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| March 10, 2003 | Monday | Muharram 6, 1424 |
Lampard goal earns Chelsea draw
LONDON, March 9: Frank Lampard got a scrambled late equaliser to earn Chelsea a 2-2 draw with Arsenal in an action-packed FA Cup quarterfinal clash on Saturday.
Arsenal had looked set to remain on course for a repeat league and Cup double as they led 2-1 with seven minutes remaining, before the England midfielder got the final touch for the equaliser after a goalmouth scramble.
Defender John Terry headed Chelsea into the lead after three minutes and Arsenal’s Thierry Henry then missed a penalty before fellow striker Francis Jeffers equalised in the 35th minute.
Henry made amends when he put Arsenal 2-1 ahead with a brilliant goal in first-half injury time at Highbury.
Both managers were pleased with the performance and looking forward to another tough game in the March 25th replay.
The repeat of last year’s final, which Arsenal won 2-0 before going on to secure the premier league title, was a classic encounter full of incident.
However, the teams will have to wait more than two weeks to settle the tie as Arsenal are involved in the Champions League, starting with a home game against AS Roma on Tuesday.
Chelsea must have thought they had a chance of ending their dire run when they took their early lead.
Winger Jesper Gronkjaer clipped in a far post cross and as the Arsenal defence charged out they left a totally unmarked Terry onside and the centre back duly beat goalkeeper David Seaman with a well-placed header.
Arsenal were awarded a penalty in the 20th minute when Jeffers went down under a challenge from goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini.
The Chelsea players claimed Jeffers had dived but referee Paul Durkin ruled otherwise, although the Italian keeper was given only a yellow card.
Once the furore had died down, Cudicini made an excellent diving save to push away Henry’s low spot kick.
The equaliser followed a series of Chelsea errors, ending with Nigerian defender Celestine Babayaro missing his attempted clearance to allow Jeffers to bundle the ball over the line.
Three minutes later, after a high-speed break, Henry beat Cudicini but saw his sidefooted shot rebound off the post.
However, he was on target in first-half injury time after beating the Chelsea offside trap with ease to latch onto a Patrick Vieira pass. He then brilliantly spun past Cudicini before rolling the ball into the empty net.
Arsenal had two other first-half penalty appeals turned down — for a foul on Henry and a handball by Emmanuel Petit — while Chelsea too were denied one after a Giovanni van Bronckhorst handball.
The action continued apace after the break and Seaman saved well with his legs from striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink after 55 minutes, while Arsenal’s Edu shot just wide two minutes later.
In Henry’s absence Chelsea quickly regained the initiative and the equaliser arrived five minutes later when Mario Melchiot flicked on a corner and Sol Campbell’s clearance crashed into Lampard’s shin and back past Seaman.
The drama continued until the very last kick of the game as Cudicini made a smart save to turn away a deflected thunderbolt free kick by Van Bronckhorst.
Results:
Sheffield United (I) 1 Leeds United 0
Watford (I) 2 Burnley (I) 0
Playing later:
Southampton v Wolverhampton (I)
Played on Saturday:
Arsenal 2 Chelsea 2
(Replay: Tuesday, March 25)
MADRID: Real Madrid extended their lead at the top of the first division to three points after they strolled to a 4-1 home win over Racing Santander at the Bernabeu on Saturday.
Luis Figo opened the scoring when he converted from the penalty spot on 13 minutes and Zinedine Zidane extended Real’s lead two minutes before the break with a well-taken header.
Racing pulled a goal back three minutes after the restart when French midfielder Mehdi Nafti netted a deflected low drive from the edge of the area.
But substitutes Javier Portillo and Guti wrapped up an easy win for Real with well-worked goals late in the second half.
Defending champions Valencia missed an opportunity to keep the pressure on the leaders after they slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to an improving Atletico Madrid, whose skipper Carlos Aguilera scored the winner with a 73rd minute header.
Title-hopefuls Deportivo Coruna kept in touch, though, as they came from behind to claim a 2-1 win at home to Villarreal.
Real now top the table on 51 points, Deportivo follow on 48 and former leaders Real Sociedad, who host Basque rivals Alaves on Sunday, are in third place on 47.
Valencia are a further point behind in fourth, while Atletico’s win sends them up one place into sixth on 38 points.
Results:
Barcelona 1 Valladolid 1
Deportivo Coruna 2 Villarreal 1
Real Madrid 4 Racing Santander 1
Valencia 0 Atletico Madrid 1
Playing Sunday
Malaga v Athletic Bilbao
Rayo Vallecano v Celta Vigo
Real Mallorca v Real Betis
Real Sociedad v Alaves
Recreativo Huelva v Espanyol
Sevilla v Osasuna
ROME, March 8: Inter Milan went joint top of Italy’s Serie A on Saturday after winning 2-1 at 10-man Bologna thanks to a double strike from Uruguayan striker Alvaro Recoba.
Result:
AS Roma 1 Lazio 1
Bologna 1 Inter Milan 2
Playing on Sunday:
Atalanta v Parma
Como v Brescia
Empoli v Piacenza
Modena v Perugia
Torino v Reggina
Udinese v Juventus
AC Milan v Chievo.—Reuters
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