Chelsea's 40-game unbeaten run in the English Premier League ended on Sunday after a 1-0 loss to Manchester United.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is convinced that doesn't mean his team will lose the title, however.
Darren Fletcher scored with a looping first-half header to give Manchester United a victory that moved the Red Devils up to third in the standings. But the team still has 10 points to make up on Chelsea, which last lost in the league to Manchester City a year ago.
PHOTO: AP
Despite the loss at Old Trafford, Mourinho is not exactly panicking even though his team, beaten 1-0 at Real Betis in the Champions League on Wednesday, has now lost two in a row.
He saluted his players for creating so many chances in the second half that they could have won the game instead of falling to their first league loss of the season.
"We didn't deserve to lose this game," said Mourinho, whose team now leads second-place Wigan by six points instead of nine. "Today we showed why we are champions and why we are top of the league. I believe that there is no problem for us. I am not afraid for the future.
"In the same way I give [Manchester United] credit. I hope they can realize why Chelsea are champions, top of the league and I believe will be champions again.''
Chelsea's runaway start to the season, winning the first nine games to leave its big rivals well behind, had led to dismay that the English league had lost its competitive edge. But the 67,864 fans packed into Old Trafford were on the edge of their seats from start to finish.
Ruud van Nistelrooy sent an easy chance over the bar and Wayne Rooney saw a goalbound shot beat the goalkeeper but bounce off a defender.
When Chelsea had the Manchester United defense creaking in the second half, goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar dashed off his line to block Frank Lampard's close range shot and Chelsea defender Asier del Horno volleyed over the bar while unmarked.
"It was a fantastic game -- a magnificent spectacle," said Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, whose team appeared in crisis after a 4-1 Premier League loss to Middlesbrough followed by a 1-0 Champions League defeat at French club Lille.
"For the first hour we were terrific and then, until the last five minutes, we were under the cosh. They threw everything at us and that's what champions do."
Ferguson bristled when reminded that his team appeared to be in disarray during the buildup to the game with injured team captain Roy Keane criticizing teammates for the slump.
"We once went 13 games without winning. There's always pressure here," said Ferguson, whose future after 19 years at the club appeared in doubt. "Winning is always important here. How you handle yourself and compose yourself is important. I think the players and staff have shown great dignity despite the criticism leveled at them."
Hoping to rebound from the defeat by Betis, the Blues could have been two goals up before going behind to Fletcher's header.
Didier Drogba expertly controlled a long through ball from Lampard but his hurried, angled shot was blocked by Van der Sar. Left back Del Horno was left alone at the far post when Damien Duff swung over a free kick from the right only to shoot wide of the post.
As if stung by those two close shaves, Manchester United put together two standout moves and went ahead.
Mikael Silvestre's long ball sent Rooney down the left and the 20-year-old England star pulled it back expertly for Paul Scholes. The midfielder met it first time but his shot flew just past the post with 'keeper Petr Cech beaten.
It was the prelude to a well worked goal which had a lucky finish.
Rooney won the ball on the edge of the Chelsea area and fed Scholes, who slipped it out to Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese winger turned a defender and floated a cross toward Fletcher, who jumped to lob a header inside the far post.
"I believe that he didn't intend to score," Mourinho said. "He tried to play in into the central area."
Instead the ball looped over the heads of Cech and defender John Terry and inside the far post.
In Sunday's other game, Everton defeated Middlesbrough 1-0 on James Beattie's goal to move out of the bottom three.
Celtic remained at the top of the standings with a 3-0 victory over Falkirk.
John Hartson scored his 100th goal in his 182nd game for the Hoops after Shaun Maloney and Aiden McGeady gave Celtic a 2-0 lead.
Celtic leads Hearts on goal difference, both with 35 points. Hibernian is third with 31 points, while Falkirk is in 10th with 13.
On Saturday, Hearts beat Dundee United 3-0, while defending champion Rangers fell further behind in the title race after being held 0-0 by visiting Aberdeen.
Rangers are 12 points behind Hearts and eight behind Hibernian.
Samuel Eto'o scored his 10th goal of the season and FC Barcelona beat Getafe 3-1 for its fourth straight league victory, keeping the club in second place.
Ludovic Giuly and Thiago Motta added the other goals for Barcelona, which extended its league unbeaten streak to eighth.
The goals gave Barcelona 18 in its last five league and European Champions League games.
Referee Arturo Dauden Ibanez briefly stopped the game at Getafe's Alfonso Perez stadium in the 53rd minute after Eto'o was racially taunted by the crowd.
An announcement was then broadcast over stadium loudspeakers asking for "respect for opposing players." Last season, Getafe fans also made monkey noises at Eto'o.
