Results for game 21
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Chelsea 2-2 Fulham
PA
Fulham's Carlos Bocanegra rocked Chelsea with a late equaliser to leave the champions six points adrift of Manchester United at the top of the Barclays Premiership after a 2-2 draw.
Deadly Didier Drogba looked to have earned Chelsea all three points when he put Jose Mourinho's side ahead in the 61st minute, but Bocanegra's 84th-minute equaliser cost the Blues another two home points.
Drogba's strike, his sixth in as many games, made him the first Chelsea player in a decade to score 20 goals in one season.
The Ivory Coast international, who this week admitted he had thought about quitting the club in the summer, momentarily took the focus off Chelsea's defensive problems.
But Mourinho will be hoping influential captain John Terry will recover quickly from his back operation if they are to have any hope of catching Sir Alex Ferguson's men.
Chelsea's current defensive frailties were exposed as early as the 17th minute by Fulham's Moritz Volz - he scored the 15,000th Premiership goal - and demonstrated once more why Terry is such a towering talisman for Mourinho's side.
Chelsea have now conceded eight goals during Terry's absence with a back injury that required surgery in midweek and they looked decidedly rocky without his inspirational leadership.
Midfielder Michael Essien twice went close in the opening three minutes - sending one shot just wide of the target and forcing Antti Niemi into a fine save with his second effort moments later.
In the 13th minute Essien turned provider with a powerful run down the right flank. His cross into the six-yard box fell perfectly for Salomon Kalou, but the Chelsea striker just failed to apply the finishing touch.
They paid for their wastefulness in the 17th minute when Volz put the visitors in front with a goal that would not have pleased Mourinho.
Franck Queudrue's throw into the penalty area was dummied superbly by Tomasz Radzinski to leave Volz clear to unleash a right-foot volley into the net.
Volz's strike was the seventh goal Chelsea had conceded since captain Terry had been sidelined.
Fulham should have increased their lead in the 26th minute, but an unmarked Wayne Routledge fired over the crossbar from the edge of the penalty area to the dismay of boss Chris Coleman.
Chelsea equalised in the 35th minute when Liam Rosenior failed to clear a long cross from Makelele and Lampard despatched the loose ball into the corner of the net via the legs of the unfortunate Fulham defender.
Lampard's hopes of claiming his 10th goal of the season were dashed when Chelsea's equaliser was officially credited as an own goal by Fulham defender Rosenior.
Chelsea looked short on confidence, with Ferreira proving yet again that he is not a central defender. But with Khalid Boulahrouz suspended, Mourinho had little option but to play the right-back out of position.
He was caught out of position on numerous occasions in the opening half and Fulham were unlucky not to punish Chelsea's poor defending a second time when Brian McBride's header was pushed off the line by Hilario in the 47th minute.
Mourinho, clearly fearing two more dropped home points over the festive period, opted to send on the out-of-sorts Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko in place of full-back Geremi in the 57th minute.
The change worked wonders as Drogba put the home side in front in the 61st minute.
The Ivory coast international headed Lampard's cross home from six yards after Fulham had failed to clear Ashley Cole's long punt into the area. It was his sixth goal in as many games.
But Fulham rocked Chelsea six minutes from time when Essien failed to clear a cross from Queudrue and after McBride's shot was superbly saved by Hilario, Bocanegra pounced to equalise from close range.
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Watford 1-1 Wigan
Watford and Wigan will have to replay this match after they were forced off 11 minutes into the second half with the score 1-1 because heavy rain made the pitch impossible to play on.
With players unable to keep their balance or judge their passes, referee Steve Tanner sent them to the dressing rooms in the 56th minute and the match was officially abandoned at 4:32pm.
During the play that was possible, Emile Heskey had given Wigan the lead in the 23rd minute, with Tamas Priskin heading the equaliser - his first goal for the Hornets - a minute before half-time.
But those statistics are almost certain to be erased as the clubs seek a new date for the fixture in 2007.
The outcome does little to aid Watford's fight against relegation, as they began the day nine points adrift of safety in the Barclays Premiership.
Wigan boss Paul Jewell made four changes to his starting line-up, with skipper Arjan de Zeeuw, Denny Landzaat, David Cotterill and Josip Skoko all returning.
For Watford, Priskin made his first Barclays Premiership start of the season in place of the injured Hameur Bouazza.
Watford believe luck has deserted them this season and fortune worked against them once more in the 10th minute.
