Football Live Scores

Paul Scholes has given Manchester United an early 1-0 lead in the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona at Old Trafford. Barca made the brighter start to the game but Scholes unleashed a trademark strike to give United the advantage.


Manchester United v Barcelona Highlights



Paul Scholes Scored

Fulham are still clinging on to their Premier League status after battling from a two-goal deficit to snatch a dramatic victory at Manchester City.
The Cottagers looked down and out after falling behind to goals from Stephen Ireland and Benjani Mwaruwari in the opening quarter of the game.

City, who had been seeking their third successive League win, produced an impressive display in the opening hour which must have impressed owner Thaksin Shinawatra on his return to Eastlands.

But in the final quarter of the game Fulham staged a remarkable recovery with two goals from substitute Diomansy Kamara and another from Danny Murphy as they came back from the dead to leave City's fans stunned.

And after failing to win away for over 18 months, Fulham have now recorded back-to-back away successes to give their survival hopes a massive shot in the arm.

Though City established a 2-0 lead it was by no means a commanding advantage. Three times in the opening half City were indebted to keeper Joe Hart who made super stops to deny Clint Dempsey, Jimmy Bullard and David Healy.

City made the breakthrough in the tenth minute with a classy goal as Martin Petrov's cheeky back-heel released Ireland who scored with a spectacular shot from the left edge of the penalty area.

And in the 21st minute City doubled their advantage when Darius Vassell cut the ball back from the right for Benjani to fire home his third goal for City with an effort he couldn't miss.

City ought to have stretched their lead early in the second half when Vassell and Benjani were both denied by keeper Kasey Keller while Benjani also headed over when completely free.

They looked like proving costly misses as Fulham staged a spirited comeback.

They finally got onto the score-sheet in the 59th minute when Kamara, who had only been on the field for five minutes, twisted and turned to beat Vedran Corluka and fire a shot through the legs of keeper Hart.

Three minutes later Fulham were desperately unlucky not to be on level terms when Bullard's free-kick was kept out by a brilliant save from Hart.

Fulham's renewed confidence was rewarded when they won a penalty 12 minutes from time after Sun Jihai had held down substitute Erik Nevland.

Danny Murphy's spot-kick was saved by Hart who watched in anguish as the ball rebounded to the midfield player to fire home from six yards.

In a thrilling finish both Fulham and City wasted a hatful of chances before the visitors snatched victory in the second minute of stoppage time.

Murphy released Kamara who raced into the penalty area to rifle a shot into the roof of the net to spark amazing celebrations both on and off the pitch.

A last-gasp own goal ensured Sunderland's Premier League survival as the Black Cats edged home 3-2 in a tense local derby against Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light.
Black Cats boss Roy Keane handed starts to Kieran Richardson and Michael Chopra, with Paul McShane and Daryl Murphy left out, although the latter was named on the bench.

Boro's Gareth Southgate brought in Brad Jones in goal in place of Ross Turnbull, while Lee Cattermole came in to bolster the midfield.

The visitors made a perfect start as record signing Afonso Alves played the ball through to strike partner Tuncay in the fourth minute and he placed a firm, low shot beyond the advancing Craig Gordon.

However, the lead lasted a matter of two minutes before Sunderland hit back. Danny Collins floated in a cross from the left flank and Danny Higginbotham arrived right on cue to power a header past Jones.

Twelve minutes in Chopra came close to giving the home side the lead with a shot as Jones hesitated.

Tuncay then headed narrowly wide of the target as both sides continued to carve out chances as the half-hour mark approached.

On the stroke of half-time Sunderland took a 2-1 lead when Chopra turned his marker, David Wheater, after collecting a Liam Miller pass and placed a left-foot shot past Jones to send the home fans wild.

The recalled Chopra continued to look sharp straight after the restart, threatening with a couple of efforts as the home side went in search of a killer third goal.

Just before the hour Southgate brought on Fabio Rochemback in place of Cattermole, who had struggled to make an impact in the midfield engine room.

Soon after home boss Keane brought on Grant Leadbitter for Carlos Edwards, who was clearly some way short of full fitness.

Chopra spurned another opportunity just before Emanuel Pogatetz clashed heads with Kenwyne Jones and needed treatment for a nasty-looking nose injury.

Boro were back on level terms with 17 minutes left to play as former Black Cats midfielder Julio Arca fed Alves and the Brazilian coolly beat Gordon with a right-foot shot from 12 yards out.

However, with time running out there was a twist in the tale as Leadbitter's corner from the left was turned into his own net by the unfortunate Pogatetz.

That left Sunderland celebrating Premier League safety, while Boro must endure a nervy last couple of weeks of the season.

Bolton came away from White Hart Lane with a priceless point and edged a step closer to Premier League safety after they held on to secure a 1-1 draw against Tottenham.
Gary Megson's side must have thought it was going to be a dream afternoon after substitute Stelios had fired them into the lead just 24 seconds into the second half.

But they took their foot off the pedal and allowed Tottenham back into the game when Steed Malbranque brought the home side level.

With Fulham recording a vital win over Manchester City and Birmingham and Reading also picking up a point, Bolton know they still have it all to do in their final two games of the season if they are to retain their Premier League status but will be pleased they managed to come away with something in north London.

Tottenham dominated the opening exchanges and could have broken the deadlock after 25 minutes when Robbie Keane fired a dipping right-foot shot which flew just past the post.

They came close again just 60 seconds later when Malbranque ran unchallenged towards the Bolton box and drilled a low shot which went inches wide of the post.

Bolton seemed to have all the luck on their side and escaped once again on the stroke of half-time when Jermaine Jenas' free-kick deflected off Gary Cahill and struck his own post.

Whatever Megson said to his Bolton players at half-time seemed to pay off as they snatched an unlikely lead at the start of the second half.Gretar Steinsson crossed the ball into the box, there was a major mix-up between Radek Cerny and Michael Dawson, and Stelios was on hand to knock the loose ball home.

Bolton failed to hold onto their lead and Tottenham drew level on 52 minutes. Keane produced a lovely turn on the edge of the box and played a superb ball into Malbranque who made no mistake striking a close-range effort past Ali Al-Habsi.

Keane came close again to putting the home side in front on 55 minutes when he was picked out by Dimitar Berbatov in the box but saw his shot beaten out by Al-Habsi.

Al-Habsi was proving to be the hero for Bolton and made another fine save on 65 minutes when he produced a fine save to keep Berbatov's curling shot out.

Bolton were hanging on for their lives and Tottenham blew two golden chances in stoppage time to steal all three points. Substitute Darren Bent saw his header cleared off the line by Danny Guthrie and they came close again just seconds later when Jamie O'Hara's cross found Berbatov who had a free header inside the box but flashed his header over the bar.

The Hammers looked set to celebrate their 500th Premier League match in style, when Mark Noble and Dean Ashton sent them racing into a two-goal lead, midway through the first half.
But, right on half-time, the Magpies hit back with a double-barrelled blast through Obafemi Martins and Geremi to earn Kevin Keegan's side a point.

Alan Curbishley had made just one switch from the side that beat doomed Derby County last Saturday, as Dean Ashton came in for rested teenager Freddie Sears, while Keegan also made one change, with David Edgar coming in for Abdoulaye Faye following the win over Sunderland.

Last Sunday's victory in the Tyne-Wear derby had secured Premier League safety and Newcastle certainly looked in the comfort zone as they kicked off in lethargic mood against the hungry Hammers.

As early as the third minute, Julien Faubert launched a curling free-kick onto the roof of the Magpies net and, shortly afterwards, Ashton's 18-yarder forced Steve Harper into a low stop, before Bobby Zamora almost diverted home a far post header.

It was not a matter of if but when West Ham would break the deadlock and, on ten minutes, Noble met ever-present George McCartney's excellent cross with a falling, 12-yard drop volley to claim his third goal of the season.

Although a collision with Steven Taylor saw Freddie Ljungberg stretchered away with a suspected broken rib that could threaten his Euro 2008 involvement, West Ham still kept the momentum going.

Midway through the half, Robert Green's huge kick forward was met by Zamora, who headed down to Ashton and, after outwitting Edgar 12 yards out, the Hammers' leading marksman claimed his ninth goal of the season with a low, angled shot into the bottom left-hand corner of the flat-footed Harper's net.

Curbishley's side looked home and hosed but, on 42 minutes, Joey Barton sent a lofted throughball to the escaping Martins, who was allowed the luxury of a poor first touch before he steadied himself and lifted a 15-yarder over the desperately exposed Green.

Having given the visitors hope, the Nigeria international did not hang around as he went in search of a half-time equaliser.

