[attach id=248278 size="medium"]Carlos Tevez leading Man. City’s charge against Wigan yesterday.[/attach]
Champions-elect Manchester United twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at West Ham yesterday and move a step closer to their 20th league title.
Although second-placed Manchester City won 1-0 at relegation-threatened Wigan Athletic to close the gap on United to 13 points, United only need six points from their last five games to secure top spot.
Manchester United have 81 points from 33 games, Manchester City 68 from 32.
Chelsea, playing their seventh match in 19 days, showed no sign of fatigue as they won 3-0 at Fulham in a one-sided West London derby highlighted by a stunning 30-metre strike from David Luiz for the visitors’ first goal.
John Terry scored the other two as Chelsea moved into third place on 61 points from 32 games, ahead of Arsenal on 60 from 33, Tottenham Hotspur 58 from 32 and Everton 56 from 33.
West Ham went ahead with a 16th-minute header from Ricardo Vaz Te after a superb breakaway before Antonio Valencia equalised with his first goal of the season 15 minutes later following clever approach work by Shinji Kagawa.
Neither side could take the lead before the interval but there were a series of small incidents inside the United penalty area before a West Ham corner on the stroke of half-time.
Wayne Rooney appeared to kick out at Andy Carroll, with referee Lee Probert talking to the England pair, before Carroll incensed United boss Alex Ferguson by crashing into keeper David De Gea from the delayed set-piece.
Mohamed Diame put West Ham back in front with a brilliant low shot after 56 minutes but the visitors levelled again when Shinji Kagawa’s shot hit both posts and Robin van Persie, from what looked an offside position, fired home the rebound in the 77th minute.
The salvaged draw means Manchester United have now claimed 28 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season and leaves West Ham without a league victory over them since 2007.
The FA Cup final rehearsal between Wigan and Manchester City ended in a win for champions City with Carlos Tevez scoring the only goal seven minutes from time.
The result left Wigan, who meet City in the final at Wembley Stadium on May 11, in the bottom three, three points from safety.
Wigan have 31 points from 32 games, three behind Sunderland, Stoke City and Aston Villa who all have 34 from 33 games.
Queens Park Rangers and Reading prop up the table with 24 points from 33 games and look doomed to the drop.
Summaries
Fulham 0
Chelsea 3
Luiz 30; Terry 43, 71;
HT: 0-2. Att: 25,002.
Man. City 1
Tevez 83;
Wigan 0
HT: 0-0. Att: 47,106.
West Ham 2
Vaz Te 16; Diame 56;
Man. United 2
Valencia 31; Van Persie 77;
HT: 1-1. Att: 34,692.
P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
Man. United | 33 | 26 | 3 | 4 | 75 | 35 | 81 |
Man. City | 32 | 20 | 8 | 4 | 58 | 27 | 68 |
Chelsea | 32 | 18 | 7 | 7 | 64 | 33 | 61 |
Arsenal | 33 | 17 | 9 | 7 | 64 | 35 | 60 |
Tottenham | 32 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 55 | 40 | 58 |
Everton | 33 | 14 | 14 | 5 | 51 | 37 | 56 |
Liverpool | 33 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 59 | 40 | 50 |
West Brom | 32 | 13 | 5 | 14 | 42 | 43 | 44 |
Swansea | 32 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 43 | 42 | 41 |
Fulham | 33 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 44 | 51 | 40 |
West Ham | 33 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 38 | 47 | 39 |
Southampton | 33 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 47 | 54 | 38 |
Newcastle | 33 | 10 | 6 | 17 | 42 | 59 | 36 |
Norwich | 33 | 7 | 14 | 12 | 31 | 52 | 35 |
Sunderland | 33 | 8 | 10 | 15 | 37 | 45 | 34 |
Stoke City | 33 | 7 | 13 | 13 | 28 | 41 | 34 |
Aston Villa | 33 | 8 | 10 | 15 | 36 | 60 | 34 |
Wigan | 32 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 37 | 58 | 31 |
QPR | 33 | 4 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 54 | 24 |
Reading | 33 | 5 | 9 | 19 | 36 | 63 | 24 |