LONDON -- Manchester United opened its Premier League title defence with a victory over West Bromwich Albion on Sunday while Andre Villas-Boas first match in charge of Chelsea ended in a draw at Stoke. Vladimir Konstantinov Jersey . Ashley Youngs cross was deflected into the net by West Brom defender Steven to clinch a 2-1 victory for Alex Fergusons side. At the start of Uniteds quest for a 20th English title, Wayne Rooney gave United an early lead. But renewed questions were raised about new goalkeeper David de Gea after the 20-year-old Spaniard allowed Shane Longs angled strike to go under him as West Brom levelled before halftime. "It was just a bit of concentration there but welcome to English football," Ferguson said. "He came in for it in the second half and I thought he should have been protected more by the referee, but it was a good experience for him. Its all a learning process." While a moment of late good fortune spared De Geas blushes at the Hawthorns, there was no such luck for Villas-Boas. In a frustrating start to Premier League management, the Portuguese coachs side was held to a 0-0 draw at Stoke with several penalty appeals turned down. "I cant be pleased with a point but its one of the most difficult grounds to play at," Villas-Boas said. "For our title challenge I would say one point at Stoke is not bad. Its not the greatest start to the Premier League of course." That stalemate followed draws for Arsenal and Liverpool on Saturday. Manchester Citys season doesnt start until Monday when the big-spending club hosts Swansea. Uniteds victory at West Brom came at a price, with Rio Ferdinand sustaining a hamstring injury in the match that will sideline him for six weeks and fellow centre back Nemanja Vidic faces two weeks off after being substituted with a calf injury. United will also be without right back Rafael da Silva for the first 10 weeks of the season after injuring a shoulder in training ahead of the season opener. At least Rooney is off the mark already, latching on to Youngs pass and shooting into the bottom corner from 20 yards (meters) in the 13th minute. "The first 25 minutes we were superb, the movement of the ball was great, but then we slowed and lost momentum," Ferguson said. "We lost a goal which David should have done better with." De Geas 37th-minute mistake in allowing Longs shot into the net came on his first league appearance since being signed to replace retiring 40-year-old goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. West Brom manager Roy Hodgson was frustrated that his team conceded the late own goal. "It was close," he said. "Our performance was very good, and were sad not to hold on but very pleased with our teams performance. We played ourselves into the game and deserved a result for long periods of the game, but unfortunately Young got that bit of luck and that changed the complexion of things." At the Britannia Stadium, Villas-Boas was unhappy with the extent of Stokes physicality in the scoreless draw. It was his first match back in an English dugout since working for Jose Mourinho during his three years as Chelsea manager between 2004-07. "A point I want to make when you are playing difficult games like this one is the amount of pushing and grabbing in the box, because its out of this world," the former FC Porto manager said. "We are OK to deal with Stokes set plays and we were competent enough to avoid the dangers they cause. "We know the amount of goals they score with these set plays, but I think theres a limit to the pushing and grabbing, it makes it impossible." Fernando Torres, preferred to Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka as the lone striker, looked lively and caused Stoke problems but he could not score, leaving the Spaniard with just one goal since being signed in January for 50 million pounds (then $81 million). Chelsea had several penalty appeals turned down, including when Salomon Kalou fell following Glenn Whelans tackle and Frank Lampard went down under a challenge from Marc Wilson. And in the second half, Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic tipped over a dipping volley from John Obi Mikel and a curling shot from Nicolas Anelka. Johan Franzen Authentic Jersey . The St. Louis Cardinals were scheduled to arrive in Boston in time for a workout on Tuesday afternoon. Much of Mondays discussion focused on Bostons lineup considerations as the series progresses, specifically when the venue shifts to St. Steve Yzerman Red Wings Jersey . -- Ernie Els hardly ever catches a break at the Match Play Championship. OKLAHOMA CITY -- Kevin Durants rare streak of games with least 25 points continued, and San Antonios run of 19 straight wins came to a halt. Another streak might mean more than both of them -- Oklahoma Citys season sweep. Durant scored 28 points and Russell Westbrook scored 27 to help the Thunder defeat San Antonio 106-94 on Thursday night in a showdown of the top two teams in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City won all four games against the Spurs this season, and this was the most lopsided result. "Thats a big thing," Westbrook said. "When you have a team thats a good basketball team -- theyre the No. 1 team in the West, and we want to be the best team, youve got to beat the best. I think we did a great job of that tonight." Serge Ibaka added 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder, who trail San Antonio by three games with eight remaining. Durant scored at least 25 points for the 39th consecutive game, the longest streak since Michael Jordan did it 40 consecutive times during the 1986-87 season. He reached 25 on a free throw with 3:31 remaining, drawing a roar from the crowd. "That was a cool feeling," Durant said. "I dont want to take those moments for granted. Its not what Im really playing the game for, but it is still cool to see that support from such great fans, no matter what." Durant can match Jordans mark, the longest such streak in the past 50 years, Friday in Houston. "Thats a lot of games to be scoring 25 points in a row," Westbrook said. "You cant just not think about that. Thats an unbelievable stat. I think he may just finish the season doing that. He does that in his sleep." The Thunder shot 59 per cent in the second half to pull away. Oklahoma City scored 30 points off San Antonios 19 turnovers. "Too many turnovers led to too many points, and thats the ballgame," San Antonio guard Danny Green said. "If we changed that, its probably a totally different game." Patty Mills scored 21 points and Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan each added 17 for the Spurs, who hadnt lost since Feb. 21. "We never thought about the streak in the first place," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "To us, it is just another game." Spurs reserve Manu Ginobili did not play. The veeteran guard was not listed on the injury report, and Popovich did not explain why Ginobili was out.Gordie Howe Red Wings Jersey. Oklahoma City trailed 51-43 in the second quarter before Westbrook drained a 3-pointer, then made a layup with 2.6 seconds left in the first half to cut the deficit to 51-48 at halftime. Westbrook had struggled with his shot before that flurry. "You may miss a few shots here and there, but youve got to keep your mind in the game and stay in the moment," Westbrook said. The Thunder continued their surge in the second half. Rookie Andre Roberson hit a 3-pointer gave the Thunder a 57-56 lead. A lob from Reggie Jackson to Durant for a dunk gave Oklahoma City a 75-65 lead. Durant hit a running jumper in the closing seconds of the third quarter to put the Thunder up 80-71. He scored 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting in the period. Oklahoma City pushed its lead to 16, but San Antonio went on an 8-0 run to pull to 91-83. The Thunder regained control. Westbrook got into the open court, clutched and threw down a reverse dunk to bump Oklahoma Citys lead back up to 95-83 with 5:25 to play. "We just made the second and third efforts," Durant said. "We did a good job of helping each other on the defensive end, and once you do that, you give yourself a good chance." The Spurs said they will study the game and move forward. "You can learn a lot from a loss," Green said. "Obviously, Id rather learn from a win, but sometimes, you feel like you can learn more from a loss. Well go back to the drawing board tonight." NOTES: Jackson played after sitting the previous two games with a mid-back sprain. ... Thunder C Kendrick Perkins returned to action after missing the previous 17 games with a left groin strain he suffered against the Miami Heat. ... Duncan and Perkins got tangled up early in the third quarter, and both were issued technical fouls. Perkins had his arm around Duncan, Duncan threw it off, and Perkins shoved Duncan. ... Thunder reserve F Nick Collison left the game in the third quarter after he took an elbow to the head from San Antonio reserve F Jeff Ayres and was bleeding. He got four staples and was ready to play early in the fourth quarter. ... Westbrook was issued a technical with 1:07 remaining after arguing with the officials. ' ' '
