Soccer: Liverpool rout Spurs, Utd halt slump

Luis Suarez extended his hot scoring run with a double as Liverpool overwhelmed 10-man Tottenham 5-0 today to go within two points of Premier League leader Arsenal.

Suarez took his tally to eight goals in three games and helped set up the other three goals on the day he captained Liverpool for the first time.

As Tottenham struggled to cope with the speed and intensity of Liverpool's attack, Suarez netted the opener in the 17th minute, and Jordan Henderson volleyed in another before halftime.

Any hopes of a Tottenham comeback were thwarted by Paulinho being sent off in the 63rd for sinking his boot into Suarez's ribs.

Suarez then set up Jon Flanagan for Liverpool's third, found the net again himself, and fed the ball for Raheem Sterling to complete the rout.

Manchester United 3 Aston Villa 0
Danny Welbeck's double steered Manchester United to a 3-0 victory at Aston Villa to halt a four-game winless run in the Premier League.

The pressure eased on manager David Moyes as Welbeck sidefooted in the opener in the 15th minute and the striker found the target again inside three minutes.

In a vibrant United display, Tom Cleverley netted his first goal of the season seven minutes into the second half as the champions won for the first time in a month in the league.

The victory pushed United up to eighth place, 10 points behind leader Arsenal.

Norwich 1 Swansea 1
Gary Hooper scored a superb 25-yard effort to earn Norwich a 1-1 draw against Swansea at Carrow Road, where Nathan Dyer looked to have sustained a serious ankle injury after earlier putting the visitors in front.

Former Celtic striker Hooper lashed home after collecting a knockdown on his chest in first-half stoppage time.

Dyer had capitalized on some poor defending from Norwich captain Sebastien Bassong to put the Welsh side ahead in the 12th.

However, the midfielder was stretchered off before halftime after falling on his ankle in a challenge with Bassong, with the club reporting a suspected fracture.

Norwich saw a second-half header from Michael Turner hit the crossbar, before Swansea goalkeeper Michael Vorm saved well at point-blank range from Hooper.

- AP