LONDON (Reuters) – Manchester United striker Robin van Persie bagged a contrasting double in a 4-0 win at Wigan Athletic on Tuesday to hand Roberto Mancini another painful reminder of why he looks the difference in the title race.

Mancini’s Manchester City did their job by winning 3-0 at home to Stoke City but the Premier League champions remain seven points behind rivals United following Van Persie’s masterclass, with Tottenham Hotspur up to third after a 3-1 win over Reading.

LONDON, Jan 1 (Reuters) – Manchester United striker Robin van Persie bagged a contrasting double in a 4-0 win at Wigan Athletic on Tuesday to hand Roberto Mancini another painful reminder of why he looks the difference in the title race.

Mancini’s Manchester City did their job by winning 3-0 at home to Stoke City but the Premier League champions remain seven points behind rivals United following Van Persie’s masterclass, with Tottenham Hotspur up to third after a 3-1 win over Reading.

LONDON, Jan 1 (Reuters) – Manchester United striker Robin van Persie bagged a contrasting double in a 4-0 win at Wigan Athletic on Tuesday to hand Roberto Mancini another painful reminder of why he looks the difference in the title race.

Mancini’s Manchester City did their job by winning 3-0 at home to Stoke City but the Premier League champions remain seven points behind rivals United following Van Persie’s masterclass, with Tottenham Hotspur up to third after a 3-1 win over Reading.

LONDON (Reuters) – Edin Dzeko shone to give 10-man Manchester City a battling 4-3 victory at Norwich City but leaders Manchester United also won as own goals and more controversial refereeing marked the last Saturday of 2012.

United maintained their seven-point advantage over City at the top of the Premier League after Gareth McAuley turned the ball into his own net and substitute Robin van Persie netted in a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion at a sodden Old Trafford.

LONDON, Dec 29 (Reuters) – Edin Dzeko shone to give 10-man Manchester City a battling 4-3 victory at Norwich City but leaders Manchester United also won as own goals and more controversial refereeing marked the last Saturday of 2012.

United maintained their seven-point advantage over City at the top of the Premier League after Gareth McAuley turned the ball into his own net and substitute Robin van Persie netted in a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion at a sodden Old Trafford.

LONDON (Reuters) – Inter Milan coach Andrea Stramaccioni is still holding out hope that Wesley Sneijder will play for the club again but a move to the Premier League looks the most obvious choice for the talented Dutch playmaker.

Sneijder, inspirational as Inter won the Champions League, Serie A and Italian Cup in 2010 under Jose Mourinho, has been dropped by the club for refusing to renegotiate his lucrative contract with purse strings being tightened at the San Siro.

LONDON, Dec 28 (Reuters) – Inter Milan coach Andrea Stramaccioni is still holding out hope that Wesley Sneijder will play for the club again but a move to the Premier League looks the most obvious choice for the talented Dutch playmaker.

Sneijder, inspirational as Inter won the Champions League, Serie A and Italian Cup in 2010 under Jose Mourinho, has been dropped by the club for refusing to renegotiate his lucrative contract with purse strings being tightened at the San Siro.

LONDON (Reuters) – Javier Hernandez went off clutching the match ball after helping leaders Manchester United fight back for a 3-2 win at Aston Villa after Arsenal were held in another rip-roaring Saturday of Premier League action.

Austrian Andreas Weimann had stunned United with two well-taken goals for lowly Villa either side of the break but Mexico striker Hernandez showed his killer instincts by netting on 58 minutes and seeing a second shot deflect in off Ron Vlaar.

LONDON (Reuters) – Paul Scholes played the last time Manchester United lost at Aston Villa and 17 years on the midfield maestro was there again as his team summoned the spirit of the late 1990s to avoid a new defeat on Saturday.

The reverse in August 1995, when United boss Alex Ferguson decided to throw in fresh-faced youngsters including Scholes, David Beckham and Gary Neville, was famously derided at the time by television pundit Alan Hansen.

LONDON, Nov 10 (Reuters) – Paul Scholes played the last time Manchester United lost at Aston Villa and 17 years on the midfield maestro was there again as his team summoned the spirit of the late 1990s to avoid a new defeat on Saturday.

The reverse in August 1995, when United boss Alex Ferguson decided to throw in fresh-faced youngsters including Scholes, David Beckham and Gary Neville, was famously derided at the time by television pundit Alan Hansen.