London, May 6:

Manchester United won its first Premier League title since 2003 on Sunday without kicking a ball because Chelsea was held to a 1-1 draw at Arsenal.

Chelsea needed to win to keep the title race alive, but Gilberto Silva scored from a penalty kick in the 43rd minute after midfielder Julio Baptista was brought down by Khalid Boulahrouz. The Chelsea defender was then sent off.

Michael Essien leveled in the 70th minute for Chelsea, beating Arsenal defender William Gallas with a glancing header that got past goalkeeper Jens Lehmann. Chelsea had been trying to win its third straight Premier League title. The last club to do that was Manchester United from 1999-2001.

United has now won the English title nine times since the Premier League was formed in 1992 — all under the leadership of manager Alex Ferguson, who took over the club in November 1986. United has also won seven other English titles.

On Saturday, United defeated Manchester City 1-0 to improve to 88 points. Chelsea has 81 points with two games left.

Man United and Chelsea also play each other in the FA Cup final on May 19. Chelsea has already won the League Cup.

Arsenal stayed in fourth place with the draw and has 67 points, behind Liverpool on goal difference. Both Arsenal and Liverpool have earned spots in the qualifying round of next season’s Champions League.

Spanish La Liga

MADRID: Andres Iniesta and Samuel Etoo each scored second-half goals on Saturday to give FC Barcelona a 2-0 win over Real Sociedad in the Spanish league.

Barcelona’s win boosted its hopes of a third straight title. Also, fourth-place Valencia kept its slim title hopes alive with a 2-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna. Hugo Viana and David Silva scored in each half for the 2002 and 2004 champion.

Barcelona has 65 points with five games to play. Sevilla has 61 points, one more than Real Madrid.