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Chelsea held as nine-man United lose against Everton
Chelsea inched closer to the Premiership trophy with a goalless draw against second-placed Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
But the point means they will not be able to wrap up the title on the 50th anniversary of their only other top-flight title when they play Fulham in Saturday's west London derby.
The draw left Chelsea 11 points clear of Arsenal with 15 still on offer for the Gunners from the final five league games.
But if Chelsea beat Fulham on Saturday and Arsenal fail to win against north London rivals Tottenham on Monday, the title will go to Jose Mourinho's team.
Elsewhere Everton strengthened their grip on the fourth Champions League place with a 1-0 win at home to Manchester United where the visitors finished with nine men after both Gary Neville and Paul Scholes were sent-off.
Down at the bottom, basement club Norwich gave themselves a lifeline with a winner from Dean Ashton in the fourth minute of injury time to beat Newcastle 2-1 after Patrick Kluivert had equalised in the last minute of normal time.
The victory saw Norwich, still bottom, move level on points with Crystal Palace after the Londoners were beaten 1-0 by Blackburn.
Liverpool moved up into fifth with a 2-1 win away to Portsmouth, still not safe from relegation.
West Brom's 1-1 draw away to Tottenham saw the Baggies climb out of the bottom three and move a point above Southampton, with a game in hand.
In other matches Manchester City beat Birmingham 3-0 as Aston Villa and Charlton shared the points in a goalless draw.
"We're still going to keep going and plugging away. We're concentrating on our games and getting three points," Arsenal's Ashley Cole, the subject of an inquiry into allegations he was 'tapped up' by Chelsea, told Sky Sports.
"As a footballer you never give up and you're always positive, we're confident we can keep going but we're happy with a draw," the England left-back added.
Meanwhile angry United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, whose side were keft 15 points behind Chelsea and four adrift of Arsenal, said: "I think Everton knew they had a weak referee (Phil Dowd) and they exploited that to the full. I don't blame them if you get that at home and with that kind of crowd.
"But when you think about Paul Scholes getting sent off for a late challenge, how many late challenges were there from Everton."
However Ferguson made no attempt to defend Neville, red-carded for booting the ball into the crowd.
"I don't know the exact rule but you can't kick a ball at spectators. Gary Neville should know that. Intimidation from supporters is always there but Gary Neville should know better. He should not have done that."
Meanwhile Everton boss David Moyes played down his touchline row with Ferguson after Scholes was sent-off for a second yellow card following a kick at Kevin Kilbane.
Asked if he had had words with the United chief, Moyes joked: "Scottish words!" He added: "That happens, especially among Scottish managers." Arsenal had an early chance when Robert Pires smashed a shot against the crossbar. But late on in the half Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann used his feet to keep out an effort from Didier Drogba as Chelsea got back into the game. At Goodison, Everton grabbed the vital goal when from Mikel Arteta's cross, Scottish centre-forward Duncan Ferguson beat Rio Ferdinand to the ball and headed home 10 minutes after the interval. Amidst the sendings-off, former Everton striker Wayne Rooney was lucky to stay on the pitch himself after pulling down Tim Cahill. At Fratton Park, Fernando Morientes gave Liverpool a fourth minute lead when, after Pompey keeper Jamie Ashdown had blocked his initial shot from John Arne Riise's cross, the Spanish striker stabbed home from six yards out for his first goal in over 10 weeks. Pompey hit back in the 34th minute when forward Diomansy Kamara netted from close range after an error by keeper Jerzy Dudek. However, on the stroke of half-time Liverpool regained the lead when Luis Garcia headed in another Riise cross. West Brom went ahead at White Hart Lane after Zoltan Gera struck from 20 yards out in the 24th minute But Spurs were level in the 52nd minute through striker Robbie Keane's shot from the centre of the area. Blackburn, fresh from a 3-0 FA Cup semi-final defeat against Arsenal, won thanks to Morten Gamst Pedersen who scored from Robbie Savage's free-kick with virtually the final touch of the first-half. Norwich took the lead when Youssek Safri let fly in the 68th minute with a magnificent strike from all of 35 yards for his first Premiership goal. Manchester City boosted caretaker boss Stuart Pearce's chances of making the manager's job at Eastlands his own with a crushing win at home to Birmingham. Robbie Fowler's header bounced off the post and hit keeper Maik Taylor for an unlucky own-goal in the 55th minute. Fowler then turned provider for Richard Dunne who netted in the 80th minute before Antoine Sibierski won a penalty and scored from the spot six minutes later.
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