Manchester United beat Aston Villa 2-0 on Saturday to cut Chelsea's lead at the top of the Premiership to six points. Ruud van Nistelrooy opened the score line early in the first-half and Wayne Rooney sealed the victory just after the break. The victory put Sir Alex Ferguson's side in the second spot on 37 points, six behind the title holders, and ahead of Liverpool who played two matches less. Aston Villa remained 15th with only 17 points. Nistelrooy controlled a neat pass from Darren Fletcher after 10 minutes before volleying over keeper Thomas Sorensen. In the 51st minute, Rooney put Manchester two up with a superb finish following Park Ji-sung's effort. In other matches Bolton Wanderers crushed Everton 4-0, Fulham edged Blackburn 2-1, Portsmouth beat West Bromwich 1-0 and Wigan Athletic eased past Charlton 3-0.
