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Tuesday May 7, 2008

United And Chelsea Take It To The Last Day

While Four Teams Will Fight To Avoid The Chop

Manchester United 4 West Ham United 1

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to help Man Utd claim a 4-1 victory over West Ham. The Portugal winger opened the scoring in the third minute of Saturday's early kick-off. Ronaldo then collected his 40th goal of the season in the 24th minute when he bundled home a cross from Owen Hargreaves. Carlos Tevez added a spectacular third goal two minutes later with a long-range strike. The visitors then pulled one back in the 28th minute thanks to an overhead-kick by Dean Ashton before United lost Nani who was shown a straight red card for head butting Neill. Michael Carrick rounded off the scoring in the 59th minute.

Bolton Wanderers 2 Sunderland 0

El-Hadji Diouf who recently declared he will quit the Trotters in the summer regardless of whether they survive relegation - fired home after collecting a deep cross from Kevin Nolan in the 42nd minute. Sunderland sub Daryl Murphy headed into his own goal with eight minutes remaining to secure a win which could be valued at around £50million - the price of Premier League status - and left manager Gary Megson punching the air in delight.

Fulham 2 Birmingham City 0

At Craven Cottage, a close-range header from Brian McBride and Erik Nevland's late goal gave Fulham a vital 2-0 win over Birmingham which lifted Roy Hodgson's side out of the relegation zone. Jimmy Bullard delivered a dangerous ball into the penalty area in the 52nd minute and McBride directed his header past Maik Taylor. Nevland made the points safe three minutes from time when he broke clear of the Blues defense and calmly slotted the ball into the bottom-left corner of the net.

Reading 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1

At the Madejski Stadium, Reading suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Tottenham. A 16th-minute strike from Robbie Keane was enough to give Spurs the win over Steve Coppell's side.The Ireland international rounded off a great Spurs counter-attack with a neat finish from a tight angle inside the penalty area.

Middlesbrough 2 Portsmouth 0

At the Riverside Stadium, goals from Chris Riggott and Tuncay Sanli gave Boro a 2-0 win over Portsmouth which ensured Gareth Southgate's team will play in the EPL next season. Defender Riggott headed a Fabio Rochemback corner past Pompey goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown in the 39th minute to open the scoring. Tuncay added a second for Boro in the 53rd minute when he directed a header past Ashdown from a Stewart Downing corner.

Aston Villa 0 Wigan Athletic 2

At Villa Park, two goals from Antonio Valencia secured Wigan's place in the EPL as they dented Villa's UEFA Cup hopes. The Latics took a 52nd-minute lead when Valencia's shot from the edge of the penalty area took a deflection off Wilfred Bouma and over Villa goalkeeper Scott Carson and the Ecuador international got a second with a superb individual strike from a tight angle in the 63rd minute.

Blackburn Rovers 3 Derby County 1

Roque Santa Cruz scored twice as Blackburn recorded a 3-1 win over Derby which means Paul Jewell's side will finish with the lowest points total ever in the EPL. Kenny Miller had given the Rams the lead in the 19th minute but Carroll fumbled Morten Gamst Pedersen's shot in the second minute of added time in the first half and Roque Santa Cruz thumped home the rebound. Two minutes after the half-time interval, Jason Roberts picked up the loose ball then drilled a low shot into bottom left-corner of the net. Santa Cruz collected his second of the game in the 77th minute when he headed home after good work down the right by David Bentley.

Arsenal 1 Everton 0

On Sunday at the Emirates, Arsenal dented Everton's UEFA Cup qualification hopes with a 1-0 victory. Nicklas Bendtner scored the only goal of the game 13 minutes from time to deny the Toffees the point they needed to seal fifth place in the EPL.

Liverpool 1 Manchester City 0

In Sunday's other game at Anfield Fernando Torres' 32nd goal of the season gave the Reds their seventh successive home victory in the league. City fans expressed their displeasure throughout the match at the uncertainty surrounding boss Sven-Goran Eriksson's future at Eastlands. Defeat means City can no longer qualify for the Intertoto Cup.

Newcastle United 0 Chelsea 2

In Monday's only game, goals from Michael Ballack and Florent Malouda handed Chelsea a deserved win against Newcastle and ensured the title race will go down to the final day.

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