LONDON, 18 April 2004 — Chelsea and Manchester United helped Arsenal’s unbeaten surge toward the Premier League title yesterday when champions United were beaten 1-0 by Portsmouth and second-placed Chelsea drew 0-0 at home with Everton.
Arsenal’s 5-0 thrashing of Leeds United on Friday, on the back of four goals from French striker Thierry Henry, had put them 10 points ahead of Chelsea, who play Monaco in the Champions League semifinals on Tuesday.
The leaders now need just four points from their last five games to win their 13th title.
Arsenal (81 points) and United (68) have five games remaining, Chelsea (72) just four.
Chelsea should have won by several goals against Everton but strikers Adrian Mutu and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink missed a hatful of chances while Frank Lampard hit the bar in the first half.
United also dominated possession at Portsmouth but a Steve Stone goal in the 36th minute was enough to guarantee the south coast club’s first victory over United for 47 years. It also pulled Portsmouth away from the relegation struggle.
Liverpool’s Champions League aspirations were hurt by a 0-0 draw with Fulham at Anfield where Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard had a penalty saved by Dutch keeper Edwin van der Sar in the second half and England striker Emile Heskey hit the post.
In the relegation battle, Blackburn Rovers beat fellow strugglers Leicester City 1-0 and bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers defeated Middlesbrough 2-0. Blackburn had not won any of their last nine games at home and manager Graeme Souness said the win, thanks to an own goal from Greek defender Nikos Dabizas, had been a huge relief.
Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur slipped toward the drop zone, City going down 3-1 at home to Southampton and Spurs falling 2-0 at Bolton Wanderers.
Bayern’s Titles Hopes Almost Gone With Defeat
In Berlin, Bayern Munich’s slim hopes of retaining the Bundesliga title almost vanished with a 2-0 defeat at archrivals Borussia Dortmund yesterday.
The second-placed champions, who were already two goals down when they had playmaker Michael Ballack sent off for a second booking in the 68th minute, stay seven points behind leaders Werder Bremen.
Brazilian striker Ewerthon put Dortmund in the lead against the run of play by converting a debatable penalty in the 55th minute.
Germany defender Christian Woerns completed the victory when he volleyed home from inside the box six minutes later.
Bayern, at risk of ending the season without a title after making early exits from the Champions League and the German Cup, now face a battle to secure second place and direct access to the Champions League.
Third-placed VfB Stuttgart moved just two points behind Bayern with a 3-1 win over strugglers Eintracht Frankfurt.
TSV 1860 Munich dropped to fourth from bottom with a 2-1 home defeat by Hamburg SV after which coach Falko Goetz was sacked.
Rangers Beat Partick to Delay Celtic Title Celebrations
In Glasgow, Scotland, Rangers made sure Celtic has to wait another 24 hours before being crowned Scottish champions by beating last place Partick Thistle 2-0 yesterday.
Steven Thompson fired the Rangers ahead five minutes before half time and Gavin Rae added the second four minutes into the second half against a Partick team almost certain to be relegated.
In yesterday’s other games, it was Dundee 2, Hibernian 2; Dunfermline 1, Dundee United 1; Hearts 1, Livingston 1.
