United fire blanks at Blackburn

Manchester United FC missed the chance to take over at the top of the Premier League with a goalless draw at Blackburn Rovers FC, on a day when relegated Portsmouth FC progressed to the FA Cup final thanks to a 2-0 extra-time win against Tottenham Hotspur FC.

With Chelsea also securing themselves an FA Cup final date on Saturday, United knew victory at Ewood Park would take them a point clear at the summit. Hosts Blackburn have already frustrated the leaders of late, however, and they made another contribution to an intriguing title race with a dogged display against a team missing injured striker Wayne Rooney. Goalkeeper Paul Robinson saved from Antonio Valencia and Dimitar Berbatov, but otherwise United created little and now find themselves a point shy of Chelsea having played one game more.

There were no goals at Anfield either as England's two UEFA Europa League semi-finalists faced off. Liverpool FC dominated possession and enjoyed the better chances, yet Fulham FC custodian Mark Schwarzer did well to deny Alberto Aquilani and Ryan Babel as the Reds failed to climb out of sixth spot.

They now lie six points away from a UEFA Champions League berth after Manchester City FC beat Birmingham City FC 5-1 to strengthen their hold on fourth place. Carlos Tévez got the ball rolling from the penalty spot seven minutes before half-time and both Nedum Onuoha and Emmanuel Adebayor struck twice to take City four points ahead of Tottenham, who have a game in hand. Sunday's other Premier League outing between Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and Stoke City FC produced a third goalless stalemate.

At Wembley, meanwhile, Portsmouth's incredible FA Cup run continued thanks to a pair of goals in extra time. Frédéric Piquionne struck the first after Spurs defender Michael Dawson had slipped when attempting to deal with a free-kick lobbed into the area, and Kevin-Prince Boateng made sure of the result with a penalty following Wilson Palacios's foul on Aruna Dindane.