Getafe's German coach Bernd Schuster, who was celebrating the 25th anniversary of his debut as a Barcelona midfielder, received a red card for arguing with the referee in the 48th minute.
In another 11th-round game, Real Madrid edged visiting Zaragoza 1-0 on Roberto Carlos' 79th-minute penalty and stayed a point behind Barcelona in third place. The two Spanish powerhouses meet on Nov. 19 in the next round.
The penalty converted by the Brazilian left back was the second awarded to Real Madrid in three minutes. Robinho, who was fouled to earn both penalties, had his chance saved on the first by diving Zaragoza goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez.
Robinho appeared to be ready to take the second, but Roberto Carlos, who consulted captain Raul Gonzalez, stepped in and then drove the ball low past Sanchez.
Also Sunday, it was Celta Vigo 2, Alaves 1; Sevilla 0, Atletico Madrid 0; Racing Santander 1, Real Betis 1; Malaga 1, Deportivo de La Coruna 1; and Cadiz 1, Mallorca 2.
Osasuna leads the standings with 24 points, while Barcelona has 22 and Madrid 21. Celta is next with 20.
On Saturday, Osasuna downed Real Sociedad 2-1, Villarreal edged Valencia 1-0, and last-place Athletic Bilbao drew 1-1 at Espanyol.
In Getafe, Eto'o, who scored three Wednesday in Barcelona's 5-0 European Champions League victory over Panathinaikos, resumed his binge with a goal in the opening minute.
A poor clearance by Getafe defender Ruben Pulido allowed Barcelona left back Sylvinho to pass the ball to Eto'o, who lashed a low shot home from just outside the area.
Barcelona doubled the advantage in the 62nd minute when Ronaldinho chipped the ball to Eto'o, who then passed across goal for Giuly to slide the ball home.
Motta converted on a free kick from the edge of the area for Barcelona's third in the 71st.
Left back Mariano Pernia scored for Getafe with a spectacular long-range volley in the 89th.
Juventus, AC Milan and Fiorentina each won to maintain the top three positions in the Serie A.
Juventus had second-half goals from each of its top three strikers -- Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Trezeguet and Alessandro Del Piero -- in a 3-0 victory over Livorno, which ended with 10 men.
Milan overwhelmed struggling Udinese 5-1 on two goals from Alberto Gilardino and one each from Clarence Seedorf, Andrea Pirlo and Kaka.
Juventus and Milan both improved to 6-0-0 at home.
Juve has 30 points, Milan 28 and Fiorentina 25.
Luca Toni scored his league-leading 13th goal of the season after Czech defender Tomas Ujfalusi gave Fiorentina the lead in a 2-0 win over Ascoli. The game was played in an empty stadium in neutral Rimini, where Ascoli served the second of a two-game home stadium ban after one of its fans injured a Sampdoria supporter.
"That Milan is strong is nothing new, Fiorentina is playing very well and deserves its position in the standings and I wouldn't forget Roma, they seem like the most dangerous teams," Juventus coach Fabio Capello told Italian TV.
AS Roma, Capello's former club, won its third straight game, 2-0 over Messina, on goals from Philippe Mexes -- his second in two games -- and Francesco Totti. Roma is tied for sixth with Livorno on 18 points.
After the game, Totti's wife Ilary Blasi gave birth to the couple's first child, a boy.
Elsewhere, Chievo Verona won 1-0 on a rain-drenched field in Siena to move into fifth place with 19 points, one behind Inter Milan, which drew 0-0 at Lazio on Saturday. Sergio Pellissier gave Chievo the lead after 10 minutes. Siena's Enrico Chiesa had a penalty shot blocked.
In the Sunday night match, Sampdoria won 2-0 at Palermo. Andrea Gasbarroni put Samp ahead in the 32nd and Emiliano Bonazzoli scored his eighth of the season in the 73rd, tying him with Francesco Tavano and Chiesa for second in the league behind Toni.
Parma, still waiting for the Sanz family of Spain to take full control of the club, beat last-place Lecce 2-0 with goals from Marco Marchionni and Domenico Morfeo.
Cagliari remained the only winless team following a 0-0 draw at home with Treviso.
In Saturday's other game, Empoli beat Reggina 3-0.
A minute of silence was held before each match in memory of former Italy and Fiorentina coach Ferruccio Valcareggi, who died Wednesday. Fiorentina players wore black armbands in his honor.
The Serie A will resume Nov. 19-20 after a break for national team play. Italy faces the Netherlands and Ivory Coast in friendlies on Nov. 12 and 16.
Hamburger SV was held to a 0-0 draw by Borussia Moenchenglad-bach and lost an opportunity to take over second place.
Moenchengladbach had the best chances in the match played in front of 53,466 home fans as it remained unbeaten at Borussia Park with 5-2-0 record.
