A Wayne Rooney special and Cristiano Ronaldo's 23rd goal of the season finally broke Reading's resistance and kept Manchester United on top of the Premier League on Saturday. The champions had looked as if they would be force to settle for a single point as a pulsating encounter at the Madejski stadium neared its end.
But with 13 minutes left, Rooney found some space inside the six-yard box and finished off a chip from Carlos Tevez with a deft flick. And with Reading throwing everybody forward in search of an equaliser, Ronaldo added a second right at the end.
The win ensured Sir Alex Ferguson's men remain on top although they only lead Arsenal - 3-0 winners at relegation-threatened Fulham - on goal difference. Third-placed Chelsea could count themselves fortunate to come away from Birmingham with all the points.
Alex McLeish's side had the better of the contest for long periods but were left with nothing when Peruvian forward Claudio Pizarro headed in his first goal for the visitors since the opening day of the season, in the 79th minute.
Two first-half headers from Togo forward Emmanuel Adebayor and a late strike by midfielder Tomas Rosicky on his return from injury allowed Arsenal to stroll to victory over relegation-threatened London rivals Fulham.
Adebayor has now scored 15 Premier League goals this season and Saturday's performance will have added to Gunners boss Arsene Wenger's relief that he has retained the striker's services for the next month because of Togo's failure to qualify for the African Nations Cup. Blackburn's three-match winning run came to an end when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Middlesbrough.
David Wheater headed in a Stewart Downing free-kick in the 13th minute to give Boro the lead. But Matt Derbyshire equalised with quarter of an hour left to salvage a point for the home side. Newcastle were entertaining Bolton in an evening fixture that was their first since Kevin Keegan returned to the club earlier this week.
PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS ON SATURDAY:
-- Birmingham 0 Chelsea 1 (Pizarro 79)
-- Blackburn 1 (Derbyshire 75) Middlesbrough 1 (Wheater 13)
-- Fulham 0 Arsenal 3 (Adebayor 19, 38, Rosicky 81)
-- Portsmouth 3 (Mwaruwari 38, 42, 55) Derby 1 (Nyatanga 4)
-- Reading 0 Manchester Utd 2 (Rooney 77, Ronaldo 90)
-- Tottenham 2 (Lennon 2, Keane 90) Sunderland 0