Soccer News

Chelsea boost top-four hopes as Tottenham are held to draw

Apr 7, 2012, 16:04 GMT

London - Chelsea boosted their hopes of a top-four spot in the Premier League with a last-gasp 2-1 win over relegation-threatened Wigan Athletic on Saturday.

Juan Mata scored in injury time to lift his side level on points with Newcastle United in fifth place.

Third-placed Tottenham Hotspur were held 0-0 at Sunderland, leaving them one point clear of Arsenal, who play second-placed Manchester City on Sunday.

Chelsea and Newcastle are now just two points behind Arsenal while the bottom three remain the same, with Wolves propping up the table.

Tottenham dominated possession but the match was low on clear-cut chances, with Rafael van der Vaart going closest for the visitors on a couple of occasions.

Both sides had appeals for penalties for handball rejected by the referee and in the end settled for a point, lifting Sunderland to within a point of Liverpool.

'It's difficult when teams don't come out so there isn't a lot of space for us to get in behind them,' Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said. 'Having said that I did think we had two or three good chances.

'I came in at half-time and felt it was a game I would be disappointed if we didn't win, but a point is a point after two tough away games in the last week or so.'

Blackburn's survival hopes took another blow as they were thumped 3-0 at West Bromwich Albion, while Bolton are just one point above the relegation zone after losing 3-0 at home to Fulham.

Liverpool's poor run continued with a 1-1 home draw against Aston Villa, and Norwich drew 2-2 with Everton.

Bottom side Wolves were due to play Stoke City later on Saturday while Manchester United, five points clear at the top, play Queens Park Rangers on Sunday.

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