Chelsea falls as Arsenal boosts hopes

Celtic’s 20-match winning streak ends


LONDON (AP) ― Chelsea lost to West Bromwich Albion for the first time since 1979 on Saturday when a 1-0 defeat left the Premier League powerhouse in danger of missing out on next season’s Champions League.

Gareth McAuley’s 82nd-minute goal and Arsenal’s 2-1 comeback win at Liverpool left Chelsea three points behind fourth place with one win in its last seven away matches.

“It was very poor in all senses of the word ― in the first half and the second half,” coach Andre Villas-Boas said. “We have to do much, much better.”

Robin van Persie scored his second goal in injury time to give Arsenal a win at Liverpool, while leader Manchester City tied a team record with its 19 straight home win by beating Bolton 2-0.

Mario Balotelli added to a first-half own-goal to help take City 20 points clear of a Chelsea side in danger of missing out on the Champions League for the first time since Roman Abramovich bought the west London club in 2003.

Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Juan Mata and Daniel Sturridge all started for Chelsea but the Blues created little and West Brom could have scored before McAuley’s goal.

Liam Ridgewell drove Keith Andrews’ chip across the area and McAuley diverted the ball past goalkeeper Petr Cech.

“Everyone must do their job better: players, staff and manager,” Villas Boas said. “We have responsibility toward the fans of the club.”

Sixth-place Newcastle could now pull even with Chelsea at 46 points if it beats local rival Sunderland in one of three games Sunday.

Italy

Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned from his three-game suspension with a first-half hat trick that helped AC Milan to a 4-0 win at Palermo, increasing its Serie A lead to three points as second-place Juventus was held to a 1-1 draw at home by Chievo Verona.

Ibrahimovic put Milan ahead in the 22nd minute, scored off a pass from Robinho in the 31st and made it 3-0 with a stunning long-range shot in the 35th. Thiago Silva added the final goal in the 58th.

Ibrahimovic, who served the suspension for slapping Napoli defender Salvatore Aronica, tied Udinese’s Antonio Di Natale for the league lead with 18 goals. It was his second Serie A hat trick, his first for Milan.

Juventus, which has played one fewer game, allowed Boukary Drame’s 76th-minute goal after Paolo De Ceglie had put the hosts ahead inthe 18th.

Spain

Seydou Keita scored a tiebreaking goal in the 79th-minute, and Barcelona beat Sporting Gijon 3-1 despite playing nearly the entire second half a man short.

With Lionel Messi serving a one-game suspension after getting his fifth yellow card of the season last weekend, Barcelona ahead when Andres Iniesta scored in the 42nd minute.

Gerard Pique received a red card in the 46th for fouling Miguel de las Cuevas with just goalkeeper Victor Valdes to beat, and David Barral tied the score in the 49th. Keita put Barcelona ahead with a shot from the edge of the penalty area, his first league goal since last May 11, and Xavi Hernandez added his 11th goal of the season in all competitions in the 87th.

Germany

Bayern Munich allowed two late goals to lose 2-0 against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday and took a serious blow to its Bundesliga title hopes.

Leverkusen had not beaten Bayern in 14 league matches but Stefan Kiessling put the home side ahead in the 79th minute and Karim Bellarabi put the result beyond doubt in the last minute with his first goal for Leverkusen.

Scotland

Celtic stretched its lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League to 21 points despite its 20-match domestic winning streak coming to an end with a 1-1 draw at Aberdeen.

Anthony Stokes put the league leader ahead in the 28th minute when he rounded goalkeeper Jason Brown and slipped the ball into the net but Gavin Rae equalized just before halftime with a shot that deflected off debut-making Andre Blackman and flew past goalkeeper Fraser Forster.

It was the first goal Celtic conceded in seven matches.

Financially stricken Rangers failed to take advantage of Celtic’s rare slip when it lost 2-1 to visiting Hearts.