Man U Held to 1-1 Tie in Premier League

Man U Held to 1-1 Tie in Premier League

LONDON - Manchester United was held to a 1-1 tie by Middlesbrough on Saturday, dropping two points in the Premier League title race.

Kieran Richardson gave United the lead in the third minute, but Mark Viduka tied the score with a header in the 45th.

United, seeking its first English title since 2003, has 82 points. Chelsea, bidding for a third straight Premier League title, has 78 points and plays at Newcastle on Sunday.

"It opens the door, no question about that," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "We knew that if we made mistakes, they'd have an ability to come back at us. It's a big task now."

Man United took the lead when Richardson shot into an empty net after a pass from Wayne Rooney, who had run in toward Boro goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

Viduka scored by beating United defender Wes Brown with a diving header off a cross from Stewart Downing.

United defender Rio Ferdinand went off at halftime with a groin injury.

Tottenham held Arsenal to a 2-2 tie behind an injury-time goal by Jermaine Jenas. Jenas scored with a 25-yard shot about 12 minutes after Emmanuel Adebayor had given Arsenal the lead in the 78th with a header off a free kick from Cesc Fabregas. Robbie Keane scored first for Tottenham, giving the hosts the lead in the 30th. Kolo Toure made it 1-1 in the 64th.

The last time Tottenham beat Arsenal in any competition was 2-1 in the league in November 1999.

Arsenal ended a week of turmoil off the field. David Dein was forced to quit as vice chairman and director Wednesday after falling out with board members. Dein reportedly backed a possible takeover by American businessman Stan Kroenke.

Liverpool beat Wigan 2-0 to ensure it will finish in the top four and play in next season's Champions League. Dirk Kuyt scored twice for Liverpool, which has also reached the semifinals of this season's Champions League.

Watford was relegated after a 1-1 tie with Manchester City. U.S. defender Jay DeMerit's team will play in the League Championship next season.

Darius Vassell gave Man City the lead in the 53rd, but Tamas Priskin tied the score in the 75th. U.S. midfielder DaMarcus Beasley, who scored his third goal for City against Arsenal on Tuesday, limped off injured in the first half.

MILAN, Italy (AP) _ Juventus opened a seven-point lead at the top of Italy's second division by defeating Genoa 3-1.

Pavel Nedved, Giorgio Chiellini and David Trezeguet scored for Juventus, which started the season with a nine-point penalty in the Italian match-fixing scandal.

Former Juventus forward Marco Di Vaio scored Genoa's goal in first-half injury time.

Sampdoria scored two goals in the final seven minutes to beat Messina 3-1 in Italy's top league and boost its chances of qualifying for Europe next season.

MADRID, Spain (AP) _ Real Sociedad boosted its hopes of avoiding relegation by beating Atletico Madrid 2-0 in the Spanish league.

Darko Kovacevic and Savio Bortolini scored for Sociedad, which has won four of its past six games.

BERLIN (AP) _ Schalke stayed in first place in the Bundesliga after beating Energie Cottbus 2-0, and Bayern Munich's title hopes were essentially ended after losing at VfB Stuttgart 2-0.

Chasing its first title in 49 years, Schalke got an own-goal from Timo Rost in the 59th minute. Schalke defender Marcelo Bordon made it 2-0 in the 63rd with a header.

Schalke leads the league with 62 points, followed Bremen with 60, Stuttgart with 58 and Bayern with 53. Bremen beat Alemannia Aachen 3-1 Friday.

Cacau scored twice for Stuttgart against Bayern, which needs to finish in the top three to avoid missing the Champions League for the first time in 11 years.

PARIS (AP) _ Lyon won its sixth straight French league title without even playing because second-place Toulouse lost to Rennes 3-2.

Lyon plays at Auxerre on Sunday but its 17-point lead is enough.

Paris Saint-Germain topped Nantes 4-0 with Pedro Pauleta scoring in the 17th and 65th minutes. Jerome Rothen and Peguy Luyindula also scored.

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) _ Rangers kept Celtic from winning the Scottish Premier League title by downing Hearts 2-1.

Gavin Rae and Barry Ferguson scored for Rangers, which is in second place with 68 points, 10 behind Celtic.

Defending champion Celtic can win the title Sunday if it beats Kilmarnock.

A service of the Associated Press(AP)