Hernan Crespo and Arjen Robben scored first-half goals on Saturday to lift Chelsea to a 2-0 win over 19th-place Birmingham City and keep it 11 points clear in the English Premier League title race.
Second-place Manchester United outplayed Bolton 4-1 with two strikes by Cristiano Ronaldo, and third-place Liverpool made it 10 straight wins by edging relegation-threatened West Bromwich Albion 1-0 through Peter Crouch's goal.
With Tottenham beating Newcastle 2-0, all top four clubs won. There was more woe for Newcastle as England striker Michael Owen limped off with a broken bone in his foot. The Magpies say he will be out of action for eight to 10 weeks.
PHOTO: AFP
Arsenal was held 0-0 at Aston Villa and, in the other games on the final day of 2005, Charlton downed West Ham 2-0, Everton won 1-0 at last-place Sunderland, Portsmouth edged Fulham 1-0, Blackburn won 2-0 at Wigan, and Middlesbrough tied 0-0 with Manchester City.
Starting in place of Didier Drogba at Stamford Bridge, Crespo scored in the 25th minute after Birmingham goalkeeper Maik Taylor had blocked a shot from Arjen Robben.
In the 43rd, Crespo's shot hit the crossbar and Robben made it 2-0 after receiving the ball on the left from Eidur Gudjohnsen.
"We score two goals and we should have scored more," Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. "We had 101 points in the championship during 2005. I think that's unbelieveable. It's a lot of victories and we started this season better than last."
After dropping two points against Birmingham City, Manchester United couldn't afford to slip up against Bolton at Old Trafford. Although Bolton's veteran midfielder Gary Speed equalized after an early own goal by defender Bruno N'Gotty, Man United took control with Louis Saha's strike and two more by Ronaldo to help manager Alex Ferguson celebrate his 64th birthday.
"The team is growing up together which is a good sign and the young players are maturing so, hopefully, we will have a good 2006," said Ferguson, whose team was knocked out of the Champions League in December.
Liverpool made it five shutout victories in a row over West Brom with Crouch taking his tally to seven goals in seven games with the only goal in the 52nd. Liverpool's winning streak is its best since former manager Bob Paisley's 1982 team won 11.
"Crouch is now scoring one goal per game, which is fantastic," manager Rafa Benitez said. "But, most importantly, he is creating chances for other rest of the team."
At White Hart Lane, Tottenham midfielder Teemu Tainio scored his first goal in English soccer two minutes before halftime after Egypt striker Ahmed Mido had flicked the ball to him. Mido added the second in the 66th.
At Villa Park, Czech Republic striker Milan Baros missed a great chance to put Villa ahead in the 53rd when he shot over the bar with just Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann to beat. A minute later, Arsenal's Fredrik Ljungberg hit the bar with a 20m left-foot strike.
At The Valley, Darren Bent set up the first Charlton goal for South Africa striker Shaun Bartlett and headed the second. The victory meant Charlton manager Alan Curbishley ended 2005 on a high after eight losses in nine games.
Australia midfielder Tim Cahill scored Everton's late winner at Sunderland to help the Toffees' struggle to avoid relegation and lift it up to 16th. The result left Sunderland last with six points from 19 games.
Portsmouth eased its relegation worries by edging fellow struggler Fulham 1-0 at home, Gary O'Neil scoring the only goal of the game four minutes before halftime. Starting the day five points from the safety zone, Pompey now has 17 -- two fewer than 17th-place West Brom.
The day's surprise result was Blackburn's 3-0 victory at fifth-place Wigan. Morten Pedersen, Steven Reid and Craig Bellamy got the goals.
Although Middlesbrough is going strong in the UEFA Cup, it is sliding toward the relegation zone after being held 0-0 at home by Manchester City. With 21 points, Boro has only four more than next-to-last Portsmouth.
In the League Championship, Shane Long scored a late equalizer to give leader Reading a 2-2 draw at Derby County. Second-place Sheffield United beat Stoke 2-1, cutting the Royals' lead to seven points. Third-place Leeds is 11 points further back after beating Hull 2-0.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Jack Hinshelwood on Monday sealed a dramatic 3-2 victory against Liverpool to leave the English Premier League champions without a win since clinching the title. Arne Slot’s side took the lead through Harvey Elliott’s early opener before Yasin Ayari equalized at the American Express Stadium. Dominik Szoboszlai restored Liverpool’s advantage just before halftime, but Brighton staged a late fightback as Kaoru Mitoma leveled before Hinshelwood came off the bench to net with his first touch. Liverpool have taken just one point from their three matches following the title-clinching rout of Tottenham Hotspur on April 27. The Reds have lost at
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