And in stoppage time, Martins' awful mis-hit veered towards the rising Geremi, who diverted the stray ball under the right-hand angle, to silence the claret and blue fans amongst the sell-out crowd.

That put a whole new complexion on the contest, which threatened to turn ugly with a series of second-half bookings that saw Faubert, Nicky Butt, John Paintsil and Martins join Habib Beye in referee Rennie's book.

By now, the goal chances had diminished and it was left to the shot-stoppers to keep honours even as Harper pulled off a superlative save to tip over Ashton's goal-bound, 15-yarder, before Green proved equally defiant when he denied Martins in the closing moments.

Two nervous looking sides had to settle for a point apiece from a tense but disappointing game at the JJB Stadium and both still face a nail-biting finish to the season in their fight for Premier League survival.
A win would have guaranteed safety for Wigan Athletic, but they had to survive some anxious moments in the second half when Chris Kirkland pulled off a crucial save from Michael Duberry.

But Marcus Hahnemann was also on top form in the Reading goal as the Latics searched desperately for that elusive goal and piled on the pressure in the final ten minutes.

Wigan made just one change with Wales midfielder Jason Koumas taking over from Ryan Taylor and strikers Marcus Bent and Emile Heskey both shaking off injuries.

Reading rang the changes again and among those back were striker Leroy Lita, fresh from his loan spell at Charlton, plus Nicky Shorey and Stephen Hunt.

Wigan came up with the first threat when Koumas fired in a corner and Bent's header hit the post and Wilson Palacios hammered one over the bar.

Kirkland almost had an embarrassing moment dealing with a Shorey free-kick but escaped with giving away a corner.

Twice Kevin Doyle found himself within shooting range but on both occasions he blazed well over the bar.

The Latics suffered a blow when skipper Mario Melchiot was forced off with a groin injury and replaced by Taylor.

A great ball from Heskey looked tailor-made for Bent but keeper Hahnemann was quick to spot the danger and raced out to deny the Wigan striker a shooting opportunity.

Latics had the first real chance of the game just after the re-start when Michael Brown almost cashed in on a mistake by Ivar Ingimarsson. The midfielder - still without a goal since his arrival at Wigan - hit it well with his left foot, but keeper Hahnemann just got a fingertip to it to push it over the bar.

The Royals went agonisingly close when Lita got the better of Emmerson Boyce and raced into the box. His cross flew across the face of goal but there was no-one there to take advantage.

Harper and then Heskey each had a shot on target without troubling either keeper, but Hahnemann did well to keep out a spinning, deflected effort from Brown after Antoine Sibierski replaced Bent.

And in the dying seconds Wigan almost won it on the break when Marlon King raced clear, but Hahnemann beat out the shot at the near post.

Birmingham City's survival hopes suffered a blow in a disappointing second-half performance when they allowed Liverpool to bounce back after trailing by two goals to snatch a point.
Birmingham's hopes of maintaining their place in the Premier League was given a tremendous boost with goals from Mikael Forssell and Seb Larsson but Liverpool stormed back to score through Peter Crouch and Yossi Benayoun to rob the Midland club of two precious points.

They now have to visit fellow strugglers, Fulham, and complete the season with a final game against Blackburn.

Birmingham were a "different" team from that which was embarrassingly hammered 5-1 by arch rivals, Aston Villa, in their previous game but they failed miserably to hang on to their hard-earned advantage.

There was a determination to make amends in what was a dire situation with them anchored in the bottom three but it badly back-fired as Liverpool finished on a high note.

To their credit they played with a lot more flair in front of their home fans. The return of Forssell to lead the attack gave them more penetration against a Liverpool side which rarely played at full stretch in the first half.

Liverpool, currently in between their two crucial Champions League games with Chelsea, made only one change from the side which beat struggling Fulham.

They were unable to assert themselves as Birmingham strived to make an impact. Forssell posted an early indication of Birmingham's bid to boost their survival hopes with a shot on the turn which was easily saved by Pepe Reina.

Surprisingly Liverpool's defence did not man-mark their opponents and this allowed Birmingham a great deal more scope than against Aston Villa.James McFadden was always alive to the knock-on and the Scot appeared to relish the challenge of facing the star-studded Liverpool side.

It was McFadden who carved out Birmingham's opening goal in the 34th minute. He wandered out to the right and produced a great cross which was deflected on by Martin Skrtel to the unmarked Forssell who lashed his shot with great purpose past Reina for his eighth goal of the season.

Nine minutes into the second half Birmingham's hopes were raised even higher when Larsson lashed a rising free-kick past Reina after McFadden had been brought down by Skrtel.

Suddenly Birmingham began to panic in defence and Jermaine Pennant went on a run which ended with Andriy Voronin slipping the ball to Crouch to shoot first-time past Maik Taylor in the 63rd minute.

Liverpool stepped up the pace and a cross from Lucas Leiva in the 76th minute found Benayoun who saw his shot deflected by the unfortunate Radhi Jaidi past Taylor who was moving in the opposite direction.

Hilight

Chelsea sensationally kept their title challenge alive by defeating Manchester United 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.
Both goals came from Germany skipper Michael Ballack, one in each half, while United felt they had secured a point when Wayne Rooney's 57th-minute strike levelled the scores.

Both clubs are now level on 81 points with two games remaining. However, United have a better goal difference which makes them favourites to retain their title.

Within seconds of the start of the must-win game for the home side, United's Wes Brown mistimed a back header to Edwin Van der Sar. The Dutchman failed to hold the ball and Joe Cole zipped into the box. He passed to Salomon Kalou whose drive into the United area was snuffed out.

Seconds later, Michael Essien saw a left-footer from the edge of the box expertly collected by the United goalkeeper.Nemanja Vidic collided with Didier Drogba's knee on 13 minutes and had to be carried off and replaced by Owen Hargreaves.

United's first attack on 15 minutes saw a long run and shot by Nani sail high over Petr Cech's crossbar when a pass to Ryan Giggs, free on the right would have been a better option.

On 20 minutes a run by Joe Cole into the United area seemingly fizzled out. However, the ball rebounded to the England midfielder who rattled the angle of upright and crossbar with a fierce right-footed drive.

With the fourth official showing four minutes of stoppage time left in the first half, Drogba angled the perfect cross to the far post and Ballack, who had ghosted in unmarked, headed the ball from six yards back across the path of Van der Sar and into the far corner of the net.

Chelsea started the second half as they finished the first, pressing United back. The consequence saw Brown booked on 52 minutes for a cynical foul on Essien.

But calamity struck for Chelsea five minutes later when Ricardo Carvalho gifted the ball to Rooney 30 yards out.

The England striker raced towards the edge of the Chelsea area and, with John Terry baring down on him struck a low, right-footer past the despairing dive of Cech as the ball bounced off the upright and into the net for an unlikely equaliser.

Sir Alex Ferguson, sensing a victory might now be possible, introduced Cristiano Ronaldo to the fray on 62 minutes for Rooney but not before Ryan Giggs had flashed in a left footer which Cech did well to parry away.

Chelsea boss Avram Grant brought on Nicolas Anelka in the 66th minute for Paulo Ferreira.

Six minutes later Chelsea almost restored their lead when Van der Sar produced a breathtaking save from a Drogba free-kick.

Ronaldo produced a trademark free-kick of his own three minutes later but Cech was equal to it.

Grant's last throw of the dice to win the game and retain a title bid came through the introduction of Andriy Shevchenko on 81 minutes for Kalou.

With five minutes remaining Essien whipped in a byline cross, Michael Carrick handled the ball and a penalty was awarded.

Van der Sar was booked for time-wasting, but up stepped Ballack to blast the ball home and restore Chelsea's lead.

Chelsea still had to clear the ball off the line when Ashley Cole was in the right place to keep Ronaldo's left-footer out.

And even Shevchenko hacked the ball off the goal-line from Darren Fletcher's header deep into stoppage time.

But Chelsea hung on and the title race goes on for another week.

Hilight

Cristiano Ronaldo failed to give Man Utd the advantage after he missed a penalty in the second minute of their Champions League semi-final first leg clash at the Nou Camp. Gabriel Milito was adjudged to have handled the ball, but the in-form Portuguese winger blazed wide from the spot and although Barca enjoyed much of the possession, the Catalan club couldn't break down the United defence.

A own goal in injury time from substitute John Arne Riise left Liverpool stunned and Chelsea dreaming of Moscow as the game ended all square at 1-1.

Liverpool had led from a first-half goal by Dirk Kuyt and looked to be heading to Stamford Bridge next week for the second leg of this Champions League semi-final in pole position.