The Hornets won a free-kick 22 yards from goal after Emmerson Boyce had handled the ball and Ashley Young's curling effort beat Chris Kirkland's dive but bounced back off the left post.
When Anthony McNamee turned the loose ball back into the danger zone, Jay DeMerit struck it goalwards - only to see it rebound off team-mate Priskin.
Priskin himself wasted a good chance in the 13th minute, showing neat footwork to beat Leighton Baines on the right before guiding a tame effort well wide of Kirkland's right post.
As has happened so often this term, Watford were punished for failing to take their chances.
In the 23rd minute Kevin Kilbane crossed from the left and Heskey held off Dan Shittu too easily before turning and firing low into the bottom right corner from 12 yards.
The goal gave Wigan confidence, and they began to pass the ball with greater belief and precision.
In the 34th minute Ben Foster pushed away a powerful low 30-yard shot from Heskey before clutching the ball at the second attempt.
Three minutes later Watford had DeMerit to thank for an excellent sliding tackle on Baines after Cotterill's perceptive pass had found the overlapping left-back inside the Watford penalty area.
Wigan thought momentarily they had doubled their lead in the 40th minute when Landzaat steered Svetoslav Todorov's left-wing cross past Foster from six yards, but the Dutchman was denied by the offside flag.
Against the run of play Watford conjured an equaliser in the 44th minute, Priskin's header from Gavin Mahon's left-wing cross just beating Kirkland's dive.
The rain, which had persisted throughout the first half, began to fall considerably harder at the start of the second half, making it extremely difficult for the players to keep their balance or judge their passes.
In the 47th minute Todorov fell inside the box under pressure from Gavin Mahon, but referee Tanner was not convinced and showed the Bulgarian the yellow card.
The conditions made sliding tackles almost impossible to time correctly, as Mahon discovered in the 50th minute when he felled Cotterill 25 yards from goal, but Baines fired wide.
Wigan manager Jewell and Watford boss Adrian Boothroyd both spoke to fourth official Graham Poll early in the second half - with Jewell also remonstrating with Tanner - as the pitch slowly turned into a mudbath.
It was not the weather for back-passes as Shittu almost discovered in the 55th minute when he forced Foster into a hurried clearance as Todorov bore down on the loose ball.
In the 56th minute Tanner decided enough was enough and sent the players to the dressing rooms for an initial 10 minutes, with the match eventually called off shortly afterwards.
During the interval both Jewell and Boothroyd had stepped onto the pitch, with Jewell kicking the ball towards the Watford goal to demonstrate the farcical nature of the conditions.
Boothroyd went one better, throwing the ball in the air, only to see it land in a muddy patch without bouncing, before shooting it into the empty goal - much to the delight of the Watford fans.
The stadium announcer sent the fans home by revealing the match had been called off because of ``the state of the pitch and concerns for the players' safety``.
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Nicolas Anelka took his tally to seven goals in eight games as Bolton, unlikely Champions League contenders, chalked up a fifth successive Barclays Premiership win with a 3-2 victory over Portsmouth.
For Pompey goalkeeper David James it was no laughing matter as he was at fault for two of the goals in an erratic display at the Reebok Stadium.
Yet Portsmouth, flying high themselves, could not have made a better start.
Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole, making his first Premiership start for the visitors, had a hand in the opening goal after 71 seconds.
He threaded a neat reverse pass into the area and Matt Taylor shrugged off the challenge of Abdoulaye Faye to fire home.
It was Taylor's fifth goal in six games and gave Portsmouth just the start they wanted.
Bolton looked rattled and their passing was wayward as they went in search of the equaliser.
The home fans were becoming frustrated, but captain Kevin Nolan gave them something to cheer about in the 21st minute.
He rattled in a shot that was deflected to safety at the last moment. Then, a minute later, team-mate Kevin Davies fired wide from a good position.
Suddenly it was Portsmouth's turn to come under pressure and fighting to preserve their lead.
Bolton drew level in the 30th minute following a lapse in concentration from James. He punched a corner from Gary Speed straight up in the air and Faye took advantage to head home.
Portsmouth were now looking a little bit vulnerable at the back, especially from set-pieces.
Taylor, though, showed he was dead-ball specialist with a fine free-kick from an acute angle in the 38th minute that went narrowly wide.
Bolton took the lead in the 40th minute thanks to Campo's fifth goal of the season. He was first to react at the far post after James had parried a goal-bound header from Davies following a long ball from Tal Ben Haim.
