Arsenal threw away a 2-0 lead and two more precious championship points in a 2-2 tie against relegation-threatened Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
The defending champion looked in control after goals early in the second half by Sylvain Wiltord and Robert Pires at the Reebok Stadium.
But another French World Cup star, Youri Djorkaeff, pulled one back and an own goal by Martin Keown six minutes from the end snatched two points away from the Gunners and handed a vital one to Bolton.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Victory would have but Arsene Wenger's top on goal difference from Manchester United. Instead the Gunners are two points behind with three matches to go.
Alex Ferguson's Reds were in action late Sunday against Tottenham, Arsenal's north London neighbor and traditional big rival in the capital. A win would put them five points ahead having played a game more.
Among other big results, Liverpool won 6-0 at relegated West Bromwich Albion with Michael Owen scoring four to pass 100 goals for the club.
"Maybe I could have scored six but I'm happy with four out of six," said the England striker who is due to become a father on Thursday.
It was West Brom's worst home defeat in its 115-year history and came with the club already sure of returning to division one.
Leeds United lost at home for the ninth time, tumbling 3-2 to Blackburn despite taking the lead at Elland Road. Third place Chelsea was held 1-1 by lowly Fulham and Newcastle regained third place by winning 1-0 at last place neighbor Sunderland.
Newcastle has 65 points and Chelsea and Liverpool 64 with two rounds of games to go in the battle for the other two Champions League spots.
Bayern Munich wins title
Bayern Munich sealed its 18th Bundesliga title Saturday when it beat Wolfsburg 2-0 on second-half goals by Giovane Elber and Claudio Pizarro.
Bayern lifted the title with four rounds remaining, equaling its own record for early championships set in 1973.
The German powerhouse earned its fourth title in five seasons because both Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund, the outgoing champion, failed to win Saturday.
Stuttgart was held to a 1-1 draw at home by lowly Hansa Rostock and Dortmund couldn't break a 0-0 deadlock at 1860 Munich.
After its surprise ouster in the first stage of the Champions League, Bayern dominated the season and collected 66 points with its 20th win, leaving it with an unassailable lead of 13 points over Stuttgart and 14 points over Dortmund.
Immediately after the final whistle, Bayern players and coach Ottmar Hitzfeld celebrated with giant beer steins, cheered on by 10,000 of their fans who had made the trip to Wolfsburg.
"I had to fight back tears because I didn't think we would win the championship already today," Hitzfeld said. "It's a beautiful moment."
Michael Ballack, coming back after seven weeks out with torn ankle ligaments, made his presence felt in the 59th minute with a perfect feed to Elber. The Brazilian striker charged into the Wolfsburg area and notched his 16th goal of the season.
A couple of minutes later, the Bayern fans, a third of the crowd in Wolfsburg, cheered again, when they learned that Rostock had equalized in Stuttgart.
Pizarro, who has missed several chances earlier in the match, secured the championship with his 13th goal of the season in the 83rd minute.
"It's great to be celebrating already, because we didn't really expect both Stuttgart and Dortmund to draw," Elber said. "I haven't scored on the road all season and now I hit one and we are champions."
Hitzfeld, a former mathematics teacher who also won two championships with Dortmund, set a record for coaches with his fourth title in five seasons. He recently extended his contract with Bayern through 2005.
Bayern had not won in three matches and had lost the last two, but it rose to the occasions Saturday.
"Ballack was the decisive man in the midfield and he put us back on course for success," Hitzfeld said.
Ballack called the title "sensational."
"We played a fine season, our dominance was awesome," he said.
AC Milan suffers blow
AC Milan's hopes of claiming Italy's second automatic qualifying place for next season's Champions League suffered a blow on Saturday when they were beaten 2-1 away by mid-table AS Roma.
Second-half goals by Antonio Cassano, five minutes after coming on as a substitute for an injured Francesco Totti, and Damiano Tommasi secured the points for Roma, despite a late strike by Milan's Jon Dahl Tomasson.
The result left Milan in third place in the Serie A, three points adrift of city rivals Inter Milan and nine adrift of Serie A leaders Juventus with four games to play.
Inter and Juventus, having played a game less than AC Milan, were at home against Lazio and Brescia respectively yesterday.
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