LONDON, 2 January 2005 — Chelsea, boosted by a slice of good fortune for substitute Joe Cole’s winner, continued their surge toward a first Premier League title with a battling 1-0 victory at Liverpool yesterday.
Champions Arsenal, helped by a double from Sweden midfielder Fredrik Ljungberg, kept Chelsea’s lead at five points with a 3-1 success at Charlton Athletic while Manchester United, who won 2-0 at Middlesbrough in an evening kickoff, are four points further back in third.
England midfielder Cole’s low drive from distance deflected in off Jamie Carragher 10 minutes from time to hand Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea their third win in the hectic holiday program and a perfect start to their centenary year.
Chelsea have 52 points from 21 games, clear of Arsenal on 47 and Manchester United on 43.
Fourth-placed Everton succumbed to their second successive defeat, a 5-2 drubbing at resurgent Tottenham Hotspur. All five of their league defeats this season have come against sides from the capital. On as a 76th-minute replacement for Damien Duff, Cole was well positioned to latch on to Glen Johnson’s cushioned header from Arjen Robben’s corner. The deflection off Carragher wrong-footed Jerzy Dudek and flew in.
Mourinho praised Chelsea’s defensive qualities but said his side, who have lost only once in their 21 league matches and are unbeaten in their last 12, had not been at their best at Anfield.
Liverpool, who came into the game on the back of three successive wins, were incensed when they were refused a clear penalty late in the first half by referee Mike Riley, who waved away all appeals after Portugal midfielder Tiago had handled from a corner.
At the bottom, West Bromwich Albion were five minutes away from celebrating their first win under Bryan Robson but Senegal international El Hadji Diouf’s equalizer earned Bolton Wanderers a 1-1 draw.
Norwich moved out of the bottom three after a 1-1 draw at Portsmouth, leapfrogging Crystal Palace who lost 3-1 at Fulham. Southamptonstayed in relegation trouble with a 2-1 loss at Manchester City.
Leaders Ipswich Suffer First Home Defeat
English second division leaders Ipswich slumped to their first home league defeat of the season, losing 2-0 to West Ham.
A first minute strike from Marlon Harewood and a late tap-in by Matthew Etherington gave the points to the Hammers who moved up two places to fifth on 45, seven behind Ipswich.
Sunderland blew their chance of overtaking Ipswich, losing 3-2 at mid-table Preston who were set up by a first-half hat trick from Richard Cresswell. Goals from Sunderland’s Stephen Elliott (72) and Sean Thornton (81) were not enough.
Wigan moved ahead of Sunderland into second place on 50 points with a 2-0 win at Sheffield United, goals from Lee McCulloch (7) and Nathan Ellington (73) settling the issue. Reading stay fourth on 48 points after a 0-0 draw at struggling Gillingham. The game between Burnley and Leicester was abandoned after 19 minutes because of a waterlogged pitch.
Rangers Back on Top After Last-Gasp Equalizer
In Glasgow, Rangers moved back to the top of the Scottish Premier League yesterday but only after a last-gasp equalizer at struggling Dundee United.
The mood of Rangers fans nursing hangovers after the Hogmanay celebrations the night before would hardly have been improved by the sight of David McCracken giving United an 11th-minute lead.
And many of them had already left Tannadice when substitute Hamed Namouchi pounced in the dying seconds to secure a point that lifted the Ibrox giants above Celtic on goal difference at the top of the SPL table.
An Andy Tod hat trick helped Dunfermline to a 3-1 win over Dundee, who drop to the bottom of the table.
The Pars’ striker buried headers in the 13th and 27th minute to give the home side a comfortable lead although Neil Barrett’s header six minutes from half-time gave the Taysiders some hope for the second half.
However, 10 minutes after the interval Tod struck again with yet another headed goal to seal the points for the Fifers and deepen the Dark Blues’ woes.
