Man. United, Chelsea ease to victory

Chelsea's Michael Ballack (L) scores a goal against Sheffield United during their English Premier League soccer match at Stamford Bridge in London March 17, 2007.

Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Manchester United to a 4-1 rout of Bolton Wanderers on Saturday, while their Premier League rivals Chelsea just geared up to hold on the six points deficit by beating Sheffield United 3-0.

Ronaldo made three goals in the first 25 minutes at Old Trafford, two for South Korea's Park Ji-sung and one for Wayne Rooney, who added his second before Bolton's Gary Speed converted a late penalty.

The victory moved the United to 75 points and a step closer to their first league title since 2003.

Chelsea are second on 69 points after a comfortable victory following early goals from Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko and Ivorian Salomon Kalou. Germany captain Michael Ballack came off the bench to head the third in the 58th minute.

West Ham United moved off the bottom with their first away win of the league season, a highly controversial 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.

Manchester City got a morale-boosting 2-0 win at Middlesbrough, while Tottenham Hotspur beat relegation candidates Watford 3-1, including a goal by Spurs' England keeper Paul Robinson with a free kick from his own half.

There were 0-0 draws between Reading and Portsmouth, along with Wigan Athletic and Fulham.

Chelsea's Michael Ballack celebrates scoring against Sheffield United during their English Premier League soccer match at Stamford Bridge in London March 17, 2007.

English premier league top scorers (updated)

LONDON, March 18 -- Following are the English Premier League top scorers after Saturday's matches:

18 Didier Drogba (Chelsea)

16 Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

12 Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Middlesbrough)

Benny McCarthy (Blackburn Rovers)

11 Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

Robin van Persie (Arsenal)

10 Thierry Henry (Arsenal)

Andy Johnson (Everton)

Kevin Doyle (Reading)

Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth)

Obafemi Martins (Newcastle United)

9 Nicolas Anelka (Bolton Wanderers)

Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool)

Brian McBride (Fulham)

Darren Bent (Charlton Athletic)

8 Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur)

Bobby Zamora (West Ham United)

Dimitar Berbatov (Tottenham Hotspur)

Mikel Arteta (Everton)

Louis Saha (Manchester United)

Gilberto Silva (Arsenal)

Gareth Barry (Aston Villa)

Rob Hulse (Sheffield United)

7 Shabani Nonda (Blackburn Rovers)

Craig Bellamy (Liverpool)

Leroy Lita (Reading)

Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough)

LONDON, March 18-- Following are the English Premier League standings after Saturday's games (tabulated under games played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, against and points):

1 Manchester United 30 24 3 3 70 20 75

2 Chelsea 30 21 6 3 54 19 69

3 Arsenal 28 16 7 5 51 23 55

4 Liverpool 29 16 5 8 44 20 53

5 Bolton Wanderers 30 14 5 11 35 38 47

6 Tottenham Hotspur 30 13 6 11 43 44 45

7 Reading 30 13 5 12 43 38 44

8 Everton 29 11 10 8 37 26 43

9 Portsmouth 30 11 9 10 36 31 42

10 Blackburn Rovers 30 12 4 14 36 41 40

11 Newcastle United 29 10 7 12 34 37 37

12 Middlesbrough 30 9 9 12 32 36 36

13 Fulham 30 7 13 10 31 44 34

14 Aston Villa 29 7 12 10 29 35 33

15 Manchester City 29 9 6 14 22 34 33

16 Wigan Athletic 30 9 6 15 30 44 33

17 Sheffield United 30 8 7 15 25 44 31

18 Charlton Athletic 29 6 6 17 26 49 24

19 West Ham United 30 6 5 19 23 51 23

20 Watford 30 3 11 16 19 46 20

1-2: Champions League / EC I

3-4: Champions League preliminary round

5: UEFA Cup

6-7: UEFA Cup depending on domestic cup

English premier league results (updated)

LONDON, March 18 -- Following are the English Premier League results on Saturday:

Blackburn Rovers lost to West Ham United 1-2

Chelsea bt Sheffield United 3-0

Manchester United bt Bolton Wanderers 4-1

Middlesbrough lost to Manchester City 0-2

Reading tied Portsmouth 0-0

Tottenham Hotspur bt Watford 3-1

Wigan Athletic tied Fulham 0-0

Playing on Sunday

Charlton Athletic vs Newcastle United (1330)

Aston Villa vs Liverpool (1335)

Everton vs Arsenal (1600)

English Premier League standings (updated)

LONDON, March 18 -- Following are the English Premier League standings after Saturday's games (tabulated under games played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, against and points):