Sports / Soccer |
Sheffield United relegated from league(AP)Updated: 2007-05-14 08:33 LONDON - Sheffield United was relegated from the English Premier League after losing to visiting Wigan 2-1 Sunday, and West Ham stayed in the top division by beating champion Manchester United 1-0. With last-place Watford and Charlton already relegated to the Football League Championship, three more teams were in danger of going down in the final round of games. Wigan needed a victory over the Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, and Paul Scharner scored in the 14th minute and David Unsworth added a penalty kick in the 45th. Sheffield United got its goal from Jonathan Stead's 38th-minute diving header. "It was a great achievement for us and I feel a little bit sorry for Sheffield United," Wigan manager Paul Jewell said. "It's not nice for someone to celebrate when the other team gets relegated." Carlos Tevez scored West Ham's goal in first-half injury time at Old Trafford, where the home fans were waiting for the Red Devils to collect the Premier League trophy. "Whatever the circumstances, to come to Manchester United and win is fantastic," West Ham manager Alan Curbishley said. "I hope I never have to go through it again and I hope West Ham never have to go through it again." Premier League runner-up Chelsea was held to a 1-1 tie by visiting Everton, host Liverpool tied 2-2 with Charlton and Arsenal was held to a 0-0 tie at Portsmouth. Also Sunday, it was: Blackburn 3, Reading 3; Bolton 2, Aston Villa 2; Middlesbrough 3, Fulham 1; Tottenham 2, Manchester City 1; and Watford 1, Newcastle 1. Manchester United finished with 89 points from 38 games, followed by Chelsea with 83. Liverpool edged Arsenal for third place on goal difference. Both had 68 points. All four teams will play in the Champions League next season, while Tottenham, Everton and Bolton will play in the UEFA Cup. Chelsea's tie with Everton meant that it matched Liverpool's record 63-game unbeaten streak in England's top division. U.S. goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann was taken off the field in the 23rd minute and was replaced by Reading teammate Adam Federici. Hahnemann was shaken after colliding with Shabani Nonda in 21st, seconds before Benni McCarthy gave Blackburn a 1-0 lead. Another American, Brad Friedel, played in goal for Blackburn. ___ ROME (AP) — AC Milan struggled to a 1-1 tie with Catania in the Italian league, 10 days before it plays Liverpool in the Champions League final. Kaka set up a goal for Clarence Seedorf from outside the penalty area in the sixth minute, but Gionatha Spinesi beat Milan defender Massimo Oddo in the 62nd to tie the score with a volley. Milan goalkeeper Dida tipped a shot by Fabio Caserta over the bar in the 87th. Marco Materazzi scored the winning goal and Hernan Crespo added three others in Inter Milan's 4-3 win over Lazio. Inter already has won the league title. Torino beat second-place AS Roma 1-0 with a goal from Roberto Muzzi in the 14th after an error by Christian Chivu. Inter has 93 points in the standings, followed by Roma with 72. Lazio and Milan share third with 61 each. Giuseppe Rossi, a Parma forward eligible to play for the national teams of the United States and Italy, scored two goals in his team's 4-1 win over Messina. The victory boosted Parma's chances of avoiding relegation. ___ MADRID, Spain (AP) — Barcelona was held to a 1-1 tie by Real Betis in the Spanish league, leaving the defending champions behind Real Madrid on head-to-head results. Ronaldinho gave the hosts the lead with a penalty kick in the fifth minute after Deco was fouled by defender Juan Andreu, but Rafael Sobis took advantage of some slack defense to score in the 89th for Betis. Barcelona's disappointing result came three days after its humiliating 4-0 loss at Getafe, which cost the team a place in the Copa del Rey final. With four games remaining, Madrid and Barcelona each have 66 points, two more than Sevilla. Valencia has 62, and Zaragoza 55. Valencia maintained its slim title hopes with a 2-0 win over Zaragoza, which virtually assured the 2002 and 2004 champion of a berth in next season's Champions League. Atletico Madrid edged closer to a spot in next season's UEFA Cup after beating Getafe 4-1. Fernando Torres scored two goals, and Maniche and Luciano Galletti added the others to end Atletico's three-game winless streak. ___ AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Ajax will face AZ Alkmaar in a playoff for the Dutch league's second spot in next season's Champions League. Ajax advanced to the final by defeating 10-man SC Heerenveen 4-0 and 4-1 on total goals. AZ advanced 3-1 on aggregate after a 2-0 victory over FC Twente. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored two goals for Ajax against his old team, and Ryan Babel and substitute Kenneth Perez added the others. Tim de Cler and Jeremain Lens scored second-half goals for AZ. The playoff final will be a rematch of the Dutch Cup final, which Ajax won 8-7 in a shootout. ___ GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Kilmarnock beat Rangers 1-0 in the Scottish Premier League, with Steven Naismith scoring in the 53rd minute. Celtic, which already has won the league title, leads Rangers by 12 points. ___ ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A day after announcing he wasn't given a new contract by Olympiakos Piraeus, Rivaldo scored twice and led the reigning champion to a 5-3 win over Ionikos on the last day of the Greek league. AEK Athens finished a distant second following a shock 3-1 loss to Panionios, which qualified for the UEFA Cup next season. Panathinaikos was third after being held to 2-2 by lowly Kerkyra, which joined Egaleo and Ionikos in relegation. ___ LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Adriano scored a second-half equalizer to give FC Porto a 1-1 draw at Pacos Ferreira and keep the defending Portuguese champions one point ahead of second-place Sporting with one round to play. Brazilian striker Liedson scored a fourth-minute goal to put Sporting on the path to a 2-0 win at Academica. |
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