Lippi's ACL hopes derailed

Updated September 20, 2012 11:47:10

Saudi international striker Naif Hazazi scored with a pair of second half headers to give Al Ittihad a 4-2 first leg advantage over Guangzhou Evergrande in the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League.

The 23-year-old forward outjumped the defence of the Marcello Lippi-coached Chinese Super League champions in the 62nd and 89th minutes to give his side the chance to qualify for a fifth Asian Champions League semi-final in nine seasons as the club chase their third continental title.

The defeat left World Cup-winning coach Lippi - who joined the southern Chinese club in June - deflated but hopeful that his team can turn things around in the return leg on home soil on October 2.

"We made some errors which weren't supposed to happen and that's why we lost," said the former Juventus coach.

"But this game will be decided over 180 minutes and hopefully when we play at home all of our players will be back."

Guangzhou had taken the lead in the 27th minute having had the better of the opening exchanges, with Chinese international forward Gao Lin turning to shoot low into the corner after the Al Ittihad defence failed to clear Muriqui's cross from the left.

But less than a minute later the Saudi side had levelled, Diego De Souza capitalizing on some slack defending at the heart of the Guangzhou back line to send a shot past Yang Jun from the edge of the area.

Guangzhou, though, regained their composure and, with six minutes remaining in the half, Huang Bowen struck from the edge of the area to put Marcello Lippi's team back in command of the tie.

But a penalty from Mohammed Noor four minutes after the restart pulled Ittihad level again before Hazazi's double put the 2004 and 2005 winners in command of the tie.

Elsewhere, South Korean side Ulsan had Brazilian striker Rafinha's deflected shot to thank for their 1-0 first-leg victory over Al Hilal.

In Isfahan, Al Ahli, the third Saudi club still standing, were held to a 0-0 draw on their first appearance in the quarter-finals since 2005 by Iranian opponents Sepahan at the Foolad Shahr Stadium.

The second legs take place on October 2 and 3.

AFP

Tags: sport, soccer, saudi-arabia

First posted September 20, 2012 08:41:09

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Newcastle's top-four hopes take big hit

Updated April 29, 2012 06:50:39

Newcastle's bid for Champions League qualification suffered a reality check on Saturday as Wigan eased their relegation fears with a thumping 4-0 win over the Magpies.

Newcastle had dared to dream of winning a place in European football's elite competition after moving into the top four of the Premier League last week with their sixth straight victory.

However Alan Pardew's side were blown away in a devastating first half display by Wigan, who scored four unanswered goals at the DW Stadium to move three points clear of the drop zone with two games remaining.

Wigan raced into a 2-0 lead inside the opening quarter of an hour, Victor Moses scoring a quickfire brace in the 13th and 15th minutes.

Shaun Maloney added a third for the Latics on 36 minutes before Franco Di Santo made it 4-0 with a long-range effort on the stroke of half-time.

Newcastle boss Pardew blamed his side's loss on a lack of "intensity."

"Forget shape, systems and so on, intensity is everything in football," he said.

"For the first two goals we were really loose and disorganised. It was not until half-time that we got back to our level and showed discipline.

"You'd have to say we got beat by the better team."

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez hailed another fine display from his team, who have also notched wins over Arsenal and Manchester United in recent weeks.

"In every department of the club we know we need to work really hard to keep our dream alive and that comes with belief," he said.

"It's great to beat these sides but that means nothing if we can't achieve our aim. Our aim is to stay in the league and we haven't got enough points. We have two big games left, big finals."

Newcastle's surprise defeat saw Arsenal cement their grip on third place after battling to a 1-1 draw at Stoke.

Peter Crouch headed Stoke into the lead on nine minutes before Arsenal's newly-crowned Footballer of the Year Robin van Persie levelled on 15 minutes with his 35th goal of the season in all competitions.

