The Hereford Times

Blues have to settle for second place

1:25am Monday 12th May 2008

A second-half strike from substitute Andriy Shevchenko was not enough for Chelsea to pinch the title from Manchester United.

Shevchenko struck in the 62nd minute but an equaliser in the dying seconds from Bolton's Matthew Taylor and United's victory over Wigan meant the Barclays Premier League crown remained at Old Trafford.

Chelsea were also rocked by the loss of captain John Terry, who was carried off in the first half with a shoulder injury and could now miss next week's Champions League final in Moscow.

The title-chasers should have gone in front when Michael Ballack's low cross from the left found Didier Drogba at the far post but he shot high and wide of the gaping target. Chelsea continued to push for an opening goal but found Gary Megson's side in no mood to roll over.

Indeed, Bolton's Taylor underlined the threat the visitors posed at the other end when he fired a 30-yard drive just wide of Cech's left-hand upright.

Florent Malouda almost broke the deadlock in the 46th minute. The French winger let fly with a volley from 25 yards which Ali Al Habsi tipped against the crossbar.

A fantastic run by Drogba almost brought them a goal on the hour but Al Habsi pulled off a remarkable save to keep the scores level.

The deadlock was finally broken when Frank Lampard's shot was turned home by the alert substitute Shevchenko.

El Hadji Diouf almost grabbed an equaliser in the 65th minute but Cech was equal to the task. Bolton almost grabbed an equaliser when a Kevin Davies header came down off the crossbar and Ashley Cole cleared the ball off the line after it hit Stelios Giannakopoulos.

Chelsea's despair was made worse in the dying seconds when Taylor shot through a crowded area to level the scores.