Arsenal beat United to keep title race open

Arsenal beat Manchester United 1-0 to keep the Premier League title race wide open on Sunday with Aaron Ramsey's second-half winner cheered almost as loudly by Chelsea's fans as Arsenal's.

United stayed top of the table with 73 points from 35 matches, but remained only three points clear of champions Chelsea who play United at Old Trafford next week. Both sides have an identical goal difference.

Arsenal are third with 67 points but, with manager Arsene Wenger conceding their title challenge was over last week, the victory had more relevance in keeping alive their hopes of finishing third and securing a place in next season's Champions League group stage.

The only goal of a match Arsenal largely dominated at a sun-drenched Emirates Stadium came after Robin van Persie cut the ball back to Ramsey who found the corner of Edwin van der Sar's net after 56 minutes.

In earlier action, Liverpool beat Newcastle United 3-0 to move into fifth place, maintaining their climb up the table that began when Kenny Dalglish took over as caretaker-manager in January.

A goal from Maxi Rodriguez after 10 minutes, a Dirk Kuyt penalty after 59 minutes and a strike from Luis Suarez six minutes later lifted Liverpool into the Europa League qualifying berth, pushing Tottenham Hotspur, who lost 2-1 at Chelsea on Saturday, down to sixth place. Both teams have 55 points but Liverpool have a better goal difference.

In the other lunchtime kickoff, Birmingham City drew 1-1 with Wolverhampton Wanderers at St Andrews, leaving Wolves deep in relegation trouble. They remain second bottom on 34 points, a point from safety, while Birmingham are 15th on 39 points.