The draw leaves the Gunners four points clear of fourth-placed Newcastle, and Arsene Wenger's men will guarantee their entry to next season's Champions League if they win their remaining games against Norwich and West Bromwich Albion.

With leaders Manchester United facing Manchester City on Monday, and Chelsea and Tottenham in action against QPR and Blackburn respectively on Sunday, Saturday's other games focused on the battle for survival.

Bolton's hopes of moving out of the bottom three were dashed after they could only draw 2-2 at Sunderland.

Veteran striker Kevin Davies got Bolton off to a dream start with a goal on 26 minutes before Sunderland levelled through Nicklas Bendtner nine minutes before half-time.

James McClean then pounced for Sunderland in the second half to put the Black Cats 2-1 up before Davies grabbed a second on 70 minutes to secure a share of the points for Owen Coyle's side.

Meanwhile Aston Villa remain in the relegation mire after scrapping to a 0-0 draw in a nervy midlands derby with West Brom.

Villa, who remain only three points off the bottom three, were given a huge slice of luck after referee Mark Clattenburg failed to spot an apparent handball on the goal-line from defender Alan Hutton.

Elsewhere, Liverpool recorded only their second win in seven games as Luis Suarez's first hat-trick for the club helped them to a 3-0 win over Norwich.

The Uruguayan struck twice in the first half before clinching his treble with a magical 45-yard chip over John Ruddy as the Reds sealed only their fourth league win of 2012.

At Goodison Park, Everton scored four goals for a second week running as they romped to a 4-0 win over Fulham that kept David Moyes' team in seventh place.

Nikica Jelavic scored twice while Marouane Fellaini and Tim Cahill added one apiece in an easy win.

A bizarre game at the Liberty Stadium saw relegated Wolves fight back from 3-0 and 4-1 down to grab a 4-4 draw against Swansea.

Andrea Orlandi, Joe Allen, Nathan Dyer and Danny Graham helped put Swansea 4-2 up at half-time, with Wolves scoring through Steven Fletcher and Matt Jarvis.

Yet Wolves were given hope through David Edwards in the 54th minute before Jarvis grabbed his second on 69 minutes to make it 4-4.

Results:

Wigan 4 Newcastle 0

Stoke 1 Arsenal 1

Norwich 0 Liverpool 3

West Brom 0 Aston Villa 0

Sunderland 2 Bolton 2

Everton 4 Fulham 0

Swansea 4 Wolves

AFP

Tags: sport, soccer, english-premier, england

First posted April 29, 2012 05:50:56

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Roar keep premiership hopes alive

Updated March 17, 2012 23:07:28

Brisbane kept the race for the A-League Premier's Plate alive with a pulsating 2-1 victory over the Jets in Newcastle.

League-leader Central Coast defeated Adelaide 1-0 in Gosford, and the Roar held serve down the road after Mitch Nichols converted the match-winning penalty with nine minutes to go.

Brisbane can steal the minor premiership if it wins on the Gold Coast next week and the Mariners fail to take three points in their trip to Wellington.

The Jets' defeat leaves the door open for Sydney, which sits one point behind in seventh place, to snatch a finals berth.

"It was a big game for us today because we pretty much shore up second spot and we take it down to the last week which is what we wanted to do," Postecoglou said.

"Seven weeks ago, we were 11 points behind the Mariners and, in the last seven weeks, we've played every team in the top six away, bar the Heart, and we've won all of them.

"When I look back to then, I thought 'we're going to find it really tough to maybe even stay in the top four if we don't really hit some good form'.

"But to win all those games away from home has been a monumental effort from the players.

"I'm really glad it's gone down to the last week and we're still in with a shot."

Abbas had the first real chance of the match only eight minutes in when he found himself in an eternity of space to line up his shot but sent it wide, with Jeremy Brockie's shot minutes later saved at the near post by Roar gloveman Michael Theoklitos.

But Besart Berisha opened the scoring for the visitors in the 13th minute with a trademark poachers finish, levelling Shane Smelt'z record season haul of 19.

