Man Utd 1-0 Birmingham

Carlos Tevez scored the only goal as Manchester United secured a narrow victory to stay two points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal. (BBC Sport)

Tevez's overhead kick and a Cristiano Ronaldo back-heel carved open the Blues defence and the Argentine calmly slotted home the winner on 25 minutes. Cameron Jerome was down injured then but Birmingham complaints were limited.

Tevez, who went off late on with an ankle injury, also hit the woodwork twice while the Blues never gave up.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, sat in the stands to serve out his two-match touchline ban, made five changes to his starting line-up. Ronaldo partnered Tevez in the centre of attack with Wayne Rooney still absent with a virus and Ryan Giggs not even on the bench.