Champion League Highlights Video Liverpool vs Chelsea : Dirk Kuyt Socred

Manchester City produced a dazzling display to defeat FA Cup finalists Portsmouth and record only their second home league win of 2008.
After criticism by Thai owner Thaksin Shinawatra of City's nose-diving fortunes in the second half of the campaign, Sven-Goran Eriksson's side have responded with back-to-back wins against Sunderland and Pompey.

Goals from Darius Vassell, Martin Petrov and Benjani Mwaruwari provided the perfect riposte as City kept alive their hopes of winning a place in the Intertoto Cup.

While City had plenty to cheer, the defeat, only Pompey's second in seven league games, dented their bid to finish fifth and claim a UEFA Cup place.

After the last two meetings between the two teams had finished goalless, this exciting match bucked the trend of recent meetings and could easily have produced ten or 12 goals such were the riches of the attacking play.

City took control early on after two minutes of madness in the visiting defence.

Their 10th minute opener followed a mix-up between defender Sol Campbell and keeper David James, which enabled Vassell to slide home a shot from a couple of yards.

Pompey's defence was carved open again moments later when Elano's cross from the right found Petrov, who fired home through the legs of Campbell.

And the hapless Campbell was lucky not to concede a penalty after handling the ball as he slid into cut out a cross from Benjani.

Pompey halved the deficit midway through the opening half when City's defence was caught napping and John Utaka beat keeper Joe Hart as he poked home the loose ball.

Pompey's woes continued when they were reduced to ten men five minutes before the break when Hermann Hreidarsson was sent off for hauling back Vassell, who had burst through on goal.

And in first-half stoppage time James came to Pompey's rescue with a brilliant save to keep out a spectacular shot from Vassell as Pompey were lucky to finish only one goal behind.

Ten-man Pompey gave it their best shot in the second-half as Sulley Muntari and Utaka were both denied by the upright in the same move, while Jermain Defoe was denied a blatant penalty after a foul by Richard Dunne.

Benjani and Vassell, City's two most dangerous attacking players, both had glaring misses as City chased a third goal to finally kill off the spirited resistance of Pompey.

That goal finally came in the 74th minute when Stephen Ireland released Benjani who burst through to score with a fiercely-struck shot.

Even when 3-1 down, Pompey refused to throw in the towel and in the last ten minutes Hart pulled off solid saves to deny substitutes Milan Baros and Sean Davis.

Sunderland slumped to a 2-0 defeat in the 128th Tyne-Wear derby at St James' Park, with skipper Michael Owen netting both goals for Newcastle United.
Owen was the tormentor in chief as his first-half double saw Newcastle open up a 49-39 lead in these old rivalries and stretch their unbeaten record in these showdowns to nine matches.

Owen struck after just four minutes and then again on the stroke of half-time and from then on there was little chance of any way back for the powder-puff Sunderland attack, despite a never-say-die approach from Kenwyne Jones.

Sunderland went into the game without the on-loan Jonny Evans and his former Manchester United team-mate Phil Bardsley. This meant recalls for two other Old Trafford old boys, Paul McShane and Danny Higginbotham.

Newcastle were at full strength and went into the game unbeaten in five during which time they had hit ten goals with Kevin Keegan searching for a third successive home win.

History showed that Newcastle would always score in this game, as they had never failed to grab a goal in this derby since 1966.

And it took just four minutes for Newcastle to open their account, with McShane caught napping.

Geremi hit a perfect cross from the right and with McShane ball-watching, Owen ghosted in behind him and got to the ball first to plant a firm header to Craig Gordon's right.

It was a dream start, but something Newcastle struggled to build upon as Sunderland's packed midfield had plenty of the ball without producing any creativity. Far too often they launched the long ball for Jones who was left to battle it out alone up front.Andy Reid tried a couple of long-range efforts, but never looked like beating Steve Harper and his resolute back four, in which Habib Beye was again outstanding.

Newcastle wrapped up the win on the stroke of the break when Owen charged into the area and received a backheel from Mark Viduka and forced Higginbotham to handle to ball as he lunged in.

Owen took the spot-kick responsibilities and Gordon guessed right going to his right only to dive over the ball which hit his lower body and ended up in the back of the net.

Sunderland could have buckled and thrown the towel in, but refused to do so, although they did receive five bookings from referee Mike Dean.

Owen released Obafemi Martins in the 68th minute only for Gordon to block the ball with his body.

Play switched straight upfield and Jones saw a header from McShane's cross acrobatically saved by the alert Harper.

That was Sunderland's final act at reducing the arrears and they had to settle for second best.

Newcastle are now definitely safe from relegation while Sunderland can still mathematically be dragged into contention, but they would be unlucky to find themselves in that position and are almost as good as safe.

Aston Villa kept alive their hopes of European football next season with a 5-1 derby thrashing of local rivals Birmingham City at Villa Park.
They have now won their last three Premier League games and have moved to within three points of Everton, who they meet in their next game.

This was another comfortable win for Villa which they carved out with first-half goals from the ever-improving Ashley Young and striker John Carew.

Both players were also on the mark in the second half to complete the destruction of a ravaged Blues side, who may now be unable to come back from this humiliating defeat.

Although Mikael Forssell pulled back a goal for Birmingham, high-flying Villa completed their comprehensive win with a fifth strike from Gabby Agbonlahor.

Poor Birmingham were under a cloud even before the game began following the Bolton victory at Middlesbrough which took them out of the bottom three and dropped the Midlands club into the relegation area.

It was obvious that Birmingham sadly lacked the dogged determination of Damien Johnson and Seb Larsson.

As a result they found themselves under considerable pressure from the start as Villa attempted to dominate the 152nd local derby.

It was rare that Birmingham could get onto the attack and their only real effort came when David Murphy fired over the bar.

Villa were always prepared to attack with Carew just heading wide and a Gareth Barry free-kick to the top far corner of the net was pushed away by Maik Taylor.Stiliyan Petrov, who is at last beginning to show some top form, powered in a shot which bounced off the chest of Taylor.

Villa's pressure had to be rewarded despite Birmingham's stout resistance and in the 29th minute a badly mis-hit shot by Olof Mellberg bounced across to the unmarked Young to lash a tremendous right foot shot to left of Taylor.

Young, who switched constantly between either wing, had another impressive game for Villa and Stephen Kelly, the only outfield player in the Premier League to have played every minute of every match this season, had a hectic time against the young English international.

To their credit Birmingham battled bravely and Mehdi Nafti had one solo effort, which deserved a better reward than a rising shot over the bar.

But Villa could not be pushed back and another raid ended in Taylor being forced to make a diving save to his left to keep out a Barry shot on the run.

Two minutes before the break Villa sealed their third successive win when a Young free-kick deep on the left was deftly headed home by an unmarked Carew for his eleventh goal of the season.

Carew was again on the mark in the 53rd minute when Young put Barry clear to provide a low cross from the right which the big Villa striker, completely unmarked, was able to strike home.

A rampant Villa could not be held and in the 63rd minute Young completely hoodwinked Kelly and jinked inside to fire in a shot which Taylor could only block. Young knocked home the rebound.

Substitute Forssell notched Birmingham's 68th minute goal after taking a return pass from a disappointing James McFadden.

But Young set up Villa's fifth which was scored by Agbonlahor, who beat off a challenge from Kelly to leave Taylor stranded once again.

Carlos Tevez scored a crucial late leveller for Manchester United in an enthralling encounter at Ewood Park.Roque Santa Cruz had fired Blackburn in front with his 20th goal of the campaign midway through the first half.
But Manchester United's own South American striker rescued a point with just two minutes left on the clock, after goalkeeper Brad Friedel had pulled off a string of sensational saves.

Rovers boss Mark Hughes decided to stick with the same side that suffered a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool six days earlier, while United manager Sir Alex Ferguson made four changes to the side that had secured a crucial victory over Arsenal.Tomasz Kuszczak replaced the injured Edwin Van der Sar in goal, Nemanja Vidic returned to the side following a spell on the sidelines, while Ryan Giggs and Tevez were both given the nod.

There was early controversy, as Rovers were denied what appeared to be a stonewall penalty with less than five minutes on the clock.

After a mistake by Paul Scholes, Santa Cruz's shot deflected into the path of Jason Roberts. The Grenada international was taken out by Kuszczak, but referee Rob Styles remained unmoved.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the pitch, Cristiano Ronaldo's left-foot strike ricocheted off Ryan Nelsen, but Friedel just got back to claim the ball on the line.

Five minutes later, Michael Carrick found Wayne Rooney in space, the England man centred for Tevez, but Chris Samba made a vital block.

