MILAN, Jan 13 — David Beckham made a surprising start in his Italian league debut on Sunday, a solid 89-minute performance for AC Milan in a 2-2 draw with AS Roma.
Beckham failed to score in his first match on loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy, but Alexander Pato got two goals at Stadio Olimpico to help Milan into third place.
“I felt good in the game, very strong and I enjoyed it,” Beckham said. “I enjoyed playing with these players and in this city.”
Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Saturday it would be “difficult” to start Beckham because the former England captain has been inactive for two months. However, Beckham lined up alongside Andrea Pirlo and Clarence Seedorf in midfield.
“I don’t want to have regrets in my career,” Beckham said. “I am very lucky to have this chance with this great club and I want to enjoy it.”
Inter Milan leads the league with 43 points, followed by Juventus with 39, Milan with 34 and Napoli with 33.
Juventus downed Siena 1-0, creating few chances and needing a free kick by Alessandro Del Piero in the 33rd minute. Inter slipped up on Saturday by drawing 1-1 with Cagliari.
Napoli made a sluggish return after the winter break, but eventually moved into the Champions League qualification places by beating Catania 1-0. Napoli’s win put it ahead of Fiorentina, which lost to Lecce 2-1.
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LONDON: Manchester United beat a major rival for the first time this season, a 3-0 win over Chelsea that moved the defending champions within five points of the Premier League lead.
Nemanja Vidic, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov scored at Old Trafford to give the Red Devils 41 points, one fewer than second-place Chelsea.
United has played two fewer games than both teams above it because of the European Super Cup and last month’s trip to Japan, where it won the Club World Cup. Victories in its next games against Wigan and Bolton could put United on top for the first time this season.
United has not conceded a goal in eight Premier League matches and has the league’s best defence with 10 goals allowed.
Liverpool leads the league with 46 points, four ahead of Chelsea, which never tested United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. This was Chelsea’s first road loss of the season.
Ryan Giggs thought he had set up United’s opening goal in the 45th minute after Rooney took a disguised short corner by rolling the ball into play. With Chelsea still thinking the corner had yet to been, Giggs crossed the ball and Cristiano Ronaldo headed it in.
The referee disallowed the goal because he had not given permission for the corner to be taken. When he did, Vidic made it 1-0 with a header at the far post.
Ronaldo set up the second goal in the 63rd with a back-heeled pass down the left wing that Patrice Evra crossed for Rooney to hit through Ashley Cole’s legs and past goalkeeper Petr Cech. The Portugal winger then crossed to Berbatov for an 87th-minute tap in.
Also, Maynor Figueroa scored his first goal for Wigan in injury time to give his team a 1-0 win over relegation-threatened Tottenham.
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MADRID: Raul Gonzalez marked his 500th Spanish league game for Real Madrid with a goal as the two-time defending champion cruised to a 3-0 victory over Mallorca.
The Spanish striker is only the sixth player to reach the milestone. In the 17th minute, he used a deft backheel to make it 2-0 with his 212th league goal. In the third minute, Arjen Robben slid a left-footed shot under goalkeeper Dudu Aouate. Sergio Ramos added the third goal in the 66th by volleying in Fernando Gago’s cross.
Madrid joined Sevilla in second place with 35 points after its third straight win under coach Juande Ramos.
Fernando Llorente scored two goals, including the second-half winner, as Athletic Bilbao rallied for a 3-2 victory at Atletico Madrid.
Barcelona can stretch its nine-point lead later on Sunday when it plays at last-place Osasuna, while Espanyol also played Almeria later.
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GLASGOW: Hearts won 2-0 at 10-man Edinburgh rival Hibernian to reach the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.
Striker Steven Fletcher was ejected for the home team in the 30th minute for a late challenge on Christophe Berra. Hearts went ahead eight minutes later when Christian Nade scored from a pass by Andrew Driver.
Dundee United also progressed from the fourth round with a 4-0 win at East Stirling.
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BORDEAUX: Second-place Bordeaux cut Lyon’s lead at the top of the French league to one point by beating Paris Saint-Germain 4-0.
Souleymane Diawara scored the opening goal for Bordeaux in the 10th minute with a header. Fernando Cavenaghi doubled the lead in the 35th with his 12th goal of the season to tie Andre-Pierre Gignac as the top striker in the league. Yoann Gourcuff made it 3-0 in the 71st before Brazil’s Fernando sealed the win in the 87th.
Defending champion Lyon leads the league with 39 points from 20 matches despite drawing 1-1 with Lorient on Saturday. Rennes stretched its unbeaten streak to 18 to keep third place with 37 points, two ahead of Marseille. — AP
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