English Premier League champions Chelsea moved up to second place in the table and Tottenham Hotspur went fifth on a day of contrasting fortunes for the two London clubs on Sunday.
Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw away to Newcastle at St James’ Park, while Tottenham came back from a goal down to beat Liverpool 2-1 at White Hart Lane after Aaron Lennon’s winner in time added on.
Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel opened the scoring, but put through his own net midway through the second half when trying to cut out Luka Modric’s cross.
Earlier, Chelsea went ahead of London rivals Arsenal on goal difference to move two points behind leaders Manchester United.
England striker Andy Carroll gave Newcastle a sixth-minute lead after a defensive mix-up, before the Ivory Coast’s Salomon Kalou dragged the Blues level on the stroke of halftime at a snow-covered St James’.
“It was difficult at the beginning because we had a mistake but we had a good reaction,” Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti told Sky Sports.
The Italian, whose own position has been called into question by a run of results that has now seen the Londoners win just one of their last five league matches, added: “I think the performance was good and we were unlucky, but we’ve lost the top [position] in the table and we have to run [chase] now, we have to improve.”
He insisted the various off-field dramas at Stamford Bridge, including the unexpected departure of former assistant manager Ray Wilkins, could not be blamed for recent results.
“I don’t think so. The performance was good this game, we just have to convert the chances we had,” he said.
Magpies manager Chris Hughton said: “Credit to every one of our players.”
“We got to a stage where we knew we had to dig in, but we also got to a stage where, if you can ever be a little comfortable against the quality of what they [Chelsea] have got, we ended up being a touch comfortable,” he said.
Back in London, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp admitted his side had been fortunate to come away with all three points against a Liverpool team who lost Jamie Carragher to a shoulder injury during the second half in addition to already sidelined club skipper Steven Gerrard.
England midfielder Gerrard missed the match at White Hart Lane with a hamstring problem suffered on international duty against France.
“They started well and were dangerous, it was a fantastic game,” Redknapp said. “Liverpool played their part, they were always a threat, but we got after them a bit better, had shots blocked, missed a penalty and eventually managed to get the goal.”
Jermain Defoe missed a penalty with Spurs trailing 1-0, but Skrtel’s own-goal saved his blushes before Lennon’s cool finish in injury-time snatched all three points at the death.
Carragher’s joy at celebrating his 450th Premier League appearance lasted until he was withdrawn in the second half and Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson said: “It’s very bad. He’s dislocated his shoulder.”
“We’ll now be without him and Steven Gerrard and they are the lifeblood of our club,” he said.
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