Blackburn relegated after home loss to Wigan

BLACKBURN, England — Blackburn was relegated from the Premier League, with Wigan ensuring its survival in a 1-0 victory Monday night on Antolin Alcaraz's goal in the 87th minute.

A lot at stake: Wigan's Shaun Maloney (left) and Blackburn's Morten Pedersen vie for the ball in Premier League action on Monday night at Ewood Park. Wigan won 1-0. AFP-JIJI

Blackburn, the 1995 champion, is 19th at 8-22-7 and will go down to next season's League Championship along with last-place Wolverhampton (5-22-10). The third team to be relegated will be determined Sunday.

Blackburn fans spent much of the game protesting against manager Steve Kean.

"I've got nothing but admiration and respect for him," Blackburn defender Bradley Orr said. "It's not through lack of effort but we fell short as a group of players, and it's resulted in relegation. I can't put my finger on why, it's really hard to take."

Wigan (10-17-10) won for the sixth time in eight games and improved to 15th place.

"It doesn't seem real yet," Wigan manager Roberto Martinez said. "It's a great feeling because you could feel the tension."

There were ugly scenes at the final whistle when some Blackburn fans ran onto the field at Ewood Park. Earlier, a chicken was released onto the field, a pointed reminder of the home supporters' antipathy toward owner Venky's, a chicken-meat company.

Going into Sunday's season finales, three teams are at risk of relegation. Aston Villa (7-13-17) has 38 points, one ahead of Queens Park Rangers (10-20-7) and three in front of Bolton (10-22-5). Aston Villa is at Norwich, Bolton at Stoke and QPR at Manchester City.

Aston Villa is the safest, holding a plus-7 goal difference advantage over Bolton.

Manchester City (27-5-5), seeking its first league title since 1968, leads crosstown rival Manchester United on goal difference, plus 63 to plus 55. The top two teams haven't finished even on points since 1989, when Arsenal and Liverpool also had the same goal difference and the Gunners won on total goals, 73-65.

Reading and Southampton earned promotion by finishing 1-2 in the League Championship. West Ham advanced to the final of the promotion playoff for the third spot, beating visiting Cardiff 3-0 Monday on goals by, Kevin Nolan, Ricardo Vaz Te and Nicky Maynard for a 5-0 aggregate win.

In the other semifinal, Blackpool takes a 1-0 lead to Birmingham for Tuesday's second leg. The winners meet at Wembley Stadium on May 19.

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Wigan boosts hopes of survival with rout

LONDON — Wigan demolished Newcastle 4-0 on Saturday for another remarkable win in its attempt to avoid relegation from the Premier League and severely dent its opponent's chances of qualifying for next season's Champions League.

Watch it fly: Wigan's Conor Sammon (left) and Newcastle's Mike Williamson vie for the ball on Saturday at DW Stadium. Wigan won 4-0. AP

With the fight for the title not resuming until leader Manchester United makes the short trip to second-place Manchester City on Monday, much of Saturday's action centered on the teams fighting to stay in the lucrative Premier League.

Newcastle had won six straight matches to move into fourth place but Wigan, which looked certain to be relegated just over a month ago, followed recent wins over Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal with four first-half goals.

Wigan is now three points clear of the three-team relegation zone. Bolton remained in 18th place despite rallying for a 2-2 draw at Sunderland, while Aston Villa is still in danger after a 0-0 draw at mid-table West Bromwich Albion.

At the other end of the table, Robin van Persie scored his 28th league goal of the season to earn third-place Arsenal a 1-1 draw at Stoke.

Uruguay striker Luis Suarez scored from near halfway to complete a hat trick and give Liverpool a 3-0 win at Norwich, while Nikica Jelavic scored twice as Everton scored four for the third straight league game to beat Fulham 4-0.

Wigan was still last in the standings on March 17 after just one win in 14 Premier League matches but kept faith with its passing, attacking game and is now one of the division's in-form teams.

"It was huge win today and we have two more huge games against Blackburn and Wolves," Wigan manager Roberto Martinez said. "This result is fantastic for the fans but if we don't achieve our aim of staying in this league then it is going to mean nothing."

Victor Moses headed Wigan into the lead in the 13th minute and made it 2-0 two minutes later after Magpies defender Fabricio Coloccini failed to clear the ball and left his opponent with a simple finish from a loose ball.

