Manchester United moved closer to the Premier League title with a dramatic 1-0 win at Liverpool on Saturday that left them nine points clear of Chelsea.
The champions ground out a 2-0 victory at Portsmouth, with Didier Drogba scoring in the 33rd minute and Chelsea’s other Côte d’Ivoire striker, Salomon Kalou, coming off the bench to make sure in the 82nd.
United substitute John O’Shea fired a stoppage time winner to move them on to 72 points with nine games left to play, while Chelsea are second on 63 with a game in hand.
Liverpool are third on 53 points, but Arsenal closed to within a point with two games in hand after they finished a miserable week with a morale-boosting 2-1 win over Reading.
The north-east derby finished 0-0 between Newcastle United and Middlesbrough, Wigan Athletic’s revival continued with a 1-0 win at Manchester City and Watford let slip a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Charlton Athletic in a relegation dogfight.
Manchester United had only 10 men when they scored after midfielder Paul Scholes was shown a straight red card four minutes from time for raising his hands at Xabi Alonso.
Scholes will miss three domestic matches, starting with next Saturday’s FA Cup quarterfinal at Middlesbrough.
”Today’s a massive result for us,” manager Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports, pointing out that United had also scored their winner in the final two minutes last Saturday at Fulham.
”You need that bit of luck to win a championship, there’s no question about that, and I think we’ve got it in the last two weeks,” he said.
The United manager said England striker Wayne Rooney, who made way for O’Shea in the 74th minute, would be assessed on Sunday after suffering a knee injury.
Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez was clearly frustrated by the outcome.
”It’s unbelievable how we lost this match because we controlled the game and deserved to win it,” Benitez told the club’s website.
”We controlled the attacking side of the game and had many corners and free kicks, but in football you sometimes have luck and sometimes have bad luck.”
Chelsea triumph
Chelsea, who will need to make the most of a home game with Ferguson’s men scheduled for April 15, have kept the title race alive with their win at Fratton Park.
Drogba celebrated his African Footballer of the Year award in midweek by scoring his 29th goal of the season, a superb volley from a long Ashley Cole cross from the left.
However, it needed a brilliant one-handed save from keeper Petr Cech to deny Pompey substitute Andy Cole a headed equaliser before Kalou slid home Chelsea’s second.
Arsenal’s Ivorians have fared less well recently with defenders Emmanuel Eboue and Kolo Toure, along with Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor, getting banned after the ugly fracas in Sunday’s League Cup final defeat by Chelsea.
That loss completed a hat-trick of setbacks with Arsenal’s Champions League reverse at PSV Eindhoven and FA Cup exit in midweek at Blackburn Rovers, making Saturday’s win all the more welcome for Arsene Wenger’s men.
Gilberto converted a 51st minute penalty and fellow Brazilian Julio Baptista hit their other goal before Arsenal’s Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas turned the ball into his own net in the 87th minute after a corner.
Wenger, who has been asked by the FA to explain his allegations that a cup final linesman lied in his report, said: ”We missed a few chances in the second half because we were a bit slow to make our decisions, because we have given a lot physically in the last week.”
As for himself, the Frenchman added: ”Like the players, my decision-making is not the best at the moment … maybe sometimes my language is not subtle enough.”
Fulham drew 1-1 at home with Aston Villa and it was the same scoreline in Sheffield United’s home game with Everton. – Reuters