LONDON: Chelsea bounced back from a slump to beat Newcastle 3-0 on Saturday and move nine points clear of its rivals in the title race. Second-place Wigan's six-game winning streak came to an end with a 3-2 loss at home to Arsenal with Thierry Henry scoring two top quality goals to lift the Gunners to fourth.

Manchester United moved up to third with a 3-1 victory at Charlton with Ruud van Nistelrooy netting twice.

Second to Chelsea in the standings, Wigan had hopes of beating an Arsenal side which is struggling for consistency. But early strikes by Robin van Persie and Henry put the Gunners in charge at the JJB Stadium before the home team hit back through Henri Camara.

Henry curled a long-range free kick early in the second half, but Wigan replied again through Jimmy Bullard in a thrilling but error-strewn game.

The results: English Premier League: Wigan 2 lost to Arsenal 3, Charlton 1 lost to Manchester United 3, Chelsea 3 bt Newcastle 0, Liverpool 3 bt Portsmouth 0, Manchester City 0 drew with Blackburn Rovers 0, Sunderland 1 lost to Aston Villa 3, West Bromwich Albion 4 bt Everton 0.

Spanish league: Getafe 0 drew with Osasuna 0, Villarreal 0 drew with Zaragoza 0, Real Madrid 0 lost to Barcelona 3, Sevilla 1 bt Real Betis 0.

Italian Serie A: Udinese 1 bt Messina 0, AS Roma 1 lost to Juventus 4. — AP

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