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| May 8, 2005 | Sunday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 28, 1426 |
Late-goal gives Chelsea more to celebrate
LONDON, May 7: Premier League champions Chelsea needed a last-minute strike by Claude Makelele to celebrate their first championship in 50 years with a 1-0 win over Charlton Athletic on Saturday. Chelsea were awarded a 90th-minute penalty and although Makelele’s spot-kick was parried by keeper Stephan Andersen, the former France midfielder knocked in the rebound to score his first goal for the club in their last home game of the season.
Victory and the trophy presentation rounded off a bitter-sweet week for Chelsea, who secured the title last Saturday with a 2-0 win at Bolton Wanderers but were knocked out of the Champions League semifinals on Tuesday by Liverpool.
Chelsea’s celebrations at a sunlit Stamford Bridge were followed by seven afternoon games that produced a flurry of red cards and no shortage of drama in the relegation zone.
Norwich City beat 10-man Birmingham City 1-0 thanks to a Dean Ashton penalty, but their fans could barely celebrate at the final whistle as their team were still in the bottom three.
A few minutes later, Norwich were hoisted clear of the drop zone as a 90th-minute strike by Danny Higginbotham earned Southampton a 2-2 draw in a relegation dogfight at Crystal Palace after a delayed start.
With the final matches to play next weekend, Norwich are 17th on 33 points and Southampton are above Palace on goal difference with 32 points each.
West Bromwich Albion, who face Manchester United in the day’s late game, are bottom on 30 points.
Everton stayed fourth and took a major step towards next season’s Champions League qualifying round with a 2-0 win over 10-man Newcastle United.
They now have a six-point lead over Merseyside rivals Liverpool, who have played the same number of games and face their penultimate match on Sunday at Arsenal.
Sixth-placed Bolton Wanderers sealed a UEFA Cup place with a 1-1 draw at Portsmouth, while Middlesbrough beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 to become favourites for England’s final UEFA Cup slot.
Results
Aston Villa 1 Manchester City 2
Blackburn Rovers 1 Fulham 3
Chelsea 1 Charlton Athletic 0
Crystal Palace 2 Southampton 2
Everton 2 Newcastle United 0
Middlesbrough 1 Tottenham Hotspur 0
Norwich City 1 Birmingham City 0
Portsmouth 1 Bolton Wanderers 1
—Reuters
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