Mon May 5 13:44:14 2008

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Chelsea keeps pace with win over Newcastle

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Newcastle, England (Sports Network) - Chelsea will enter the season's final day level on points with Manchester United after the Blues earned a 2-0 win over Newcastle at St James' Park on Monday.

Second-half goals from Michael Ballack and Florent Malouda handed all three points to Chelsea, which will host Bolton on Sunday, while United will travel to Wigan.

The Red Devils own a huge edge in goal differential, so Chelsea will only be able to claim its third title in four years if United drops points at the JJB Stadium.

Avram Grant's side had to first earn all three points against a stubborn Newcastle side before looking ahead to Bolton, and they got all they could handle in the first half.

Obafemi Martins gave the Chelsea defense problems in the opening half, and he nearly helped set up Michael Owen in the 29th minute to put the Magpies in front.

Martins took a high ball down off his chest and played it to Mark Viduka, who turned a shot on goal that forced a save from goalkeeper Petr Cech. The Chelsea keeper was only able to parry the shot, and it fell nicely for Owen six yards from goal. The England striker looked to have an empty net to shoot at, but Chelsea captain John Terry got back to block the shot, keeping the two sides level.

Newcastle finished well in the first half, but Chelsea came out stronger in the second and Terry came within inches of giving his team the lead.

Malouda swung a cross into the box from a corner kick eight minutes after the restart, and Terry climbed highest to head the ball towards goal. Newcastle keeper Steve Harper was clearly beaten, but the ball crashed off the crossbar.

It was a sign of things to come as Chelsea continued to pressure and finally found the breakthrough in the 61st minute.

Poor marking inside the Newcastle area allowed Ballack to latch onto Didier Drogba's free kick and the big German powered a header past Harper to put Chelsea in front.

The hosts did not go away, however, and defender Ricardo Carvalho was forced to make a huge block on Martins with Cech out of position. Owen also went close with a potential game-tying goal, but it was Chelsea that grabbed a second with eight minutes to play when Frank Lampard's pass set up Malouda for a neat finish that helped to snap Newcastle's seven-game unbeaten run.