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Chelsea falter as Premiership title race takes another twist
NEWCASTLE, England (AFP) - Chelsea blew an opportunity to close the gap on Premiership leaders Manchester United as Newcastle held on for a 0-0 draw on Sunday.
Jose Mourinho's side would have moved to within a point of United if they had won at St James' Park, but they produced a tired-looking display that could prove a major blow to their bid to retain the title.
Chelsea's failure to take advantage of United's draw against Middlesbrough on Saturday means they remain three points behind the leaders, with both clubs having four games to play.
The London club were both fortunate and frustrated within the first 20 minutes as another pivotal fixture at the top of the Premiership opened at a frantic pace.
Less than two minutes had elapsed when Newcastle's Peruvian midfielder Nolberto Solano floated a dangerous cross into the penalty area and found Antoine Sibierski.
The ex-Manchester City forward beat Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech in the air and only a desperate clearance by the Portuguese international Paulo Ferreira prevented a looping header from rolling across the goal-line.
Six minutes later Chelsea's Ivory Coast forward Didier Drogba was convinced the visitors should have been awarded a penalty but referee Mark Halsey waved away a series of persistent claims.
Drogba's fellow countryman Salomon Kalou had driven into the United goalmouth and his chipped cross appeared to strike the left arm of United's Republic of Ireland full back Stephen Carr.
But Halsey refused to be swayed and minutes later Chelsea suffered another setback when influential German midfielder Michael Ballack was forced to leave the field with an injury.
Newcastle were on top and 11 minutes before the break James Milner played in Carr with a sublime reverse pass and the defender raced into the danger area. A low cross to the near post struck England defender John Terry's shin and Frenchman Claude Makelele cleared from Kieron Dyer.
Given the share of first half possession, weighted heavily in the favour of the home team, Chelsea were fortunate to find themselves on level terms at the outset of the second period.
And Lampard should have capitalised on the Londoners' good fortune within two minutes of the restart only to screw a right-footed drive over Steve Harper's crossbar from Kalou's clever cutback.
Newcastle responded with the best move of the match as Turkish international Emre and former England midfielder Nicky Butt linked up to mesmerising effect.
The former Fenerbahce playmaker danced past three challenges and squared a pass to Butt whose first time ball was played perfectly into the path of Dyer. Marginally offside, the midfielder was allowed to run clear and only a brave block from Cech maintained parity.
Substitute Joe Cole crossed for Lampard in the 62nd minute only for Newcastle defender Steven Taylor to intervene. But the loose ball broke to Kalou at the far post and only a combination of Carr, Harper and the backtracking Butt prevented the African from opening the scoring.
Mourinho replaced Makelele with Ukrainian Andriy Shevchenko 15 minutes from time as he made one final bid to claim all three points. But Chelsea were forced to settle for one point and and could have few complaints after an unconvincing display.
English Premiership table after Sunday's matches (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):
Manchester United
34
26
4
4
78
24
82
Chelsea
34
24
7
3
60
20
79
Liverpool
35
20
7
8
54
22
67
Arsenal
35
18
9
8
59
33
63
Everton
35
14
12
9
46
31
54
Bolton
35
16
6
13
42
45
54
Reading
35
15
6
14
48
42
51
Tottenham
34
14
8
12
49
50
50
Portsmouth
34
13
10
11
43
38
49
Blackburn
34
13
5
16
42
49
44
Aston Villa
34
9
15
10
36
39
42
Newcastle
35
11
9
15
37
43
42
Manchester City
35
11
9
15
28
39
42
Middlesbrough
35
10
10
15
38
45
40
Fulham
35
7
15
13
35
54
36
Wigan Athletic
35
9
8
18
35
54
35
Sheffield United
35
9
8
18
30
50
35
Charlton
35
8
9
18
31
52
33
West Ham
35
9
5
21
28
58
32
Watford
35
4
12
19
26
57
24
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