LISBON, Portugal — Freddy Adu came on to score the tying goal in Benfica’s 1-1 draw with Setubal in their fourth-round Portuguese league cup match Saturday.

The 18-year-old U.S. international angled his shot home in injury time to equalize after appearing as a substitute in the 71st minute. Matheus earlier gave the visitors a 12th-minute lead.

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BIRMINGHAM, England - Wayne Rooney went some way to easing his England misery by playing an influential role in Manchester United’s 4-1 victory at nine-man Aston Villa on Saturday.

England international Rooney was exonerated by Sir Alex Ferguson for any part in the Euro 2008 defeat against Russia and he repaid the support of his manager with two of the goals that eased United to second in the Premier League, even without the services of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Rooney’s first half double took his tally to six goals in his last five games and he could have improved that record further, but saw a second half penalty saved by substitute Villa goalkeeper Stuart Taylor as the home side had England under-21 internationals Nigel Reo-Coker and Scott Carson sent off by referee Rob Styles.

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LONDON - Fulham, down to 10 men at the start of the second half, eked a point out of their relegation clash with Derby thanks in large part to the sterling efforts of their Finnish goalkeeper Antti Niemi.

Saturday’s goalless draw moved Derby off the foot of the table above Bolton with six points, with Fulham up to eight points and out of the drop zone but that status may only last until Monday depending on how struggling Tottenham fare against Newcastle.

Fulham manager Lawrie Sanchez made five changes from the side that were beaten 2-0 by Portsmouth - among them Collins John who missed out with a fever.

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LONDON - Arsenal cemented their position at the top of the Premier League table with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Bolton on Saturday.

Arsene Wenger’s side were never at their exhilarating best against hard-working, if limited, opponents but second-half goals from Kolo Toure and Tomas Rosicky were enough to seal a 13th victory in 14 games this season.

The Gunners will need more performances like this if they are to end their four-year wait for a fourth Premier League title under Wenger but both the Frenchman and Archie Knox, the Bolton caretaker manager, will have been heartened by their teams’ spirited displays.

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BLACKBURN, England - Blackburn kept up their Champions League push with a dominant 4-2 victory over sorry Reading at Ewood Park on Saturday.

Mark Hughes’s side remain sixth in the table after their fifth win in nine games, keeping them above the likes of Chelsea.

Blackburn dominated from the off and it looked simply a matter of time before they opened the scoring.

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MIDDLESBROUGH, England - Didier Drogba demonstrated his true worth to Chelsea after a typically assured finish laid the foundations for a comfortable 2-0 victory against Middlesbrough on Saturday.

The striker’s eighth-minute goal settled early nerves at the Riverside Stadium and Brazilian defender Alex, standing in for the injured John Terry, set the seal on an invaluable win with a wonderfully executed free kick 12 minutes into the second half.

Drogba was back to what he does best after a week of controversy. The Ivory Coast international may regret telling the France Football magazine that he wished to leave Stamford Bridge in the wake of Jose Mourinho’s departure but until January, at the earliest, he has no other option but to give his best for the Blues and their increasingly sceptical supporters.

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BERLIN - Bayern Munich manager Uli Hoeness said on Saturday he hopes coach Ottmar Hitzfeld will sign a contract extension over the winter break to stay at the German giants for another season.

Hitzfeld, who has won the Champions League with both Bayern and Borussia Dortmund, has expressed interest in coaching the Swiss national team after next summer’s Euro 2008 tournament with his contract in Munich set to expire in June.

But Bayern, who went six points clear at the top of the Bundesliga thanks to Saturday’s 2-1 win at VfL Bochum, are keen to extend the 58-year-old’s contract with his unbeaten side picking up their eighth win of the season.

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MANCHESTER, England - Manchester City’s magnificent start to the season shows no sign of slowing as Elano’s first half goal sealed a 1-0 win over Birmingham on Saturday.

The Brazilian’s strike moved Sven Goran Eriksson’s side into second place in the Premier League and, although Manchester United would jump over them with a win over Aston Villa in Saturday’s late game, City’s fans departed Eastlands dreaming of a title challenge.

Birmingham were obdurate opponents but they were unable to stop City maintaining their 100 percent home record this season.

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WIGAN, England - In-form striker Benjani Mwaruwari struck his fifth goal in three games to help Portsmouth to a 2-0 win against Wigan on Saturday.

Zimbabwe international Benjani’s late effort at the JJB Stadium was followed by a solo strike from Glen Johnson to maintain Pompey’s impressive start to the season.

The defeat extends Wigan’s winless run to seven games as new manager Chris Hutchings’s difficult start continues.

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GLASGOW - Rangers won the first Old Firm derby of the season as Nacho Novo’s double strike inspired a 3-0 victory over Celtic on Saturday.

Since Walter Smith returned to Ibrox he has quickly established a stranglehold over Celtic and this was a third successive triumph over his club’s bitter rivals.

Novo’s first half header and a late penalty sandwiched Barry Ferguson’s clinical finish to put Rangers level on points with Gordon Strachan’s Scottish champions.

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