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Man United rallies from 3 down

Feb. 6, 2012 - 18:26 By Korea Herald
LONDON (AP) ― Javier Hernandez completed Manchester United’s comeback from a 3-0 deficit at Chelsea on Sunday with a late header that salvaged a 3-3 draw and leaves the defending champions two points off the Premier League lead.

After storming to a 3-0 lead by the 50th minute, Chelsea collapsed at home by conceding two penalties that Wayne Rooney converted and then allowing Hernandez to tie it in the 84th.

“It’s two points lost,” Rooney said. “We understand that, but after being 3-0 down ― the (Manchester) City players at home must have liked that ― we enjoyed the way we fought back.”

United had inadvertently given Chelsea the lead when Jonny Evans turned the ball into his own net in the first half, and Juan Mata and David Luiz found the net just after halftime.

United is two points behind leader Man City, which beat Fulham on Saturday. Fourth-place Chelsea is only a point ahead of Newcastle, which beat Aston Villa 2-1 on Sunday after a debut goal from Papiss Demba Cisse.

Third-place Tottenham is in action Monday night at Liverpool, with Luis Suarez due to return for the hosts after serving an eight-match ban for racially abusing United defender Patrice Evra.

The specter of racism loomed large at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Some Chelsea fans jeered every touch of the ball by United defender Rio Ferdinand, whose brother was allegedly racially abused by Chelsea captain John Terry in October.

Terry, who was sidelined Sunday because of injury, is set to face trial for allegedly racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand.

“You don’t expect opposing fans to cheer your players,” Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas said. “This is a normal situation in the Premiership.”

Ferdinand responded later on Twitter to the booing, saying it inspired him and was “like fuel to me.”

Italy

Juventus and AC Milan each played to scoreless draws Sunday as the top of Serie A remained unchanged, but Milan standout Zlatan Ibrahimovic was sent off for hitting an opponent and could face a multi-game ban.

In the 64th minute of Milan’s match with Napoli, Ibrahimovic slapped his right hand on the side of Salvatore Aronica’s face.

Ibrahimovic will miss a difficult game at Udinese next weekend and, if he is suspended for up to three matches, will also miss a match with Juventus on Feb. 25.

“It wasn’t violent, so I don’t think Ibrahimovic will get more than two matches,” Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said.

Spain

Villarreal won its first away match of the season, beating Sevilla 2-1 on Sunday on Javier Camunas’ late goal and exacerbating the Andalusian club’s struggles in the Spanish league.

Sevilla was caught outnumbered on a counterattack, allowing Camunas to bend a shot into the left side of the net for Villarreal’s 81st-minute winner at Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.

Sevilla had been aiming for a top-four finish to return to the Champions League come next season but hasn’t won in seven straight league matches to slide into the lower half of the table.

Atletico Madrid drew 0-0 with third-place Valencia, staying undefeated in five games since former player Diego Simeone took over as coach.

France

Marseille and Lyon both lost ground in the French league title race by splitting the points in a 2-2 draw on Sunday.

Marseille midfielder Benoit Cheyrou fired into the bottom corner to open the scoring in the 16th minute. Brazilian striker Brandao volleyed home a cross from Morgan Amalfitano to double Marseille’s lead in the 34th.

Lyon pulled one back with a close-range effort from Bafetimbi Gomis in the 36th before tying it on an own goal by Marseille center back Souleymane Diawara in the 45th.

Lyon remained in fourth place, 10 points behind leader Paris Saint-Germain and one clear of Marseille.

Germany

Cologne ended its three-game losing streak with its first victory over Kaiserslautern in over 22 years on Sunday, Odise Roshi scoring not long after coming on as a substitute in the 1-0 win in the Bundesliga.

Cologne is ninth after its first Bundesliga win since December, while Kaiserslautern remains in the relegation playoff place after its 10th game without a win.

Scotland

Rangers was knocked out of the Scottish Cup by Dundee United on Sunday with a 2-0 loss that left the Glasgow side with only the league title to play for this season.

Ally McCoist’s side is second in the Scottish Premier League having already exited the Champions League, the Europa League and the League Cup.