Chelsea sinks champ Man United with late own-goal

LONDON (Reuters) – A late own-goal from Phil Jones secured Chelsea a 1-0 victory at Manchester United on Sunday to leave the Londoners poised for a top-four finish and a Champions League place next season.

An angled shot from Spaniard Juan Mata in the 87th minute took a slight deflection off defender Jones and beat keeper Anders Lindegaard.

United defender Rafael was sent off in the 89th minute for kicking out at fellow Brazilian David Luiz, becoming the first player that the champion has had dismissed this season.

Europa League finalist Chelsea moved up to third place on 68 points from 35 games, one ahead of Arsenal, which has played a game more, and three ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, which has also played 35.

A win at home against Spurs on Wednesday would effectively seal a top four finish for Chelsea as it enjoys a far superior goal difference to its London rival.

“It’s an important win. We knew we needed to win a couple of games and this is the first one,” said Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez.

“If we can beat Tottenham on Wednesday, we will be in the top four with two games left to play.”

Everton’s slim hopes of playing European soccer next season receded further after it drew 0-0 at city rival Liverpool in a derby short on entertainment.

Everton, which has drawn 15 Premier League games this season – more than any other side – remain sixth on 60 points.

It has just two games remaining and has slim hopes of securing the Europa League place for the side finishing fifth. Liverpool is seventh on 55 points.

“We want to get Everton back into Europe. As a club we need desperately to give those nights back to the supporters. If we don’t make it, it won’t be for a lack of effort,” said Everton manager David Moyes.

United and Chelsea, like the Anfield game that preceded it, had much the feel of an end of season clash.

United, a 20th English title long already sealed, was unable to find a spark and Chelsea was clearly showing the effects of a hectic schedule.

In a game of few clear chances, Chelsea’s Oscar saw his shot turned on to the post by Lindegaard in the first half while the visitors escaped a close call after the break when Rafael’s shot was almost turned into his own net by Branislav Ivanovic.

United manager Alex Ferguson conceded his side had “taken our foot off the pedal in a big way” since winning the title on April 22.

“There was no real edge to our game. Chelsea deserved to win. We can’t complain, we didn’t play well enough,” he told Sky Sports.

“It was a bit of a lucky goal but I can’t make any excuses in terms of our performance.”

Everton, which has only won one of its last 13 Premier League games against Liverpool, was aggrieved after Sylvain Distin’s headed goal from a corner early in the second half was harshly ruled out.

“I don’t want to be a whining manager but we scored a legitimate goal today – it should have counted,” said Moyes.

Centerback Distin outjumped Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, playing in his last city derby before retiring at the end of the season, to put the ball in the net in the 56th minute.

However,

referee Michael Oliver Premier League

GP W D L GF GA Pts *Manchester United 36 27 4 5 79 37 85 Manchester City 35 21 9 5 61 31 72 Chelsea 35 20 8 7 69 35 68 Arsenal 36 19 10 7 67 36 67 Tottenham Hotspur 35 19 8 8 61 43 65 Everton 36 15 15 6 52 38 60 Liverpool 36 14 13 9 67 42 55 West Bromwich Albion 35 14 6 15 48 47 48 Swansea City 35 10 13 12 43 44 43 West Ham United 36 11 10 15 41 49 43 Stoke City 35 9 13 13 31 41 40 Fulham 36 10 10 16 46 57 40 Aston Villa 36 10 10 16 44 65 40 Southampton 36 9 12 15 47 58 39 Norwich City 36 8 14 14 34 56 38 Newcastle United 36 10 8 18 43 66 38 Sunderland 35 9 10 16 39 51 37 Wigan Athletic 35 9 8 18 42 64 35 ^Reading 36 6 10 20 41 67 28 ^Queens Park Rangers36 4 13 19 29 57 25 Sunday’s results: Liverpool 0, Everton 0; Manchester United 0, Chelsea 1. had already blown his whistle for an infringement.

Liverpool’s best moments also came after the break with Daniel Sturridge denied by smart work from keeper Tim Howard and Daniel Agger flashing a header wide.

Before kickoff, Liverpool fans expressed their gratitude for Everton’s show of support earlier this season over the Hillsborough stadium disaster by holding up red and blue cards displaying the word “Thanks.”