Published 5/1/2011 1:06:24 PM by Shane Barrow from soccermogul

The EPL title race is officially up for grabs after a weekend of play where the tops teams all faced off.  On Saturday Chelsea kept their names in the hat as they claimed a controversial victory over Tottenham.  The Spurs were hard luck losers, but Chelsea were the better squad on the day.  After Tottenham had jumped ahead in the opening half Chelsea claimed a controversial equalizer just before halftime.

A long range effort from Frank Lampard zipped straight at Spurs keeper Gomes who made an absolute meal of it.  It went straight through his legs and dribbled towards the goal line.  Gomes dove back and clawed the ball from the line where replays showed it had not fully crossed.  The assistant referee signaled for the goal even though he was 20 yards off the endline.  The match looked destined for a draw until a late Kanou winner put Chelsea squarely after Manchester United.

On Sunday Arsenal gave Chelsea the help they needed as a first half goal from Aaron Ramsey would hold up at The Emirates in a 1-0 win.  United only has itself to blame for Sunday's loss. Sir Alex Ferguson's side clearly came out to play defensive football and absorb pressure, hoping to leave London with a point and the title well in its grasp. There was no adventure and very little forward endeavor for United in the first half. They paid for their style.

Now Chelsea only sits three points behind with an identical goal differential.  It sets up next weekend's match at Old Trafford for all the marbles.  If Manchester United can win on their home turf the EPL title is theirs.  If Chelsea can grab a win it will be all square with two games to play.

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