Manchester United returned to the Premier League summit by routing bottom-place Portsmouth 5-0 Saturday, while Manchester City lost 2-1 at relegation-threatened Hull. Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov each scored for United, while three Portsmouth players scored own goals to add to the debt-ridden club's woes. United will now hope Chelsea is beaten by third-place Arsenal Sunday so the champion retains its one-point lead. The top four regained a familiar look after Liverpool climbed to fourth with a 1-0 victory over Everton, while Tottenham drew 0-0 with Aston Villa and Man City lost. At Old Trafford, Wayne Rooney headed in from close range from Darren Fletcher's cross and Portsmouth defender Anthony Vanden Borre turned in Nani's attempted cross just before halftime. After the break, Michael Carrick's shot deflected in off Richard Hughes before Dimitar Berbatov tormented the Pompey defense and fired home the fourth. Mark Wilson became the third Pompey player to score an own goal to round off the miserable day for the visitors. United's crosstown rival City slumped to its second league loss since Roberto Mancini replaced Mark Hughes as manager in December as Hull climbed out of the relegation zone. United States forward Jozy Altidore scored his first Premier League goal at his 18th game and George Boateng volleyed in Hull's second. Emmanuel Adebayor's goal for City wasn't enough to spark a comeback, despite Patrick Viera coming on as a substitute to make his debut for the club. Tottenham's failure to find a way past Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel at White Hart Lane meant Liverpool's lunchtime victory kept the 18-time champion in fourth. Following a lackluster start to the season, Liverpool has now collected 17 points from a possible 21 in the last seven matches. Despite Everton defender Phil Neville clinging to him, Dirk Kuyt sent Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard's inswinging corner past goalkeeper Tim Howard from close range in the 55th minute for the game's only goal. Burnley climbed out of the relegation zone and sent West Ham back into the bottom three with a 2-1 victory over the east London club. Bolton is just one point above West Ham after drawing 0-0 with Fulham and Wigan is a further point ahead after holding Sunderland to a 1-1 draw. Stoke boss celebrated his 300th game in charge of the club in style as City routed Blackburn 3-0 at the Britannia Stadium. Juve's poor run continues In Milan, Juventus continued its awful run with a 1-1 Serie A draw at modest Livorno Saturday, leaving the famous Turin club three points adrift of the fourth Champions League qualifying spot. Sixth-placed Juve, which has 15 games left, has now won just once in eight league matches and rarely looked like taking three points in Tuscany. Palermo in fifth moved two points above Juve and one behind fourth-placed Napoli after Simplicio blasted in an 87th minute winner to seize a 2-1 victory over Parma. Nigeria fires coach Nigeria fired coach Shaibu Amodu Saturday in the wake of the team's disappointing performance in last month's African Cup of Nations, leaving the squad without leadership as the World Cup approaches. Nigerian Football Federation spokesman Ademola Olajire said Amodu will not lead the team in South Africa in June, but will instead be relegated to leading the country's “B” team.
