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"Man Utd" came even closer to the English champions title when they snatched a victory against "Liverpool" at the end of the match on Saturday and increased their lead over second-placed London's "Chelsea" to nine points. The current champions won 2-0 away against "Portsmouth" on Saturday, with goals scored by Ivory Coast national team forwards Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, who came on as a substitute. The hero of the match in Liverpool was John O'Shea, who scored the only goal of the match in extra time. "Man Utd" finished the match with ten men - in the 86th minute, defender Paul Scholes received a red card for attempting to strike Xabi Alonso in the face, but missing. "It's a fantastic result," said "Man Utd" manager Alex Ferguson after the match, adding that his team celebrated victory even in the previous weekend's match against "Fulham". "To win the championship, you need a bit of luck," said the Scottish manager. "I think luck helped us in these last two matches." Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez had a completely different opinion: "It's unbelievable how we lost this match. We had the advantage and deserved to win." "We dominated the match, earned several corners, and took several shots on goal," said the Spaniard. "In football, sometimes things go your way, but sometimes they don't." London's "Arsenal" returned to the path of victories, beating "Reading" 2-1 at home on Saturday. The hosts took the lead in the beginning of the second half, with a penalty converted successfully by Brazilian Gilberto Silva. Another Brazilian, Julio Baptista, doubled the score after more than ten minutes, and towards the end of the match, Spaniard Cesc Fabregas scored an own goal. "Reading" almost equalized, but Jens Lehmann saved a shot from Steve Sidwell. In other Saturday matches, "Wigan" beat "Man City" away, while the match in London between "Fulham" and Birmingham's "Aston Villa" ended in a 1-1 draw. The match between "Sheffield United" and Liverpool's "Everton" also ended 1-1. "Watford" played a 2-2 draw at home against "Charlton," who scored the equalizer in the 89th minute. The match between Newcastle and Middlesbrough ended goalless. Matchday 29 statistics "Portsmouth" 0 - 2 London's "Chelsea" 33` [0 - 1] Didier Drogba 82` [0 - 2] Salomon Kalou London's "Arsenal" 2 - 1 "Reading" 50` [1 - 0] Gilberto Silva (pen.) 62` [2 - 0] Julio Baptista 87` [2 - 1] Cesc Fabregas (own goal) London's "Fulham" 1 - 1 Birmingham's "Aston Villa" 21` [0 - 1] John Carew 23` [1 - 1] Carlos Bocanegra "Man City" 0 - 1 "Wigan" 18` [0 - 1] Caleb Folan "Newcastle" 0 - 0 "Middlesbrough" "Sheffield Utd" 1 - 1 Liverpool's "Everton" 52` [1 - 0] Rob Hulse 75` [1 - 1] Mikel Arteta (pen.) "Watford" 2 - 2 "Charlton" 15` [1 - 0] Hameur Bouazza 21` [2 - 0] Damien Francis 67` [2 - 1] Luke Young 89` [2 - 2] Darren Ambrose "Liverpool" 0 - 1 "Man Utd" 90` [0 - 1] John O`Shea 86` Paul Scholes sent off ("Man Utd") Sunday matches "Bolton" - "Blackburn" London's "West Ham" - "Tottenham"
