Manchester, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata each scored braces on Saturday to hand Manchester United a comfortable 4-0 victory over Norwich City in Ryan Giggs' managerial debut at Old Trafford.
Its been a trying season for Manchester United which came to a head last Tuesday when manager David Moyes was removed from his position and replaced by Giggs.
Under Moyes, the team failed to produce winning results and is set to miss the Champions League for next season, but with Giggs at the helm on Saturday, the Red Devils looked every bit like the defending Premier League champions.
It took a little while for United to get rolling, but the floodgates were opened five minutes before the break when Danny Welbeck was taken down in the box by Norwich defender Steven Whittaker, resulting in a penalty kick.
Rooney stepped to the spot and drilled it into the bottom right corner past Canaries goalkeeper John Ruddy.
After the break, United continued to pass circles around Norwich and Rooney made it 2-0 in the 48th minute as Rooney sauntered into the penalty area and curled a low drive past Ruddy.
It was 3-0 for United in the 63rd minute when Phil Jones sent a driven ball into the box and Mata volleyed it home before completing his double 16 minutes from time.
The result sees United improve to 60 points with three games to play, while Norwich stays in 17th place, just one point clear of the relegation zone.
Southampton 2, Everton 0
Southampton, England - Everton's Champions League hopes all but vanished on Saturday as the Toffees suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Southampton at St. Mary's Stadium.
The Blues entered Saturday just one point behind Arsenal for fourth place in the Premier League, but they were behind the eight-ball almost immediately when defender Antolin Alcaraz directed the ball into his own net for the own goal in the first minute.
The hosts doubled their advantage 30 minutes later with some more good fortune as this time it was Seamus Coleman that headed it into the net for a second own goal.
The result leaves the Merseyside club in fifth place on 69 points, one point behind Arsenal, with two games to play, but the Gunners have a game in hand.
Fulham 2, Hull City 2
London, England - Fulham slipped closer to relegation on Saturday after surrendering a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw with Hull City at Craven Cottage.
After a scoreless opening half, things opened up in the second 45 minutes as the Cottagers struck first in the 55th minute through a goal from Ashkan Dejagah. Three minutes later it was 2-0 for the hosts through a tally by Fernando Amorebieta.
But Hull surged back into the match as Everton loanee Nikica Jelavic scored 15 minutes from time and Chris Long pulled the Tigers level three minutes from time when he nodded a Sone Aluko cross into the bottom right corner.
Fulham improves to 31 points with the result, but is still one point from safety with two matches remaining in the season.
Tottenham 1, Stoke City 0
Stoke-on-Trent, England - Danny Rose netted the only goal of the match on Saturday as Tottenham-Hotspur claimed a nervy 1-0 victory over 10-man Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium.
Spurs opened the scoring in the 33rd minute as Emmanuel Adebayor raced to the end line and lofted a cross into the penalty area where Rose nodded it past Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic.
Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross was shown a second yellow card and sent off in the 52nd minute, reducing the Potters to 10 men. Stoke managed three shots on target despite playing a man down, but never put one past Hugo Lloris.
The result keeps Spurs in the hunt for a Europa League place with 33 points, while Stoke is safely in 10th place with 44 points.
Swansea City 4, Aston Villa 1
Swansea, Wales - Wilfried Bony scored on either side of the intermission on Saturday as Swansea City eased to a 4-1 rout of Aston Villa at the Liberty Stadium.
Bony opened the scoring for the Swans after just 10 minutes, but Gabriel Agbonlahor equalized for Villa in the 22nd minute. But four minutes later Jonjo Shelvey put the hosts back in front with a spectacular strike into the top right corner from midfield.
Pablo Hernandez made it 3-1 for Swansea in the 73rd minute and Bony completed his double in stoppage time with a penalty kick to cap the rout.
West Bromwich 1, West Ham 0
West Bromwich, England - Pepe Mel earned his first managerial home victory on Saturday as West Bromwich Albion edged West Ham United, 1-0, at the Hawthons.
West Brom had the better of the play from the outset and needed just 11 minutes to find the game's only goal. Morgan Amalfitano did the difficult work as he raced to the end line and crossed into the area where Saido Berahino was there to tap it home.
The result lifts the Baggies to 15th place on 36 points, five clear of the relegation zone with three matches to play, while West Ham drops to 14th place on 37 points.
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