And it proved to be a vital incident as, just past the 20-minute mark, Rovers took a deserved lead. From Morten Gamst Pedersen's long throw, Rio Ferdinand and Vidic got in each other's way and Santa Cruz supplied a cool right-foot finish from ten yards.

As the half-hour mark approached, Ronaldo fired a tame free-kick straight at Friedel, before David Bentley unleashed a stinging shot from fully 25 yards, which Kuszczak had to tip over the bar.

On 37 minutes, United felt they should have been awarded a penalty when Steven Reid appeared to catch Rooney with a wild lunge inside the box, but again the man in the middle waved play on and, six minutes later, Ronaldo's goal-bound header was kept out by Friedel.

Eager for a better showing in the second half, United brought on Nani for Giggs at the break but, in the blustery conditions, neither side was really able to stamp their authority on the game.

On 64 minutes, Reid's poor headed clearance went straight to Ronaldo, but the Portuguese superstar struck the outside of Friedel's far post with a long-range left-foot shot.

Three minutes later, Santa Cruz headed narrowly over the bar from Stephen Warnock's deep free-kick and, seven minutes later, Pedersen came within a whisker of doubling Rovers' advantage after a superb solo run.

Desperate to break the deadlock, Ferguson switched Rooney out to the left and it almost paid an immediate reward. But the visitors came up against a goalkeeper in inspired form.

Friedel twice came to Rovers' rescue on 79 minutes, first from Rooney and then sensationally from Tevez. The big American then denied Rooney in a one-on-one, before keeping out substitute John O'Shea at the back post.

But from the resulting corner, United snatched an equaliser. Nani swung it in, Scholes flicked on and Tevez headed home from close range.

West Ham United may have beaten already relegated Derby County but they still departed to a crescendo of boos.
And after substitute Carlton Cole's 77th minute winner gave his side all three points, that left injury-hit Alan Curbishley wondering just what more he has to do to placate his fellow East Enders.

Following a hat-trick of defeats, the manager made seven changes to the team that slumped at Bolton Wanderers last weekend as Lucas Neill, Mark Noble, Freddie Ljungberg, John Paintsil, James Tomkins, Freddie Sears and Julien Faubert returned to face a Derby side that they had beaten 5-0 at Pride Park last November.

Of course, Aston Villa had gone one better last weekend with a six-goal rampage but, even so, Paul Jewell made just two switches as Darren Moore and Emanuel Villa were relegated to the bench, while Dean Leacock and Mile Sterjovski were recalled.

West Ham had the lion's share of the first half as George McCartney had a shot blocked, while Scott Parker sent a rising 25-yarder high and wide before Tomkins headed over.

With a goal difference of minus 58 and just three draws on their travels all season, it was no surprise when the dreadful Derby defence conceded for the 75th time this campaign on 20 minutes.

McCartney - making his 50th successive appearance - floated over a right-wing free-kick which the unmarked Bobby Zamora met with a downward, six-yard header that gave flat-footed, ex-Hammer Roy Carroll no chance.

Having seen Zamora bag his first goal of the season, Tyrone Mears, Kenny Miller and Robbie Savage each threatened, but it was merely token resistance in a first half dominated by West Ham.

The home supporters were expecting more of the same after the break too, but they were to be disappointed after Jewell's interval pep-talk spurred his side into action.

On the hour, Robert Green had to race from his goal and dive bravely into the feet of the marauding Mears, who then found himself in a similar position just four minutes later.Hossam Ghaly sent the ex-Hammer clear and this time around he showed Ljungberg a clean set of studs before rifling a 15-yard shot wide of the helplessly exposed Green to level in spectacular style.

It was all too much for the home crowd to take and when tiring, young substitute striker Sears was withdrawn in favour of the fresh-legged Cole, Curbishley was heckled with chants of 'You don't know what you're doing'.

Clearly he did though as just three minutes after stepping from the bench, the substitute smashed his sixth goal of the season into the net from a couple of yards after Ljungberg played a clever one-two with Noble and cut back from the byline.

With nothing to lose, Derby forced a frantic finale that created enough East End jitters to herald the home jeers at the final whistle that saw the confused Curbishley depart with three points and those boos ringing in his ears.

Goals from Jermaine Pennant and Peter Crouch either side of half-time hammered a significant nail into Fulham's coffin as Liverpool's makeshift side recorded a 2-0 win at Craven Cottage.
Rafa Benitez was without the injured Steven Gerrard and chose to keep top scorer Fernando Torres on the bench throughout. Yet, even without their two most likely match-winners, the Merseysiders won at a canter against a Fulham side that look certain to drop into the Championship.

Buoyed by Reading's defeat at Arsenal in the early kick-off, Fulham set about their task with renewed vigour and caused Liverpool's central defensive pairing of Sami Hyypia and Martin Skrtel several anxious moments.

But, as has so often happened this season, Fulham's early promise gave way to slapdash defending which Liverpool punished in the 17th minute.

Moments after Peter Crouch had flashed a header just wide, a quick exchange of passes in midfield between Javier Mascherano and Lucas Leiva allowed Pennant to accelerate past Brede Hangeland and fire a right-footed shot past Kasey Keller from a tight angle.

Pennant was close to setting up Crouch moments later, but his low cross was just too far in front of the rangy striker and Paul Stalteri cleared John Arne Riise's follow-up from under his own crossbar.

Against the run of play, Fulham came close to forcing an equaliser five minutes before half-time but Hangeland failed to react quickly enough when David Healy's cross deflected into his path and the Norwegian defender sent his header a yard wide.Jamie Carragher replaced Hyypia at the start of the second half but the change did nothing to alter Liverpool's supremacy.

Indeed, Benitez's side had chances to kill off Fulham's survival hopes only for Andriy Voronin's bicycle kick to clear the crossbar by a matter of inches, and Yossi Benayoun showed why he is without a goal since January with two powder-puff attempts from close range.

But 20 minutes from time Crouch put the game beyond the reach of the Reds' struggling hosts when the England international gleefully collected Pennant's pass and fired a low shot through Keller's legs.Danny Murphy had the chance to pull a goal back five minutes later when he was played in by Healy, but Pepe Reina's leg proved the latest in a long line of insurmountable obstacles that Fulham have failed to clear this season.

Bolton Wanderers secured a lifeline in their fight to stay in the Premier League after a battling 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough.
The Lancashire side climbed out of the bottom three by virtue of a vastly improved second-half performance.

A win for Middlesbrough would have guaranteed top-flight status, but they now face a tense finale.

This was an extraordinary game in that the home side could have had the points wrapped up in the opening ten minutes but for the brilliance of goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi.

Al-Habsi defied Boro as the home team produced their best attacking spell of the season.

Middlesbrough were without goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who was ruled out with a back injury, with Ross Turnbull making a rare first-team appearance.

But Bolton were without suspended Kevin Davies following his tenth booking of the season in the 1-0 home win over West Ham last weekend.

Middlesbrough began at a tremendous pace and central defender David Wheater nearly gave them the lead after two minutes.

Al-Habsi also produced a brilliant save from Sanli Tuncay, while Julio Arca shot over the bar.

Middlesbrough were the much more impressive first-half side and the first serious scoring attempt by Bolton came after 29 minutes when Turnbull saved from Matt Taylor.

Just before the break, Bolton suffered a blow when Tamir Cohen went off with a head injury and was replaced by Danny Guthrie.Gary Cahill also suffered a head wound but he returned for the second half.

After the break, Bolton came out of the traps and looked more determined and suddenly Middlesbrough had lost their grip.Grzegorz Rasiak headed against the crossbar from Taylor's right-wing corner.

Bolton were playing with much more spirit and Middlesbrough were fortunate to survive when Luke Young headed off the line from Guthrie, while Taylor hit a post.

However, the visitors went ahead after 59 minutes when Turnbull saved from Cahill, but Gavin McCann was right on the spot to score from a yard out.

Bolton manager Gary Megson was a jack-in-the-box in the technical area as he urged on his relegation-fighting side.

Middlesbrough struggled to find a way through a strong-tackling defence.

The defeat left Middlesbrough deflated but in a way it emphasised just how inconsistent Gareth Southgate's team have been this season.

In the previous home game, they had held the might of Manchester United to a 2-2 draw.

Emile Heskey struck again after hitting his second goal in six days to make sure Wigan banked another precious point in what looks like being a successful fight for Premier League survival.
He levelled it up with a terrific finish after Dimitar Berbatov had shot Spurs into an early lead - the first time the Wigan defence had conceded in six consecutive home games.

Wigan made just one change from Monday's momentous draw at Chelsea with Australian midfielder Josip Skoko dropping to the bench and Michael Brown returning to the starting line-up against his old club.