Shaun Maloney rounded off a team move with a finish from a tight angle on the left and Franco Di Santo struck a fourth goal in first-half injury time with a curling shot from outside the area.

Wigan now has 37 points with two games remaining, three more than Queens Park Rangers and Bolton immediately below it and the same as Aston Villa.

Villa needed a late save from goalkeeper Shay Given to earn a valuable point at West Brom. Last-place Wolverhampton Wanderers, which has already been demoted, fought back from 4-1 down to draw 4-4 at Swansea.

Kevin Davies earned Bolton a point at Sunderland with his second goal of the game, while QPR plays Sunday at Chelsea. Blackburn, the other side in the relegation zone, is at Tottenham in Sunday's other game.

Southampton was promoted Saturday after a 4-0 win over Coventry sealed its return to England's topflight after a seven-year absence.

The Saints scored twice in each half to clinch a second straight promotion and finish as runnerup to Reading in the second-tier League Championship.

"We've put a lot of hard work in and a lot of hours and we've achieved something special this season," Southampton manager Nigel Adkins said. "Everyone works so hard at this football club and it's great to see the smiles and delight on the supporters' faces."

West Ham finished third despite a 2-1 win over Hull and will enter the playoffs with Blackpool, Birmingham and Cardiff.

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Dzeko gives Man City win over Wigan

Wigan, England — Edin Dzeko ended Manchester City's two-month wait for an away win in the Premier League on Monday, scoring the only goal in a dour 1-0 victory at Wigan to go three points clear at the top.

The Bosnian striker brought an 11-match goal drought to an end in the first half, heading David Silva's free kick into the net.

He had not scored since Nov. 5 at Queens Park Rangers, which was City's last away win in the league before four successive setbacks.

City is three points clear of Manchester United and a further two ahead of Sunday's opponent, Tottenham.

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Swindon stuns Wigan in F.A. Cup third round

LONDON — If Blackburn and Wigan were hoping for some respite in the F.A. Cup amid their miserable campaigns in the English Premier League, they were to be sorely mistaken.

Roman empire: Tottenham's Roman Pavlyuchenko celebrates his goal against Cheltenham Town on Saturday in London. AP

The topflight's two bottom teams were the big casualties as world soccer's oldest knockout competition threw up a typically mixed bag of results in the third round on Saturday.

Argentine midfielder Jonas Gutierrez scored the winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time as Newcastle snatched a 2-1 victory over Blackburn in one of the round's two all-Premier League matches.

In the day's biggest giant-killing act, fourth-tier Swindon — managed by former West Ham forward Paolo Di Canio — rallied to beat Wigan 2-1 at the County Ground.

"My lads deserve something from the club — maybe just a small plaque with all their names because they did something special," Di Canio said.

It wasn't all plain sailing for the rest of the Premier League teams either.

Queens Park Rangers required a last-minute equalizer by Heidar Helguson to secure a 1-1 draw and a replay against third-tier MK Dons while David Wheater's 77th-minute header earned Bolton a 2-2 draw at Macclesfield, which plays in England's fourth division.

Tottenham, which is third in the Premier League, avoided what would have been the mightiest upset by easing past fourth-tier Cheltenham 3-0 thanks to goals by attacking trio Jermain Defoe, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Giovani dos Santos.

Some of the famous romance of the cup was lost as Tamworth, Fleetwood and Salisbury were all defeated, which ensures that there won't be any non-league teams in the fourth-round draw.

Everton beat Tamworth 2-0 after goals by defenders Johnny Heitinga and Leighton Baines while fellow fifth-tier team Fleetwood was thrashed 5-1 at home by northwest rival Blackpool.

Salisbury, which at 17th in the sixth-tier Conference South was the lowest-ranked club left in the competition, was defeated 3-1 at Sheffield United.

United States midfielder Clint Dempsey scored a hat trick in Fulham's 4-0 home win over Charlton, Ireland striker Simon Cox did the same for West Bromwich Albion in a 4-2 win at Cardiff City while Premier League teams Aston Villa, Stoke and Norwich also progressed.

Liverpool beat Oldham 5-1 on Friday, with the match of the round coming on Sunday when Manchester City and Manchester United — the Premier League's top two teams — meeting in a derby at Etihad Stadium.

MANCHESTER ENGLAND — Paul Scholes is coming out of retirement to rejoin Manchester United for the rest of season, starting Sunday in the F.A. Cup against Manchester City.

