Steve Stone fired Portsmouth to a 1-0 victory over Manchester United on Saturday to ease Harry Redknapp's relegation worries and stop the Reds closing in on second place Chelsea.
In another surprise, Claudio Ranieri's Chelsea was held 0-0 at home by struggling Everton. That means Arsenal is nine points clear at the top and could clinch the title by beating North London neighbor Tottenham next weekend.
PHOTO: EPA
Stone, a veteran former England international midfielder, scored his second league goal of the season in the 36th minute at Fratton Park and then Redknapp's men successfully kept an off-form United at bay to capture three points and move further away from the relegation zone.
The only goal of the game came when United failed to deal with a low, right wing cross from Lomana LuaLua. The ball came off Aiyegbeni Yakubu and rolled to Stone who drove it into the roof of the net from 6m.
"They are a massive three points," said Redknapp whose team has collected 13 from its last five games. "Before the game I thought if we can get a point here today it keeps the run going. But to pick up all three was fantastic.
"It's not very often you beat Manchester United especially in the circumstances.
"We're in great shape," said Redknapp whose team goes to second from last Leeds next weekend. "We're five points in front of Leeds and nine points in front of Leicester [and Wolves] and we've got a much better goal difference."
The Reds missed out on a chance of drawing level on points with Chelsea in the race for second place behind Arsenal which crushed struggling Leeds 5-0 on Friday night.
It was another day when United again failed to outplay the relegation haunted teams. Alex Ferguson's team also lost 1-0 at last place Wolves and, on Tuesday, scrambled a 1-0 victory at home to next to last Leicester.
"It was a frustrating day for us," Ferguson said. "We had so much of the play but, once Portsmouth scored, I knew it was going to be difficult. It was a lively pitch, windy -- it was tailor made for someone winning 1-0.
"The [May 9] game against Chelsea at home is going to be a very important match now.''
United again played without Ruud van Nistelrooy and captain Roy Keane who were both injured.
After Stone had given Portsmouth the lead, Yakubu missed two more chances before United made a strong fightback near the end but failed to get through. Dejan Stefanovic and Arjan de Zeeuw were the stars of Portsmouth's defensive performance.
"We defended for our lives," Redknapp said. "The two center halves were magnificent today. They put their bodies and their heads in the way."
Two minutes from the end, Saha and Gary Neville had shots blocked in a crowded Portsmouth area and United appealed for a penalty after Matt Taylor blocked Neville's overhead kick with his arm.
Chelsea's Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink could have had a first half hat-trick. But Ranieri's men, who face Monaco in Tuesday's Champions League semifinal, was unable to hit the target against Everton at Stamford Bridge.
Ranieri denied that his players were distracted by Tuesday's game.
"My players were very focused on this match and they wanted to do everything right," the Italian said. "We wanted three important points after Manchester were defeated but it was not possible. So okay, we now look forward."
SPANISH LEAGUE
Spain international Ivan Helguera scored the winning goal in the 78th minute as 10-man Real Madrid beat crosstown rival Atletico de Madrid 2-1 and moved to the top of the standings.
Argentine midfielder Santiago Solari also netted for the defending champions, which despite having defender Francisco Pavon ejected early in the second half managed to halt its dismal run over the last four weeks.
Madrid, with 70 points from 33 games, has one more point than Valencia, which can regain the leadership Sunday if it earns at least a draw against Real Sociedad.
In other games, third-place Deportivo de La Coruna played out a disappointing 1-1 home draw with struggling Valladolid, while Athletic de Bilbao crushed a nine-man Zaragoza 4-0.
Deportivo has 61 points, but it will be overtaken if fourth-place FC Barcelona beats Malaga at home on Sunday.
Madrid, which lacked injured top scorer Ronaldo, came into the match with just two wins in its last six league matches as well as elimination from the Champions League and defeat in the Copa del Rey final.
But its morale received a boost in the fifth minute when Solari caught Atletico goalkeeper Sergio Aragoneses off his line to score from a narrow angle after Luis Figo had burst through the center of the field. Solari played for Atletico for two seasons before he joined Madrid in 2000.
Atletico, which lacked suspended captain and leading scorer Fernando Torres, failed to trouble Madrid's defense before halftime, while David Beckham came close to adding Madrid's second in the 18th minute with a bending free kick which Aragoneses just managed to punch away.
Greek striker Demis Nikolaidis came on at halftime and made an immediate impact. Within two minutes of the restart he was pushed over by Pavon in the penalty area. The defender, who had been cautioned in the first half, was dismissed, with Serbian and Montenegrin striker Veljko Paunovic converting the penalty.
The game then had a spate of action at both ends. Aragoneses denied Zidane, while Atletico substitute Jorge Larena failed to score with only Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas to beat. Paunovic hit the post soon after.
Helguera decided the game with 12 minutes remaining when he nodded home after Beckham headed Figo's corner back across goal. Atletico players protested in vain that Aragoneses had been pushed by Raul Gonzalez.
Ten supporters were injured in clashes with police before the game. Three of those injured were taken to the hospital, although news agency Efe reported their injuries were not serious.
The most serious trouble came when about 80 Real fans were caught with forged tickets as they attempted to enter Atletico's stadium. While about 20 were detained in the car park, the rest hurled a variety of objects at officers until they were dispersed.
Atletico supporters then burnt trash cans, leading the police to intervene again.
Proceeds from the game between the Spanish capital's top teams were to be donated to families of the 191 victims of the train bombings in Madrid on March 11.
Deportivo slipped further behind in the title race thanks to a lifeless display, which was possibly caused by the distraction of next Wednesday's Champions League semifinal first leg against FC Porto.
