Chelsea win but Rooney spoils the party

Chelsea swaggered to a 3-0 victory over 10-man Everton yesterday but were denied the chance to celebrate a second consecutive Premier League title by Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney.

Chelsea now only need one point from their remaining three league games to pop the champagne, having restored a nine-point lead at the top with three games left to play.

Ivory Coast forward Didier Drogba scored one and made another for Frank Lampard before Michael Essien thundered home Chelsea's third at Stamford Bridge. Lee Carsley was dismissed for Everton two minutes after the re-start with Chelsea 1-0 up.

Jose Mourinho's men had known before kick-off the title would not be theirs on the day after Rooney's brace had earlier given United a 2-1 victory at Tottenham Hotspur.

Still firmly on course for the title, Jose Mourinho's men have 88 points from 35 games, with United lying second on 79 points and Liverpool third on 73.

With an FA Cup semi-final looming against Liverpool on Saturday, Chelsea's next chance of winning the league will be a much-awaited showdown against United at Stamford Bridge on April 29.

Down at the other end of the table, Portsmouth's fine run ended yesterday with a 2-1 defeat at Charlton Athletic that will revive fears of relegation.

Middlesbrough beat West Ham 2-0 and Newcastle United came from behind to beat relegated Sunderland 4-1 in the northeast derby.

Manchester United's victory failed to dent Mourinho's optimism about the title.

"It is not easy for us to lose the three matches, it is not easy for Manchester United to win the three matches and it is not easy for them to turn around the goal difference (of 12).

"But football is football, you never know," he told Sky Sports. "We need a minimum of one point to celebrate."

Fine start

Chelsea made a fine start with Drogba tackling back and winning possession near the halfway line before feeding the ball for Lampard to unleash an unstoppable low drive on 28 minutes.

Drogba headed the second from a Lampard corner and Ghana midfielder Essien hammered a superb third into the roof of the net from a tight angle.

Chelsea's champagne had already been put away after a United win that also damaged Spurs' hopes of reaching the Champions League qualifiers ahead of north London rivals Arsenal.

Rooney slid home United's opener after an eighth minute breakaway and steered home their second from close range in the 36th after a blunder by Spurs' South Korean defender Lee Young-pyo.

Midfielder Jermaine Jenas scrambled the ball home for Spurs in a 53rd minute melee but their second-half pressure failed to pay off and Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy hit the post for United in the closing stages at White Hart Lane.

Fifth-placed Arsenal, who have a game in hand and trail Spurs with 57 points to 61, will host Tottenham at Highbury on Saturday in what should be a thrilling derby.

Spurs manager Martin Jol told Sky Sports: "It's a big disappointment, because we scored an early goal in the second half so maybe a draw would have been deserved. But we couldn't do that, so it's a big blow to us.

"We have to go to Arsenal now and get a result."

The battle to avoid relegation is equally tight after Portsmouth suffered their first defeat in seven games, having taken the lead at Charlton through Andres D'Alessandro.

Late goals from Bryan Hughes and Darren Bent gave Charlton a victory that keeps Portsmouth 17th, one place above the drop, with 32 points from 35 games.

Top scorers

22 goals: Henry (Arsenal)

21 goals: van Nistelrooy (Man. Utd)

17 goals: D. Bent (Charlton)

16 goals: Lampard (Chelsea), Rooney (Man. United)

15 goals: Keane (Tottenham)

14 goals: Harewood (West Ham)

13 goals: Yakubu (M'boro), Bellamy (Blackburn)

Next fixtures...

Saturday: FA Cup semi-final (at Old Trafford) 6.15 p.m. Chelsea vs Liverpool.

Premier League 12.45 p.m. Arsenal vs Tottenham. 4 p.m. Bolton vs Charlton; Everton vs Birmingham; Newcastle vs West Brom; Portsmouth vs Sunderland.

Sunday: FA Cup semi-final (at Villa Park) 5 p.m. M'Boro vs West Ham.

Monday, April 24: Premier League 9 p.m. Fulham vs Wigan.