LONDON, 25 April 2004 — Manchester United’s last hopes of retaining the Premier League title ended when Danny Murphy converted a penalty to give Liverpool a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford yesterday.
With Arsenal hoping to clinch the title today when they play Tottenham Hotspur. Yesterday’s focus was the battle for European football and Premier League survival.
Fourth-placed Liverpool edged closer to a place in the Champions League qualifiers, while Leicester City’s hopes of staying up suffered a body blow when Paul Dickov had a late penalty saved by England keeper David James in their 1-1 draw with Manchester City.
United remained third on 71 points with three games left as they chase Chelsea (72) and Arsenal (81). Their faint hopes of a ninth title in 12 seasons ended midway through the second half when a rash challenge by defender Gary Neville brought down Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard and Murphy converted the spot kick. It was the third time in four seasons the midfielder has scored the winning goal at Old Trafford.
Victory kept Liverpool on course to finish fourth with 53 points although Newcastle, three points behind, have a game in hand in addition to today’s clash with Chelsea at St. James’ Park.
Ten-man Aston Villa also stayed in the hunt for a qualifying slot in the money-spinning Champions League by rallying to win 2-1 at Middlesbrough. Peter Crouch scored a late winner after a 57th-minute red card for Villa’s Peruvian midfielder Nolberto Solano.
Villa, fifth on 52 points, gained a valuable lead over Charlton Athletic, who stayed on 48 after losing 2-0 at Fulham. Southampton’s UEFA Cup hopes were hit by a 2-1 loss to Bolton Wanderers but Blackburn Rovers look set to avoid the drop after beating Everton 1-0.
Scotland Earns Dundee 3-3 Draw With Rangers
In Glasgow, Trinidad and Tobago striker Jason Scotland scored twice in the second half to earn Dundee United a 3-3 draw in a pulsating Scottish Premier League match with Rangers at Tannadice yesterday.
Rangers have already lost the title to champions Celtic, who they trail by 15 points with four games to play, and could not even avenge their 2-0 defeat at United on Feb. 29.
Former Rangers striker Billy Dodds had put United ahead in the first minute yesterday before forward Steven Thompson equalized after six minutes and added a 14th minute penalty, awarded for David McCracken’s late tackle on Stephen Hughes.
Bottom side Partick Thistle lost 1-0 at home to Dundee and are relegated, while their rivals for the drop Kilmarnock beat Hibernian 2-0 to make absolutely sure of staying up.
Scottish Cup finalists Dunfermline Athletic beat Motherwell 3-0, while Livingston overcame Aberdeen 2-0 at home.
Stuttgart Move Into Second With Win in Hanover
In Berlin, VfB Stuttgart underlined their claims for a Champions League spot by moving into second place in the Bundesliga with a 1-0 victory at Hanover 96 yesterday.
A first-half effort from midfielder Silvio Meissner put the southerners a point ahead of Bayern Munich before the champions’ city derby with TSV 1860 today and seven points behind leaders Werder Bremen.
Stuttgart, runners-up last season, took the lead on 10 minutes and then concentrated on defending their advantage.
Bayer Leverkusen held on to fourth spot and stayed on course for a place in Europe with a convincing 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund, who stay sixth and face a struggle to win a UEFA Cup berth.
At the other end, Hertha Berlin moved out of the drop zone with a 3-0 win over fellow strugglers Kaiserslautern, featuring goals from midfielder Marcelinho and forwards Artur Wichniarek and Fredi Bobic.
The capital club, whose goals came in the first 24 minutes, move up two places to 14th.
Eintracht Frankfurt remained second from bottom but kept alive their hopes of escaping relegation with a combative display in a 3-0 win over SC Freiburg.
Bottom club Cologne had lost hope even before yesterday’s 4-2 defeat at Hamburg SV that left the three-times champions 11 points from the first safe spot.
Nantes Sink Monaco With Late Goal
In Monaco, Nantes upset Champions League sensations Monaco with a 1-0 Ligue 1 victory in the principality on Saturday thanks to a late goal by Marama Vahirua.
Emphatic 3-1 winners against Chelsea on Tuesday, Monaco looked breathless and uninspired for most of the game and Vahirua’s goal, on a counterattack in the 78th minute, was amply deserved.
The loss, Monaco’s second this season, could have serious consequences for the team, who are second in the Ligue 1 standings one point behind Olympique Lyon.
