LONDON, 27 April 2003 — Arsenal’s title hopes suffered a potentially fatal blow yesterday when they squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at relegation strugglers Bolton Wanderers.

Goals from Sylvain Wiltord and Robert Pires midway through the second half had put the champions on course to take over at the top of the table from Manchester United.

But Youri Djorkaeff pulled one back for Bolton and Arsenal’s substitute defender Martin Keown then scored an own goal in the 84th minute. The draw left Arsenal in second place with 72 points from 35 games, trailing United, who have 74 points also from 35 games and play at Tottenham Hotspur today in the first of their final three games.

In the race for the third and fourth places, which mean a slot in the Champions League qualifiers, Chelsea slipped up in a 1-1 west London derby draw with Fulham but rivals Newcastle United and Liverpool both secured victories.

A Nolberto Solano penalty gave Newcastle United a 1-0 win over bottom club Sunderland in the northeast derby, while Michael Owen scored four times, including his 100th league goal, as Liverpool crushed already-relegated West Bromwich Albion 6-0.

With two games to go, Newcastle are now third on 65 points and Chelsea are fourth on goal difference ahead of Liverpool, with both teams on 64 points. Significantly, Chelsea host Liverpool in their final game of the season.

Bolton, whose French defender Florent Laville was sent off in the closing minutes, earned a valuable point in their battle against the drop — giving them 40 points, five more than third-from-bottom West Ham United, who play at Manchester City today.

But the result is a hammer blow to Arsenal’s hopes of retaining their title, which now rest on Manchester United slipping up in their final games against Spurs, Charlton Athletic and Everton.

In other games, Everton strengthened their grip on a UEFA Cup place after 17-year-old England striker Wayne Rooney scored a stoppage time winner as they beat Aston Villa 2-1 at home.

Bayern Seal Title With

Four Games Left

In Berlin, Bayern Munich secured an 18th German crown with four Bundesliga games left after a 2-0 victory at VfL Wolfsburg yesterday. Second-half goals from strikers Elber and Claudio Pizarro gave Bayern an unassailable lead of 13 points over second-placed VfB Stuttgart, who were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Hansa Rostock.

Defending champions Borussia Dortmund, who needed a win to stay in contention, remained third a further point adrift after a 0-0 draw at TSV 1860 Munich.

Bayer Leverkusen, last season’s runners-up and Bayern’s most dangerous rivals for the past few years, remained in the danger zone with a 2-2 draw at fellow strugglers Borussia Moenchengladbach. Hertha Berlin and Hamburg SV consolidated fourth and fifth place respectively with comfortable victories that kept them on course for places in Europe.

The capital club beat Hanover 96 2-0 with goals from Brazilians Luizao and Marcelinho while Hamburg crushed Nuremberg 4-0 to send their visitors even closer to the second division.

Late Cisse Winner Puts Auxerre in Cup Final

In Paris, Djibril Cisse scored both his side’s goals to send AJ Auxerre into the French Cup final with a 2-1 victory over 10-man Stades Rennes in their semifinal clash yesterday. The international striker headed the winner in injury time to seal the victory.

They face either Paris Saint-Germain or Girondins Bordeaux on May 31 at the Stade de France. PSG and Bordeaux meet in the second semifinal today.