Di Matteo keeps Chelsea in first
Man U throttles Leicester 6-2, inches closer to top
Posted: Saturday January 16, 1999 01:49 PM
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Chelsea's Gianfranco Zola (25) fires a shot through the Coventry defense AP |
LONDON (AP) -- Roberto Di Matteo's match-winning strike in the
third minute of injury time kept Chelsea at the top of the Premier
League in a 2-1 victory over Coventry on Saturday after Manchester
United looked like taking over with a 6-2 win at Leicester.
The Italian midfielder fired his first goal of the season for a
turnaround Chelsea win after Darren Huckerby, scorer of two
hat tricks in the last two weeks, had given Coventry the lead.
It looked like Coventry, the last team to beat Chelsea on the
opening day of the campaign, would complete a remarkable double but
French World Cup defender Franck Leboeuf leveled with a 25-yard
strike, the final kick of the first half.
With time running out in the second, it looked as if Gianluca
Vialli's team would lose the Premier League leadership on goal
difference to Manchester United before Di Matteo scored with a shot
from the edge of the area.
It was a frustrating ending for Sky Blues. Six minutes from the
final whistle there was a scuffle between the two benches and the
referee "expelled" Coventry manager Gordon Strachan, ordering him
to move into the stands.
Dwight Yorke scored three times, Andy Cole hit two and there was
a rare strike from Dutch defender Jaap Stam as United powered six
goals past Leicester's American goalkeeper, Kasey Keller, at
Filbert Street.
The result pushes Alex Ferguson's team up to second place above
Astn Villa, which can regain it by beating Everton on Monday.
Chelsea has 43 points, United 41 and Villa 40.
Arsenal stayed fourth on 39 points by earning a 1-0 win at last
place Nottingham Forest which had veteran manager Ron Atkinson in
charge for the first time.
Defender Martin Keown scred the Gunners' winner at the City
Ground and Forest, which has not won in the league for 18 games,
remains last with only 13 points. Next to last Charlton hosts
Newcastle on Sunday and even a tie would leave Forest adrift by
four points.
Liverpool romped to a 7-1 victory over second from last
Southampton with Robbie Fowler scoring three times. Dominic Matteo
scored his first and there were more from Jamie Carragher, Michael
Owen and David Thompson.
Six-goal Manchester United and seven-goal Liverpool meet next
week in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
West Ham's grim week ended with a 4-0 loss at home to Sheffield
Wednesday.
The Hammers were ousted from the FA Cup by division three
Swansea on Wednesday and sold striker John Hartson to Wimbledon on
Friday amid fears that the club was having to sell its best players
to stay financially viable.
Goals by Andy Hinchliffe, Petter Rudi, Ritchie Humphreys and
Benito Carbone gave Wednesday a one-sided victory to put more
pressure on Hammers' manager Harry Redknapp.
Hartson was booked on his debut for Wimbledon in a 0-0 tie with
Tottenham at White Hart Lane and his team slipped one place to
seventh.
Blackburn's seven-game unbeaten streak under new manager Brian
Kidd ended with a 1-0 loss at Derby. Jamaican World Cup striker
Deon Burton struck the winner six minutes from the end.
Alan Smith and Lee Bowyer scored first half goals as fifth-place
Leeds downed Middlesbrough 2-0.
Division two leader Sunderland is not in action until Sunday
when it hosts fellow promotion-contender Ipswich and Bradford beat
Crewe 4-1 to climb to second and cut its lead to seven points.
Birmingham lost second place after a 0-0 tie at Barnsley and
slipped to fourth behind Bolton, which won 2-1 at Sheffield United.
Only the top two clubs are guaranteed promotion and the others
will chase a place through the end-of-season playoffs.
The Scottish Premier League is taking a mid-winter break and
returns next weekend.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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