Arsenal dents Man United’s title chances

Football

Published: 02 May. 2011, 20:02

Arsenal dents Man United’s title chances

Aaron Ramsey (16) of Arsenal is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal against Manchester United during their English Premier League football match at the Emirates Stadium in north London, Sunday. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

LONDON - Arsenal threw open the English title race Sunday with a 1-0 win over Manchester United that left the Premier League leader vulnerable to a late charge by defending champion Chelsea.

Aaron Ramsey scored in the 56th minute at the Emirates Stadium to cap a dominant display by Arsenal and cut United’s lead over the Blues to three points with three games remaining.

With third-place Arsenal still six points off the lead, the Gunners’ victory may have come too late to re-ignite its title hopes.

But after beating Tottenham 2-1 on Saturday, Chelsea’s goal difference is now identical to United’s, giving the defending champion the chance to go top if it beats United at Old Trafford next Sunday.

“It gives Chelsea a major chance now,’’ United manager Alex Ferguson said. “But in terms of ability - a game at Old Trafford, the supporters will be ready for it - and so will our players.’’

Also Sunday, Liverpool moved ahead of Spurs on goal difference into fifth place with an untroubled 3-0 win over Newcastle.

Although Spurs have played one game fewer, their chances of reaching the top four to make the Champions League for a second straight season appear to be over.

Manchester City, in the fourth and final Champions League place, beat last-place West Ham 2-1 to move seven points ahead of Liverpool and Spurs.

Nigel de Jong and Pablo Zabaleta scored in the first half for City but Liverpool still has a good chance to finish in fifth place - two places higher than last season.

“We’ll just keep going and see what we get,’’ Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said. “It’s great reward that we’ve got to where we are.’’

United is likely to reach the Champions League final on Wednesday and was unbeaten in seven meetings with Arsenal but the closest it came to scoring at the Emirates Stadium was when Wayne Rooney curled a 49th-minute free kick toward the top corner. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny saved and Patrice Evra put the rebound into the side netting.

Szczesny also blocked a near-post shot from Nani following a 77th-minute counterattack and Arsenal, which drew its previous three home matches and lost 2-1 at Bolton last weekend, held firm with the youngest team fielded by any club in this season’s Premier League.

Ramsey’s inclusion in place of captain Cesc Fabregas, who was kicked on the thigh in training Friday, meant that the average age of Arsenal’s starting lineup was 23 years, 296 days.

But it crucially meant that, with Jack Wilshere and Alex Song also playing, the Gunners’ midfield was more muscular. With United stalwart Ryan Giggs missing because of flu, Arsenal dominated possession, taking 80 percent in the first 15 minutes and 57 percent overall.

“I didn’t think we started playing until we lost a goal to be honest,’’ Ferguson told United’s MUTV channel. “It was a very low-key performance up until then.

“They’ve run themselves into the ground and tried their best in terms of effort but we never started playing until then.’’

Van Persie set up Ramsey’s first Premier League goal of the season, and his first since December 2009, after he was released down the right by Theo Walcott.

The Dutch striker carried the ball into the area and, given time by United’s defense to weigh up his options, spotted Ramsey screaming for the ball just inside the box with his arms aloft.

Van Persie rolled a pass to the unmarked midfielder, who placed a first-time shot from 15 meters across goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and in at the far post. United could have had a late penalty when Gael Clichy trod on Michael Owen’s leg just inside the area but the Red Devils were lucky not to concede a kick of their own in the first half when Nemanja Vidic blatently used his hand to deflect a cross away from Van Persie’s head.

AP

한글 관련 기사 [일간스포츠]

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'산소탱크' 박지성(30)이 풀타임을 소화하며 분전했지만, 소속팀 맨체스터 유나이티드의 패배를 막아내진 못했다.

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