Fulham stunned Chelsea at Craven Cottage with a 1-0 win although ugly scenes after the match threatened to mar a spectacular victory for Chris Coleman’s men. Luis Boa Morte fired the winner for the 7/1 Cottagers after 17 minutes while Didier Drogba had a Chelsea equaliser ruled out for handball.
Manchester United tightened their grip on second-place but made hard work of a 2-1 win at West Bromwich Albion. United, a best priced 1/2 saw Louis Saha net on 16 and 64 minutes although Nathan Ellington’s goal 12 minutes from time set up a tense finale.
Liverpool reduced Manchester United’s second place to two points but they have played two games more following Sunday’s 3-1 win at Newcastle United. Peter Crouch scored after nine minutes for the 11/8 Reds while Steven Gerrard doubled the advantage on 34. Shola Ameobi gave the Magpies hope five minutes before the break but Djibril Cisse’s penalty on 51 secured a precious away win.
Tottenham Hotspur continued their charge for a place in next season’s Champions League with a 2-0 win at Birmingham. Relegation threatened City held firm for 66 minutes until Aaron Lennon netted his first goal for the 5/4 Spurs. The in-form Robbie Keane added a second 13 minutes from the end to maintain Martin Jol’s side’s fourth placed position.
Arsenal are not giving up on league matters just yet and demolished Charlton 3-0 at Highbury. The Gunners were heavily odds on at 2/5 and took just 13 minutes to lead through Robert Pires. Emmanuel Adebayor got on the scoresheet after 32 and Alexsander Hleb completed the masterclass four minutes into the second half.
Blackburn also earned maximum points in a 3-2 win against Middlesbrough. The in-form Craig Bellamy opened the scoring for 5/6 Rovers after 11 minutes only for Mark Viduka to equalise five minutes later. Morten Gamst Pedersen restored the lead for Rovers but Fabio Rochemback levelled on 62. Bellamy fired in a superb personal second six minutes later to seal victory for Mark Hughes’ team.
Portsmouth edged towards three points off safety with a rousing 4-2 win at manager Harry Redknapp’s former club West Ham. Portsmouth, 7/2 outsiders before kick-off, found themselves 3-0 up at half time.
Everton may make a late bid for Europe after destroying Aston Villa 4-1, their sixth consecutive victory. James McFadden broke the deadlock after 16 minutes for the 4/5 Toffees and further goals from Tim Cahill and Leon Osman gave David Moyes’ side a commanding half-time lead. Debutante Gabriel Agbonlahor gave the Villains hope but Cahill netted his second of the game in stoppage time.