Manchester United stretched their lead at the top of the Premier League to 10 points as Wayne Rooney scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory at Fulham yesterday.
United, hoping to exert even more pressure on second-placed Manchester City who host Liverpool today, laboured at times but Rooney’s 79th-minute strike proved decisive.
Both sides struck the woodwork in the first half, Patrice Evra for United and Brian Ruiz for a lively Fulham side, and Rooney also thumped a shot against the post in the second half before capitalising on an error to make the breakthrough.
Philippe Senderos, whose misjudgment allowed Rooney to race on to a long ball and score, nearly equalised in stoppage time with a header that was cleared off the line by Robin van Persie.
United have 62 points from 25 games with champions City on 52, having played one game less.
Chelsea surrendered another three points in their quest for a top-four finish as Newcastle United’s new signing Moussa Sissoko struck in the last minute to grab a 3-2 win that left Rafa Benitez’s side reeling.
It was another late horror show for third-placed Chelsea, who had led 2-1 with goals from Frank Lampard and Juan Mata before capitulating for the second time in a week, having conceded twice in the dying minutes at Reading on Wednesday.
With fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur in action today, Everton had the chance to move above them but drew 3-3 at home to struggling Aston Villa, who led 3-1 before Marouane Fellaini’s double spared Everton’s blushes.
Lukas Podolski scored in the 78th minute to hand Arsenal a 1-0 victory at home to Stoke City, a result that helped the Gunners close in on the Champions League qualification places.
Any thoughts of pushing the Manchester clubs in the title race are long gone for Chelsea, who have now managed just one win from their last six games.
Benitez said his side should have been awarded a penalty and the hosts reduced to 10 men after Demba Ba, signed from Newcastle last month, was left bloodied by a clash with Fabricio Coloccini.
“It was a penalty and a red card,” Benitez told Sky Sports, saying Ba, who was replaced by Fernando Torres, had suffered a broken nose.
“If it had been in the middle of the park it would have been a free-kick and maybe a yellow but in the area it’s a penalty and red because it was a clear chance.”
Worryingly for Chelsea, they appear to be running out of steam and conceding late goals as the season reaches a critical point in their hopes of a top-four finish. That was the case again yesterday as Sissoko turned the match on its head after Chelsea had seized control.
Jonas Gutierrez gave Newcastle the lead after 41 minutes with a header but Chelsea replied after the break with Lampard’s fierce shot and a curler from Mata.
Former Toulouse midfielder Sissoko, one of several French signings for Newcastle during January, tapped in an equaliser after 68 minutes after Chelsea keeper Petr Cech had parried Papiss Cisse’s shot.
Chelsea remain in third place with 46 points from 25 games, with Tottenham in fourth spot on 42 points from a game less.
Everton also have 42 with Arsenal in sixth on 41.
David Moyes’s Everton seemed to be slipping to only their fourth league defeat of the season after Christian Benteke’s double helped Villa into a 3-1 lead at Goodison Park.
However, Fellaini took the game by the scruff of the neck, scoring with a low shot 20 minutes from time and then heading an equaliser in the third minute of stoppage time.
At the bottom of the table a missed penalty from Adel Taarabt cost relegation-threatened QPR victory against Norwich City as they drew 0-0 at Loftus Road.
QPR’s fourth league draw in a row meant they are now six points from safety after Reading beat Sunderland 2-1.
Results and standings
Premier League
Arsenal 1
Podolski 78;
Stoke City 0
HT: 0-0. Att: 59,872.
Everton 3
Anichebe 21; Fellaini 69, 90;
Aston Villa 3
Benteke 2, 61; Agbonlahor 24;
HT: 1-2. Att: 38,121.
Fulham 0
Man. United 1
Rooney 79;
HT: 0-0. Att: 25,670.
Newcastle 3
Gutierrez 41; Sissoko 68, 90;
Chelsea 2
Lampard 55; Mata 61;
HT: 1-0. Att: 52,314.
QPR 0
Norwich 0
Att: 17,543.
Missed penalty: Taarabt (QPR) 56.
Reading 2
Kebe 7, 85;
Sunderland 1
Gardner 29 pen;
HT: 1-1. Att: 23,829.
West Ham 1
Carroll 77;
Swansea 0
HT: 0-0. Att: 34,962.
