Man United hammer Charlton to pressure Arsenal

Teenage striker Wayne Rooney helped Manchester United to a thumping 4-0 win over Charlton Athletic on Sunday to close within a point of Arse...

Teenage striker Wayne Rooney helped Manchester United to a thumping 4-0 win over Charlton Athletic on Sunday to close within a point of Arsenal in the sprint to next season’s Champions League.

A day after Chelsea won the Premier League, the chase for European soccer continued with United’s win and a 5-1 victory for Tottenham Hotspur over Aston Villa which moved Spurs into a provisional UEFA Cup slot.

Paul Scholes opened the scoring for United after Charlton keeper Stephan Andersen spilled a Rooney shot in the 34th minute and Darren Fletcher rifled in the second just before halftime.

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Both United’s second half goals came on the break, with Alan Smith adding a cool finish and Rooney getting on the scoresheet with a gentle flick past stranded goalkeeper Andersen.

Meanwhile, Mali international striker Frederic Kanoute scored twice and one each from captain Ledley King, Andy Reid and Stephen Kelly completed the five goal tally for Spurs while Gareth Barry pulled one back for Villa just before the break.

Arsenal are second on 74 points before their game in hand at West Browmich Albion and United are third on 73 with three games left to play.

Ronald fires two in Real win

Ronald scored twice in the final seven minutes to give Real Madrid a 2-0 win over Real Sociedad and narrow FC Barcelona’s lead atop the Spanish League to three points.

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Jose maria ‘Guti’ Gutierrez, who entered the game in the 60th minute to replace Santiago Solari, set up both goals by Ronald, who increased his season total to 18, three behind league leader Samuel Eto’O of Barcelona.

It was Real’s sixth straight victory, a streak that has rallied it from nine points back in less than a month.