Soccer / United crushes Grant's Pompey to go top of heap

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney scored again to help his team crush bottom club Portsmouth 5-0 and return to the top of the English Premiership yesterday.

The England international struck just before halftime, followed by two own goals and efforts by Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov to take United to 56 points, one ahead of Chelsea, which entertains third-placed Arsenal in a critical match tonight.

Earlier yesterday, Liverpool overcame the first-half send-off of defender Sotiros Kyrgiakos to beat Everton 1-0 in a fierce Merseyside derby at Anfield to go into the top four for the first time since October.

Dutchman Dirk Kuyt headed the winner 10 minutes after halftime. Tottenham Hotspur slipped to fifth, drawing 0-0 with Aston Villa at White Hart Lane.

Portsmouth weathered the inevitable early onslaught from champions United but came unstuck on 40 minutes when the irrepressible Rooney netted his 21st league goal of the season.

The hapless south England club conceded another just before halftime when Anthony Vanden Borre turned a Nani cross between his own posts.

Carrick struck a deflected shot past England goalkeeper David James, Berbatov atoned for a simple first-half miss with an excellent long-range strike and Marc Wilson helped Patrice Evra's pass into his own net to complete the rout.

Big-spending Manchester City suffered an embarrassing slipup in its pursuit of fourth place and a potential Champions League place by losing 2-1 at lowly Hull City, leaving it three points behind Liverpool with two games in hand.

Burnley battled to a 2-1 win over West Ham United to take it clear of the relegation zone, Stoke City beat Blackburn Rovers 3-0, Bolton Wanderers and Fulham played out a 0-0 draw and struggling Sunderland and Wigan Athletic drew 1-1.

Ahead of yesterday's match, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson expressed his sympathy for Grant as the Portsmouth boss prepared to take his struggling side to Old Trafford. The U.K. tabloid The Sun reported Thursday that Grant had been seen visiting a Portsmouth-area brothel.

Pompey is 60 million pounds in debt and due to appear in court next week over unpaid tax bill failure to pay players on time. Its new owner, Hong Kong-based billionaire Balram Chainrai, admitted Friday that he knows nothing about soccer and does not even want the club, Britain's Daily Mail reported.

Ferguson said of Grant, "When you see what's happening there, you have to feel for him. It can't be easy. How he's coping, you can only imagine. He was out of the game for a year and a half and it's an agonizing thing for football managers because you can't go and get a job as prime minister or an accountant or a banker."

"They are football men and they have to wait until the next opening comes along. He's in an industry he wanted to get into and, unfortunately for him, it's a difficult spell," he said.