Ferguson marks 25 years at Manchester United with 1-0 win


LONDON (AP) ― Manchester City defeated Queens Park Rangers 3-2 Saturday on Yaya Toure’s goal with 16 minutes left to stay in first place by five points in the English Premier League.

Manchester United looked set to close the gap on its city rival. But goals by Edin Dzeko and David Silva were offset by Jay Bothroyd and Heidar Helguson, and Toure headed in Alexsandr Kolarov’s left-wing cross to give the team its 10th win in 11 league games.

United beat Sunderland 1-0 to mark Alex Ferguson’s 25th anniversary as manager, while Chelsea kept in contention with a 1-0 win at Blackburn.

“It was a long day,” Ferguson said. “I was worried we wouldn’t play well. I thought we were anxious. Sometimes these emotional occasions ― which for me it was ― get through to them.”

The lone goal came in the final minute of the first half when defender Wes Brown headed a ball into his own net. He was making his return to his former club after leaving in July.

Ferguson walked onto the field through a guard of honor formed by United and Sunderland. A crowd of 75,570 gave Ferguson an ovation and chief executive David Gill announced the north stand was being renamed after him.

“I never expected that,” Ferguson said. “It was a real surprise.”

Chelsea scored on Frank Lampard’s 50th-minute header and recorded its first shutout since opening day to stay within four points of second-place United. Newcastle remained unbeaten in third place after a 2-1 win over Everton. Arsenal’s resurgence continued with a 3-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.

Italy

Palermo pulled within three points of the Italian league lead with a 3-1 win over Bologna.

Eran Zahavi put Palermo ahead on a rebound 13 minutes into the game. Matias Silvestre made it 2-0 with a header in the 52nd and Josip Ilicic finished a counterattack to make it 3-0 in the 75th. Gaston Ramirez scored for Bologna in the 87th.

Palermo remained perfect at home with its fifth consecutive win under new coach Devis Mangia, who was promoted from the youth squad after Stefano Pioli’s dismissal. Pioli was at the match as manager of Bologna.

Juventus leads with 19 points, with Udinese and Lazio next with 18 each. AC Milan has 17 and Palermo 16. Bologna remained 14th with 10 points.

Spain

Sevilla was held to a 0-0 draw at Mallorca on a rain-soaked field in the Spanish league.

Mallorca’s Emilio Nsue came closest to breaking the deadlock with a long strike in the 40th that Sevilla goalkeeper Javi Varas was able to parry.

Sevilla’s fifth draw in five road games this season left the club three points behind fourth-place Valencia.

Germany

Claudio Pizarro scored a hat trick to help Werder Bremen rally to a 3-2 Bundesliga win over Cologne, while defending champion Borussia Dortmund routed Wolfsburg 5-1.

Christian Clemens and Lukas Podolski put Cologne up 2-0 at the half. Pizarro scored after a goalmouth scramble in the 49th, then tied it with a penalty kick five minutes later after Cologne had a player sent off. He sealed the victory in 86th minute.

Dortmund, Bremen and Borussia Moenchengladbach, which won 2-1 at Hertha Berlin, are all two points behind leader Bayern Munich. Bayern plays at relegation-threatened Augsburg on Sunday.

Scotland

Nikica Jelavic had a hat trick to give Rangers a 3-1 win over Dundee United and a 12-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League.

Jelavic scored a 19th-minute header from Matt McKay’s cross and converted a 63rd-minute penalty kick. Jon Daly got a goal back for Dundee before Jelavic struck his third goal for the defending champions.

Second-place Motherwell plays Celtic on Sunday. Celtic is three points behind Motherwell.