Jermain Defoe and Wayne Rooney both hit braces to help their teams to Premier League wins

England striker Jermain Defoe kept up his red-hot scoring form with two more goals to help Tottenham Hotspur claim their third win in six days.

Defoe, 30, struck twice against West Ham last Sunday and repeated the trick at Craven Cottage on Saturday to seal all three points for Andre Villas-Boas’ men.

Spurs were 1-0 up when the Three Lions hitman grabbed his first in the 72nd minute before following it up with a second seven minutes later.

Having netted two for Roy Hodgson's team this season, against Italy and Moldova, the brace at Fulham means Defoe now has 14 goals for club and country.

Manager Andre Villas-Boas said: "It was amazing. Sometimes strikers look distant from the game but when the team sets them up it's important that they have that clinical touch and he just has it.

"He is having an amazing season with us. He is playing lots of games and is extremely motivated." 

Wayne Rooney was also at the double as he helped Manchester United come from behind to defeat Reading 4-3 during an enthralling encounter at the Madejski Stadium.

The 27-year-old scored from the penalty spot to give the visitors a 2-1 lead, before notching again on the half-hour mark to level the game at 3-3.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson brought on Chris Smalling shortly after Rooney's second goal and he felt the introduction of the England defender helped United to tighten up at the back. The Premier League leaders did not concede while the former Fulham man was on the field.

Ferguson said: “We brought Chris Smalling on and it made a big difference in terms of the height, especially when defending the set-pieces."

Meanwhile, Three Lions forward Andy Carroll was forced to miss West Ham United’s 3-1 win against Chelsea through injury.

Hammers boss Sam Allardyce admitted before the game that the 23-year-old is likely to face at least six weeks on the sidelines before confirming afterwards that he would stay at Upton Park instead of returning to parent club Liverpool for treatment.

Allardyce said: “It is a lateral ligament which is the outside of the knee.

“He stays with us. We have contacted Liverpool. They have got all the information. They have sent a medical representative down when he went to visit the specialist.

“They use the same specialist as we do. The specialist has given this diagnosis of what to do and Andy will hopefully recover as quick as the specialist said he might.”

In the Championship, England Under-21s winger Tom Ince also scored two in Blackpool's 4-1 win over bottom of the table Peterborough United.