But the Roar were punished for missing a gluttony of chances thereafter.

Brazilian striker Henrique could have doubled the Roar's advantage but the ball hit the far post, ricocheted to hit the near post and somehow still did not cross the line with the 11,471 Newcastle faithful breathing a collective sigh of relief.

The football gods smiled on the Jets again only a minute later when Berisha was also denied by the woodwork from close range.

And if not enough had already gone the Jets' way, Abbas stepped up to take a perfectly-placed free kick with only five minutes remaining in the opening stanza and made no mistake, curling it in to equalise 1-1 for the hosts.

Berisha spurned a great opportunity only minutes into the second half to put the Roar in front when he found himself one-on-one with Jets 'keeper Ben Kennedy but his header sailed over the crossbar.

The Roar were gifted another chance in the 53rd minute when they were awarded a penalty after Calvano Tiago brought the impressive Jack Hingert down in the box.

Henrique stepped up to the spot but his weak effort was saved by Kennedy.

With half an hour remaining Theoklitos came to the Roar's rescue with two superb consecutive saves, blocking Ryan Griffiths and Francis Jeffers' shots.

Tiago gifted the Roar another penalty in the dying minutes with his tackle on Erik Paartalu, this time Nichols making no mistake from the spot to score the 81st-minute winner.

"We had a couple of really good opportunities early on and, if you don't take take them, it comes back to bite you and it definitely did tonight," a dejected Jets coach Gary van Egmond said.

"Once you give a team like Brisbane a chance to get some rhythm and play at their tempo ... it's always going to be difficult.

"So now it will all come down to next week, so we just have to regroup and get ready for it."

Roar: 2 (B Berisha 13', M Nichols 82' pen)

Jets: 1 (A Abbas 40')

ABC/AAP

Tags: a-league, soccer, sport, newcastle-2300, nsw, australia, brisbane-4000, qld

First posted March 17, 2012 19:43:24

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Sydney FC keep finals hopes alive

Updated March 11, 2012 01:10:13

Sydney FC took control of their A-League finals fate with a deserved 1-0 win over Melbourne Victory on Saturday night.

The Sky Blues treated 18,180 fans - their biggest home crowd of the season - to an entertaining and much-needed win that also put an official end to the Victory's faint finals hopes.

Karol Kisel's first-half penalty proved the difference, but the scoreline did not reflect Sydney's utter dominance as some poor finishing and Melbourne's gutsy scrambling kept it a live contest.

The result moved Sydney within one point of the top six, after Melbourne Heart and Newcastle were held to draws by Wellington and Gold Coast respectively.

It leaves Sydney knowing it will be guaranteed a finals spot if it wins its last two matches against the Heart (away) and Jets (home).

Melbourne's star attraction Harry Kewell was kept quiet in a loss that dealt a further blow to caretaker coach Jim Magilton's hopes of earning a full-time job.

A disappointed Magilton hoped he would be given a chance to continue as head coach of the Victory.

The Northern Irishman said given the chance he would turn the club on its head.

The defeat took his record since replacing the sacked Mehmet Durakovic to one win, five draws and four defeats in 10 games.

"I wouldn't like the record I currently have, and I'd like an opportunity to rectify that," Magilton said.

"I think it's apparent to anyone here, anyone across the A-League, that change is needed whether I'm here or not.

"... Change of personnel, different mindset and I think it needs to be done sooner rather than later."

Sydney coach Vitezslav Lavicka agreed his side's first-half performance was among its best this year but acknowledged his side should have put the result beyond doubt

"We played good quality attacking football, we created chances. We scored one but we should have had more," Lavicka said.

"... But in our current situation it was clear we have to pick up the points, it doesn't matter how or how many goals.

"I still believe (we will make the finals)."

The visitors' best chance of the night came early, with Archie Thompson's one-on-one effort denied brilliantly by Ivan Necevski in the sixth minute.

