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    LONDON, England -- Manchester United moved five points clear in the Premiership title race after fighting back from two goals down to beat Everton 4-2 on a day of rollercoaster drama on Saturday. Wayne Rooney's 79th-minute strike and a stoppage time goal from youngster Chris Eagles capped a remarkable fightback at Goodison Park where Everton had led 2-0. Victory ensured that Alex Ferguson's side took full advantage of Chelsea being held to a 2-2 draw by Bolton at Stamford Bridge. It was a dramatic turnaround on a day that had seen Chelsea 2-1 ahead at the time United trailed by two goals. Everton went ahead in the 11th minute after Patrice Evra fouled Mikel Arteta 20 metres out to concede a free-kick in a dangerous position which Alan Stubbs fully exploited. The 35-year-old defender powered in a ferocious shot that took a slight deflection off Michael Carrick and flew past Edwin van der Sar into the back of the net. United dominated most of the rest of the half but it was Everton who were the first to find the net again when Manuel Fernandes created space for himself and then drilled an unstoppable shot past Van der Sar to make it 2-0 after 50 minutes. But poor defending at two corners midway through the second half turned the game United's way. Iain Turner, in goal because Everton's regular keeper Tim Howard is on loan from United and not allowed to play against his parent club, fumbled an inswinging corner from Ryan Giggs, allowing the ball to drop at the feet of John O'Shea who lashed it into the empty net from close-range. United's equalizer seven minutes later followed another corner when the Everton defence failed to clear a header from substitute Cristiano Ronaldo. The ball fell to former United defender Phil Neville -- who scored nine goals in 386 appearances during his 11-year career at Old Trafford. But he scored for United again when he sent the ball into the back of his own net instead of clearing it. United's dominance finally paid off in the 78th minute when Everton failed to deal with a high cross from Ronaldo. The ball fell to Rooney, who is still unpopular with some Everton fans after he left for United in 2004, who rode a tackle before steering a shot into the right-hand corner for his 14th league goal of the season. Youngster Chris Eagles, who replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after 86 minutes, marked his first appearance for United in the Premier League with the fourth goal in stoppage time when he curled the ball home from 18 meters to complete United's stunning comeback. Over at Stamford Bridge, Slovakia defender Lubomir Michalik gave Bolton a surprise 19th minute lead on his full debut, only for Chelsea's Ivorian striker Salomon Kalou to level soon after with a header. Kalou was also responsible for Chelsea's second goal, sending in a header that struck the crossbar and rebounded into the net off keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen in the 33rd minute. But as Chelsea closed in for the kill, Bolton forward Kevin Davies exploited a defensive lapse to head an equaliser soon after the re-start and Sam Allardyce's men held on for a point. It means that United, who travel to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on May 9, have 85 points to the champions' 80. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said: "With Chelsea drawing, it's back with us. A five-point lead and a superior goal difference gives us an absolutely marvellous chance with just three games left." Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho conceded Manchester United were now very close to Premier League glory. "Mathematically, we still have a chance and when there's a chance you have to wait...you have to win and you have to wait. "I think Manchester United at the moment feel very close... They feel very comfortable...They can come to Stamford Bridge and they can lose," he said. "I feel sad, but I feel I have a big game against Liverpool on Tuesday. That's a good thing, about being in this situation, that you still have a big game so you don't have time to be sad," Mourinho said. Mourinho began against Bolton by resting England midfielders Frank Lampard and Joe Cole and top scorer Didier Drogba but all three eventually came off the bench. Charlton nearer to relegationMeanwhile, at the bottom, West Ham boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation with a season-best 3-0 win at Wigan Athletic on Saturday, but fellow-strugglers Charlton Athletic suffered a huge blow in a 4-1 drubbing at Blackburn Rovers. With two matches left to play and Watford already relegated, five clubs are seeking to avoid the final two places: Sheffield United, Fulham, Wigan, West Ham and Charlton. Sheffield United moved towards safety with a 1-0 win over doomed Watford that lifted them to 15th place on 38 points. They are followed by Fulham, who have 36 points and three games left including Sunday's match at Arsenal, Wigan on 35 and ahead of West Ham on goal difference, Charlton on 33 and Watford with 24. West Ham were playing a day after they were fined £5.5 million ($10.97 million) but avoided a points deduction for breaking Premier League rules over the transfers of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano last August. Portuguese forward Luis Boa Morte scored his first goal for the club since joining from Fulham in January, finding the net from the edge of the area on the halfhour mark. Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun hit a second in the 57th minute and Marlon Harewood added the third on the break to secure the east Londoners' fifth win in seven games -- and their best win in the league this season. "We knew it was a game we had to win," said West Ham manager Alan Curbishley. "It gives us great heart for next week. We're still alive." Charlton paid for a nightmare four minutes in the second half, with Jason Roberts putting Blackburn ahead on the hour and then Charlton defender Ben Thatcher getting red-carded. Though Charlton levelled through Darren Bent, an own goal by Hermann Hreidarsson, another Roberts strike and one from Matt Derbyshire gave Rovers a comfortable win. Sheffield United had an own goal by Watford's Chris Powell just before half-time to thank for a win that should keep Neil Warnock's men in the top-flight. Warnock said: "It's a great feeling to get the result that we wanted." Remaining fixtures of English Premier League title contenders: Manchester United Saturday, May 5: v Manchester City (a) Wednesday, May 9: v Chelsea (a) Sunday, May 13: v West Ham (h) Chelsea Sunday, May 6: v Arsenal (a) Wednesday, May 9: v Manchester United (h) Sunday, May 13: v Everton (h) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Dennis Armpeng, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
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Everton's opening goal deflected off Michael Carrick following an Alan Stubbs free-kick.
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