Portsmouth hit back and Cole looked set to pull them level two minutes later, but goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen made a marvellous block.
Nolan should have extended Bolton's advantage in the 53rd minute when Davies cleverly played the ball through.
However, he fired his effort from inside the area straight at James and Portsmouth breathed a sigh of relief.
Davies was putting in a hard shift, while fellow forwards Anelka and El-Hadji Diouf were coming more into the game.
James had a rush of blood that nearly cost his side dear in the 59th minute. He raced out of his goal to try and foil Davies but mistimed his challenge and Noe Pamarot was forced to tidy up.
Cole almost pulled a goal back a minute later, but Jaaskelainen was equal to his close-range effort.
Bolton extended their lead in the 62nd minute following another blunder by James. He flapped at the ball instead of smothering it after defender Sol Campbell had diverted a cross from Davies.
James was cutting a disconsolate figure between the posts as Portsmouth were now chasing the game after a bright start.
Portsmouth kept going forward and Nico Kranjcar tried his luck from distance, only for his effort to clear the bar in the 80th minute.
Faye should have scored his second goal of the game three minutes later but headed wide in front of the posts following a chip from Anelka.
Cole pulled a goal back for Portsmouth with two minutes to go when he got away from Abdoulaye Meite, but they did not have enough time to secure a point. -
Benni McCarthy salvaged three more priceless Barclays Premiership points with the winning goal in a 2-1 success for Blackburn and heaped more away-day misery upon struggling Middlesbrough at sodden Ewood Park.
McCarthy directed a 74th-minute header past Mark Schwarzer to seal his 11th goal of a highly rewarding season just four days after grabbing the Boxing Day winner over Liverpool.
Boro had looked set to seize a point through Aiyegbeni Yakubu's 61st-minute penalty after Shabani Nonda had fired Rovers into a ninth-minute lead with a delicious right-foot volley.
But in the end Gareth Southgate's men were left pointless once again and requiring victory in their New Year's Day showdown with Sheffield United to avoid the possibility of falling back into the drop zone.
Unchanged from their win over Liverpool, Rovers started confidently and looked the most likely to make light of the dismal weather conditions which left standing water down both flanks.
McCarthy was clearly in the mood to add to his crucial clincher against Rafael Benitez's men, as his shot on goal was blocked by Andrew Taylor.
Boro, seeking to end a dismal sequence of away results which has hampered their attempts to get away from the relegation zone, were struggling to make an impression.
Morten Gamst Pedersen's seventh-minute cross sailed inches too high for Nonda in front of goal, but the Congolese star was in the right place to put his side ahead two minutes later.
Lucas Neill delivered a superb ball into the box which dropped invitingly for Nonda to hammer a first-time volley past Schwarzer.
Indeed, Rovers' biggest early scare came when McCarthy hobbled to the sidelines for lengthy treatment after an aerial duel with Jonathan Woodgate, before treading gingerly for a number of minutes on his return.
Rovers were good value for their half-time lead in an inevitably scrappy encounter, with Rovers goalkeeper Brad Friedel enjoying a rare day of rest after his Boxing Day heroics kept Liverpool at bay.
It took Boro 23 minutes to fashion their first chance of note when Mark Viduka cut inside Andre Ooijer and found James Morrison, whose shot sailed high over Friedel's crossbar.
Ooijer denied the impressive Lee Cattermole a point-blank scoring opportunity in the 27th minute after reacting quickest to Viduka's dangerous knock-on in the box and prodding the ball out for a corner.
Yakubu finally forced Friedel to make a save 10 minutes before the break when he got the better of Ooijer on the edge of the box, but his shot lacked spark and flew into the goalkeeper's hands.
The visitors continued to find themselves frustrated after the break and were reliant on Woodgate to superbly cut out shooting chances for McCarthy and David Bentley.
Pedersen rode his luck to almost fashion a shooting chance in the 54th minute after Tugay's cross-field pass had clattered off Andrew Davies in the Boro box.
But Boro drew level from the penalty spot in the 61st minute after Ooijer was penalised for hauling down Emanuel Pogatetz and Yakubu stepped up to fire the equaliser low to Friedel's right.
Moments later referee Martin Atkinson waved away Rovers' appeals for a penalty at the other end, ruling Neill had deliberately gone to ground under pressure from Pogatetz.
