09 January 2004	Friday	16 Ziqa'ad 1424

LONDON, Jan 8: Premier League leaders Manchester United beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 to go three points clear on Wednesday, as Arsenal were held 1-1 at Everton and Chelsea slumped to a surprise 1-0 home defeat by Liverpool.

Goals from England midfielder Paul Scholes and Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy earned champions United their victory at The Reebok, while a 75th-minute equaliser from Everton's Canadian forward Tomasz Radzinski denied Arsenal all three points.

But the night's biggest losers were Chelsea, who were beaten by Frenchman Bruno Cheyrou's first-half matchwinner and found themselves seven points off the title pace, despite Liverpool losing Senegal winger El Hadji Diouf to a late red card.

The results were all good news for Alex Ferguson's United, who head the table with 49 points, ahead of second-placed Arsenal on 46. Chelsea stay third on 42.

Charlton Athletic are fourth on 31 points after Paolo Di Canio earned them a 1-1 draw with Manchester City but Liverpool and Newcastle United, who beat Leeds United with a strike by skipper Alan Shearer, have now both closed to within two points.

Ferguson's men confirmed their status as title favourites as Scholes and Van Nistelrooy, scoring his 14th league goal of the season, established a two-goal lead at the break.

French playmaker Youri Djorkaeff pulled one back for Bolton in the 89th minute, but as their boss Sam Allardyce admitted: "It was down to our poor defending in the end... and that against Manchester United is criminal."

Arsenal, whose 30-match unbeaten run was ended by Everton last season, lacked their usual sparkle at Goodison Park despite Nigerian forward Nwankwo Kanu giving them a first-half lead.

Consolation after Radzinski's late equaliser was to maintain their unbeaten record this season, now 20 matches. The real surprise, though, came at Stamford Bridge where Liverpool had lost their last eight games against Chelsea.

The visitors were missing injured skipper Steven Gerrard and had to replace keeper Jerzy Dudek in the second half after he picked up an injury, while England striker Michael Owen was on the bench.

But Liverpool, whose defeat in this fixture last season cost them a Champions League qualifying place, took their revenge with a determined performance that dealt Chelsea a third defeat in five league matches.

Results

Bolton Wanderers 1 Manchester United 2

Chelsea 0 Liverpool 1

Everton 1 Arsenal 1

Manchester City 1 Charlton Athletic 1

Middlesbrough 2 Fulham 1

Newcastle United 1 Leeds United 0

Southampton 0 Leicester City 0

Tottenham Hotspur 4 Birmingham City 1

Wolves 2 Blackburn Rovers 2

Played on Tuesday: Aston Villa 2 Portsmouth 1-Reuters