MANCHESTER: Holders Chelsea came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Manchester United yesterday and earn a replay of their FA Cup quarterfinal, inflicting further pain Alex Ferguson’s side who have endured a week to forget.
The hosts, knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid on Tuesday after a controversial red card for Nani, took a fifth-minute lead through Javier Hernandez and doubled their lead six minutes late with a Wayne Rooney free kick.
Just when United had started to think they could smell a Wembley date, Chelsea pulled one back on 59 minutes through substitute Eden Hazard before Ramires leveled nine minutes later.
The day’s other quarterfinal will also be replayed after Championship (second division) Millwall and Blackburn Rovers played out a 0-0 draw. Manchester City and Wigan Athletic booked their places in the semifinals on Saturday.
Liverpool stuns Spurs
Liverpool ended Tottenham Hotspur’s 12-match unbeaten Premier League run when a late Steven Gerrard penalty gave them a 3-2 win at Anfield yesterday after the visitors led 2-1 with little more than 20 minutes to play.
The result lifted Liverpool up to sixth in the table and dented third-placed Spurs’s hopes of closing in on Manchester City in second place as they chase a spot in next season’s Champions League.
Uruguayan Luis Suarez opened the scoring with his 50th goal for Liverpool after 21 minutes with a superb strike inside goalkeeper Hugo Lloris’s near post, but Spurs equalized just before halftime with a header from Jan Vertonghen.
The Belgian defender then fired Spurs ahead after 53 minutes after the Liverpool defense failed to clear, but Stewart Downing equalized in the 66th minute following a mistake from Kyle Walker.
Another error from striker Jermain Defoe, back in defense, put Benoit Assou-Ekotto under pressure and he fouled Suarez for the 82nd-minute penalty from which Gerrard sent Lloris the wrong way.
In the day’s other match, Newcastle United came from behind to beat Stoke City 2-1 at St. James’ Park where Papiss Cisse scored the winner in the last minute of stoppage time.
Napoli loses, Juve prospers
Serie A top scorer Edinson Cavani missed a penalty and extended his scoreless run to eight games as second-placed Napoli’s title hopes suffered another blow in a 2-0 defeat at Chievo yesterday.
Leaders Juventus took full advantage when a stoppage time goal by Emanuele Giaccherini gave them a 1-0 win at home to Catania, taking them nine points clear with 10 games each to play.
Colombian Victor Ibarbo scored a hat trick to give Cagliari a 3-1 win over Sampdoria, although as in their previous games, there were no fans there to watch it due to safety problems at their improvised Is Arenas home.
At the bottom, Siena came from behind to win 2-1 at Palermo in a meeting of two teams mired in the relegation zone and Pescara’s new coach Cristian Bucchi made a losing start as the bottom side lost 2-1 at Atalanta.
Mid-table Parma scored four goals, including a brilliant Amauri hat trick, in the last quarter of an hour to beat Torino 4-1 at home.
Defending champions Juventus have 62 points while Napoli, on 53, are only two clear of third-placed AC Milan, who won 2-0 at Genoa on Friday.