Keeper Paul Robinson and England defender Jonathan Woodgate were among the Tottenham absentees and former Latics favourite Pascal Chimbonda failed a late fitness test on his damaged calf.

Spurs threatened inside the first minute with skipper Robbie Keane beating Emmerson Boyce for speed, but the shot failed to test Chris Kirkland.Aaron Lennon then set up the sixth minute opener. His cross from the right took a slight deflection off a Wigan defender and Berbatov was unmarked at the back post to stab it home.

Keane blazed over with another attempt before Wigan had a sniff with Marcus Bent forcing a save from Radek Cerny.

But the equaliser came on 12 minutes when Kevin Kilbane picked out Chelsea goal hero Heskey, who turned superbly to rifle past the keeper as Didier Zokora and Jamie O'Hara tried desperately to get in the block.

The Latics threatened again when Bent's determination took him past both Alan Hutton and Jermaine Jenas before forcing the save from Cerny.

Wigan survived a penalty appeal when Berbatov went down in the box with Mario Melchiot appearing to pull him over as he went for a corner.

Spurs piled on the pressure as half-time approached and Ryan Taylor cleared off the line to deny Michael Dawson as the Latics struggled to clear the ball after a series of corners.

After the interval, the Latics should have had the lead when Wilson Palacios slid a superb ball to the unmarked Bent but, with only the keeper to beat, he smashed his shot against the crossbar.

The Latics also went agonisingly close when Cerny just managed to smother the shot from Luis Antonio Valencia inside his six-yard area, and he managed to hang on to it as Heskey tried to force it home.Antoine Sibierski replaced Heskey but blew the chance of instant glory by blasting hopelessly off target with his first touch.

Reading slipped closer to the drop zone with a limp performance that led to a 2-0 defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners hardly got out of second gear such was the extent of their comfort zone.

First-half goals from Emmanuel Adebayor and Gilberto Silva were enough for the points as they attempt to overtake Chelsea in second place.

Few would have believed just two months ago that this game would have meant more to Reading than the Gunners.

At that time Arsenal were sitting at the top of the Premier League table and Reading were comfortably in mid-table.

Arsenal's interest is now trying to finish second behind Manchester United, whereas Reading's is a fight for survival.

Unfortunately for Steve Coppell, his team didn't show the urge that would have been expected with them being in such a position.

The game began slowly and the first real action came after nine minutes when Alex Hleb put Cesc Fabregas through on goal, but there was enough space for the Reading defenders to crowd him out and the result was a tame shot which was easily saved by Marcus Hahnemann.

The move did however raise the intensity of the game a notch as Theo Walcott was beginning to emerge as a real threat on the right flank.

The flying forward almost scored on 24 minutes when his header from a corner was goalbound, but the Reading keeper got both arms in the way to block the effort.Robin van Persie came close on 29 minutes when his low free-kick on the left side of the area was fired under the leaping Reading wall and just turned away before it crossed the line by a brilliant Hahnemann save.

Reading eventually caved in under the pressure when Adebayor was picked out by a precise past from Kolo Toure and the Togolese striker pulled the ball down and in one movement shot past the helpless Hahnemann.

The Gunners could have gone two up within seconds but Fabregas couldn't make the slightest of touches needed to redirect Toure's cross into the net.

A second goal did come for the Gunners on 38 minutes in somewhat fortuitous circumstances when Silva's shot on the edge of the area struck the head of Andre Bikey and looped beyond the dive of the Reading keeper.

It should have been 3 -0 on 42 minutes when Adebayor pulled the ball back for van Persie, but the Reading keeper again made a magnificent save.

He did the same to deny efforts from Toure, Fabregas and Silva as the Gunners peppered his goal just before half-time.

Arsenal began the second half as they finished the first to keep the Reading goal under siege.

The visitors had nothing to offer and were fortunate not to fall further behind in the 71st minute when Arsenal hit the woodwork twice within a matter of seconds.

First van Persie's stunning free-kick clattered back of both the bar and post, before Walcott's fierce shot bounced of the top of the bar.

Reading's first real effort came after 77 minutes when Bobby Convey showed good determination to muscle his way into the Arsenal area, but his close-range shot was well saved by Jens Lehmann.

Substitute Michael Duberry kept the deficit to a minimum with a goalline clearance that denied Fabregas and, despite Arsenal's efforts, the game ended with just the two goals in their favour.

Chelsea put paid to Everton's slim Champions League hopes by beating the Merseysiders by a single goal on a freezing Thursday evening.
Both teams were depleted for this rescheduled for TV game, but neither these factors had an effect on the healthy attendance at Goodison Park.

However, one may have felt the crowd had turned up to marvel at the ball skills of The Harlem Globetrotters paying a flying visit to Liverpool, rather than anything two of the top teams in the Premiership had to offer.

Everton were without Mikel Arteta, Leon Osman and long-term absentee Tim Cahill while Chelsea were minus Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard and, for both teams, it showed.

In truth, Chelsea started brighter than Everton but it was not until the 16th minute until either keeper was really tested and that was when Manuel Fernandes almost sneaked a great free-kick past Petr Cech after Phil Neville had been fouled on the edge of the Chelsea area.

The first half was a non-event with Chelsea playing with slightly more fluidity as Nicolas Anelka and Jon Mikel Obi pulled most of the strings. However, Everton had a spell of good pressure with Fernandes, Yakubu and Andy Johnson all finding their rhythm in the later stages.

But the Londoners finished the half stronger and it was no surprise when Michael Essien scored four minutes before half-time although, after such a turgid game, the surprise was that it was a such a classy goal.Salomon Kalou ran in on goal, passed to Essien who touched it forward to Shaun Wright-Phillips who touched it straight back for the Ghanaian to lift over the static Tim Howard.

The second half was little different from the first with Everton again on the back foot for much of the half with Chelsea comfortable in the knowledge the Toffees lacked any real penetration from midfield with both Cahill and Arteta absent.

Johnson and Steven Pienaar were replaced by Thomas Gravesen and Victor Anichebe as David Moyes tried to freshen up his jaded looking side. The changes worked in terms of possession, with Everton seeing most of the ball without ever being a threat to Chelsea's goal.

Fernandes was nearly the hero of the hour as his second free-kick of the game, after Yakubu was held up by John Terry, sailed millimeters wide of Cech's goal with some Everton fans already celebrating.

Everton did look revitalised after that sniff of goal and Fernandes was doing his utmost to unsettle Chelsea with forays forward but the Londoners held firm.

Gravesen played a lovely ball to Fernandes who turned and shot first time from the edge of the area but it went over Cech's bar as Chelsea hung on to their narrow advantage.

Manchester United overcame the second biggest hurdle in their bid to retain the Premier League title when they came from behind to beat Arsenal in a pulsating game at Old Trafford.
Arsenal had to win to stand any chance of pipping United to the title and they came out with all guns blazing.

But United withstood the blitz and came roaring back themselves to take the points and go six clear of second-placed Chelsea, who entertain Wigan on Monday.

United now go to Chelsea in just under a fortnight sure of being ahead of the Londoners when the teams meet.

The game was a classic with the usual animosity between the sides so often apparent giving way to some brilliant football as both these titans of the English game battled to the end.

Arsenal dominated the early exchanges but United were twice let off the hook by Emmanuel Adebayor's profligate finishing. United had their chances with Wayne Rooney also going close twice.

But if the first half was mouthwatering, the second was a feast of magnificent football.

The stage was set when the Gunners took the lead three minutes after the interval.Alex Hleb found Cesc Fabregas who rolled the ball on to Robin van Persie on the left side of the United box. The Dutchman's cross into the centre was missed by Rio Ferdinand and, with United goal keeper Edwin Van der Sar and Michael Carrick leaving the clearance to each other, Adebayor nipped in to head home his 26th goal of the season.

Back stormed United and when Carrick's innocuous ball into the Arsenal box was handled by captain William Gallas, referee Howard Webb pointed to the penalty spot.

Up stepped Cristiano Ronaldo to drive the ball right-footed into the top right corner of the net, but Mr Webb ordered the kick to be retaken when it appeared that United's Ji-Sung Park had encroached into the box.

The Portuguese star kept his nerve with the second kick again right-footed only this time low and into the bottom corner of the net beyond Jens Lehmann's despairing dive. It was Ronaldo's 38th goal of the campaign.

Van der Sar saved well from Ferdinand's attempted clearance of an Adebayor cross, while at the other end Lehmann's fine save with his legs denied Rooney.Gael Clichy's cross from the left was deflected onto the United post by Wes Brown but in the 72nd minute Old Trafford went wild.

