LONDON, 13 February 2005 — Striker Eidur Gudjohnsen kept Chelsea on course for their first league title in 50 years with the winner in a scrappy 1-0 victory over 10-man Everton at Goodison Park yesterday.
Gudjohnsen poked in a rebound 20 minutes from time after William Gallas’ effort hit the bar to end some brave resistance by Everton, who played all but eight minutes of the match a man short after striker James Beattie’s foolish dismissal. Everton’s record six million pounds ($11.19 million) signing was given a straight red card, the first of his career, for twice head-butting the back of French defender Gallas’ head as he chased an early through ball.
Chelsea’s win, achieved without injured attackers Arjen Robben and Didier Drogba, lifted their points tally to 68, 12 points clear of second-placed Manchester United with only 11 matches to play.
In yesterday’s other Premier League games, fifth-placed Liverpool stumbled again, losing 2-0 at Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers beat fellow strugglers Norwich City 3-0. Aston Villa won 2-1 at Portsmouth.
Everton had reasons for optimism before the match with a swirling wind and a terrible pitch seemingly playing into their hands. Beattie’s departure, though, soon negated any advantage the home team might have had.
Chelsea dominated but found the uneven surface and the sharp instincts of Everton goalkeeper Nigel Martyn hard to overcome for most of the game.
Martyn saved superbly from Frank Lampard and Iceland forward Gudjohnsen and Jose Mourinho’s team, held 0-0 at home by Manchester City last Sunday, were beginning to wonder where the goal would come from before Gudjohnsen ended their frustration. Chelsea keeper Petr Cech has now gone 961 minutes without conceding and the only black mark was a yellow card for captain John Terry that means the center back will be suspended for the FA Cup fifth round trip to Newcastle United on Feb. 20.
Liverpool’s inconsistency returned at St. Andrews where a penalty by Uruguayan Walter Pandiani, after Birmingham’s ex-Liverpool striker Emile Heskey was fouled, and Julian Gray’s volley gave City their 2-0 win.
Scottish striker Paul Dickov netted twice as Blackburn put eight points between them and the bottom three with their 3-0 victory over struggling visitors Norwich.
At Fratton Park a trademark thunderbolt by Villa’s German midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger against Portsmouth gave the Midlands side a rare away win.
Schalke Beat Wolfsburg to Keep Heat on Bayern
In Frankfurt, Schalke 04 moved level on points with Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich yesterday as they roared back to form with a 3-0 win at home to VfL Wolfsburg.
Gerald Asamoah headed Schalke ahead in the 13th minute, Ebbe Sand doubled the lead with another header 10 minutes before halftime and Mike Hanke wrapped up Schalke’s first win in three games with the third in the 85th minute. Schalke even had the luxury of an Ailton penalty miss as they claimed a victory that kept them in second place with 41 points from 21 games, behind Bayern on goal difference.
Werder Bremen, last season’s double winners, climbed to third on 37 points with a 2-0 win at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Aaron Hunt got the first and Egyptian striker Mohamed Zidan marked his debut with the second goal two minutes from time.
Hertha Berlin improved to fourth on 36 points with a 2-1 win at home to FC Nuremberg, while VfB Stuttgart slipped to fifth on 35 points after a 2-1 defeat at Hamburg SV.
Schalke went into Saturday’s game looking for a victory tonic, after managing just five points from their previous four games.
Rangers Go Top With 3-0 Defeat of Hibernian
In Glasgow, Croatia striker Dado Prso scored twice in a 3-0 win over third-placed Hibernian which put Rangers on top of the Scottish Premier League yesterday.
Rangers, with 62 points, lead on goal difference from Glasgow rivals Celtic who play at Inverness Caledonian Thistle today.
Hearts, in fourth, beat Kilmarnock 3-0 and Aberdeen (fifth) went down 2-1 at Dunfermline Athletic. Rangers dominated the game and could have scored a hatful of goals if Hibernian goalkeeper Simon Brown had not been in superb form.
Brown saved a penalty by Nacho Novo just before halftime after Novo was fouled. Prso hit the woodwork after scoring his first goal with a header from a corner.
Prso scored his second five minutes after halftime to put the game beyond Hibernian’s reach before Belgian striker Thomas Buffel added a third.
Hoyzer Arrested, Corruption Scandal Intensifies
In Frankfurt, German referee Robert Hoyzer was arrested and threatened with a long jail sentence yesterday with prosecutors saying they had fresh evidence he had been involved in match-fixing prior to 2004.
“New evidence suggests that Robert Hoyzer was involved in crimes of a similar type with persons unknown prior to those in 2004 that he has already admitted to,” Berlin prosecutor Michael Grunwald said in a statement.
Against the background of existing admissions and the new evidence, “Hoyzer must count on a hefty jail sentence”, the prosecutor’s office said. “For that reason, there is a concrete risk of his absconding,” it added.
