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.
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.
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