Print

Mail

wiki links

Fergie loses his cool as the battle against relegation hots up

Michael Ballack’s cool head caused Sir Alex Ferguson to lose his as Chelsea blew the English Premier League title race wide open.

On a day of high drama at both ends of the table, a 2-1 win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge ensured Chelsea moved level on points with their rivals with two games left for both clubs.

“We did what we needed to do,” Chelsea manager, Avram Grant said. “This team has a lot of courage and character.”

Asked if he thought United would crack in their remaining matches, Grant said: “I need to believe it. It is not easy when you are under pressure to win two games.”

Ferguson variously described the penalty converted by Ballack, after a Michael Essien cross struck the arm of Michael Carrick, as “ridiculous,” “disgraceful” and “diabolical.”

Ferguson insisted that Carrick should not have been penalized because the contact with the ball was not deliberate and Rio Ferdinand was waiting to clear the ball behind the midfielder.

“It was absolutely diabolical,” the United boss told MUTV. “It is a major decision. Granted, it hit his hand. But he has not lifted his hand above his shoulders, above his head, anything like that. It is going straight to Rio Ferdinand. The referee should have seen that rather than the linesman. If we’re not going to get those decisions then we are under pressure.”

Ferguson remains confident that his side can secure the tenth title of his reign at Old Trafford.

“It’s still in our hands,” he said. “The players and the support are really fired up for the next game. Hopefully we can get the result we want.”

At the other end of the table, Fulham continued to cling on to their top flight status, albeit by the slenderest of threads, after fighting back from two goals down to win 3-2 at Manchester City.

First-half goals from Stephen Ireland and Benjani Mwaruwari had put City in control at the break.

But after Diomansy Kamara had grabbed Fulham a lifeline, Danny Murphy equalized with a rebound from a 79th-minute penalty and Kamara snatched the winner with his second goal right at the death.

One place above Fulham, Birmingham City squandered the chance to escape from the relegation zone by allowing Liverpool to overturn a two-goal lead at St. Andrews.

A first-half strike from Mikael Forssell and a superb free-kick from Sebastian Larsson had put Alex McLeish’s men in control. But Liverpool came back to claim a point thanks to Peter Crouch’s 11th goal of the season and a late strike from Yossi Benayoun.

Bolton Wanderers and Reading both remain one point ahead of third-from-bottom Birmingham City after draws with Tottenham Hotspur and Wigan Athletic respectively.

Bolton Wanderers took the lead at Tottenham Hotspur through Stelios Giannakopoulos, but had to settle for a draw as a result of Steed Malbranque’s equalizer, while Wigan Athletic are virtually safe after holding Reading to a goalless draw at the JJB Stadium.

Sunderland secured their Premier League status and left Middlesbrough still sweating after a dramatic 3-2 win at the Stadium of Light.

A last-minute own goal by Boro’s Emmanuel Pogatetz decided a rollercoaster derby, goals from Danny Higginbotham and Michael Chopra having allowed Roy Keane’s side to overturn the early lead Boro had taken through Turkish forward Tuncay Sanli, before Alfonso Alves equalized for the visitors.

In the day’s other game, Newcastle United rallied from two goals down to extend their unbeaten run to seven matches with a 2-2 draw at West Ham United.

Mark Noble and Dean Ashton put the home side in charge, but Obafemi Martins and Geremi secured a point for Kevin Keegan’s men.
This story has been viewed 624 times.