LONDON: Arsenal stunned Premier League leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge yesterday as two Robin van Persie goals earned the Gunners a 2-1 victory.
Johan Djourou’s own goal gave Chelsea a halftime lead but Dutchman van Persie struck twice in three second-half minutes as Chelsea slid to a second home league defeat of the season.
Champions Manchester United are now just five points behind Chelsea with a game in hand after they won 1-0 at Manchester City despite having Cristiano Ronaldo sent off. Wayne Rooney poached United’s winner just before halftime.
Tottenham Hotspur were beaten 1-0 at home by Everton while Portsmouth beat Blackburn Rovers 3-2 at Fratton Park.
Liverpool can now move three points clear at the top of the table on Monday if they beat West Ham United at Anfield.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had refused to concede that his side’s title challenge was over despite five league defeats and a 10-point deficit to the leaders. The Frenchman’s claims seemed wildly optimistic after 31 minutes when Arsenal went behind. Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia was guilty of a careless throw-out and after Chelsea won possession Jose Bosingwa’s cross was turned in past Djourou.
Chelsea, already beaten at home by Liverpool, should have added to their lead before and after halftime with Frank Lampard twice going close.
Arsenal were going nowhere until the 59th minute when Chelsea failed to clear and an offside-looking Van Persie turned and smashed a shot past Petr Cech.
There was no doubt about Van Persie’s second as he spun on the edge of the area and hit a low left-foot shot past Cech into the corner of the net.
Villarreal wins, trails Barcelona by 4
In Madrid, Spain, Villarreal beat last-place Recreativo Huelva 2-1 yesterday to move ahead of injury-ravaged Real Madrid and into second place in the Spanish league. Spain international Santi Cazorla and Ariel Miguel Ibagaza scored first-half goals at the Nuevo Colombino stadium for Villarreal, which improved to 28 points and trails leader Barcelona by four.
Valencia, which has 24 points, can also move ahead of Madrid with a victory against Real Betis later. Barcelona beat Sevilla 3-0 on Saturday to improve to 32 points — six better than Madrid, which lost several more of its international players to injury in a 3-1 loss at Getafe.
Also yesterday, it was: Almeria 0, Deportivo La Coruna 1; Valladolid 3, Mallorca 0; Malaga 4, Osasuna 2; Athletic Bilbao 2, Numancia 0; and Espanyol 0, Sporting Gijon 1.
Inter extends lead in Serie A
In Milan, Inter Milan extended its lead in Serie A yesterday after Ivan Cordoba and Sulley Muntari scored first-half goals in a 2-1 victory over Napoli.
Cordoba scored his second goal of the year in the 16th minute to put Inter in front. Muntari also got his second tally of the season to make it 2-0 in the 25th, after also scoring last week against Juventus.
Ezequiel Lavezzi responded in the 36th for Napoli, which has lost its last three road games. “We wanted to draw this game and we almost got there,” Napoli coach Edoardo Reja said. Inter moved to 33 points, six more than AC Milan, which plays Palermo later Sunday. After Saturday’s victory over Reggina, Juventus is tied with Milan. Napoli is fourth with 24 points.
In Rome, Francesco Totti scored in the 59th to give AS Roma a 1-0 victory over Fiorentina. After falling to one point clear of relegation, Roma is moving toward the middle of the standings after three straight wins. After six wins at home so far this year, Genoa managed only a 1-1 draw at its stadium against relegation-zone Bologna.
Also yesterday, it was: Atalanta 2, Lazio 0; Cagliari 1, Sampdoria 0; Siena 1, Torino 0; and Udinese 0 Chievo Verona 1.
