Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo (left) celebrates with Wayne Rooney after scoring during their English Premier League match against Manchester City yesterday. United won 1-0 to take a massive step closer to the crown.

LONDON (Reuters):

MANCHESTER UNITED took a giant step towards the Premier League title when they beat Manchester City 1-0 in a one-sided local derby yesterday to open up an eight-point lead over defending champions Chelsea.

United, who won with a 34th minute penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo, have 88 points with two matches to play which means Chelsea, on 80 points with three matches to go, must win at Arsenal today to keep alive their slim hopes of a third successive championship.

Anything less and United will go to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea on Wednesday as champions.

West ham out of relegation

At the other end of the table, West Ham United moved out of the relegation zone for the first time since early December with a 3-1 home win over Bolton Wanderers with Argentine midfielder Carlos Tevez scoring twice.

Wigan Athletic though, slipped into the bottom three for the first time this season - and three points adrift - after losing 1-0 at home to Middlesbrough, their eighth successive match without a win. Mark Viduka scored the only goal in the 29th minute.

Fulham victory

Fulham scored a 1-0 win over Champions League finalists Liverpool at Craven Cottage with American substitute Clint Dempsey scoring the goal after 69 minutes.

Everton moved up to fifth and effectively secured a place in next season's UEFA Cup with a 3-0 home win over fellow hopefuls Portsmouth, while Reading's hopes of a first European place took a knock with a surprise 2-0 home defeat by relegated Watford.

Blackburn Rovers stayed in contention for a UEFA Cup place with a 2-0 win at Newcastle United where fit-again Michael Owen made his first home appearance since December 2005.