Chelsea goes through

Man Utd rekindles title hopes as Liverpool draws

Manchester United's Ole Gunnar Solskjaer contributed two goals. Stu Forster/Allsport

LONDON (Reuters) -- Manchester United crushed Derby County 5-0 at Old Trafford on Wednesday to dispel any lingering doubts about their intention of retaining their Premier League title at the end of the season.

Meanwhile, league leaders Liverpool were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Fulham -- who have not won a match at Anfield since they first played there in 1934 -- to open up a four-point lead at the top of the table over Arsenal.

Michael Owen went close to scoring but remained on 99 goals in his Liverpool career.

The match was never a classic, but Fulham did enough to earn a point and stretch their unbeaten league run to eight matches. They became the first side to prevent Liverpool from scoring in the league this season.

Manchester United's victory moved them up from ninth to fifth place on 24 points, and while they may still be nine points behind Liverpool, past history proves they cannot be written off at this stage of the season.

Bookmakers William Hill immediately slashed their title odds from 10-1 to 11-2 -- even if England skipper David Beckham was again left on the bench.

United, beaten in their last three Premier League games and written off by many observers for a fourth successive title, raced into a 2-0 lead after only 10 minutes with goals from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (6) and skipper Roy Keane (10) -- his first of the season.

Solskjaer scored after trapping the ball on his chest and eluding the Derby defenders before lashing the ball home.

Keane scored when he was left unmarked at the far post after a blind-side run to net from close-range. It was his first goal for United since last March.

Solskjaer (58), Ruud van Nistelrooy, with a 63rd-minute close-range volley and Paul Scholes (89), with a clever turn and shot, completed United's scoring.

Scholes' goal was the 9,999th in the Premier League since the English league structure was reformed in 1992.

While United rekindled their hopes of the title, Derby became even more embroiled in the relegation fight.

They remain 18th in the 20-team league with only 13 points from 16 matches. Only Leicester, who also have 13 points, and Ipswich, on nine, are below them.

Late Hasselbaink goal puts Chelsea through

LONDON -- Dutchman Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink scored in injury time to give Chelsea a 1-0 win over Premier League rivals Newcastle United and a place in the semifinals of the English League Cup on Wednesday.

Their scrappy quarterfinal was settled with extra-time looming when Dutch substitute Boudewijn Zenden crossed to his compatriot who thundered the ball home from five meters out.

The result stretched Newcastle's hoodoo of failing to win in London to 29 matches but delighted the Chelsea faithful who saw their team join Tottenham Hotspur and Blackburn Rovers in the last four.

Either first division Watford or Sheffield Wednesday will accompany them. They play their quarterfinal next Wednesday.

Just minutes before Hasslebaink scored the winner, Newcastle had a great chance to win the match but Andy O'Brien headed the ball high over the bar from close range with only goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini to beat.

Both teams created scoring chances in a tense, even match that always looked like being settled by a single goal or even a penalty shoot-out.

Chelsea went close through Slavisa Jokanovic and Eidur Gunjohnsen, as well as Gianfranco Zola, who tried his luck with a hook-shot with his back to goal near the finish.

Nolberto Solano and Alan Shearer went close for the visitors but it was Chelsea who got the vital breakthrough in the end.

In the English FA Cup, Stoke City, second in the second division, beat Halifax Town, the 92nd and bottom-ranked team in the English league, 3-0 in their second round replay to seal a third round tie with Premier League Everton next month.

Stoke won with goals from Bjarni Gudjonsson (22), Chris Iwelumo (27) and Brynar Gunnarsson, who scored with a 47th minute header.

Halifax ended the match with 10 men when substitute Peter Wright was sent off in stoppage time for a clumsy and late tackle.

On Saturday he almost won the original game for Halifax when he came on with 10 minutes to play and narrowly missed hitting the winner in their 1-1 draw.

Related information
Stories
Arsenal gets go-ahead to build new stadium Manchester United stars recalled for Derby clash McLeish named new Rangers manager Blackburn stuns Arsenal 4-0 in League Cup UEFA Cup throws up possible 'Battle of Britain' Fowler arrested in Leeds, not charged
Multimedia
Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.

Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.