Ruud van Nistelrooy, the target of Arsenal’s wrath a week ago, was in the spotlight for the right reason on Saturday, scoring a hat-trick in Manchester United’s 4-1 Premier League win at Leicester City.The Dutchman’s treble after Roy Keane’s opener took United to 16 points, one behind Arsenal, who beat Newcastle United 3-2 at Highbury on Friday.Chelsea are also on 16 after Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s 43rd-minute goal saw them to a laboured 1-0 home win over hard-working Aston Villa. Bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers looked on course for their first win of the season after a 30-metre volley by Alex Rae but Bolton Wanderers equalised five minutes from time for a 1-1 draw. Birmingham City beat Portsmouth 2-0 and Middlesbrough won 1-0 at Southampton.Ruud van Nistelrooy’s hat-trick and a classy return for Paul Scholes after a month’s injury absence were the highlights of United’s stroll.They went ahead after 15 minutes when Scholes chipped in for Roy Keane, who expertly killed the ball with one touch and scored with his second.It was 2-0 a minute later when Van Nistelrooy seized on a Scholes shot to score from 12 metres and the Dutchman got his second just before halftime after another piece of excellent control.Van Nistelrooy completed his hat-trick seven minutes after the restart with Frank Sinclair pulling one back in the 73rd minute with a header.Arsenal ended a bad week well as Thierry Henry’s 80th-minute penalty won a game in which they had twice led.Two days after having six players charged with improper conduct following last Sunday’s goalless draw with Manchester United Arsenal battled hard without collecting a single yellow card. (Reuters)
