Mourinho makes most of point

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MANCHESTER, England (Ticker) - Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was quick to enter into a bout of mind games after his side emerged with a point from their Barclays Premiership clash at Manchester United on Sunday. Ricardo Carvalho produced a towering header for the equalizer after Louis Saha put behind him his penalty trauma at Celtic by opening the scoring with a superb 20-yard curled strike. The 1-1 tie ensured the gap between the top two clubs in the league remained at just three points. "Manchester United lost a big, big chance to open the gap up to six points," Mourinho said. "We are not top, but we are still only three points behind, and that's one game. I think a point is better for us than them." Steven Gerrard is refusing to give up on Liverpool's title hopes, despite the fact the Reds are 14 points adrift of United. Gerrard followed up his searing strike in the 2-0 Champions League win over PSV Eindhoven in midweek with another at Anfield on Saturday to sink Manchester City, 1-0. "I am never going to say no about the title, but you have to be realistic and our main aim is to get back into the top four," Gerrard said. Remarkably, Reading is knocking on the door of a place within the top four following a 1-0 victory at Fulham on Saturday, where Kevin Doyle stroked home a penalty after being brought down by Ian Pearce, who was also sent off. With seven goals this season, Doyle is refusing to get too carried away with his club's early success (7-6-1). "Realistically we want to stay in the mid-table position, which would be fantastic," he said. "Anything else is a bonus, but there's a long way to go." The Royals are level on points with sixth-placed Arsenal (6-2-4) after the Gunners suffered a 3-1 defeat at Bolton on Saturday, their fourth loss in five games at the Reebok Stadium. Former Arsenal striker Nicolas Anelka crucially scored twice for his first Bolton goals after an $15 million move from Fenerbahce at the end of August. Boss Sam Allardyce could not resist taking a swipe at Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger after the win. "He has made some disparaging comments about us, so it is time he ate a bit of humble pie," Allardyce said. Tottenham moved into the top half of the table after coming from behind at White Hart Lane to beat Wigan, 3-1, on Sunday. Henri Camara opened the scoring before two goals in 90 seconds at the end of the first half from Jermain Defoe and Dimitar Berbatov put the Spurs in control. Aaron Lennon sealed the win in injury time. The battling display delighted manager Martin Jol. "We are a footballing side, but our character came through," he said. At Upton Park, the Eggert Magnusson era began in victorious, if unspectacular style, with Hayden Mullins scoring the only goal of the game against Sheffield United on Saturday. Magnusson completed an $164 million takeover last week, and although heralded by Hammers fans before kickoff, they are anxious to see what his money will unearth in the January transfer window. Manager Alan Pardew, though, offered a note of caution. "I hope people don't forget the players we've actually got at the club, and that they're not overlooked because that would be doing those who've worked so hard for West Ham a grave disservice," he said. The result was enough to lift West Ham four points clear of the relegation zone where Charlton still prop up the table despite a 1-1 draw with Everton at The Valley on Saturday. Andy Reid rifled home his first goal for 18 months, canceling out Hermann Hreidarsson's own goal shortly beforehand, giving new boss Les Reed his first point. Reed then went a bit over the top talking about Reid. "Ferenc Puskas passed away last week, and maybe he was the original Andy Reid," Reed said. "He has the quality to become a legend at Charlton, and we have had a few." Middlesbrough striker Malcolm Christie also soaked up the limelight Saturday after scoring his first goal for almost 22 months in a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa, even if it looked offside. Christie has been plagued by serious injuries since joining Boro from Derby at the end of January 2003, so was relieved to make his first start since May. "At times I've been as low as a snake's belly," said Christie, whose goal was canceled out by a Gareth Barry penalty. "But I've a fairly positive outlook, and there are people worse off in the world." Newcastle won their first league game in 10, with sub Antoine Sibierski scoring the only goal at St James' Park against Portsmouth, 1-0, on Sunday. Although the Magpies are still 17th, manager Glenn Roeder is encouraged by the end of slump. "We have got ourselves uncomfortably close to the wrong end of the table," he said. "But the players knew it was only a matter of time before they played well and won a game."