Manchester United edged 2-1 past Sheffield United and Chelsea beat West Ham 1-0 on Saturday as both sides continued their race for the Premiership trophy. Title hopefuls Arsenal, meanwhile, were held to a 1-1 draw by struggling Newcastle to lose more ground to the leading duo. United are now top the league table with 34 points, three ahead of defending champions Chelsea. Portsmouth, who defeated Watford 1-0 on the same day, are third with 23 points while Arsenal are in a disappointing fourth place on only 22 points and still have one match in hand. At Bramall Lane, Wayne Rooney scored twice to help United come from behind and beat Sheffield. The English international hammered home from close range in the 30th minute to put the visitors level after a stunning header from Keith Gillespie in the 13th minute opened the scoring. Rooney then unleashed a superb finish 15 minutes from time to secure the three points for Alex Ferguson's side.
They could have even widened the gap but Cristiano Ronaldo rattled against the woodwork. In London, Cameroonian defender Geremi scored his first goal of the season as the Blues kept United in sight. He hammered a brilliant free-kick in the 22nd minute past the goalkeeper to seal the win. Across the city at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal were held to their fourth draw of the season when they failed to score the winner against relegation-threatened Newcastle. Newcastle took the lead through Kieron Dyer in the 32nd minute when he angled a shot past keeper Jens Lehman. Captain Thierry Henry came off the bench in the second period to curl an unstoppable free-kick that took deflection off the crossbar and settled home for the equalizer. The Gunners had several chances in the last ten minutes but Cesc Fabregas and Henry hit the post as Newcastle hang on to protect a precious point.