Gallas brought down Patrice Evra two yards outside the Arsenal penalty area in a central position. Ronaldo shaped up to take the kick but Owen Hargreaves stepped in to curl a glorious right-foot free-kick just inside the right post with Lehmann standing glued to the spot.

In the closing stages Van der Sar produced two tremendous saves to keep out headers from Nicklas Bendtner, but time finally ran out for Arsenal's dreams.

Liverpool raced clear of Everton in the battle for fourth place with a 3-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers at Anfield.
The brilliant Steven Gerrard scored one and made another for Fernando Torres before substitute Andrei Voronin sealed an impressive display with a late third goal.Roque Santa Cruz grabbed a stoppage-time consolation goal for Mark Hughes' men.

With Everton dropping points against Birmingham City on Saturday, the Reds had a golden opportunity to open up a five-point gap in the race for the fourth Champions League spot.

And they should have been ahead after eight minutes when Gerrard's corner found an unmarked Torres only for the prolific Spaniard to nod wide from six yards out with the goal gaping.

Ten minutes later Gerrard went down under a challenge by Rovers keeper Brad Friedel but referee Alan Wiley waved away the penalty claims as the away fans held their breath.

Blackburn offered little in the early stages as Liverpool poured forward at every chance.

Gerrard was at the heart of everything and the skipper appeared to be pushed over on the edge of the area by Christopher Samba after another surging run on 25 minutes but again Wiley ruled no foul to a roar of disapproval from The Kop.

Then a flowing Liverpool move saw Dirk Kuyt and Torres combine to release Gerrard only for the midfielder to scuff his shot wide.

It was half-an-hour before Rovers carved out their first chance when a clever David Bentley pass found Santa Cruz but Jose Reina got down well to save his shot.

But it was Rafa Benitez's men who were creating the better chances and they had another chance to open the scoring through Kuyt five minutes before the break only for the Dutchman to inexplicably head Gerrard's cross wide at the far post.

Chances were scarce after the break as both teams started the second half slowly.

The game was in desperate need of inspiration before Benitez pulled off the ineffective Ryan Babel for Yossi Benayoun on 58 minutes. It proved to be an inspired substitution from the wily Spaniard as two minutes later his side took the lead.

Gerrard weaved his way through the Blackburn defence, played a neat one-two with Lucas Leiva and coolly slid the ball under the diving Friedel to finish off an exquisite move.

Blackburn had no answers as the Reds cut through their defence at will after that and with eight minutes left it was 2-0.

Again the brilliant Gerrard was involved, latching onto to a poor pass from Stephen Warnock and crossing for Torres to plant a precise header into the corner of the net.

Substitute Voronin capped off an impressive Liverpool display by sliding in to score from John Arne Riise's cross before Santa Cruz grabbed a late consolation goal for Blackburn with a volley that fizzed past Reina.

David James produced a bizarre save with his hair to prevent Michael Owen firing a rejuvenated Newcastle to a fourth successive victory.
Owen's late close-range volley brushed off James' head before flying over the crossbar as Pompey narrowly avoided only their third home Premier League defeat of the season.

James' amazing intervention was the only major talking point of a dour affair.

Portsmouth, chasing a club record fifth successive Premier League home win, felt they should have been awarded a first-half penalty.

Kanu's volley was well blocked by Newcastle defender Steven Taylor, but replays showed the ball bounced back off Taylor's outstretched right arm.

Referee Phil Dowd waved away Pompey's furious appeals, including those of manager Harry Redknapp who had seen the incident replayed on a television in the home dugout.

Portsmouth were playing their first home game since last weekend's FA Cup semi-final triumph over West Brom at Wembley.

There was a definite flatness about their play and only the in-form Jermain Defoe looked like getting on the scoresheet.

Defoe should have scored early in the second half when he was picked out by Niko Kranjcar's left-wing cross, but put a free header wide from eight yards.

Defoe has netted eight goals in seven games since joining Pompey from Tottenham in January.

But for the heroics of Newcastle goalkeeper Steve Harper, the England striker would have been celebrating a ninth.

Newcastle were committed up field after winning a corner when Defoe picked up the ball on the edge of his own penalty area.

Defoe exchanged passes with Sulley Muntari before unleashing a low right-foot shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Harper flung himself across his line before producing a brilliant fingertip save to turn the ball wide of the right-hand post as a low-key games ended goalless.

Fulham kept their Premier League survival hopes alive with a deserved win against a Reading side that are themselves slipping deeper into trouble as the season draws to a close.
Thirteen minutes into this tense relegation battle a torrential downpour subsided, to be replaced by sunshine and a rainbow over the ground.

The pot of gold at the end turned out to be Fulham's - as this was their first away win in a Premier League record 34 games.

The Londoners still face a tough battle to get clear of the bottom three, but without this win relegation would have been almost a certainty.

The opening goal came after 24 minutes. Brede Hangeland fed the ball forward to David Healy, who quickly sent Simon Davies clear down the left wing.

His early cross into the goalmouth saw Fulham skipper Brian McBride slide the ball into the net for only his third goal of a season seriously affected by injury.

In stoppage time at the end, substitute Erik Nevland made the game safe with a second Fulham goal.

Reading's best and almost only chance fell to young Irish striker Shane Long, who had replaced Dave Kitson as Kevin Doyle's strike partner.

Four minutes before half-time, John Oster sent a cross into the goalmouth and Doyle jumped highest, but steered his firm header wide of Kasey Keller's upright.

Sixteen minutes after the interval, McBride was desperately unlucky not to add a second with an effort that thudded against the Reading crossbar before rebounding clear.

Twenty minutes from time, Hangeland also thumped a header against the bar.

Amazingly, Fulham hit the woodwork for a third time three minutes later when, on this occasion, Jimmy Bullard sent a free-kick crashing against the left-hand upright.

Reading boss Steve Coppell tried to shake things up on the hour with two substitutions.

Oster was replaced by Glen Little, who was making his first appearance since being injured against Tottenham on April 1 last year, while Kitson also came on to replace Long in attack.

Neither was involved when Reading had a half chance midway through the half with Andre Bikey heading Liam Rosenior's cross wide, while at the other end McBride fired a corner high over the Reading bar.

At the final whistle most of the Reading crowd had left the ground, but virtually every Fulham supporter had stayed behind to cheer their team after a brave effort to avoid what might still be relegation to the Championship.

Sunderland's hopes of securing Premier League safety were dealt a blow as Manchester City gave them the Blues at the Stadium of Light.
Referee Mike Riley was the villain of the piece as he gave the visitors what looked a debatable penalty on 77 minutes.

Substitute Daniel Sturridge went down in the box with Nyron Nosworthy in close attention and Riley had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. The official also booked Nosworthy, but replays showed there was little if any contact.

Sturridge did leave the field immediately afterwards unable to continue and it was his replacement, Darius Vassell, who would deal the killer blow.

Before that though, Brazilian Elano stepped up to send Sunderland keeper Craig Gordon the wrong way and give City the lead from the spot.

The Wearsiders however, weren't about to go down without a fight and looked like they might have rescued a point minutes later.Andy Reid reached the byline down the left flank, before whipping in a great cross for Dean Whitehead to hit a superb volley into the roof of the net from inside the 18-yard box.

The strikes brought the game to life, for in truth the whole first half and the early stages of the second had been a fairly turgid affair.

Neither side really managed to get to grips with the conditions as heavy rainfall made the pitch slick and greasy.

However, even without the downpour this was a fairly dour viewing for the crowd of 46,797.

The only real attack in the opening 45 minutes went the way of the home side, when Kenwyne Jones was denied from a brave save by Joe Hart in the City goal.

Jones looked to lift the ball into the net, but the Blues' stopper saved bravely at his feet.

After the break things continued in much the same vein, that was until the intervention of Mr Riley.

The man in the middle was over-officious all afternoon and did little to endear himself to the home fans.

And as if pointing to the spot wasn't bad enough he had a hand in City's winner.

Sunderland lost possession in the middle of the park in the 83rd minute and substitute Grant Leadbitter slid to win it back.

However, his route to the ball was blocked by the body of Riley, who was standing in his way. City broke and the ball fell to Vassell. Then to add insult to injury, he scuffed his shot and the ball trickled into the net.

It was one of those days for the home side, but really they should have punished City when they had them on the back foot.

The fact that they didn't and Mr Riley's spot of bother means Roy Keane will have to wait to ensure Premier League safety.

Stewart Downing netted a crucial equaliser for Middlesbrough as they came away with a 1-1 draw against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
Tottenham thought they had secured all three points after Dimitar Berbatov produced a magical piece of skill to help them go into the lead.

Berbatov flicked the ball up and crossed in for Aaron Lennon, who saw his shot deflect off Jonathan Grounds and past his own keeper.