Hamburg played its league high 26th match this season, having lost just once, and was coming off a UEFA Cup match Thursday.
"I don't think it was tiredness. We just weren't in it from the start," Hamburg coach Thomas Doll said. "You have to recognize that Moenchengladbach was the better team today."
The result kept Hamburg third with 25 points from 12 rounds, with Werder Bremen at 26 and Bayern Munich leading with 31.
Moenchengladbach has risen to sixth with strong play in recent weeks and earned several good chances early, including Eugen Polanski's 10th-minute header off the post.
The 19-year-old Polanski made a sparkling Bundesliga debut, replacing the injured Thomas Broich as playmaker.
Daniel van Buyten also missed an empty goal with his 68th-minute header after a long cross drew out the goalkeeper. On the other side, Hamburg rarely tested American 'keeper Kasey Keller.
"You have to come out with draws like this sometime -- a year ago we probably would have been beaten by three or four goals," Doll said.
The match also marked the return of Giovane Elber, the former Bayern forward and all-time Bundesliga scorer among foreigners. He entered with 15 minutes left for Moenchengladbach following months of illness and injuries and drew a standing ovation.
Embattled VfB Stuttgart coach Giovanni Trapattoni also got a reprieve when Christian Tiffert's close-range 10th-minute goal lifted his team to a 1-0 win against Nuremberg.
But the poor level of play against the bottom club isn't likely to silence Trapattoni's critics. The club, which has played internationally in recent years, is eighth.
Ricardo Quaresma scores with a left-foot volley in the 11th minute and pace FC Porto to a 1-0 victory at Pacos Ferreira, moving the Dragons within a point of league leader Braga.
The victory gave Porto 21 points, moving it ahead of Nacional and just behind Braga, which lost its first of the season on Saturday, 1-0 at Maritimo. Porto is unbeaten in its last three league matches but has scored only two goals in its last four.
Armando Petit scored two goals as injury-weakened Benfica twice rallied to draw Rio Ave 2-2 at home on Sunday.
Petit, a midfielder, converted free kicks in each half after Cleiton and Chidi put the visitor ahead.
The defending champion's second straight draw left it with 18 points in fourth place.
Sporting Lisbon broke its four-game winless streak with a 2-1 victory over Leiria on Friday. Beto and Rogerio scored first-half goals before Joao Paulo tallied for Leiria in the 54th minute.
Sporting has 17 points.
In other games, Belenenses drew 1-1 with Boavista on Saturday while on Sunday, it was: Nacional 2, Naval 0; Setubal 1, Amadora 0; Gil Vicente 2, Penafiel 2.
Paris Saint-Germain drew 0-0 at home to Monaco and fell another two points behind league leader Lyon.
PSG, which has won only one of its last four matches, remained in fourth place with 24 points, but fell 12 points behind the four-time defending champion after 14 rounds.
Lyon won 1-0 at Toulouse on Saturday to remain undefeated in the league since April, improve to 36 points and stay nine ahead of second-place Bordeaux, which won 1-0 at Nice on Saturday.
Monaco created two good first-half chances but midfielder Camel Meriem's firm header was tipped wide by Lionel Letizi, and striker Ernesto Chevanton missed the ball when running onto a low cross inside the penalty area.
In the 51st, Chevanton's neat turn and goal-bound shot was blocked by defender Jean-Michel Badiane.
Ivory Coast midfielder Bonaventure Kalou led an immediate counterattack but shot across goal. He was replaced shortly afterward, walking past coach Laurent Fournier and into the dressing room.
Also Sunday, it was: Lille 2, Strasbourg 0; Sochaux 1, Lens 1; and Troyes 2, Rennes 1.
Fifth-place Lille followed up its 1-0 home win midweek over Manchester United with goals from Peter Odemwingie and Stefan Lichtsteiner.
Troyes fell behind to a goal from Yoann Gourcuff but rallied on goals from Zied Jaziri and Karl Tourenne.
Brazilian striker Ilan scored his fifth of the season as Sochaux took a 10th-minute lead but Daniel Cousin's sixth of the campaign earned Lens a point.
Vassilis Torosidis scored an own-goal and Predrag Djordjevic converted a penalty to help Olympiakos beat nine-man Xanthi 2-0 and reclaim first place in the standings.
Olympiakos has 21 points from nine games, one ahead of AEK Athens, which beat Kallithea 2-0 Saturday. Xanthi, which had led the 16-team standings for the last three rounds, dropped to third place with 18 points.
Panathinaikos retained fourth place with 17 points after a 2-0 win over OFI Crete.
Olympiakos went ahead in the first minute when Torosidis headed a cross by Pantelis Kafes into his own net.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
RSS