United stumble opens the door for Chelsea

AFP - 22 April 2007 11:22

Manchester United´s Gabriel Heinze (top) beats Middlesbrough´s Mark Viduka to the ball during their Premiership match at Old Trafford in Manchester. Viduka blew the Premiership title race wide open when he denied Manchester United the chance to open up a six-point lead at the head of the table, by striking the goal that earned Middlesbrough a point.

LONDON (AFP) - Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that Manchester United had opened the door for Chelsea to retain their Premiership title after his side were held to a 1-1 draw by Middlesbrough at Old Trafford.

The point extended United's lead at the top of the table to four points.

But Chelsea can cut that back to one by winning their game in hand, at Newcastle on Sunday, and, with United due to visit Stamford Bridge on May 9, the champions now have their destiny back in their own hands.

If Jose Mourinho's men win their five remaining games they will be champions for a third straight season.

"It opens the door for Chelsea, no doubt about that," said Ferguson, whose problems were compounded by an injury to centreback Rio Ferdinand, who is set to miss both legs of the Champions League semi-final against AC Milan.

England defender Ferdinand lasted just 45 minutes with Middlesbrough before being forced out of the action with a recurrence of a groin problem that sidelined him for the recent victory over Sheffield United.

And the centre-back is now set to miss both legs of the clash with AC Milan - and with Gary Neville and Nemanja Vidic also missing, the United manager admits he is fast running out of defensive options during the final weeks of the campaign.

Kieran Richardson also pulled up during the Boro clash adding his name to an injury list that also includes Ji-Sung Park, Louis Saha and young defender Craig Cathcart.

"We always said that if we made mistakes, they (Chelsea) have got the ability to come back at us," Ferguson said. "The way I am looking at it is that we have got four games to go and it looks as if the decider is going to be at Chelsea. It will be some game."

United had got off to a perfect start when Richardson tapped the ball into the net after Wayne Rooney had broken clear and rounded goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

But Mark Viduka headed Boro back on level terms in first-half stoppage time and an increasingly nervy United were unable to force Schwarzer into a single save after the interval.

United's stumble came on a day that Watford were relegated from the top flight while Liverpool warmed up for next week's Champions League meeting with Chelsea by pushing Wigan into deeper trouble.

Goals in either half from Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt guided Liverpool to a 2-0 win that guarantees the Reds a top four finish and leaves their guests two points clear of the relegation zone.

"We were looking for a good game, a good result and we wanted to rest some players and didn't want injuries," Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez said. "So it was almost perfect."

Watford's drop back to the Championship after one season in the top flight became a mathematical certainty as a result of their 1-1 draw at home to Manchester City.

Former England striker Darius Vassell gave City the lead early in the second half and although Hungarian striker Tamas Priskin equalised with quarter of an hour left, it was not enough to save Watford from a fate that has looked inevitable for most of the season.

West Ham were Saturday's big winners in the battle for survival, Bobby Zamora's superb first-half strike earning Alan Curbishley's side a 1-0 win over Everton at Upton Park.

The win left the Hammers within three points of fourth-from-bottom Sheffield United, who came from a goal down to grab a 1-1 draw at fellow strugglers Charlton.

Charlton had been on track for a win that would have lifted them out of the bottom three after Talal El Karkouri gave them a lead just before the hour mark.

But Jon Stead grabbed an equaliser 10 minutes later to keep the Blades two points above the drop zone.

Fulham also remain embroiled in the dogfight at the bottom after failing to defend a lead against Blackburn, a 1-1 draw extending their winless run to nine matches.

Vincenzo Montella scored the Cottagers' first goal under new boss Lawrie Sanchez to give them a 10th-minute lead but Benni McCarthy's 21st goal of the season earned Blackburn a point.

Arsenal ended a week dominated by boardroom turbulence on a frustrating note as Jermaine Jenas's 25-yard-strike earned Tottenham a 2-2 draw deep into injury time in the north London derby.

The Gunners, who trailed to Robbie Keane's early header before going ahead through Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor, squandered a series of chances and hit the woodwork three times in a performance that summed up their season.

Reading reignited their hopes of ending their first season in the Premiership with a UEFA Cup place thanks to a 3-1 win at Bolton.

The home side looked set for maximum points thanks to an own goal by Nicky Shorey. But Kevin Doyle scored twice in the last six minutes and his Ireland tea-mate Stephen Hunt netted in injury time to lift Reading into seventh place.