emmanuel Eboue’s sending off and an injury to striker Emmanuel Adebayor to earn a 0-0 draw at Tottenham.

The results: Tottenham Hotspur 0 drew with Arsenal 0; West Ham 0 lost to Manchester United 1 (Giggs 62).

On Saturday: Portsmouth 2 (Nugent 62, Hreidarsson 78) lost to Liverpool 3 (Aurelio 69, Kuyt 85, Torres 90). — Agencies

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