Wayne Rooney scored to give Manchester United a 1-0 win over Birmingham City at the start of its bid for a fourth consecutive Premier League title but Liverpool lost 2-1 at Tottenham Hotspur Sunday. North-west rivals United and Liverpool slugged it out for the trophy last season but both looked below-par and pedestrian compared with Arsenal who thumped six goals past Everton Saturday. The champion at least hung on to claim all three points and with Chelsea also victorious Liverpool was the only one of the four title favorites who failed to win on the opening weekend. United, minus Cristiano Ronaldo, needed the quick reactions of Rooney 12 minutes before halftime at Old Trafford to see off promoted Birmingham, the England striker stabbing in a rebound after his header hit the post.Liverpool suffered just two losses in the league last season, one of those coming at Tottenham, and it endured more frustration in north London as French defender Sebastien Bassong sealed a 2-1 defeat with a powerful header on his debut. Benoit Assou-Ekotto fired Tottenham in front with a thumping shot past Pepe Reina just before halftime but Liverpool, narrow runner-up to United last season with its best ever Premier League points tally, levelled through Steven Gerrard's penalty early in the second half. Liverpool could have few complaints as it lacked creativity against a Tottenham side who in winning their opening match have gained more points than it did in its first eight last season, a run that ended with the sacking of Spanish coach Juande Ramos. “The first half was not the best for us, the second half much better,” Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez told Sky Sports. “We are disappointed because we worked hard in the second half. It's still early, but we know we have to improve.” Marseille going strong Title-chasing Olympique Marseille extended its strong start to the Ligue 1 season with a 1-0 win over Lille Sunday. Brazilian forward Brandao headed home the winner from a corner on 11 minutes to enable Marseille to join champion Girondins Bordeaux and surprise package Nancy on maximum points after two games. Marseille, forced to play their first home match of the season at Montpellier after a stage built for a Madonna concert collapsed at their Velodrome stadium last month, was clearly the better side in the first half and wasted many chances to increase its lead. Lille, who ended up fifth last season to qualify for the Europa League, was more dangerous after the break but had to play the last 25 minutes with 10 men after defender Mathieu Debuchy was sent off for a second booking. Two goals in quick succession from Gregory Thil allowed promoted Boulogne-sur-Mer to bounce back from a dismal Ligue 1 debut with a 2-1 home win over Grenoble earlier Sunday. Hertha shocked Borussia Moenchengladbach scored a goal in each half to beat Hertha Berlin 2-1 Sunday and record its first win of the Bundesliga season. Borussia took the lead after 23 minutes through defender Roel Brouwers, who headed in his second goal of the season. The hosts pushed for a second goal with visitors Hertha relying mainly on long-range efforts. Borussia netted again seven minutes after the restart when new signing Argentine Raul Bobadilla combined well with veteran Oliver Neuville who cut into the box for Karim Matmour to slot home. But its celebrations were short-lived when Serbian midfielder Gojko Kacar's header cut the deficit to one goal only two minutes later. Champions VfL Wolfsburg beat Cologne 3-1 Saturday to top the standings with six points after two matches while Bayern Munich had to settle for their second consecutive draw, a 1
