United recovery stuns Arsenal

By Kevin Ashby

Arsenal FC all but relinquished their Premiership crown after allowing Manchester United FC to come from 2-1 down at half-time to win 4-2 at Highbury and become the primary challengers to leaders Chelsea FC.

Silvestre off
Both the Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger and his opposite number Sir Alex Ferguson had stressed the importance of victory, with Chelsea ten points clear of the Gunners and eleven above United going into the game. A goal from Ryan Giggs, two from Cristiano Ronaldo - later substituted following the sending-off of Mikaël Silvestre - and a John O'Shea chip mean Chelsea's lead is cut to eight ahead of their trip to Blackburn Rovers FC on Wednesday.

'Character and determination'
"To come from behind twice shows the character and determination of the side," said Sir Alex. "We were fantastic on the night and played some great attacking football. We could win all our games for the rest of the season and still not win the title, but I think the most important thing is we showed our great form and we can take advantage if Chelsea slip up."

War of words
With the managers embroiled in a war of words prior to the fixture, it was no surprise to see their captains doing likewise in the tunnel beforehand. It was Patrick Vieira of Arsenal who made the first impact, though, as he flicked in a Thierry Henry corner in the ninth minute. Nine minutes later United were level as Giggs latched on to a Wayne Rooney flick and beat Manuel Almunia with the aid of a deflection.

Weighted pass
A match lacking neither passion nor quality saw its third goal in the 36th minute as Dennis Bergkamp raced on to Henry's pass and drove in Arsenal's second below Roy Carroll. That proved to be the highlight of Wenger's night, however, and Arsenal's nadir came in the 88th minute as substitute O'Shea ran on to Scholes's clipped pass and chipped in the fourth.

Campbell injured
In between, Ronaldo finished off a sweeping United move in the 58th minute and added his second on his first Highbury appearance following sterling play down the right from the effervescent Giggs. Arsenal's misery was compounded by a 78th-minute injury to centre-back Sol Campbell which could keep him out of England's friendly against the Netherlands next week.

Riise winner
While United can claim the most important comeback of the night, Liverpool FC did likewise against Charlton Athletic FC after the Londoners had gone ahead through Shaun Bartlett at The Valley. Fernando Morientes's first goal in English football got the Reds on track just after the hour and John Arne Riise ensured maximum points for Liverpool in the 78th minute.

Bolton rise
The victory lifts fifth-placed Liverpool three points clear of Charlton and Middlesbrough FC after Steve McClaren's side went down 2-1 at Portsmouth FC, who jump two places to 12th thanks to Yakubu Ayegbeni's winning goal. Bolton Wanderers FC are also on the rise, leapfrogging Tottenham Hotspur FC into eighth following a 3-1 success against the north Londoners. Frédéric Kanoute was sent off for Spurs.

Late equaliser
There were also four goals in the final game of the night, although this time they were shared as West Bromwich Albion FC saw their hopes of a third Premiership triumph of the season dashed by Aki Riihilahti's last-gasp leveller for Crystal Palace FC. West Brom remain bottom while Palace are a place above the relegation zone.