Liverpool defeated Chelsea 2-0 in the Premier League for the first time in two-and-a-half years.
Dirk Kuyt headed a flick on from Peter Crouch past Chelsea defender Paulo Ferreira inside the area and shot past goalkeeper Petr Cech in the fourth minute.
It was Cech's first game since he suffered a depressed skull fracture against Reading on Oct. 14 and the Czech Republic international wore a special helmet to protect his head.
PHOTO: EPA
Jermaine Pennant then scored his first Liverpool goal to make it 2-0 in the 18th.
Chelsea stayed second with 51 points, with Liverpool third with 46.
Aston Villa 2, Watford 0
Aston Villa scored twice in the last four minutes to beat last-place Watford.
Watford defender Gavin Mahon scored an own-goal in the 86th before Villa striker Gabriel Agbonlahor made it 2-0 in the 90th with his sixth goal of the season.
It was Villa's first win in 12 league games, moving the team up one place to 14th.
Fulham 1, Tottenham 1
Pascal Chimbonda scored an 88th-minute equalizer for Tottenham to draw 1-1 at Fulham, which lost Heider Helguson in the 53rd minute to a second yellow card.
Vincenzo Montella had put Fulham ahead in the 84th with a penalty after Spurs defender Michael Dawson handled a shot from Brian McBride on the edge of the area.
Middlesbrough 5, Bolton 1
Stewart Downing played a part in Middlesbrough's first three goals, then scored the fourth.
Downing's free kick was headed onto the post by Abel Xavier and the rebound hit the leg of Bolton defender Gary Speed and went into his own net after six minutes.
Downing then set up Xavier to score in the 10th and Mark Viduka in the 23rd. Bolton pulled a goal back in the 25th through Kevin Nolan before Downing got on the scoresheet in the 43rd.
Bolton lost striker El Hadji Diouf to a red card in the 66th after he swore at referee Alan Wiley.
Viduka added his second in the 84th.
Newcastle 2, West Ham 2
Carlton Cole scored in the 18th minute, with Marlon Harewood adding West Ham's second four minutes later.
Newcastle, which was defeated 5-1 by Birmingham in a third-round FA Cup replay on Wednesday, rallied with a first half injury-time goal from James Milner.
Nolberto Solano converted a 53rd-minute penalty to make it 2-2, earned when a free kick from Milner was blocked by the arm of West Ham's Luis Boa Morte.
Portsmouth 0, Charlton 1
Former Portsmouth midfielder Amady Faye scored a 79th-minute winner for Charlton.
Andy Cole nearly leveled for Portmouth but was denied by Charlton goalkeeper Scott Carson.
It was Portsmouth's second defeat in 11 matches and it was only the second time this season that Pompey had failed to score at home.
Reading 3, Sheffield United 1
Shane Long scored his first Premier League goal in the 44th minute, scoring from a rebound after the ball had hit the legs of Reading teammate Steve Sidwell.
Reading went 2-0 up in the 50th minute through Ulises de la Cruz.
Five minutes later, Sheffield United midfielder Keith Gillespie was sent off soon after coming on as a substitute for hitting Stephen Hunt in the face.
Hunt scored in the 70th minute.
Manchester City 0, Blackburn 3
Morten Gamst Pedersen scored twice for Blackburn in a 3-1 win at Manchester City.
David Bentley crossed for Pedersen to score his first in the 44th minute with a header.
Pedersen's second was a curling 22m free kick in the 62nd. Blackburn goalkeeper Brad Friedel made a late save to stop Darius Vassell from scoring, after the Man City striker had taken a cross from substitute DaMarcus Beasley.
Matt Derbyshire added Blackburn's third in the 90th minute.
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
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,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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