LONDON: John Terry headed Chelsea to a 1-0 victory over Manchester United to extend the team’s Premier League lead to five points on Sunday, despite rarely threatening the defending champions.

Chelsea had been frustrated by United for 76 minutes, but then profited from a contentiously awarded free kick when United midfielder Darren Fletcher was judged to have fouled defender Ashley Cole. Frank Lampard whipped the ball into the penalty area and captain Terry connected with a glancing header to clinch Chelsea’s 11th consecutive win in all competitions at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea’s victory leaves them top of the table with 30 points, ahead of a two-week break for international matches. Second-place Arsenal, who have a game in hand, and Man United both have 25 points, while Tottenham are fourth with 22.

United pressed hard and packed their midfield to subdue a Chelsea side that had scored 19 goals in its five previous matches. Wayne Rooney was deployed as a lone striker for United, who were missing Dimitar Berbatov through injury and had Michael Owen on the substitutes’ bench as England coach Fabio Capello watched.

While hardworking, Rooney was isolated at times and starved of support, although after 10 minutes he turned Ricardo Carvalho but could only hit the side netting from a tight angle. Teammate Michael Carrick tried his luck from distance in the first half, but Chelsea keeper Petr Cech easily collected and saw the next effort from the United midfielder fly high into the stands.

United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar had little do, but the Dutchman denied Branislav Ivanovic in the opening minutes and produced a one-handed diving save to push Nicolas Anelka’s shot wide before the break. United continued to torment after the restart, with Rooney firing wide and drawing a fine save from Cech with a curling shot from 20 yards.

United defender Jonny Evans escaped punishment for kicking Drogba in the chest minutes before Chelsea’s goal and it was the Ivory Coast striker who was booked by the referee. United resisted making changes until after Terry’s goal, but the late introduction of Owen and Gabriel Obertan failed to produce an equaliser.

Also on Sunday, Everton won 2-1 at West Ham, Hull defeated Stoke 2-1 and Fulham drew 1-1 with Wigan. Louis Saha and Dan Gosling scored Everton’s goals to leave West Ham in the relegation zone.

Hull’s victory eased the pressure on manager Phil Brown. Matthew Etherington had put Stoke in front, but Seyi Olofinjana levelled after the break and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink struck in the final minute after Stoke’s Abdoulaye Faye was sent off. Fulham earned a point at Wigan after Clint Dempsey was brought down by Titus Bramble and then scored from the resulting penalty kick.

Spanish La Liga

BARCELONA: Substitute Frederic Kanoute headed the winner for Sevilla who overcame a resurgent Villarreal 3-2 to keep themselves in touch with Barcelona at the top of the Spanish league on Sunday. Villarreal proved tough competition though and responded to Luis Fabiano’s opener after nine minutes with goals from Robert Pires and David Fuster. Fabiano equalised almost immediately and then Kanoute, still not fully fit and starting the game on the bench, scored a crucial winner to maintain the four-point distance from the champions.

Valencia’s star-studded strike force were responsible for a convincing 3-1 victory over Real Zaragoza. Juan Mata put Valencia ahead after 17 minutes with David Villa and Pablo Hernandez also adding to the lead before half-time. In the second half, Valencia had further chances but the only goal came from Zaragoza midfielder Abel Aguilar. The win leaves Valencia in fourth place, five points behind leaders Barcelona. Sporting Gijon have their eyes set on a place in Europe after beating Espanyol 1-0 thanks to an early goal from Mate Bilic. — AFP

Italian Serie A

MILAN: Inter Milan’s lead in the Serie A was cut to five points after Samuel Eto’o scored a second-half equaliser in a 1-1 draw with AS Roma. The Cameroon forward struck in the 48th minute to level after Mirko Vucinic had given Roma the lead in the 13th at the San Siro. Inter have 29 points. Juventus are next. AC Milan won 2-1 at Lazio to rise to third with 22 points. Fiorentina won 1-0 at Udinese to have 21 points, as do Sampdoria after losing 2-0 to Cagliari for a third straight game without a win. Also on Sunday, it was: Bari 1, Livorno 0; Bologna 3, Palermo 1; Genoa 4, Siena 2 and Parma 2, Chievo Verona 0. — AP