Wigan 2
Caldwell 25; Maloney 90;
Southampton 2
Lambert 64; Schneiderlin 85;
HT: 1-0. Att: 18,598.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Man. United | 25 | 20 | 2 | 3 | 60 | 31 | 62 |
| Man. City | 24 | 15 | 7 | 2 | 45 | 19 | 52 |
| Chelsea | 25 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 51 | 27 | 46 |
| Tottenham | 24 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 41 | 29 | 42 |
| Everton | 25 | 10 | 12 | 3 | 40 | 30 | 42 |
| Arsenal | 25 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 49 | 29 | 41 |
| Liverpool | 24 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 42 | 30 | 35 |
| Swansea | 25 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 34 | 28 | 34 |
| West Brom | 24 | 10 | 4 | 10 | 34 | 34 | 34 |
| Stoke City | 25 | 6 | 12 | 7 | 24 | 30 | 30 |
| West Ham | 25 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 28 | 36 | 30 |
| Sunderland | 25 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 28 | 33 | 29 |
| Fulham | 25 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 36 | 42 | 28 |
| Norwich City | 25 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 25 | 40 | 28 |
| Newcastle Utd | 25 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 33 | 44 | 27 |
| Southampton | 25 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 33 | 44 | 24 |
| Reading | 25 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 32 | 46 | 23 |
| Wigan | 25 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 29 | 47 | 21 |
| Aston Villa | 25 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 23 | 49 | 21 |
| QPR | 25 | 2 | 11 | 12 | 18 | 37 | 17 |
Playing today
Man. City vs Liverpool - 17:00
West Brom vs Tottenham - 14:30
Top scorers
18 goals: Van Persie (Man. United)
17 goals: Suarez (Liverpool)
14 goals: Ba (Chelsea)
13 goals: Michu (Swansea)
Next fixtures
Saturday: 13.45 Tottenham vs Newcastle. 16.00 Chelsea vs Wigan; Norwich vs Fulham; Stoke vs Reading; Sunderland vs Arsenal; Swansea vs QPR. 18.30 Southampton vs Manchester City.
Sunday: 14.30 Aston Villa vs West Ham. 17.00 Man. United vs Everton.
Monday, Feb. 11: 21.00 Liverpool vs West Brom.
The Championship
Birmingham 2 - N. Forest 1
Blackburn 2 - Bristol City 0
Blackpool 1 - Barnsley 2
Crystal Palace 2 - Charlton 1
Derby 3 - Huddersfield 0
Ipswich Town 4 - Middlesbrough 0
Leeds Utd 0 - Cardiff City 1
Millwall 0 - Hull 1
Peterborough 2 - Burnley 2
Sheffield Wed. 3 - Brighton 1
Watford 2 - Bolton 1
Standings: Cardiff 63; Leicester, Hull 53; Watford 52; C. Palace 51; M’boro 47; Burnley 43; Brighton 42; Derby, Millwall, N. Forest, Leeds 41; Blackburn 40; Charlton 39; Blackpool, Birmingham 37; Huddersfield 36; Shef. Wed., Ipswich 35; Bolton 34; Wolves 33; Barnsley 31; Bristol City 28; Peterborough 27.
League One
Bury 2 - Doncaster 0
Crawley 1 - Swindon Town 1
Crewe 1 - Scunthorpe 0
Hartlepool 2 - Notts County 1
MK Dons 0 - Bournemouth 3
Portsmouth 2 - Colchester 3
Preston NE 1 - Shrewsbury 2
Stevenage 0 - Leyton Orient 1
Tranmere 0 - Carlisle 1
Walsall 3 - Oldham 1
Yeovil 3 - Brentford 0
Standings: Tranmere, Doncaster 56; Bournemouth 52; Swindon 51, Brentford 50; Sheffield Utd, Yeovil 48; Coventry 47; Walsall 44; Notts County, MK Dons, Crewe, Leyton Orient 43; Crawley 42; Stevenage 40; Carlisle 36; Preston 35; Shrewsbury 34; Colchester 29; Oldham 27; Bury, Scunthorpe 26; Portsmouth 21; Hartlepool 19.
League Two
Cheltenham 2 - Torquay 1
Exeter 0 - Aldershot 0
Fleetwood 2 - Bradford 2
Plymouth 0 - Dagenham 0
Port Vale 3 - Accrington 0
Rochdale 1 - Chesterfield 1
Rotherham 3 - Northampton 1
Southend 1 - Oxford 0
York City 1 - Morecambe 4
Wimbledon 1 - Burton 1
Standings: Port Vale 56; Gillingham 55; Cheltenham 48; Burton Albion 47; Southend, Rotherham, Exeter 46; Northampton 45; Fleetwood 44; Bradford City 41; Chesterfield 40; Morecambe, Oxford 39; Rochdale, Dagenham 38; Torquay, York 37; Wycombe Wanderers 36; Bristol Rovers, Accrington 31; Aldershot 30; Plymouth Argyle, Barnet 29; Wimbledon 28.