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Ballack keeps Chelsea hopes alive

The teams now level on points at the top of the Premier League

United now leads the Blues only on goal difference
Ferdinand and Makelele almost come to blows

LONDON: Michael Ballack scored an 86th-minute penalty kick to give Chelsea a 2-1 win over Manchester United that leaves the teams tied on points at the top of the English Premier League.

Ballack also scored Chelsea’s opening goal on Saturday before Wayne Rooney equalised and defending champion United now leads the Blues only on goal difference with two games remaining.

A rare blunder

Ballack headed home a well-flighted cross from Didier Drogba in the final minute of the first half to give Chelsea the halftime lead. A rare blunder by the usually solid Ricardo Carvalho handed United an equaliser in the 57th when his back pass put Rooney in the clear. A draw would have put the Red Devils in sight of their second title in a row.

Chelsea demanded a penalty when Michael Carrick charged down a cross from Michael Essien. The referee at first appeared to indicate it was not handball but his linesman flagged that it was.

United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and defenders Owen Hargreaves and Rio Ferdinand ran toward the official to argue the decision but the referee pointed to the spot and Ballack powered the kick past Van der Sar for a winner that Chelsea deserved.

In a thrilling final 20 minutes at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea’s Ashley Cole and Andriy Shevchenko both cleared off the line and Van der Sar made an acrobatic save to keep out a free kick from Didier Drogba. Tempers also flared when Ferdinand and Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele almost came to blows during the five minutes of injury time.

With the second leg of a Champions League semifinal against Barcelona looming on Tuesday, United manager Alex Ferguson left top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo off the starting line-up and put him on the bench alongside Carlos Tevez.

Frank Lampard was left off the Chelsea line-up altogether after the death of his mother, Pat, on Thursday but the Blues fans loudly cheered the absent star’s name when the team line-ups were announced.

Vidic injured again

Even with Nemanja Vidic back at the heart of the defence alongside Rio Ferdinand, United looked shaky in the first half with Michael Essien twice going close to giving Chelsea the lead in the first five minutes.

Vidic didn’t last long. Only just back from a knee injury and a stomach virus that ruled him out of United’s 0-0 draw in Barcelona on Wednesday, Vidic was carried off in the 13th minute, dazed and with blood pouring from a split lip after his head caught Drogba’s knee.

The breakthrough came with the stadium announcer calling out four minutes of injury time. Drogba lobbed a cross into the area and United defenders left Ballack virtually unmarked to guide his header between Van der Sar and the post.

Ronaldo made his appearance midway though the second half as a replacement for Rooney and his arrival made United more threatening in the thrilling final stages of the game.

High drama

Chelsea ground staff and Manchester United players were involved in a bizarre fracas on the pitch in an almost deserted Stamford Bridge stadium after Saturday’s match between the two teams.

None of the United players who played in the match was involved but Patrice Evra, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Gerard Pique and John O’Shea were all warming down when an argument began with the ground staff tending the pitch.

Stewards quickly moved in to separate those involved but after the situation quietened down the row flared up again, although no punches were thrown.

The incident happened a few minutes after the match. — Agencies

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