City win, United retain lead

Manchester United's seven-point lead over neighbor Manchester City stayed intact after the title-chasing rivals downed two of Premier League's fallen giants in contrasting ways on Sunday.

While United scraped to a nervy 2-1 win at home to Liverpool, City sauntered to a 2-0 victory at Arsenal after playing against 10 men for most of the match.

Laurent Koscielny's ninth-minute red card for wrestling Edin Dzeko to the ground proved decisive, with Dzeko missing the resulting penalty but later adding to the superb opener by James Milner. Vincent Kompany was sent off late on for City.

Robin van Persie set United on its way to victory at Old Trafford with his league-high 17th goal. Nemanja Vidic made it 2-0 but United relied on some desperate defending to preserve the lead after Daniel Sturridge's goal.

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