LONDON: Chelsea blew the title race wide open when it came from behind to beat Premier league leader Manchester United 2-1, thanks to Frank Lampard's controversial 79th-minute penalty at Stamford Bridge Tuesday. United had deservedly led through Wayne Rooney's 29th-minute strike but Chelsea's Brazilian defender David Luiz equalized nine minutes into the second half with his first goal for the club since joining from Benfica in the January window. The champion, unbeaten at home against United since 2002, surged forward after that and took the points when Chris Smalling tripped substitute Yuri Zhirkov and Lampard fired home a penalty United manager Alex Ferguson described as “soft”. United remains top on 60 points, four clear of Arsenal but with the London side now having a game in hand. Manchester City is third on 50 with champions Chelsea up to fourth on 48. “It was a great performance by us. We didn't deserve that,” Ferguson told Sky Sports. “It's three years in a row the referees' decisions have changed the game. I'm proud of my players tonight, they've endured a lot of decisions against them and they've done their best.” Everton beaten Everton was eliminated from the FA Cup after losing 1-0 to second-tier side Reading in the fifth round Tuesday. Matt Mills scored after 26 minutes to beat an Everton side which had ousted holder Chelsea in the previous round. Sevilla, Mallorca win Sevilla beat 10-man Sporting Gijon 3-0 and Mallorca came from behind for a 2-1 win at Espanyol in the Spanish League Tuesday, keeping both winning teams in the hunt to qualify for European football. Seventh-place Sevilla is three points adrift of Espanyol. Fifth-place Espanyol sits two points above Athletic Bilbao. Duisburg in final Duisburg advanced to the German Cup final after holding on with 10 men to beat Energie Cottbus 2-1 in a match between two second-division teams Tuesday. Duisburg will play either Bayern Munich or Schalke. The final is on May 21 in Berlin.
