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| April 10, 2006 | Monday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 11, 1427 |
Ten-man Chelsea trounce West Ham
LONDON, April 9: Ten-man Chelsea roared back from a goal down to trounce West Ham United 4-1 and moved closer to a second consecutive Premier League title on Sunday, despite a 2-0 win for Manchester United over Arsenal. With five games left, champions Chelsea have 82 points —seven more than second-placed United after England striker Wayne Rooney scored one and made the other for South Korean Park Ji-sung in a pulsating clash at Old Trafford.
Third-placed Liverpool stay five points behind United, having played a game more, after striker Robbie Fowler celebrated his 31st birthday with the winner in a 1-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers.
Newcastle United beat Middlesbrough 2-1 at the Riverside in the northeast derby, while the Midlands derby finished 0-0 between Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion.
United's victory provided a rousing finale to the weekend's action and dealt a bodyblow to sixth-placed Arsenal's hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League.
But Chelsea remain on course for a second league title, despite going a goal down on Sunday and facing a crunch match at home to United on April 29.
James Collins headed West Ham into a 10th minute lead and Chelsea's Portugal midfielder Maniche was red-carded six minutes later for a rash tackle on Lionel Scaloni.
Jose Mourinho's 10 men rose to the challenge, with Ivorian Didier Drogba levelling in the 29th minute and Argentine strike partner Hernan Crespo putting them ahead two minutes later.
Goals from defenders John Terry and William Gallas put the London derby beyond doubt in the second half.
United made a slow start against Arsenal in the day's late kickoff but gradually built up the momentum before securing a deserved ninth consecutive league win.
Rooney fired United in front with a superb finish on 54 minutes and then provided the cutback for Park to slide home their killer second in the 78th minute.
United's win was celebrated by the majority of a crowd of 70,908, the biggest ever attendance at Old Trafford to watch United following further ground expansion which allowed the club to beat the previous best of 70,504 set in 1920.
Defeat for Arsenal leaves them further away from the Champions League next season.
Liverpool have one slot in the qualifiers while the other is held by fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who have 58 points.
Blackburn Rovers are fifth on 54, a point ahead of Arsenal, who have a game in hand and play Portsmouth on Wednesday.
Arsenal face Villarreal in the semifinals of this season's Champions League.
Results:
Played on Sunday:
Aston Villa 0 West Bromwich Albion 0
Chelsea 4 West Ham United 1
Liverpool 1 Bolton Wanderers 0
Manchester United 2 Arsenal 0 Middlesbrough 1 Newcastle United 2
Played on Saturday:
Charlton Athletic 0 Everton 0
Portsmouth 2 Blackburn Rovers 2
Tottenham Hotspur 2 Manchester City 1
Wigan Athletic 1 Birmingham City 1
—Reuters
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