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| April 16, 2006 | Sunday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 17, 1427 |
Chelsea close in on title defence
LONDON, April 15: Chelsea all but sealed their defence of the Premiership title on Saturday, defeating Bolton Wanderers 2-0 to open up a seemingly unassailable nine-point lead over Manchester United with just four games remaining.
Goals from John Terry and Frank Lampard meant Jose Mourinho's side fully capitalised on Friday night's unexpected slip-up by their closest pursuers, when United managed only a goalless draw with bottom club Sunderland.
Tottenham boosted their chances of Champions League football next year by beating Everton 1-0 away from home to stay four points clear of Arsenal in fourth place, thanks to Robbie Keane's 33rd-minute penalty.
But Arsenal kept up the pressure on their north London rivals, beating West Bromwich Albion 3-1 at Highbury.
Aleksander Hleb fired into the top corner just before half time following a one-two with Thierry Henry.
Nigel Quashie equalised with 18 minutes to go, but Robert Pires put the home side in front again four minutes later following a goalmouth scramble.
Dennis Bergkamp sealed the points with a curling shot a minute before the final whistle.
Their plight was made even worse as a resurgent Portsmouth finally climbed out of the relegation zone with a vital 1-0 home victory over Middlesbrough thanks to Gary O'Neil's 54th-minute goal.
Just weeks ago Pompey looked doomed, but Harry Rednapp, who returned to the club in December for a second spell in charge, has now guided his string of New Year signings through a six game unbeaten run.
Birmingham, who fell to third from bottom, were playing local rivals Aston Villa on Sunday.
Newcastle recovered from conceding a goal in the fifth minute to visiting Wigan, a curling 25-yard free kick from Jimmy Bullard, to win 3-1. Alan Shearer scored twice, a first half penalty and, after Titus Brimble's close-range header, a shot in the 66th minute.
Fulham beat fellow Londoners Fulham 2-1 at home, Luis Boa Morte the hero.
The Portuguese striker scored an early free kick before Jason Euell equalised with a 26th-minute header from a corner.
But just four minutes later, Boa Morte jinked his way past a series of tackles in a run from the half way line to score again.
Finally, Manchester City's miserable recent run continued, Stuart Pearce's side losing 1-0 at West Ham thanks to Shaun Newton's 15th minute shot, a sixth straight league defeat.
Results:
Arsenal 3 West Bromwich Albion 1
Bolton Wanderers 0 Chelsea 2
Everton 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Fulham 2 Charlton Athletic 1
Newcastle United 3 Wigan 1
Portsmouth 1 Middlesbrough 0
West Ham 1 Manchester City 0
Manchester United 0 Sunderland0
—Reuters
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