Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick scored for Manchester United in a 2-0 victory over Portsmouth as the champion turned the screw in the Premier League title race on Wednesday. A less than convincing victory was enough to put United three points clear with a game in hand after it had been knocked off top spot for 24 hours by Liverpool's 4-4 draw at home to Arsenal. Chelsea is six points behind United, also having played a game more, after Guus Hiddink's side was held 0-0 by Everton at Stamford Bridge in an FA Cup final rehearsal. Rooney put United in front after nine minutes, sliding in from close range to finish a low Ryan Giggs cross. United were edgy after the break but Carrick made the points safe eight minutes from time after a good pass from Paul Scholes, who was making his 600th United appearance. Barcelona routs Sevilla Barcelona shrugged off Real Madrid's dogged title challenge by edging closer to the Spanish league crown with a 4-0 pounding of third-placed Sevilla on Wednesday. Real has won 17 of its last 18 league games in defense of the title to put some pressure on Barcelona, but the latter kept a six-point gap in the standings with an impressive performance at Camp Nou. Barcelona has 81 points through 32 games, and Real 75. Meanwhile, Malaga beat Osasuna 3-2 in a stormy encounter in which four players were sent off, David Villa scored twice to give Valencia a 2-1 win against Real Betis, and Deportivo La Coruna won 2-0 against Almeria. Bremen in final Goalkeeper Tim Wiese held his nerve to make three consecutive saves as Werder Bremen beat 10-man Hamburg 3-1 on penalties in their German Cup semifinal on Wednesday. In the Berlin final, Bremen will now face Bayer Leverkusen who also needed extra-time to beat second-division side Mainz 4-1 on Tuesday. Guingamp in final A last-gap goal by substitute Badara Sene earned Ligue 2 side Guingamp, down to 10 men, a 2-1 win at Toulouse and a place in the French Cup final on Wednesday. It will meet Stade Rennes in the Stade de France showdown on May 9 after the Brittany side saw off Grenoble 1-0 on Tuesday. Heerenveen in final Goals from Viktor Elm and Danijel Pranjic fired Heerenveen into Dutch Cup final following a 2-0 win over Volendam on Wednesday. Heerenveen will meet Steve McClaren's Twente Enschede, who beat NAC Breda 3-1 on Tuesday, in the final on May 17.
