Mon, Apr 25, 2005 - Page 20 News List

The Blues hover on brink of bliss

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL Chelsea's 3-1 victory over Fulham places the Blues tantalizingly close to their first English Premiership championship in 50 years

AP , LONDON

Real Madrid's Ronaldo, right, battles Villarreal's Gonzalo during their match at the Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid on Saturday.

PHOTO: AFP

Chelsea beat Fulham 3-1 to move within two points of its second English championship on Saturday, the 50th anniversary of the Blues' last title in 1955.

The Premier League title could even come on Monday if second-place Arsenal ties or loses to Tottenham. If not, Chelsea can clinch it with a victory at Bolton next Saturday.

"They know it's just one more victory and it's done," Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. "The squad is fantastic. Every player is committed to the cause, even though some of them play more than others.

"Since a long time, we have felt that the trophy must come here. We want to win, we know that we will win, but we still need at most two more points."

Chelsea has 85 points with four games remaining, while Arsenal has 71 points and five games left.

"Hopefully Spurs will do us a favor," said Chelsea captain John Terry.

Manchester United stands third on 67 points and Everton is fourth with 58 points, four ahead of crosstown rival Liverpool.

Southampton went bottom and West Bromwich Albion fell from safety to 19th, below Norwich and Crystal Palace.

Southampton has 28 points, West Brom has 29, with Norwich and Crystal Palace on 30 points.

At Stamford Bridge, Cole scored after 17 minutes with a shot into the near corner that diving Fulham goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar couldn't touch.

Fulham equalized in the 40th. Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho couldn't match the pace of striker Collins John, who scored past advancing goalkeeper Peter Cech.

Lampard put Chelsea ahead in the 63rd minute, with a long drive from the edge of the box after substitute Arjen Robben had cut the ball back.

Gudjohnsen made it 3-1 with three minutes left, racing down the pitch to score a solo effort.

Mourinho was angry at the early kickoff time, branding it ridiculous given Chelsea had played Arsenal in a 0-0 draw on Wednesday night.

"I think it's a bit cruel that a team who plays Wednesday 8pm has to play Saturday at 12:45pm. It's not for human beings. It's too much,'' Mourinho said.

"Because of this, the result is incredible and magnificent and the three points are just because of the players' character."

Chelsea players will gather to watch the Arsenal game on Monday at a hotel. Chelsea plays Liverpool in the first leg of the Champions League semifinal at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez was angry at his side's defeat to Crystal Palace, its 10th away loss this season.

Andy Johnson scored his 20th goal of the season with a header in the 35th minute.

Benitez rested Xabi Alonso, Igor Biscan and the injured Luis Garcia but started Steven Gerrard and used John Arne Riise as a second-half substitute.

Also Saturday, Sunderland clinched promotion to the Premier League. Sunderland beat Leicester 2-1 and was helped by Ipswich's 1-1 draw with Leeds in the Football League championship. Sunderland was relegated two years ago with a record low of 19 points from 38 matches.

Wigan beat Rotherham 2-0. Sunderland has 88 points, followed by Wigan with 83 and Ipswich with 81.

Aberdeen moved closer to third place in the Scottish Premier League with a 1-0 win over Motherwell.

Darren Mackie's 34th-minute goal gives Aberdeen 55 points -- two behind third-place Hibernian which drew 2-2 with Hearts. Third place ensures UEFA Cup soccer next season.

"Don't get me wrong, we would rather be in Hibs' position but this result keeps us ticking over and at least this game is out of the way," Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood said. "We will finish at least fifth this season which is a big improvement on last year but we are still hoping for a wee bit higher."

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