ITALIAN LEAGUE
Brazilian star Kaka scored the game-winner with a diving header in the closing minutes to help AC Milan beat host Siena 2-1 and move closer to the Serie A title.
Piling up a record-equaling total of 75 points in 30 matches, AC Milan lifted itself 12 points clear of second-place AS Roma, which plays at Modena on Sunday.
The Roman team, with one match in hand against crosstown rival Lazio on Wednesday, could move six points short of the leader with four rounds remaining.
Kaka, who joined the Milan team during the current season, netted his 10th goal of the season in the 80th minute off a corner kick at the Artemio Franchi stadium in Siena as the home team was one player down following the ejection of midfielder Simone Vergassola three minutes earlier.
Kaka's goal helped the Milan team avoid its third draw in its last four league matches, which could have revived AS Roma's hopes of catching the leader.
Andriy Shevchenko netted AC Milan's opening goal in the 21st minute, scoring off a save by goalkeeper Marco Fortin on a powerful drive by Manuel Rui Costa.
It was the 21st goal of the season for the Ukrainian striker.
While equaling AS Roma's 2001 record of total points, AC Milan set a league record of 37 points in away matches. Milan is 23-6-1 overall and 11-4-0 on the road.
Bundesliga
Germany defender Christian Woerns scored a rare goal to help Borussia Dortmund all but bury Bayern Munich's league title hopes with a 2-0 victory.
Woerns drew a standing ovation from 84,000 at Westfalenstadion after he also shut down Dutch striker Roy Makaay, who had scored in seven straight matches for Bayern.
"The goal was nice, but it was even more satisfying because Makaay didn't score," Woerns said.
Their match was typically ill-tempered, with Bayern's Michael Ballack becoming the 10th player ejected in their last 11 meetings after a brutal 68th-minute foul on Salvatore Gambino.
Tempers flared after Dortmund forward Ewerthon converted from the spot in the 55th minute, a penalty call that angered Bayern and turned the flow of the match.
In the 61st, Woerns settled matters when Dede headed to his foot, and he split two defenders by volleying in from close in for his first goal in two years.
The loss meant Bayern has only a mathematical chance of winning the Bundesliga title with five rounds left, remaining seven points behind Bremen, which has a match in hand.
Now Bayern has to look over its shoulder -- Stuttgart thrashed Frankfurt 3-1 to close to two points of the Bavarians for the league's second and last guaranteed Champions League berth.
"We won't give up on Bremen until we are mathematically eliminated, but now we have Stuttgart breathing down our necks," Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said. "We can't afford to relax a bit."
Falko Goetz was also fired as 1860 Munich coach, after a 2-1 loss to Hamburger SV sealed his fate.
Dutch league
Mateja Kezman scored twice as PSV Eindhoven downed NEC Nijmegen 3-0 to make Ajax wait at least another week for its 29th title.
PSV now has 62 points in second place, trailing leader Ajax by seven. The Amsterdam powerhouse, which hosts RBC Roosendaal on Sunday, now needs two wins from its last five games to clinch the title.
But PSV still needed the three points to stay ahead of Feyenoord in the race for second place and a spot in the Champions League.
Kezman scored his first goal in the 37th minute from the penalty spot after John de Jong went down in the area.
His second was a fortunate affair five minutes from the end as he deflected Mark van Bommel's free kick past wrong-footed NEC goalkeeper Dennis Gentenaar, taking his season tally to 24.
The Serb's nearest rivals are three strikers on 14 goals, so his leading marksman title is not under threat.
And it was Kezman's dribble which created the chance for Van Bommel to slot the third in the 88th.
Before the first goal, PSV's only reasonable chance also fell to Kezman, but only because NEC defender Robbie Wielaert lay prone in his own box playing the Serb onside.
NEC striker Frank Demouge lost Juergen Collin to test Ronald Waterreus at the near post early in the second half and whacked the ball against a post.
But until the late goals came, most of the second half entertainment was provided by an amusingly chaotic NEC offside trap, which repeatedly sent PSV runners in vain into huge areas of space.
Bert Zuurman's winner boosted lowly FC Zwolle to a 1-0 upset win over SC Heerenveen, which prevented the northern side from leapfrogging over Feyenoord into third.
Zwolle climbed into 16th above Vitesse Arnhem, which drew 1-1 with Willem II Tilburg on Friday, but remains four points adrift of ADO The Hague, which downed FC Twente Enschede 1-0.
French League
Goalkeeper Teddy Richert proved the hero as Sochaux won the League Cup for the first time, defeating Nantes 5-4 on penalty kicks.
With the score tied 1-1 after extra-time, the match went to spot kicks and Richert, who had an outstanding match, dived low to his right to palm away Pascal Delhommeau's weak strike.
The win means Sochaux, last year's losing finalist, automatically qualifies for next season's UEFA Cup competition.
Nantes started much the brighter and in the 10th minute, midfielder Frederic Da Rocha headed over from close range with the goal at his mercy.
Four minutes later, Pujol gave Nantes the lead when he stretched athletically to connect with a cross from the right and send his volley under the body of Richert.
Although largely dominated in the opening stages, Sochaux leveled in the 19th minute when defender Sylvain Monsoreau headed a left-wing cross clinically past stranded 'keeper Mickael Landreau.
Nantes defender Mario Yepes then denied Sochaux's Santos with a last-ditch challenge, just as the Tunisia striker was about to shoot.
Both sides failed to create chances for the remainder of the first-half and entered the interval tied at 1-1. Nantes started the second-half strongly and striker Viorel Moldovan broke through on goal, only to be thwarted by Gregory Paisley's tackle.
Sylvain Armand's injury-time header narrowly missed the target as Nantes pressed for a winner.
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