Clinical United dismantle Spurs, close in on City

Two Ashley Young goals helped Manchester United slice Manchester City's lead at the top of the Premier League to two points with a clinical 3-1 win at third-placed Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

England winger Young scored twice in the space of nine second-half minutes at White Hart Lane after Wayne Rooney's 44th-minute header had given United a somewhat fortunate halftime lead against a toothless Spurs.

Substitute Jermain Defoe scored a late consolation for Spurs who suffered their second heavy defeat in eight days after last week's 5-2 thrashing at north London rivals Arsenal.

With 11 games remaining champions United have 64 points to the 66 of City with Tottenham on 53, four points ahead of Arsenal in the race for an automatic Champions League spot.

Newcastle United's hopes of challenging for a top-four spot suffered a blow with a 1-1 draw against 10-man Sunderland, Shola Ameobi scoring a stoppage-time leveller for Newcastle.

Sunderland took the lead through Nicklas Bendtner in a bad-tempered north-east derby but the visitors had Stephane Sessegon sent off for an elbow.

Wolverhampton Wanderers slipped into the relegation zone after a 5-0 drubbing at Fulham, for whom Russian Pavel Pogrebnyak scored a hat-trick and Clint Dempsey two.