deplorably ergophobia: Roundup: Man City rallies?past Chelsea

By MARK WALSH

Associated Press

Associated Press Sports

updated 11:28 p.m. ET March 21, 2012

MANCHESTER, England (AP) - Carlos Tevez played in his first game since Sept. 27 and set up Samir Nasri's late go-ahead goal, giving Manchester City a 2-1 comeback win against Chelsea on Wednesday night that kept pressure on Premier League leader Manchester United.

Tevez entered in the 66th minute to a mixture of boos and cheers, his first appearance since he was suspended for refusing to warm up for a Champions League match at Bayern Munich. Tevez assisted on the tiebreaking goal in the 85th with a brilliant deft pass on a turn, allowing Nasri to lift a shot over goalkeeper Petr Cech.

"When he plays he knows where to put the ball," City manager Roberto Mancini said. "Carlos did an important pass for Samir, all the fans are happy for this."

With its club record 20th straight home league win, City (22-4-3) pulled one point behind defending champion United (22-3-4) with nine games left.

Mancini said Tevez needed time to regain full fitness.

"He has showed great spirit and today showed he can be really important until the end of the season," Nasri said.

Gary Cahill put fifth-place Chelsea (14-8-7) ahead with a goal on a deflection in the 60th minute, and Sergio Aguero tied it with a penalty kick in the 78th after a hand ball by Michael Essien on Pablo Zabaleta's shot.

"We are disappointed because we think we did well (enough) to get something out of this game," Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo said.

Arsenal (17-8-4) moved up to a season-high third place with a 1-0 win at Everton on Thomas Vermaelen's eighth-minute goal.

Tottenham (16-7-6) slipped to fourth, two points behind the Gunners and five ahead of Chelsea. Rafael Vander Vaart's goal on a header in the third minute of stoppage time gave Spurs a 1-1 tie against visiting Stoke, which had gone ahead on Cameron Jermone's goal in the 75th.

Queens Park Rangers (6-16-7) moved two points above the relegation zone, overcoming a two-goal deficit for a 3-2 win over visiting Liverpool (11-9-9). Sebastian Coates in the 54th and Dirk Kuyt in the 72nd built a 2-0 lead, but QPR rallied on goals by Shaun Derry in the 77th, Djibril Cisse in the 86th and Jamie Mackie in the first minute of stoppage time.

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BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Spanish leader Real Madrid wasted a lead for the second time in four days when it again conceded a goal on a late free kick in a 1-1 tie at Villarreal.

Real Madrid (23-2-3) saw its lead over three-time defending champion Barcelona (20-2-6) cut from 10 points to six with the two draws.

Cristiano Ronaldo put Madrid ahead in the 62nd minute with his 43rd goal of the season and 33rd in the league, one behind Barcelona's Lionel Messi.

But Marcos Senna bent his free kick around the defensive wall in the 83rd, just as Malaga's Santi Cazorla did in injury time Sunday.

Madrid ended with nine men after Sergio Ramos and Mesut Oezil received their second yellow cards following Senna's goal. Madrid coach Jose Mourinho was also banished from the sideline by referee Jose Luis Paradas Romero - who ejected him from a Copa del Rey match against Murcia in November 2010.

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MILAN (AP) - Edinson Cavani scored one goal and caused another with his pressure, leading Napoli over Siena 2-0 for a 3-2 aggregate win and a berth against Juventus in the Italian Cup final on May 20.

Napoli took the lead in the 10th minute when Siena captain Simone Vergassola put the ball into his own net as Cavani threatened. Cavani scored in the 31st minute on a counterattack he started and finished.

Napoli will play in a final for the first time in 15 years. Siena had never progressed beyond the quarterfinals before this season.

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FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) - Defending champion Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 4-2 on penalty kicks after a 0-0 tie to reach the German Cup final against Borussia Dortmund in Berlin on May 12.

Defender Dante sent his spot kick over the goal and midfielder Harvard Nordtveit had his effort stopped by Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.

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PARIS (AP) - Paris Saint-Germain's 12-game unbeaten streak under new coach Carlo Ancelotti ended when visiting Lyon rallied for a 3-1 win to reach the French Cup semifinals.

Nene's penalty kick after a hand ball on Samuel Umtiti put PSG ahead in the 19th minute, but Kim Kallstrom tied the score on a free kick in the 25th and Lisandro Lopez gave Lyon the lead in the 39th. Bafetimbi Gomis added a penalty kick in injury time after Alex tripped Michel Bastos.

PSG had been 8-0-4 since Ancelotti replaced Antoine Kombouare.

Semiprofessional Gazelec Ajaccio reached the semifinals for the first time, beating league title contender Montpellier 1-0 when Yohan Bocognano volleyed in a corner kick in the 75th minute.

Rennes won 3-1 at Valenciennes on goals by Jonathan Pitroipa in the 12th minute, John Boye in the 53rd and Youssouf Hadji in the 87th. Mamadou Samassa had tied it for the hosts in the 32nd.

Non-league Quevilly upset Marseille in Tuesday's quarterfinal.

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BRUSSELS (AP) - American midfielder Sacha Kljestan scored in the seventh minute on a header off a corner kick, and Anderlecht beat Zulte-Waregem 2-1 in the Belgian league.

Kljestan's goal was his fourth in the league this season and fifth overall.

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