Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that Manchester United had opened the
door for Chelsea to retain their Premiership title after his side
were held to a 1-1 draw by Middlesbrough at Old Trafford on
Saturday.
But Chelsea could not take advantage of their rival's rare lapse
after failing to break down a determined Newcastle side yesterday.
After the 0-0 draw the gap remains three points, and, with United
due to visit Stamford Bridge on May 9, the title race is looking
more and more likely to go down to a nailbiting showdown.
"It opens the door for Chelsea, no doubt about that," said
Ferguson, whose problems were compounded by an injury to centerback
Rio Ferdinand, who is set to miss both legs of the Champions League
semifinal against AC Milan.
"We always said that if we made mistakes, they (Chelsea) have
got the ability to come back at us," Ferguson said. "The way I am
looking at it is that we have got four games to go and it looks as
if the decider is going to be at Chelsea. It will be some
game."
United had got off to a perfect start when Richardson tapped the
ball into the net after Wayne Rooney had broken clear and rounded
goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.
But Mark Viduka headed Boro back on level terms in first-half
stoppage time and an increasingly nervy United were unable to force
Schwarzer into a single save after the interval.
United's stumble came on a day that Watford were relegated from
the top flight while Liverpool warmed up for next week's Champions
League meeting with Chelsea by pushing Wigan into deeper
trouble.
Goals in either half from Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt guided
Liverpool to a 2-0 win that guarantees the Reds a top four finish
and leaves their guests two points clear of the relegation
zone.
"We were looking for a good game, a good result and we wanted to
rest some players and didn't want injuries," Liverpool boss Rafa
Benitez said. "So it was almost perfect."
Watford's drop back to the Championship after one season in the
top flight became a mathematical certainty as a result of their 1-1
draw at home to Manchester City.
Former England striker Darius Vassell gave City the lead early
in the second half and although Hungarian striker Tamas Priskin
equalised with quarter of an hour left, it was not enough to save
Watford from a fate that has looked inevitable for most of the
season.
West Ham were Saturday's big winners in the battle for survival,
Bobby Zamora's superb first-half strike earning Alan Curbishley's
side a 1-0 win over Everton at Upton Park.
The win left the Hammers within three points of
fourth-from-bottom Sheffield United, who came from a goal down to
grab a 1-1 draw at fellow strugglers Charlton.
Charlton had been on track for a win that would have lifted them
out of the bottom three after Talal El Karkouri gave them a lead
just before the hour mark.
But Jon Stead grabbed an equaliser 10 minutes later to keep the
Blades two points above the drop zone.
Fulham also remain embroiled in the dogfight at the bottom after
failing to defend a lead against Blackburn, a 1-1 draw extending
their winless run to nine matches.
Vincenzo Montella scored the Cottagers' first goal under new
boss Lawrie Sanchez to give them a 10th-minute lead but Benni
McCarthy's 21st goal of the season earned Blackburn a point.
Arsenal ended a week dominated by boardroom turbulence on a
frustrating note as Jermaine Jenas's 25-yard-strike earned
Tottenham a 2-2 draw deep into injury time in the north London
derby.
The Gunners, who trailed to Robbie Keane's early header before
going ahead through Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor, squandered a
series of chances and hit the woodwork three times in a performance
that summed up their season.
Reading reignited their hopes of ending their first season in
the Premiership with a UEFA Cup place thanks to a 3-1 win at
Bolton. The Royals scored three times in the last five minutes,
with two from hotshot Kevin Doyle.
(China Daily via AFP April 23, 2007)