Ante Covic was called into action at the other end in the 19th minute with a great save to deny youngster Joel Chianese, who created havoc for the Victory in an impressive display.

Kisel looked certain to score in the 27th minute, only for Mark Milligan to intervene with a brilliant goal-line clearance.

But Sydney could not be denied after Ubay Luzardo was adjudged to have brought down Bruno Cazarine in a 32nd minute off-the-ball tussle in the box.

Kisel stepped up and smashed the resulting penalty past Covic and the Slovakian could have had a double inside five minutes had he not sent a dangerous Brett Emerton ball over the bar from close range.

Chances continued to go begging for the home side after the break, with Chianese failing to turn Kisel's cross in the 52nd minute.

Milligan made another crucial clearance to deny Nick Carle in the 63rd minute and Sydney's inability to put the match away ensured some nervous late moments.

Sydney FC: 1 (K Kisel 33' pen)

Victory: 0

AAP

Tags: sport, soccer, a-league, sydney-2000, melbourne-3000

First posted March 10, 2012 22:03:39

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FFA rains on Canberra's A-League hopes

Updated March 02, 2012 17:08:29

Football Federation Australia can add another disgruntled businessman to their list of critics after seemingly extinguishing Canberra's long-held hopes of entering the A-League.

Bid leader and TransACT boss Ivan Slavich's three-year battle to get a team up in the nation's capital was revived briefly when the FFA this week revoked Gold Coast United's licence and announced it was keen to maintain a 10-side competition.

But the FFA has since confirmed its preference to start a franchise in western Sydney rather than consider Canberra's long-standing $4 million bid.

"I don't think it's fair," Slavich told AAP on Friday.

"It is frustrating because we do have money behind it and a lot of capability and it seems western Sydney doesn't have any capability, yet the FFA is prepared to completely fund it.

"We would have had a great team.

"The FFA's thumbing their nose to the actual football supporters in Canberra - that's the disappointing thing."

To get the bid up and running originally, Slavich secured financial backing from the ACT government, business and private investors, which included $200 a pop commitments from thousands of foundation members.

But pending the veto from the FFA - Slavich has yet to be told directly - he will begin refunding the pledges.

With the FFA not planning to expand the A-League for another five years, it means Canberra fans are in for a long wait.

Slavich said Canberra deserved a spot and insisted he could have had a team ready to go for the next A-League season, despite the teams that have fallen by the wayside, courtesy of short preparation time, like Gold Coast and Townsville.

"It would have definitely been a lot of work and time, but I think we could have done it.

"We were prepared to do it."

A disappointed Slavich said he'd been burned by the process and would only commit to another bid if the FFA openly courted one.

"We'd have to have a much stronger commitment from the FFA that they would include us, rather than wasting our time.

"If it's just a roll of the dice and see what happens - which is the way it's operated to date - I doubt I'd do it."

AAP

Tags: a-league, soccer, canberra-2600

First posted March 02, 2012 17:08:29

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Wenger hopes fight-back will spark Arsenal

Updated January 30, 2012 14:41:06

Arsene Wenger hopes Arsenal's epic fight-back against Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round will act as a spark for his team's bid to qualify for the Champions League.

Wenger's men were heading for a shock exit at the Emirates Stadium after Villa surged into a 2-0 lead by half-time thanks to goals from Richard Dunne and Darren Bent.

But the often frail Gunners finally showed some backbone as three goals in seven second half minutes - two Robin van Persie penalties sandwiching a fortunate Theo Walcott effort - clinched a dramatic 3-2 win which booked a fifth round trip to Sunderland or Middlesbrough.

Wenger admits morale among his squad has been at a low ebb after three successive defeats, so this was exactly the kind of spirited effort he was looking for.

And he is hopeful this result will make his players believe they are good enough to overhaul fourth-placed Chelsea - which is currently four points clear of Arsenal - and finish in the Premier League's top four.

