Defending champions Arsenal slowed Chelsea’s charge to their first league title for 50 years with a 0-0 tie at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Eleven points ahead with games running out, the Blues had hoped to capture the championship with four games to spare by beating the Gunners at Stamford Bridge and then beating Fulham at home on Saturday.
The tie means Jose Mourinho’s men have a few days longer to wait. The Blues will now win the title if they beat Fulham on Saturday and Arsenal lose to north London neighbour Tottenham the following Monday.
In a stormy game at Goodison Park, Manchester United lost 1-0 at Everton and finished with nine men after the ejections of Gary Neville and Paul Scholes. The result meant United fell further behind second-place Arsenal and Everton cemented fourth spot.
In other results, Liverpool won 2-1 at Portsmouth; last-place Norwich scored a last-minute winner to beat Newcastle 2-1; Aston Villa and Charlton tied 0-0; Blackburn edged next-to-last Crystal Palace 1-0; Manchester City outplayed Birmingham 3-0; and West Bromwich Albion climbed back out of the relegation zone by gaining a 1-1 tie at Tottenham.
Despite the absence of the injured Thierry Henry and Fredrik Ljungberg, Arsenal almost took the lead in the second minute when Robert Pires hit the bar with a first-time volley.
Jens Lehmann blocked a shot from Didier Drogba with his leg, and Joe Cole, Drogba and Frank Lampard all narrowly missed the target for the Blues.
”Chelsea had a few good chances, they didn’t want to lose, and in the second half they were more cautious,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who has now virtually written off any chance of catching the Blues. ”You always congratulate the winners; on the pitch they have done a fantastic job and deserve to be congratulated.”
At Goodison Park, veteran Scottish forward Duncan Ferguson headed the winner as Everton beat Manchester United at home for the first time in 10 years.
Ferguson was given too much room in front of goal and he headed home a Mikel Arteta free kick in the 54th minute.
United manager Alex Ferguson described referee Phil Dowd as ”weak” for not punishing Everton challenges, and said the Toffees took advantage.
”I think Everton knew they had a weak referee and they exploited that to the full,” he said. ”I don’t blame them if you get that at home and with that kind of crowd.”
But Ferguson, who had an angry finger-pointing exchange with Everton manager David Moyes, said Neville had no excuse for his red card.
Neville was sent off with 18 minutes to go for kicking the ball into the crowd after having an angry verbal exchange with Everton fans, while Scholes went in injury-time for his second yellow card.
”You can’t kick a ball at a spectator,” Moyes said. ”Intimidation from supporters is always there and there was plenty of that today. But Gary should know better. He should never have done that.”
Fernando Morientes gave Liverpool a fourth-minute lead at Portsmouth with his third goal in club colours. Diomansy Kamara replied but Luis Garcia headed what proved to be the winner in the final minute of the first half.
The struggle to avoid relegation, meanwhile, gets tighter with two points covering four clubs.
Dean Ashton scored a last-minute winner for Norwich after a late Newcastle leveler had threatened to take the three points away.
Moroccan midfielder Youssef Safri fired a 35-yard shot into the top corner of the net in the 68th minute as Norwich went ahead at Carrow Road. Patrick Kluivert levelled in the final minute, but the Canaries weren’t finished as Ashton headed the winner.
Danish forward Morten Pedersen scored Blackburn’s winner in the final minute of the first half against Palace. Palace now only lead Norwich on a better goals differential, with both clubs on 27 points.
After Southampton’s 1-1 tie at Bolton, West Brom slipped back into the last three. But the Baggies hit back to gain another priceless point at Spurs and make it just one loss in seven games. Albion have 29 points with a game in hand and Saints have 28.
Hungarian national team captain Zoltan Gera scored in the 24th minute with a close-range shot. But Spurs hit back through Robbie Keane’s 16th goal of the season in the seventh minute of the second half.
Man City went ahead when Robbie Fowler’s 55th-minute header struck the post and hit Blues goalkeeper Maik Taylor before going in for an own goal. Defender Richard Dunne added the second 10 minutes from the end, and Antoine Sibierski’s penalty completed an easy victory for Stuart Pearce’s men. — Sapa-AP