LONDON — Wayne Rooney maintained Manchester United's handy knack of overturning deficits with two goals as the leader beat Southampton 2-1 at Old Trafford to move seven points clear in the Premier League Wednesday. Champion Manchester City's 0-0 draw at bottom club Queens Park Rangers 24 hours earlier paved the way for United to widen the gap but Jay Rodriguez silenced the home crowd after three minutes before Rooney's double restored order before halftime. Apart from Everton, the clubs battling for top-four finishes and Champions League qualification suffered frustration, none more so than third-placed Chelsea which threw away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at struggling Reading for whom substitute Adam Le Fondre struck twice in the closing stages. Chelsea remains four points clear of Tottenham Hotspur which needed a superb Gareth Bale equaliser in a 1-1 draw at Norwich City while sixth-placed Arsenal drew 2-2 at home to Liverpool having trailed 2-0 with half an hour remaining. Luis Suarez gave Liverpool an early lead and Jordan Henderson made it 2-0 on the hour after some terrible Arsenal defending but Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott earned the Gunners a deserved point from an entertaining clash. Fifth-placed Everton cashed in on the dropped points of those around them in the table with a 2-1 home victory over West Bromwich Albion to move one point behind Tottenham, three clear of Arsenal and six ahead of Liverpool. In a London derby alongside the River Thames Fulham beat West Ham United 3-1. Eight of United's previous 18 league wins this season had come from losing positions and it needed to dig in again after Rodriquez punished a poor Michael Carrick back pass to give Southampton a dream start at a ground where it had lost on 15 of their last 16 visits. “Winning is the name of the game at this stage of the season,” United manager Alex Ferguson said. “For the first 30 minutes I thought we were fantastic, we played really well. But in the second half Southampton have been the best team to play here this season. We were fortunate to win the game.” Marseille in last 16 Olympique Marseille set up a French Cup last-16 clash with arch-rival Paris St Germain when a controversial goal by new signing Modou Sougou gave them a 2-1 win at third division side Rouen Wednesday. Rouen keeper Theo Defourny mishandled Sogou's long-range strike in the 59th minute but appeared to secure the ball before it crossed the line. However, referee Said Ennjimi awarded the goal. Marseille had gone ahead three minutes before the break thanks to Mathieu Valbuena's low shot. Rouen reduced the arrears in the 67th minute when Regis Dugimont beat Steve Mandanda from close range. The last-16 games will be played on Feb. 26 and 27. Balotelli scores 1st goal for AC Milan Mario Balotelli scored one goal and set up two others Thursday as AC Milan beat Darfo Boario 10-0 in a friendly. Balotelli came on at halftime for his first appearance in a Milan shirt, hours after finalizing his transfer from Manchester City. It took Balotelli only 12 minutes to score Milan's sixth goal, rounding the goalkeeper before slotting home. The 22-year-old Balotelli also set up two goals for strike partner Stephan El Shaarawy. — Agencies
