LONDON, 24 April 2005 — Chelsea moved to the brink of their first league title for 50 years with a workmanlike 3-1 victory over Fulham in the west London derby yesterday.
The Premier League trophy will belong to Chelsea on Monday if champions Arsenal fail to win their north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, or next Saturday if Chelsea beat Bolton Wanderers.
Chelsea are top of the table on 85 points with four games left, followed by Arsenal on 71 and Manchester United, who host Newcastle United at Old Trafford today, on 67.
In yesterday’s other action, Everton stayed on course for a fourth-place finish, worth a Champions League qualifying place, despite only scraping a late 1-1 draw with Birmingham City. Crystal Palace moved out of the relegation zone on goal difference with a 1-0 upset win over Liverpool — leaving behind Norwich City, who beat Charlton Athletic 1-0, West Bromwich Albion, who were trounced 4-0 at Middlesbrough, and Southampton. The day’s main focus, however, was at Stamford Bridge, where Jose Mourinho’s debut season in English football continued to go from strength to strength for the League Cup winners.
Joe Cole put Chelsea ahead on 17 minutes, Collins John leveled for Fulham before halftime and Frank Lampard restored the lead on 64 minutes with their 100th goal of the season.
Striker Eidur Gudjohnsen sprinted away on the break in the 87th minute to put the result beyond doubt. Chelsea’s victory, which followed a grueling 0-0 draw with Arsenal in midweek, was an ideal boost for Wednesday’s Champions League semifinal first leg at home to Liverpool.
Cole was a constant menace in the first half and his goal was superb, a curling shot from the edge of the area after starting with his back to goal.
Fulham’s John leveled after shrugging off defender Ricardo Carvalho but Lampard rifled home Chelsea’s second after a deft cutback by Dutch substitute Arjen Robben.
Gudjohnsen slotted home the third after beating Fulham’s offside trap to secure what was ultimately a comfortable victory.
Further down the table, Everton’s disappointment at drawing with Birmingham after their midweek win over Manchester United was eased by both their nearest rivals slipping up.
An 86th minute equalizer from Scottish striker Duncan Ferguson moved Everton on to 58 points, a four-point lead over Liverpool and Bolton Wanderers, who drew 1-1 at Aston Villa.Liverpool and Bolton have also played a game more than Everton.
Down in the drop zone, Palace striker Andy Johnson got his 20th league goal of the season against Liverpool to move them on to 30 points and the provisional safety of 17th place.
Hearts Snatch Late Draw in Edinburgh Derby
In Glasgow, Andy Webster’s late effort gave Hearts a 2-2 draw at Hibernian in the Edinburgh derby yesterday.
Garry O’Connor slid in to give the home side the lead after eight minutes before Lee Miller leveled midway through the first half.
Third-placed Hibs dominated the second period and Derek Riordan fired in a fabulous strike to make it 2-1 only for Webster to grab the equalizer. Hibernian are now on 57 points in the Scottish Premier League with Celtic top on 83 points and Rangers second with 81. The two Glasgow giants clash today at Ibrox in what could be a title decider.
Bayern Beat Bochum to Close In on Bundesliga Title
In Frankfurt, Bayern Munich closed to within touching distance of a 19th Bundesliga crown with a 3-1 home win over VfL Bochum yesterday, as Schalke 04’s challenge petered out with a 4-1 defeat at Hertha Berlin.
Bayern’s easy victory, courtesy of goals from Claudio Pizarro, Michael Ballack and Roy Makaay and an early red card for Bochum keeper Rein van Duijnhoven, stretched their lead at the top to nine points with just four games to play.
Bayern have 65 points from 30 games, followed by Schalke on 56 after a 23rd minute red card for Danish defender Christian Poulsen sent them on the way to a third successive league defeat. VfB Stuttgart are third on 55 after they could only draw 0-0 at home to VfL Wolfsburg.
Freiburg’s 3-1 defeat away to Arminia Bielefeld consigned them to relegation.
With just 12 points left to play for, last-placed Freiburg are 13 points away from Gladbach in 15th.
