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Chelsea set up a showdown
05/05/2008 19:08 - (SA)
London - Goals from Michael Ballack and
Florent Malouda gave Chelsea a 2-0 win at Newcastle United on
Monday that took them level on points with Manchester United at
the top of the Premier League with one game remaining.
Ballack, who scored both goals in a key 2-1 win over United
on April 26, glanced in a header from a Didier Drogba free kick
after an hour.
Malouda finished off a slick move eight minutes from time to
set up a grandstand finish next Sunday - 10 days before Chelsea
and Manchester United meet in the Champions League final.
United, 4-1 home winners over West Ham United on Saturday,
and Chelsea both have 84 points but United have a massive goal
difference advantage. They visit Wigan Athletic next week and
will retain the title if they at least match Chelsea's result
against Bolton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge.
Until Ballack's intervention, Chelsea had struggled to
impose themselves on an in-form Newcastle side at St James'
Park, though captain John Terry did hit the bar with a
second-half header having cleared off his own line from Michael
Owen in a tight first period.
- Reuters
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