Manchester United produced one of the performances of the season to beat Arsenal 4-2 at the champions’ Highbury ground in London on Tuesday after twice coming from a goal behind and so put a massive dent in their rivals’ title challenge.
Before kick-off, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said defeat for either side would effectively end their bid for the Premiership, and defeat left the Gunners 10 points behind Chelsea ahead of their London rivals’ match away to Blackburn on Wednesday.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson certainly felt Arsenal are out of the reckoning, telling Sky Sports afterwards ”I think so” when asked if the Gunners’ bid is over.
But the Scot was more cautious about United’s chances of catching the leaders, now eight points ahead of second-placed United.
”Chelsea are in a great position. The important thing is we have shown great form and we must have a chance.”
Wenger effectively conceded defeat in the title race. Asked if Arsenal are too far back, the Frenchman replied: ”It looks like it yes. We will keep fighting but it’s too far now.”
He blamed defensive lapses for the scale of Arsenal’s defeat.
”We had to work hard for our goals, they didn’t.”
Wenger said the game had turned on United’s third goal in the 58th minute when goalkeeper Manuel Almunia recklessly charged off his line and Cristiano Ronaldo tapped into the unguarded net from a yard out after scoring his first four minute earlier.
”The third goal was the killer, mentally. We never recovered from that,” added Wenger, who refused to single out Almunia for public criticism.
United’s win, which saw Ronaldo’s double strike bookended by strikes from Ryan Giggs and John O’Shea, was all the more impressive as defender Mikael Silvestre was sent off in the 69th minute.
There was an almost as dramatic match at The Hawthorns where West Bromwich Albion appeared to have snatched a priceless win against relegation rivals Crystal Palace with two goals in the last three minutes — only for the visitors, down to 10 men for most of their match, to gain an extra-time equaliser of their own in a 2-2 draw.
Liverpool kept alive their hopes of a Champions League spot by coming from behind to beat Charlton 2-1 but Middlesbrough’s quest for European football next season suffered a blow when, after taking the lead at Fratton Park, they lost by the same shoreline to hosts Portsmouth.
In Tuesday’s other match, Bolton scored two late goals to beat Tottenham 3-1.
But Highbury was the centre of attention for one of the most eagerly awaited fixtures of the season. When the teams last met, at Old Trafford in October, United won 2-0 to end Arsenal’s English top-flight record run of 49 unbeaten league games.
A fiery encounter on the field led to bizarre scenes in the tunnel afterwards with Ferguson pelted with soup and pizza, allegedly thrown from the Arsenal dressing room.
And before kick-off on Tuesday, there was another tunnel clash, with referee Graham Poll having to restrain rival captains Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane.
Vieira made a more positive contribution when his eighth-minute header from Thierry Henry’s corner gave the Gunners the lead. But 10 minutes later, United were level when Giggs’s shot took a deflection past Manuel Almunia.
However, Arsenal regained the lead nine minutes before half-time thanks to the impressive Dennis Bergkamp’s slick finish.
United, though, hit back in the 54th minute when a quickly taken free-kick led to a move that saw Ronaldo score on the overlap.
And four minutes later, the Portugal winger put United ahead after Almunia’s lapse.
Then a see-saw match turned again when Silvestre was sent off for what appeared to be a push in the face of Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg.
However, O’Shea put the result beyond doubt with an exquisite 89th-minute lob.
At the Reebook, goals from Tal ben Haim and Kevin Davies in the 86th and 87th minutes respectively helped Bolton, who saw El Haddji Diouf’s second-half penalty cancelled out by Jermain Defoe’s 66th-minute equaliser, beat Tottenham 3-1.
At The Valley, Charlton took the lead through South Africa striker Shaun Bartlett’s 20th-minute header. But Liverpool hit back when Fernando Morientes equalised after the hour mark.
John Arne Riise’s 79th-minute strike completed the comeback and left Liverpool fifth but now just four points behind local rivals Everton.
In-form striker Andy Johnson gave Palace the lead in the 47th minute before veteran striker Kevin Campbell levelled three minutes from time.
Robert Earnshaw then put Albion ahead in the last minute before Fitz Hall rescued a point for Palace, down to 10 men as early as the 12th minute, when Gonzalo Sorondo was sent-off.
West Brom remained bottom and five points adrift of safety.
On the south coast, Malcolm Christie gave Boro the lead before Pompey levelled before half-time through Matthew Taylor, the man who conceded the vital stoppage-time penalty in last weekend’s FA Cup derby defeat against Southampton.
Nigeria striker Aiyegbeni Yakubu then scored the winner in the 58th minute, Pompey winning in the league for the first time since Boxing Day to go 12th in the table. — Sapa-AFP