"I hope it will convince the team we have the qualities needed and we can transfer that to the Premier League," Wenger said.

"When you don't win your belief goes. We lost our last three games in the Premier League so of course your belief is not there, regardless of your history.

"I was very impressed with the spirit. Coming from a bad period of results and being 2-0 down you can feel sorry for yourself, but the players were very positive at half-time.

"They didn't give up. I was very proud. They showed they weren't ready to lie down."

After being jeered by Arsenal's fans for replacing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with Andrey Arshavin during last weekend's defeat against Manchester United, Wenger coped more flak from the fuming Emirates faithful at half-time on Sunday.

Arsenal's second-half revival gave Wenger some respite from the abuse, but he rejected the chance to hit back at his critics.

"I felt the fans were quite positive compared to last time," he said. "I am sad we cannot always keep them happy. The only thing we can do is show this spirit.

"I just want to do well for this club that I love. I understand that people question my decisions. But I wouldn't understand if they question my commitment and dedication to the club."

Wenger also revealed he decided not to tear into his players at half-time because he did not want to shatter their already fragile confidence levels.

"At half-time I said to them that it was a good test for us to show we have the mental qualities to come back," Wenger said.

"It was important we didn't panic because to concede just before half-time for 2-0 is a difficult blow.

"It was a classic English cup tie. We had to fight and we did it well.

"The second half was all us. It was important we pushed them back into their own half and we did that very well."

Meanwhile, Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish was left to rue his team's failure to press home its half-time advantage.

McLeish, who called on the FA to investigate an alleged elbow by van Persie on Carlos Cuellar, admits Villa crumbled too easily in the face of Arsenal's second-half pressure.

"It was a top-class performance from us in the first half, but maybe Arsenal scored too soon in the second half. It gave them a huge lift and we looked a bit leggy," McLeish said.

"It's never over. I said that to the boys at half-time. You know there are 45 minutes to go.

"To be fair, the players went right to the end and we could have had an equaliser. It wasn't to be and we have to learn from that.

"We have to learn that winning mentality. It was disappointing that we capitulated. It's a missed opportunity."

AFP

Tags: sport, soccer

First posted January 30, 2012 14:17:44

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Socceroos, Serbia in scoreless thriller data threatens Obama's re-election hopes

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Tags: soccer, sport, australia

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Arbib plays down Aussie World Cup hopes

Posted May 21, 2011 22:05:00

Federal Sports Minister Mark Arbib has urged caution about Australia getting a second chance to bid for World Cup 2022 after FIFA investigates corruption allegations.

FIFA's ethics committee is probing claims that executive members were paid bribes of $US1.5 million ($1.39 million) during the bidding process for the 2022 tournament.

Qatar went on to win the December ballot, with Australia's $45 million bid achieving just one vote.

The FIFA investigation has sparked belief that the bidding process could be rerun.

However, Senator Arbib urged caution.

"Certainly I think everybody is very cautious about what lies ahead," he told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.

"We're not getting our hopes up that there will be a decision to have a new ballot.

"I don't think we should get our hopes up yet.

"We need to have a chance for these allegations to be heard."

Senator Arbib described FIFA's investigation as a "positive step" and said its ethics committee would convene on June 1.

"Australia would have put on the best ever World Cup, there's no doubt about it," he said.

"We have the infrastructure, we have the people and certainly there was great disappointment across the country when we weren't successful."

A resubmission of Australia's bid should not cost any additional money, Senator Arbib added.

"It shouldn't cost us any extra money ... all the work has been done in terms of scoping the stadium, all the specifications, the technical work is complete."

A British House of Commons committee first heard allegations that two African FIFA executive committee members were bribed to vote for Qatar.

The Gulf nation later issued a statement denying "serious and baseless" allegations and saying they will "remain unproven because they are false".