The 37-year-old midfielder quit soccer at the end of last season but has remained at Old Trafford as a coach.

United says Scholes approached manager Alex Ferguson to reverse his decision and would be on the bench at Man City on Sunday.

Scholes says it's been "pretty clear since I stopped playing that I miss it."

He added: "I'm delighted the manager feels I can still make a contribution to the team and I'm looking forward to playing my part in trying to bring more success to this great club."

Ferguson says "it's fantastic that Paul has made this decision."

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United shreds City's lead at top with Wigan demolition

LONDON — Manchester United flourished as Manchester City floundered on Monday to wipe out its neighbor's lead in the Premier League title race.

City was left clinging to top spot on goal difference after its expensively assembled attacking unit failed to score in the league for the first time this season in a 0-0 draw at West Bromwich Albion.

Injury-hit United took full advantage, with Dimitar Berbatov's hat trick powering the champions to a second 5-0 rout in a week against Wigan.

"We're really hitting good form now and there's a real goal threat about us from all departments," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "If we're top of the league or joint top with City by New Year's Day, I'll be happy."

Combined with Wednesday's 5-0 thrashing of Fulham, United seems to have shaken off its early Champions League exit earlier this month.

"It was a wakeup call because maybe everyone looked at themselves in the mirror and said, 'We can do much better,' " United defender Patrice Evra said. "What the fans expect of every player, we are doing now."

City and United are 10 points ahead of third-place Tottenham, which plays the first of two games in hand at Norwich on Tuesday.

Chelsea is a point further back in fourth and has all but given up on its title hopes after Fulham condemned its west London rival to a third consecutive 1-1 draw.

Liverpool, three points behind Chelsea in sixth, failed to seize on Chelsea's slip-up, drawing 1-1 at home to bottom-place Blackburn.

Almost halfway through the season, the title race looks more and more like a two-horse race, although City is starting to show signs of weaknesses after setting a record for the best start ever to a Premier League campaign.

Mario Balotelli struck the top of the crossbar from 30 meters at the start of the second half having already had a goal disallowed when he volleyed home only to see an offside flag raised.

Lacking their usual bite, the leaders were frustrated by the hosts, who also hit the goal frame through Jerome Thomas.

"We know it is maybe impossible to stay at the top for 38 games but we will try," City manager Roberto Mancini said. "Maybe if we scored in the first half we would have scored two or three goals."

United achieved even more than that, as Park Ji Sung took just eight minutes to put his team in front, picking a spot in the top right of the net after being picked out by Evra's cutback.

United took full advantage of Wigan's Conor Sammon being sent off for fouling Michael Carrick, with Berbatov — on his second start of the season — holding off Antolin Alcaraz before netting his first of the day.

United had another injury setback at halftime when it lost Jonny Evans, its only fit center back, with a calf injury that is expected to rule him out for two weeks.

Thankfully for United all the pressure was on the Wigan goal. Berbatov latched onto Antonio Valencia's pass before firing a shot beyond Ali Al Habsi.

Valencia got on the scoresheet himself with a low strike before Berbatov completed his hat trick to make up ground on City in the goal difference stakes.

After Park was fouled by Alcaraz, substitute Wayne Rooney allowed Berbatov to net a third from the penalty spot.

"If we win and score goals and keep many clean sheets, like we did tonight, we're going to be at the top of the league at the end of the season," Evra said.

While United's focus is on a 20th league title, Chelsea's is just staying in the four Champions League places.

Juan Mata had put Chelsea in front at the start of the second half, but Clint Dempsey equalized with only Fulham's fifth away goal this season.

At the bottom of the table, Blackburn nudged closer to its relegation rivals by earning a point at Liverpool.

Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam put the ball into his own net on the stroke of halftime after a corner from Morten Gamst Pedersen to give Blackburn a surprising lead.

Maxi Rodriguez spared Liverpool from embarrassment after the break with his 11th goal in his last 12 starts. But even the return of captain Steven Gerrard after a two-month absence with an ankle injury as a second-half substitute couldn't inspire Liverpool to salvage a victory.

Blackburn is just a point behind Bolton, which lost 2-0 to a Newcastle side that had not won in six matches.

Sunderland climbed four points clear of the danger zone with a 1-1 draw at Everton.

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