With Boro brimming with belated confidence, Yakubu fired a solid header straight at Friedel from Morrison's dangerous right-wing cross in the 70th minute.
Suddenly Boro looked the most likely to seize the three crucial points, with Cattermole clattering a long-range effort inches wide of Friedel's left-hand post.
But they reckoned without the excellent McCarthy, who rose highest to meet Robbie Savage's precise ball into the box and head the ball past Schwarzer to further ease his side's relegation worries.
With Boro pushing to get back into the match, Rovers had chances to extend their lead on the counter-attack and Nonda hit a rising shot over the crossbar five minutes from time. -
all of the above is by espn
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Luis Garcia scored on the stroke of half-time to give Liverpool a 1-0 victory and bring Tottenham's run of home success to a halt.
Spurs had won their previous 12 games at White Hart Lane but were undone in first-half stoppage time when Liverpool took advantage of poor defending.
Liverpool have been poor on the road this season - this was just their third away win in the Barclays Premiership - but they looked comfortable until the hosts started chasing the game.
Reds defender Steve Finnan hit his own crossbar, but goalkeeper Jose Reina was largely untroubled until late on, when he beat a Jermain Defoe drive away.
Defeat dented Spurs' hope of breaking into the top six, while Liverpool's victory gives them an ideal platform for being in the Champions League places during the second half of the season.
Spurs were without captain Ledley King and his stand-in at centre-half, Calum Davenport, had an unfortunate hand in Liverpool's opener.
Without King, Spurs' defence looked less assured from the opening exchanges - Lee Young-Pyo giving Paul Robinson a dreadful back-pass with two minutes gone.
The England goalkeeper, captain for the day, scrambled clear as Dirk Kuyt closed in, but the pattern of slack passing continued from both sides.
Spurs fashioned the first real effort on goal, but Mido flashed wide when he had plenty of time following a slip from Jamie Carragher while under pressure from Steed Malbranque.
Defoe had a couple of efforts off target and had also been caught marginally offside when Tom Huddlestone played him behind the Liverpool defence, but it was the visitors who applied the first spell of pressure.
Craig Bellamy forced Robinson into a low save after move started by Steven Gerrard and helped along by Kuyt.
The Dutch striker, linked with a move to Spurs two summers ago, then curled an effort just wide of the upright after Bellamy had laid the ball back to the edge of the area.
Tottenham boss Martin Jol has always been an admirer of his compatriot, and it was Kuyt who was soon a threat again - trapping a poor kick from Robinson beautifully but having his eventual effort blocked.
Xabi Alonso flashed a drive wide as the interval drew closer, but the visitors broke the deadlock before the whistle by taking advantage of Spurs' defensive frailty.
Gerrard robbed Didier Zokora before stubbing his shot into the floor from the edge of the area. The ball was headed by Davenport towards Luis Garcia and the Spaniard had little trouble finishing from the edge of the six-yard area.
Bellamy had a long-range drive saved by Robinson two minutes after the restart, but it was the last action he saw, as he was replaced by Jermaine Pennant and headed down the tunnel for treatment.
Zokora came off for Danny Murphy, a former Liverpool player, just after Garcia had missed a glorious chance to double the lead by directing his free header into the ground.
In the 59th minute Jol answered the chants from the crowd to introduce Dimitar Berbatov, who replaced Mido. The Bulgaria striker had been ill this week and was left on the bench until the hosts needed to chase the game.
Reina fumbled a straightforward free-kick, but there was little else for the Spaniard to do for the first hour.
Davenport diverted Pennant's cross into his own side-netting as Liverpool went in search of another rather than sitting back.
They brought on Peter Crouch in place of Kuyt for the last 25 minutes, which also featured a storm as conditions got worse.
Spurs almost grabbed a leveller when Berbatov's cross was headed by Finnan against his own bar from point-blank range.
Malbranque then came close with a drive as the rain eased slightly, while Hossam Ghaly sliced horribly wide from close range as Spurs applied late pressure.
The visitors held on for victory, but Reina had to beat away a drive from Defoe and Berbatov had an effort ruled out for offside. -
Seems like Chelsea is feeling the pressure of having to chase...
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wtf?!
i didnt watch football last night except the charlton game and i missed so much action
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My friend same also. Watched Charlton match but miss out so much games.Originally posted by used:wtf?!
i didnt watch football last night except the charlton game and i missed so much action -
goals galore yesterday
