Man United Win Carling Cup

Manchester United won the League Cup with a 4-1 penalty shootout victory over Tottenham on Sunday that kept the English Premier League leaders on course for an unprecedented five trophies this season.

After a 0-0 draw through extra time, United goalkeeper Ben Foster saved Tottenham’s first shootout kick from Jamie O’Hara and David Bentley missed the third before Anderson hit the winning penalty.

The victory gave United its second trophy of the season following December’s Club World Cup title. The Red Devils also lead the Premier League by seven points and are in contention for the Champions League and FA Cup.

In Sunday’s Premier League action, Aston Villa’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League were dented when the home side squandered a two-goal lead in the final minutes against Stoke to draw 2-2 at Villa Park.

The result means Villa remains fourth, in the final Champions League slot, three points behind Liverpool in third and sixth points clear of Arsenal, which is fifth.


Stoke stays 19th, below Middlesbrough on goal difference.

West Ham moved up to seventh after a 1-0 win over Manchester City at Upton Park on Sunday.

Blackburn moved out of the relegation zone on goal difference with a 2-1 win at Hull, a fiery game that saw both sides reduced to 10 men.

MILAN (AP)—AC Milan slipped further behind Inter Milan and Juventus in the Serie A title race after losing to Sampdoria 2-1.

Antonio Cassano gave the Genoa side the lead in the first half, and Gianpaolo Pazzini doubled it early in the second. Alexandre Pato scored in the 80th minute to give Milan some hope, and Emerson had a goal disallowed.

Inter, which hosted AS Roma later Sunday, is in first place with 59 points, followed by Juventus with 53, AC Milan with 48 and Fiorentina with 46.

Cassano gave Sampdoria the lead in the 33rd minute. He tapped in the ball at the far post after Marius Stankevicius headed Angelo Palombo’s corner.

Fiorentina and Genoa, the two teams chasing the fourth Champions League qualification place, both failed to win.

Fiorentina drew 1-1 at last-place Reggina, with Emiliano Bonnazzoli’s goal equalizing Alessio Sestu’s opener for Reggina.

Genoa was unable to breakdown stubborn defending by Siena in their 0-0 draw.

Also Sunday, it was: Atalanta 0, Chievo Verona 2; Cagliari 0, Torino 0; Palermo 0, Catania 4; and Udinese 2, Lecce 0.

MADRID (AP)—Malaga’s pursuit of a Champions League spot lost momentum after a 2-0 loss to Recreativo Huelva, while Deportivo La Coruna bolstered its European ambitions with a 1-0 win at last-place Numancia.

Albert Camunas gave Recreativo the lead in the 54th minute, and 10 minutes later Adrian Colunga added a goal to hand Malaga only its third loss in 15 games.

Juan Rodriguez scored from a sharp angle with 15 minutes to play as Deportivo rallied from Thursday’s UEFA Cup exit to join Malaga and Valencia— which played Valladolid later Sunday—on 39 points. The three clubs are only two points behind fourth-placed Villarreal, which occupies the final Champions League spot and will attempt to consolidate its position against lowly Real Betis later Sunday.

Barcelona also played later, and needed to snap a three-game winless streak at Atletico Madrid to get its title campaign back on track. The Catalan giant led Real Madrid by 12 points going into 2009, but has since let Madrid narrow that gap to just four

Barcelona has 60 points, Madrid has 56, Sevilla is third with 47 and Villarreal has 41.

In Sunday’s other 25th round results, it was: Almeria 2, Getafe 1; Racing Santander 1, Osasuna 1; and Sporting Gijon 0, Mallorca 1.

FRANKFURT (AP)—Defending champion Bayern Munich failed to score against 10-man Werder Bremen and fell to fifth place in the Bundesliga after a 0-0 draw.

Werder lost central defender Naldo when he was ejected after 15 minutes, but Bayern, coming off a 5-0 win at Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League, was unable to break the deadlock. Bayern has won only one of its last five games in the Bundesliga, losing three of them.

Wolfsburg won 3-1 at Hamburger SV behind two goals from Grafite to move past Bayern into fourth place on goal difference. Also on Sunday, Stuttgart beat Karlsruhe 2-0.

PARIS (AP)—Paris Saint-Germain routed Nancy 4-1 with two goals from Guillaume Hoarau to consolidate its second spot in the French league.

Marseille and Bordeaux kept pace with PSG in the race for a Champions League berth as Marseille edged Caen 1-0, while Bordeaux beat Lorient 1-0.

AMSTERDAM (AP)—Blaise N’Kufo scored his 100th league goal for FC Twente, securing a 1-0 victory over ADO The Hague to keep alive his team’s slim Dutch title hopes.

N’Kufo headed home Ronnie Stam’s 24th minute cross to give Steve McClaren’s side all three points. Twente is second in the standings, nine points behind AZ Alkmaar and three clear of Ajax, which won 2-0 at FC Utrecht.

Alkmaar, led by former Barcelona coach Louis van Gaal, tops the league with 63 points after beating FC Groningen 3-0 on Saturday. Twente is second with 54 and Ajax third on 51.