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LEEDS, Jan 21: Leeds United and Arsenal squandered the chance to make up ground on premier league leaders Manchester United when they battled out a disappointing 1-1 draw at Elland Road on Sunday.
Robbie Fowler headed Leeds in front after only six minutes but a fine finish by Arsenal’s France international Robert Pires on the stroke of halftime ensured a share of the spoils before 40,143 frustrated spectators.
The match featured only three yellow cards and, although the game was ill-tempered, there was no repeat of the ugly scenes at Highbury in August when Leeds’s Lee Bowyer and Danny Mills were sent off in their 2-1 win and seven other players were booked.
The result will have pleased leaders Manchester United, who maintain their two-point lead at the top over Newcastle United.
Leeds stay third on 42 points, three less than the leaders, with Arsenal a point further back, although they have a game in hand.
SPANISH LEAGUE: Barcelona lost further ground on leaders Real Madrid when they slumped to a 2-1 defeat at bottom club Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish first division on Sunday.
Real remained on top of the standings with 39 points, three ahead of Alaves, who won 2-1 at Real Sociedad on Saturday and stay ahead of Deportivo on goal difference.
English premier league:
Played on Sunday
Chelsea 5 West Ham United 1
Leeds United 1 Arsenal 1
Played on Saturday
Derby County 1 Ipswich Town 3
Leicester City 0 Newcastle United 0
Liverpool 1 Southampton 1
Manchester United 2 Blackburn Rovers 1
Middlesbrough 1 Bolton Wanderers 1
Sunderland 1 Fulham 1
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Everton 1
Scottish league:
Played on Saturday
Aberdeen 0 Rangers 1
Celtic 2 St Johnstone 1
Dundee United 1 Dundee 0
Dunfermline Athletic 3 Motherwell 1
Hibernian 2 Kilmarnock 2
Livingston 2 Hearts 0
Italian first division:
Played on Sunday
Bologna 3 Chievo Verona 1
Fiorentina 1 AC Milan 1
Inter Milan 2 Parma 0
Juventus 3 Atalanta 0
Lazio 5 Perugia 0
Lecce 0 Piacenza 0
Udinese 1 AS Roma 1
Verona 1 Venezia 0
Played Saturday:
Brescia 1 Torino 2
Spanish first division:
Played on Sunday
Deportivo Coruna 1 Las Palmas 0
Espanyol 1 Real Betis 1
Osasuna 2 Villarreal 2
Rayo Vallecano 2 Barcelona 1
Real Mallorca 3 Athletic Bilbao 0
Sevilla 4 Real Zaragoza 2
Tenerife 1 Celta Vigo 1
Valencia 1 Valladolid 2
Played Saturday:
Malaga 1 Real Madrid 1
Real Sociedad 1 Alaves 2
Zidane admits taking drugs:
PARIS: France’s international midfielder Zinedine Zidane says he took creatine when he was playing for Juventus but stopped using the performance-enhancing drug when he joined Real Madrid.
“I used to take creatine when I was playing for Juventus but it’s not illegal”, he told the daily Le Monde. “In Madrid we don’t use dietary supplements, just vitamins”.
Creatine is not on the IOC’s list of banned drugs but its sale is prohibited in France and its use is banned by several sports federation.
Tennis player Mary Pierce, winner of the 2000 French open, is one of the few French sports stars who admitted using creatine.
But former national rugby coach was quoted as saying creatine-taking was a “reality” of the French rugby championship.
“Players take drugs because they are required to be at peak fitness 12 monts out of 12”, he told the weekly L’Equipe Magazine a year ago.
Zidane told Le Monde he was not worried by the number of games he would have to play before the World Cup.—Reuters
