Chelsea moved within a point of retaining their Premiership title on Monday with an easy 3-0 victory against Everton, although Manchester United managed to at least delay the party by beating Tottenham.
Frank Lampard's first-half shot, a header from Didier Drogba and a thunderous Michael Essien effort put Chelsea nine points ahead of United with just three games left, meaning a single point will guarantee the title.
Nonetheless, the champagne must stay on ice for almost a fortnight after two first-half strikes from England superstar Wayne Rooney gave United a 2-1 away win at Spurs in the day's early kick-off.
Chelsea, who play an FA Cup semi-final this weekend, cannot seal the title before April 29 at the earliest -- when they host Manchester United.
Jose Mourinho admitted that his side were very nearly home and dry.
"It is not easy for us to lose the three matches, it is not easy for Man United to win the three matches," the Chelea boss said.
"But you never know, so we have to be sure that we have a minimum of one point," he said.
Chelsea were clearly in a party mood, Drogba celebrating his goal by running to the crowd and planting a kiss on the cheek of a female fan in a blue shirt.
Spurs could have helped hand the title to their fellow Londoners but missed a series of chances to equalise against Manchester United after Jermaine Jenas pulled a goal back early in the second half.
"We had to battle after that," United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admitted. "But it was a great, open game."
It proved a grimmer result for Spurs, who are desperately trying to hang on to fourth place and the Champions League qualifying spot it brings.
Their defeat keeps them just four points ahead of Arsenal, who have a game in hand and host Spurs on Saturday.
At the opposite end of the table there was yet more drama for Harry Rednapp's recently resurgent Portsmouth, who threw away a lead to lose 2-1 away to Charlton.
Elsewhere in the Premiership, Middlesbrough won 2-0 at home to West Ham in a rehearsal for the teams' FA Cup semi-final clash this coming weekend. Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink's 41st-minute strike and a penalty in the 57th minute by Massimo Maccarone secured the points.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care