LONDON, 1 May 2005 — Chelsea were crowned English League champions for the first time in 50 years yesterday after Frank Lampard scored both goals in a gritty 2-0 win at Bolton Wanderers.
Chelsea, who won the League Cup in February, have 88 points and cannot be caught by 2004 champions Arsenal who have 74 points and four games to play in the Premier League.
Yesterday’s triumph, funded by their Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich, confirmed Chelsea as the new dominant force in English football and brought the era of power-sharing by Arsenal and Manchester United to an abrupt end.
Manager Jose Mourinho rushed on to the pitch at the whistle with his bench in tow and embraced the players, then withdrew while they danced in front of the supporters in the away corner of the Reebok Stadium.
The London side, now an unassailable 14 points in front of Arsenal wanted to wrap up the title before Tuesday’s Champions League semifinal second leg against Liverpool.
After a tough first half when Bolton made all the running, they took control with two Frank Lampard goals after 60 and 76 minutes.
Lampard and skipper John Terry, shirts flung into the crowd, were the last to leave the pitch, serenaded by their fans who continued to sing long after the pitch was empty.
Chelsea, whose only previous league title was in 1955, have lost just one league game this season and have conceded only 13 goals in 35 games.
Lampard is the club’s top scorer with 18 goals in all competitions ahead of strikers Didier Drogba and Eidur Gudjohnsen, while wingers Damien Duff and Arjen Robben plus playmaker Joe Cole have also netted regularly.
With Chelsea’s 2-0 victory at Bolton being the late kick-off yesterday, the afternoon action was devoted to the races for top-flight survival and European football next season.
In the bitterly-contested battle to avoid relegation, a late goal by Senegal forward Henri Camara gave Southampton a thrilling 4-3 win over rivals Norwich City.
Crystal Palace slipped into the bottom three on goal difference despite a 0-0 draw at Newcastle United.
Liverpool missed a chance to move closer to next season’s Champions League with a 1-1 draw at home to Middlesbrough, failing to punish fourth-placed Everton for their defeat.
Two mid-table scraps ended with Birmingham City beating Blackburn Rovers 2-1 thanks to a late Emile Heskey winner, and Robbie Fowler scoring with a fine free kick in Manchester City’s 2-0 victory over Portsmouth.
Celtic Slump to Home Defeat, Title Race Opens Up
In Glasgow, Celtic slumped to a 3-1 home defeat against Hibernian on Saturday, opening up the Scottish Premier League title race.
Rangers can slash the lead to two points with a win at Aberdeen today while Hibs keep up the chase for third slot and a UEFA Cup place.
Celtic are on 86 points from 35 games. Rangers sit second on 81 from 34 and Hibs are third on 60 from 35.
Garry O’Connor slid Hibs ahead in six minutes for a dramatic opener in front of a 58,322 crowd, but Celtic equalized with substitute Craig Beattie volleying home in 59 minutes.
Two goals in the space of 90 seconds around 10 minutes from time had Celtic reeling as Ivan Sproule and Scott Brown struck for the visitors.
Dundee United won the derby basement battle 2-1 at Dundee thanks to a Jim McIntyre winner .
Elsewhere, Hearts slugged out a 0-0 home draw with Motherwell and Kilmarnock won 2-1 at Inverness Caledonian Thistle thanks to a late Peter Leven penalty.
Bayern Seal German Title With Makaay Hat Trick
In Frankfurt, Roy Makaay struck a hat-trick to fire Bayern Munich to their 19th German title with a 4-0 win over Kaiserslautern yesterday.
With Schalke 04’s challenge fizzling out in a 3-3 draw against Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern’s win gave them an unassailable 11-point lead at the top of the standings with three games to play. VfB Stuttgart, who lost 2-0 at Borussia Moenchengladbach, are clinging on to the third Champions League qualification slot with 55 points.
Michael Ballack set Bayern on their way with a top-class finish. Ballack, captaining the side in the absence of injured goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, pounced on a backheel from Makaay and drilled in at the near post in the 19th minute.
Makaay’s flick header from a Willy Sagnol cross made it 2-0 in the 35th minute and the Dutch international smacked in the third three minutes into the second half after nodding an Owen Hargreaves through ball past the keeper to set up the chance.
Makaay completed his hat-trick in the 67th minute when he took a long ball forward from Ballack and steered the ball past the keeper.
Valencia Miss Their Chance With 1-1 Draw at Numancia
In Madrid, Valencia missed their chance to gain the edge in the race for a Champions League place as they were held to a 1-1 draw at relegation-threatened Numancia yesterday.
Numancia, knowing defeat would condemn them to a return to the second division, looked as though they had done enough to earn their sixth win of the season when striker Luis Tevenet drilled home 15 minutes from the final whistle.