-AAP

Tags: sport, football, world-cup, australia, qatar

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Fit Kruse key to Victory's ACL hopes

Posted May 10, 2011 15:09:00

Melbourne Victory are putting their faith in the recovery powers of Robbie Kruse, admitting they are in trouble if the star striker fails to get through Wednesday night's do-or-die Asian Champions League match.

The Victory must beat Jeju United in South Korea, in what is their final group match, and need China's Tianjin Teda to notch a simultaneous away win over Japan's Gamba Osaka to reach the knock-out stage.

But injury and suspension have robbed Melbourne of attacking depth for what is defensive stalwart and long-time skipper Kevin Muscat's last match.

Isaka Cernak, who was his side's best in their most recent match, against Gamba, is out suspended.

And Tommy Pondeljak and Marvin Angulo are both missing through illness, with Pondeljak having had an adverse reaction to dental medication.

Kruse returns after missing the Gamba match through suspension, but is also on the comeback from ankle and heel injuries.

He made it through training in Jeju on Tuesday and Melbourne's caretaker coach Mehmet Durakovic is relying on Kruse to play the entire match.

"I hope so, I really do, because we haven't really got anybody on the bench, they're all youngsters," Durakovic said.

"We've only got really (midfielders) Billy (Celeski) and (Grant Brebner) and they haven't played for a while, so I hope he lasts the whole game."

Goalkeeper Tando Velaphi had also been in doubt with an ankle injury, but was passed fit at training.

With both Victory and Jeju needing a win, Durakovic predicted an entertaining, attacking contest.

He says Muscat's last appearance will add an emotional charge for Melbourne, as it did in his last home match, when Victory were unfortunate to only manage a 1-1 draw against Gamba.

"Hopefully we'll have a bit more luck this week and get the three points, because we need them," Durakovic said.

The match is also a chance for the caretaker coach to continue to press his chances for the permanent job.

While very much a long-shot, former Victory youth coach Durakovic has been impressive in keeping Victory's hopes of ACL progression alive until their final round-robin match, given he replaced Ernie Merrick after a 5-1 thrashing from Osaka in the first group encounter.

- AAP

Tags: sport, football, aleague, melbourne-3000, south-korea

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Chievo dents Juve's Champs League hopes

Posted May 10, 2011 08:34:00

Juventus conceded two goals in a minute to see its outside hopes of reaching the Champions League all but end in a 2-2 home draw with Chievo.

The seventh-placed Turin side lie five points behind Udinese, which is in the fourth and final Champions League qualifying spot with two games left, and Juve is not even assured of playing Europa League football next term in its new stadium.

The point means mid-table Chievo is now safe from relegation.

Once mighty Juve was cruising after Alessandro Del Piero celebrated his new one-year contract with a 13th minute penalty before strike partner Alessandro Matri exposed poor defending to make it 2-0 early in the second half.

But such is the twice European champions's brittle confidence after two seasons of woe that few fans in the nervous Stadio Olimpico were surprised when the visitors retaliated.

Chievo pulled one back on 68 minutes when Fernando Uribe bundled the ball home and it equalised almost immediately when Gennaro Sardo calmly finished from the edge of the area after Sergio Pellissier had struck the post.

The Verona-based side, nicknamed the Flying Donkeys, could easily have won in the closing stages after Juve goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon charged rashly out of goal but the hosts also hit the post through Luca Toni late on in an entertaining game.

Juventus boss Luigi Del Neri, who famously coached Chievo to great success in the previous decade, is fighting to keep his job amid media speculation linking Italy's most successful domestic club with a host of managers including Napoli's Walter Mazzarri.

-Reuters

Tags: sport, football, football-italy, italy

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Victory keeps Champions League hopes alive

Published:Thursday, April 21, 2011 9:51 AESTExpires:Wednesday, July 20, 2011 9:51 AEST

Melbourne Victory has beaten Group E leaders Tianjin Teda at Melbourne's Docklands Stadium.

