Birmingham 0 Man Utd 1
Manchester United kept up the pressure on premier league leaders Arsenal with a hard-earned win at Birmingham tonight.
A 56th-minute Ruud van Nistelrooy goal secured the victory that took United to 53 points - three behind Arsenal and five ahead of third-placed Newcastle, who have a game in hand.
Birmingham, who face Chelsea and Liverpool in their next two games, worked hard throughout but rarely threatened to score and remain only two places and six points above the relegation zone.
Tonight's game was United's first visit to St Andrews in 17 years and they dominated the play in the early stages but lacked an incisive edge.
Birmingham had only one early opportunity - Christophe Dugarry had a header cleared of the line by Juan Sebastian Veron after half an hour.
United went closer just before the break when in-form Paul Scholes unleashed a shot from a tight angle but saw it strike the underside of the bar and bounce to safety.
The goal came 11 minutes into the second half when Van Nistelrooy fashioned a chance out of nothing.
The big striker, who had barely touched the ball before that point, collected it on the penalty spot with his back to goal, surrounded by defenders, but somehow turned to score his 26th goal of the season with a low shot.
From then on United produced a solid performance to give themselves another lift ahead of a testing two weeks during which they will play Manchester City in the league, Arsenal in the FA Cup and Juventus in the Champions League.
- Mark Viduka made up for his sending-off in the side's previous meeting by putting Leeds on the road to a 2-1 victory over Division One outfit Gillingham in their FA Cup fourth round replay at Elland Road.
Caretaker striker Eirik Bakke added to Viduka's 11th minute strike - his eighth goal of the season - in the 58th minute to give the hosts their first win in six matches and a fifth round away trip to either Liverpool or Crystal Palace.
Guy Ipoua had given Gillingham some late encouragement when he scored in the 86th minute.