But Middlesbrough refused to lie down and Downing ensured they came away with a point after his 25-yard shot in the second half was deflected off Jermaine Jenas and flew into the corner of the net.

Middlesbrough could have broken the deadlock in the opening 60 seconds when Gary O'Neil crossed into Jeremie Aliadiere, whose shot was beaten out by Radek Cerny.

Afonso Alves knocked the rebound home but the effort was ruled out for offside.

Despite both teams having nothing to play for in the league, the game got off to a lively start and Tottenham also came close just 60 seconds later when Berbatov played the ball back to Jenas, who fired the ball just over the bar.Robbie Keane was celebrating his 250th appearance and was involved in the heart of the action on 11 minutes when he crossed into his strike partner Berbatov, who headed the ball straight at Mark Schwarzer.

Jenas then made a superb run into the Boro half on 18 minutes beating three players, but saw his shot well kept out by Schwarzer.

The home side were finally rewarded for their early dominance when they opened the scoring on 27 minutes.

Berbatov produced a great piece of skill to flick the ball up and crossed into Lennon, who struck the ball off Grounds and past his own keeper.

Middlesbrough had a golden chance to grab an equaliser on 50 minutes when David Wheater rose the highest in the box but saw his header cleared off the line by Lennon.

Berbatov came close for Tottenham on 59 minutes when he saw his shot deflect off Emanuel Pogatetz and hit the post.

Tottenham were made to pay for their missed opportunities when Middlesbrough grabbed an equaliser on 69 minutes.

Downing's shot deflected off Jenas and flew past the stranded Cerny into the corner of the net.

Alves could have snatched all three points for Middlesbrough on 79 minutes following a mistake by Michael Dawson.

The Brazilian raced past the Tottenham defender but, with just Cerny to beat, he struck his shot inches past the post.

Mauro Zarate again proved his value to Birmingham City with a vital equaliser that kept alive their hopes of Premier League survival.
Zarate, who has made a big impact since his arrival at St Andrew's, had to sit on the bench for most of the match but finally was sent on to replace James McFadden shortly before Everton took the lead through Joleon Lescott.

Birmingham, who were desperate for a win to ease their problems, appeared to be heading to defeat when Lee Carsley lobbed he ball from the left to Ayegbeni Yakubu to head forward for Lescott who nodded home.

Everything appeared to be against Birmingham salvaging anything from the game, but they rallied strongly and staged a grandstand finish.

Carsley, who had been booked for a handling offence earlier in the second half, handled again just outside Everton's penalty area.

Zarate, who is obviously a very confident youngster, stepped up to take the resulting free-kick and hammered his effort past Tim Howard.

Howard had earlier made a spectacular save to keep out a shot on the volley from Radhi Jaidi as Birmingham applied strong pressure.

Everton weathered the storm until Zarate arrived on the scene.

It's little wonder that Birmingham manager Alex McLeish is so keen to retain the South American, but he could face some fierce competition.

Earlier, Birmingham had suffered a serious set-back when they lost the services of the industrious Seb Larsson with a leg injury.

The little winger blocked a strong clearance by Leighton Baines and had to be replaced by Cameron Jerome.

It was Jerome who went closest to giving Birmingham the lead late in the first half when he saw his header from McFadden's cross gently hit the post and bounce clear.

Everton, however, often appeared the most likely goalscorers and it was fortunate for Birmingham that Stephen Kelly, Jaidi and Liam Ridgewell were in such as dominant mood.

Ridgewell, on his return from suspension, very nearly marked the occasion with a bad mistake the first time he cleared the ball.

His clearance cannoned off Andy Johnson and went just wide of Birmingham's goal.

Birmingham settled down to play some attractive football based upon some strong defensive play from Jaidi and Ridgewell.

Everton played with a lot of confidence with Carsley in a holding zone. Yakuba improved in the second half and it was hardly a surprise that he played a role in Lescott's 78th minute goal.

But the Merseyside club were denied success by the impish Zarate and his superb shooting skill that earned Birmingham a potentially vital point.

Kevin Davies gave Bolton a Premier League lifeline but he will now miss Wanderers' next two games.
The hard-working striker scored a 46th minute winner but had enough chances to finish with at least a hat-trick.

However, a harsh booking - his 10th of the campaign-for a foul on John Paintsil means he will sit out the away games at Middlesbrough and Spurs.

At least he signed off by giving his team hope of beating the drop, but Wanderers, who hadn't won at home since January 2, are still in the mire.

But this was a badly-needed confidence boost after nine games without victory and it should go some way to appeasing the anti-Gary Megson, anti-Phil Gartside brigade.

There was a minor demonstration outside the ground before and after kick-off, but the majority of fans backed the team throughout a tense 90 minutes.

In contrast, West Ham's slide continues. This was their third successive defeat and only in flashes did they threaten to get back on terms.Dean Ashton and Scott Parker went closest in the second half, but Ali Al-Habsi made two great saves.

Bolton should have been ahead at the break. El Hadji Diouf had a goal controversially disallowed for offside six minutes from half-time.

Andy O'Brien's header from Ivan Campo's free-kick seemed destined to cross the line anyway before the Senegal striker stuck his toe to the ball.

And the touch proved crucial as the former African Footballer of the Year was flagged offside.

Megson was predictably incandescent with rage though Davies and Diouf might fractionally have strayed too far.

Davies also had a header cleared off the line by Parker while Jonathan Spector also denied the Wanderers target man in similar fashion after just six minutes.

Davies finally got his reward just 50 seconds into the second period. Robert Green initially denied the ex-Blackburn forward at the expense of a corner.

But Spector impeded Green as he came to collect Matty Taylor's corner and Davies gleefully smashed the ball into the net from four yards for just his third league goal of the campaign.

With the pleasure went pain though and Davies had to briefly leave the field with a finger injury.

However, it takes harder blows to knock Davies off his game and he soon returned to the fray.

Anaemic West Ham needed a transfusion of energy and Carlton Cole's appearance for Jack Collison brought about a reaction.

'You don't know what you're doing' taunted Hammers fans to boss Alan Curbishley.

But within minutes Gary Cahill cleared Luis Boa Morte's left-footer off the line while Al-Habsi tipped Ashton's overhead effort on to the bar and away for a corner.

Parker's shot was also bound for the net, but Bolton held on and move on to the Riverside to face Middlesbrough as they bid to stay up

Aston Villa kept alive their slender hopes of clinching a European place with a demolition of Derby County that turned into a stroll in the sunshine for Martin O'Neill's team.
However, until Roy Carroll blundered to gift Villa their opening goal, there was little between the sides.

Manager Paul Jewell knows he needs to make sweeping changes and this display will only have reinforced his view that Derby's current squad does not have the mental strength to cope with what he hopes will be a promotion challenge next season.

Villa were tested to begin with but did what they pleased once they were in front and Stiliyan Petrov's magnificent 50-yard shot was the highlight of an impressive day's work for the visitors.Gareth Barry gave another commanding display in midfield along with Nigel Reo-Coker and the pace of Ashley Young was too much for Derby once they went behind.

Carroll had a game he will want to forget but he was consoled at the end by the Villa goalkeeping coach and the Northern Ireland international will surely bounce back from this.

He made several good saves but was badly at fault when he came for Young's free-kick but missed the ball under pressure from Olof Mellberg.

A minute later, Villa scored again when Young whipped in a cross from the left that Alan Stubbs should have cut out and, although Carroll cleared the ball, John Carew followed up with a shot that went in off Gabriel Agbonlahor.

The game was over in the 36th minute when Carroll cleared straight to Petrov, who chested the ball down and from the edge of the centre circle drove it into the top right corner.

It was a marvellous moment but once again, Derby had given their opponents a helping hand and that will be the abiding memory of their season in the Premier League.

The second half became a training exercise for Villa who could have scored more goals with Barry driving against the legs of Carroll before he found the net in the 58th minute.

Carroll did well to parry Agbonlahor's low drive, but the ball ran loose to Barry who swept it in from six yards.

The Derby fans were already heading for the exits before Agbonlahor scored in the 76th minute when Marlon Harewood got the better of Stubbs to send the striker clear for a low finish inside Carroll's right-hand post.

Derby were carved open again five minute from time when Patrik Berger picked out Harewood on the left and he beat Carroll with another low shot to complete a wonderful day for Villa.

This was the third time this season Derby have been hit for six and they still have to play Arsenal at Pride Park

Carlos Tevez scored for Manchester United into the semi-finals of the Champions League for a second successive season.
The Argentina striker put the game out of Roma's reach by scoring in the 70th minute at Old Trafford to ensure the match was beyond Roma.