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Arsenal hopes fade as Spurs rescue draw

Updated April 21, 2011 07:30:00

Arsenal's title challenge was all but extinguished on Thursday morning as Tottenham recovered from two goals down to rescue a 3-3 draw in a breathless north London derby, while Chelsea went above the Gunners into second place after beating Birmingham 3-1.

Arsene Wenger's side were on course to move within four points of leaders Manchester United after taking a 3-1 lead at White Hart Lane.

But Arsenal's soft underbelly was again exposed as Rafael Van der Vaart scored a second-half penalty equaliser to condemn the Gunners to a fifth draw in six league games.

As a result they lost second place to a suddenly resurgent Chelsea, which is now six points behind United with a crucial trip to Old Trafford looming in May.

"It is not over, we have to fight and continue to battle," manager Arsene Wenger told Sky Sports.

"We had an outstanding first half and in the second we dropped physically because we had a difficult game on Sunday.

"Maybe the second goal was decisive becasue we needed to go with a two-goal difference at half-time. We had an outstanding spirit and we need to keep battling until the last day."

"We will fight like mad for the next game. Of course we can still win the title."

After the pain of Sunday's draw against Liverpool, Arsenal needed an early boost and they got it when Theo Walcott lit the fuse on an explosive first half by sprinting onto Cesc Fabregas's pass and slotting past Heurelho Gomes.

Arsenal's lead was short-lived as Dutch international Van der Vaart beat the offside trap to score with a ferocious finish two minutes later.

But the Gunners were back in front in the 12th minute when midfielder Samir Nasri hit a low drive from the edge of the area that took a slight deflection off Spurs defender Michael Dawson before beating Gomes.

Wenger's team increased their lead before half-time when Robin van Persie fired home from close range in the 40th minute after Gomes blocked his initial header from a Walcott cross.

Even then Spurs refused to surrender. Harry Redknapp's side had come from two goals behind to beat Arsenal 3-2 earlier this season and recovered from 4-2 down to earn a 4-4 draw against the Gunners in 2008.

Tom Huddlestone gave Spurs a lifeline four minutes later with a powerful long-range effort that fizzed through Van der Vaart's legs and beyond Wojciech Szczesny.

And the hosts completed a superb comeback in the 70th minute when Szczesny fouled Aaron Lennon and Van der Vaart stroked in the resulting penalty.

But the draw did not help Tottenham in its bid to secure a Champions League spot, with Manchester City still a point ahead in fourth with a game in hand.

"That was one of the great games in my opinion. It was a little classic," Redknapp said.

"We came back from an almost impossible position. There is a fantastic spirit at this club and we never give in."

Chelsea looming

At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea produced a second dominant display in five days to keep a foothold in the title race.

After beating West Bromwich Albion 3-1 on Saturday, Carlo Ancelotti's side avenged their 1-0 loss against Birmingham earlier this season to revive belief they can retain the title.

"With a six-point lead Manchester United is still too far but we have to believe," Ancelotti said.

"I never said the title race was over. After this we have to play five games. We have to win them all and see what happens."

Chelsea took the lead in the third minute when Paulo Ferreira's cross was flicked on by Didier Drogba and French winger Florent Malouda pounced to poke home.

Ancelotti again left British record signing Fernando Torres and France striker Nicolas Anelka on the bench as he opted for Drogba as his lone forward supported by Malouda and Salomon Kalou.

Kalou justified his inclusion as he scored with a sensational strike that saw him beat two Birmingham defenders before drilling an unstoppable shot past Ben Foster in the 26th minute.

Malouda put the game out of Birmingham's reach in the 62nd minute when he headed in a cross from debutant Ryan Bertrand.

Sebastian Larsson got one back for Birmingham with a 76th minute after David Luiz fouled Matt Derbyshire, but it was little consolation for Alex McLeish's team, who remain five points above the relegation zone.

-AFP

First posted April 21, 2011 07:14:00

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