United win to move level with Chelsea

Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated his 900th league match in charge of Manchester United FC with a 3-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers FC as his side moved level with Chelsea FC at the top of the Premier League.

Rooney strike
United's unbeaten home record was ended on Saturday by Aston Villa FC, but there was little danger of them dropping further points against Wolves once Wayne Rooney had broken the deadlock from the penalty spot on 30 minutes with his 12th league goal of the season. Nemanja Vidić (43) and Antonio Valencia (66) added further goals to leave United second on goal difference alone behind Chelsea, who host bottom side Portsmouth FC on Wednesday.

Villa third
Villa climbed to third after goals in each half from Emile Heskey and James Milner earned the points in a 2-0 win at Sunderland AFC, who had Lorik Cana sent off. Birmingham City FC are up to sixth after winning their fifth Premier League match in succession, 2-1 at home to Blackburn Rovers FC. Alex McLeish's side are now unbeaten in eight Premier League games. In the evening's other match Bolton Wanderers FC beat second-bottom West Ham United FC 3-1 to climb out of the bottom three at Wolves's expense. On Wednesday Liverpool FC, now eighth, host Wigan Athletic FC, Arsenal FC are at Burnley FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC host Manchester City FC.

Rangers rise
Elsewhere in Europe on Tuesday, Kenny Miller scored twice and DaMarcus Beasley once as Rangers FC won 3-0 at Dundee United FC to move a point clear of Celtic FC at the top of the Scottish Premier League. In France's Ligue 1 AJ Auxerre, in fifth, stay a point ahead of sixth placed Valenciennes FC after the pair drew 0-0.

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Cast your vote for Play of the Day

Two goalkeepers – albeit for vastly different reasons – and two exquisite free-kicks are among the UEFA Champions League Matchday 6 moments on offer in Play of the Day, presented by UniCredit. To cast your vote for the chance to win tickets to the UEFA Champions League final and other prizes, click here. Simply watch our clips of the best action from Matchday 6, choose the Vote and Win option and select your favourite play. Voting for Matchday 6 closes at 12.00CET on 11 January.

The six selections for Matchday 6 are:

Alberto Gilardino (Liverpool FC v ACF Fiorentina)
Gilardino buries substitute Juan Vargas's low, added-time cross past Diego Cavalieri to win the game and send Fiorentina into the last 16 as group winners.

Sinan Bolat (R. Standard de Liège v AZ Alkmaar)
The first goal a keeper had scored in open play in the UEFA Champions League took Standard into the UEFA Europa League at AZ's expense, Boilat brilliantly heading past his AZ counterpart Sergio Romero from Benjamin Nicaise's free-kick deep in added time for a 1-1 draw.

Lionel Messi (FC Dynamo Kyiv v FC Barcelona)
With the score tied late in the game, Messi delivered the knockout blow with a whipped free-kick that cannoned in off the bar.

Steve Mandanda (Olympique de Marseille v Real Madrid CF)
Mandanda made a number of fine saves during the match but none were better than his stop to deny Marcelo as the visitors began building second-half pressure, the French international diverting the ball over as the full-back blasted goalwards from the left.

Milan Gajić (FC Zürich v AC Milan)
Zürich took a 29th-minute lead with a moment of great skill from Gajić, whose free-kick bent around Milan's wall and in off the left-hand post, giving Dida no chance.

Michael Owen (VfL Wolfsburg v Manchester United FC)
The United striker rolls back the years and caps a lightning counter-attack with a cool chip over Diego Benaglio to complete his hat-trick in fine style.

To watch all six and cast your vote, click here.

What was the best piece of skill you saw on Matchday 6? Have your say below.

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Relief for Chelsea as Villa beat United

Manchester United FC failed to capitalise on an earlier Chelsea FC draw as the champions lost 1-0 at home to an Aston Villa FC side now occupying third place in the Premier League.

Landmark win
Gabriel Agbonlahor's first-half header from Ashley Young's cross gave Villa their first league win at Old Trafford since 1983 – three years before the striker was born – and provided a huge boost to Chelsea after the leaders were held 3-3 at home by Everton FC despite two goals from Didier Drogba. Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Nemanja Vidić and Dimitar Berbatov all went close to equalising at Old Trafford but Villa were not to be denied a first victory against United in a decade.

Defensive concerns
Chelsea's defensive jitters continued as they dropped their first home points of the season and recorded a fourth game without victory in all competitions – a run which has seen Carlo Ancelotti's side leak ten goals. Chelsea have 37 points with United on 34 while Villa moved into third place with 29 points. Tottenham Hotspur FC spurned the chance to move into third spot above Arsenal FC by losing 1-0 at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, Kevin Doyle on target. The Gunners, who are nine points behind Chelsea with two games in hand, face Liverpool FC at Anfield on Sunday.

Exciting draw
Birmingham City FC were the only other winners, a 1-0 defeat leaving West Ham United FC in the relegation zone. The five remaining games ended in draws, the most exciting of which was at Bolton Wanderers FC where the home side led three times against Manchester City FC but could not see off the sixth-placed side.

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United show faith in Welbeck

Hot on the heels of fellow Manchester United FC striker Federico Macheda signing improved terms, England Under-21 forward Daniel Welbeck has pledged his future to Old Trafford with a new contract tying him to the club until June 2013.

'Terrific career'
Welbeck, 19, has caught the eye as a starter in United's last two UEFA Champions League Group B games. He now emulates Macheda, who reiterated his allegiance earlier this month, in showing his commitment to Sir Alex Ferguson's side. "We are delighted," said the United manager. "We see Danny as one of the great young players who has emerged from the academy. He will have a terrific career and we are glad he has placed his trust in us."

England success
A member of the England squads that finished runners-up at the 2007 UEFA European Under-17 Championship and the U19 event in 2009, Welbeck added: "I am really happy, there was never a doubt that this is where I want to be. I am enjoying every minute and learning so much from all the great players here. I would like to thank Sir Alex, the club and the fans for all their support."

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