Liverpool 4-2 Arsenal

Liverpool marched into their third Champions League semi-final in four years after seeing off Arsenal at Anfield.


With seven minutes left, Arsenal looked like were through as the score stood at 2-2


But Steven Gerrard restored the lead with a controversial penalty, before Ryan Babel's breakaway goal sealed a victory which sets up another semi-final clash with Chelsea.



Diaby Score




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Barcelona 1 - 0 Schalke 04
Barcelona set up to semi-final clash with Manchester United by producing a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Schalke at the Nou Camp.

Yaya Toure's scored after 43 minutes was enough to give the Catalan outfit a narrow win and a 2-0 aggregate triumph over a German side who dominated much of the first half

Highlight

League leaders Real Madrid are home to middle of the table Mallorca as week 31 gets underway in Spain’s La Liga.

Real Madrid sit atop La Liga with 65 points on the season. This gives them a 6 point edge on 2nd place Villarreal and a 7 point lead over the struggling Barcelona who find themselves in 3rd place. Real Madrid are coming off of a 3-1 victory at home last week over Sevilla which saw them snap their 2 match losing streak. Manager Bernd Schuster is expected to once again be able to call upon Guti and Pepe this week.

Mallorca are coming off of a very impressive 0-3 win away to Valencia. Over their last 5 games they have produced 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. During that stretch Mallorca have outscored their opponents by 15-6 and this includes a superb 7-1 victory over Recreativo Huelva. The win away to Valencia extended their win streak to 2 games during which time they have not conceded a goal but this match away to Real Madrid will certainly be a strict test.

Live La Liga
Real Madrid v Mallorca
Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain, kick-off: 21.00 hrs

The pressure is on Barcelona this week as they face a must win scenario at home to Getafe in week 31 of La Liga.

Barcelona lost a terrible match on the road last week when they fell to Real Betis by a score of 3-2. The Cules had gone into the second half with a 0-2 lead only to see it evaporate quickly. The loss drops the side managed by Frank Rijkaard to 3rd place of the league table with 58 points, 7 back of first place Real Madrid. Barcelona will certainly not be at full strength this week as Ronaldinho, Messi and Deco are all expected to miss out. The lone highlight this week for Barcelona was a positive result in the Champions League.

Getafe are in great spirits this week as they visit Barcelona. The side managed by Michael Laudrup are in the middle of the league table in 12th place with 39 points but have played first rate football in the UEFA Cup. They are coming off of a 1-1 draw away to Bayern Munich in the semi final of said tournament. Domestically Getafe have struggled as they are winless in their last 3 with their last 2 games having ended in losses. However, their great work in the UEFA Cup allows them to go into this match with renewed confidence.

Live La Liga
Barcelona v Getafe
Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain, kick-off: 20.00 hrs

Juventus return to action in week 32 of Serie A after an unexpected week off over the week and will pay a visit to a Palermo outfit who are coming off of a loss on the road.

Palermo come into this contest in 13th place of the league table with 36 points for the season which leaves them just behind 12th place Siena on goal difference. In their last match the side managed by Colantuono were beaten by Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo by a score of 1-0. This week Palermo will be missing Capuano, Miccoli and Uruguayan Edison Cavani due to injury.

Juventus were set to play host to Parma in week 31 but their match was postponed after a Parma supporter was murdered prior to the start of the game. They remain in 3rd place of the league table with 58 points and sit 7 points back of Roma while having one match in hand on them. Juventus come into this away day to Palermo on a 4 match unbeaten run that has seen them win 3 matches along the way while conceding just 1 goal. This week Andrade and Zanetti are out injured while the big 3 of Nedved, Trezeguet and Del Piero are out injured.

Live Serie A
Palermo v Juventus
Stadio Renzo Barbera, Palermo, Italy , kick-off: 19.30 hrs

Manchester United will be looking to consolidate their position at the top of the Premiership table when they take on Middlesbrough in the 100th league meeting between the two teams on Sunday.

United are on a six match winning streak and are five points clear at the top of the league table with just six matches remaining in the season. The Red Devils defense will be aiming for its sixth straight clean sheet with the club conceding its last goal back in February against Newcastle United.

Boro are struggling to hit the back of the net with Gareth Southgate’s side managing to score just 3 goals in their last five matches.

United had thrashed Middlesbrough 4-1 early this season with Carlos Tevez scoring two goals while Nani and Wayne Rooney bagged one goal each. Jeremie Aliadiere was on target for Middlesbrough in that match.

Live Premier League
Middlesbrough v Manchester United
Riverside Stadium kick-off: 1330 hrs

Everton will be hoping to take advantage of the poor morale in the Derby camp and register their first win in four matches when the two teams meet on Sunday.

The Toffees will have to win all of their remaining six matches and hope that Liverpool slip up more than once if they are to have any hopes of overtaking their arch rivals.

Manager David Moyes will be hoping that his side will manage to turn things around starting with a convincing win against the Rams who became the first team in the Premiership history to be relegated in March after failing to beat Fulham in their last match.

Derby have not won at Goodison Park since 1998 and with the club yet to win under Paul Jewell, a draw is the most favorable result that their fans could hope from the match.

Live Premier League
Everton v Derby
Goodison Park kick-off: 1500 hrs

Barnsley will be hoping to put behind their Championship struggles when they take on Cardiff in the semi final of the FA Cup on Sunday.

The Tykes are currently facing the prospect of relegation to League One with the club having to rely on goal difference to keep themselves out of the drop zone. But their amazing run in the FA Cup has given fans hope that their side will manage to collect the necessary points from their remaining matches to avoid relegation and qualify for the FA Cup final for the first time since 1912.

Both the teams have won the cup just once in their history with Barnsley winning it in 1912 and Cardiff collecting their first FA Cup in 1927. Barnsley had held Cardiff to a 1-1 draw early this season and face them once again in the league on the final day. .

Live FA Cup
Barnsley v Cardiff
Wembley Stadium kick-off: 1600 hrs

Dundee United will be hoping to gain a valuable three points so they can overtake Motherwell for the third spot when they take on Rangers Sunday.

The Gers defeated Celtic 1-0 last week and with a handful of games to go are on course to clinch the SPL. However a 0-0 draw mis-week to Sporting Lisbon has dented their hopes of winning the UEFA Cup as well.

Dundee are in the race for the third spot as they are ahead of Motherwell on goal difference, but have played two games more than their rivals.

Live SPL
Dundee United v Rangers
Tannadice Stadium kick-off: 1400 hrs

Liverpool will be confident of a home victory on Tuesday or at least a draw which will see them through to the Champions League semi finals in which they will either play Chelsea or Fenerbahce.

Liverpool winger, Jermaine Pennant misses the game against his old club because of injury but star midfielder Javier Mascherano is certain to play and with Fernando Torres banging in the goals the home fans will be expecting to finish Arsenal off and charge through to the semi finals.

Arsenal are suffering a dip in form but that will not deter Arsene Wenger and his talented young team from going to Anfield and sealing the win needed for qualification to the semi finals.

Robin van Persie makes the Arsenal’s squad despite injuring a thigh in the first leg and Abou Diaby is available too.

Live Champions League
Liverpool v Arsenal
Anfield, kick-off: 19.45 hrs

Fenerbahce travel to Stamford Bridge with a slender 2-1 advantage from the first leg of this Champions League quarter final. The Turkish team will be followed by a fanatical travelling support and will certainly not be intimated by playing away from home against Chelsea.

Fenerbahce reached this stage in the CL after a penalty shoot-out win against Sevilla FC they may have to go through the same situation again.

Even though Chelsea are very much in the domestic title hunt and will still be favourites to win this match there is still some unrest. Home supporters are divided over manager Avram Grant and there is massive pressure on the London club to win Europe’s premier club competition prize for the first time in their history.

Live Champions League
Chelsea v Fenerbahce
Stamford Bridge, kick-off: 19.45 hrs.

Portsmouth return to Premier League action on Tuesday as they travel to Upton Park and play West Ham United.

Harry Redknapp’s team must cut short their FA cup semi final win celebrations and try to track down Everton, who are 7 points clear of Pompey in the Premiership table. Jermain Defoe misses this game against his former side for family reasons, and Milan Baros is also missing.

West Ham are currently sitting exactly in mid table. The home supporters have been left frustrated by the lack of consistency shown by the team considering the talent that is available to manager Alan Curbishly.

West Ham have some injury problems to contend with - Freddie Sears, Bobby Zamora, George McCartney, John Pantsil and Freddie Ljungberg are all missing for the game against Portsmouth.

Live Premier League
West Ham v Portsmouth Live
Upton Park, kick-off: 1945 hrs