Newcastle's pursuit of Champions League qualification was boosted after a fifth successive win Monday and by Tottenham's surprise home loss that loosens its hold on fourth place. Newcastle striker Papiss Cisse's 10th goal in nine appearances since joining the club rounded off a 2-0 victory over Bolton after Hatem Ben Arfa had scored the opener. The win lifted the Magpies to fifth place, behind Tottenham on goal difference after the London club lost 2-1 to Norwich. Anthony Pilkington and Elliott Bennett scored for Norwich, which rose to ninth. Chelsea can go above Tottenham and Newcastle and into the fourth Champions League place with a victory at Fulham later Monday. Third place, though, had appeared to have been sealed by Spurs until their collapse to throw away a 10-point advantage over Arsenal, which now has a two-point cushion in third with a game in hand. “It is going to be close, but there are still five games to go. It is the team who wants it most,” Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said. “We would settle for finishing fourth, Champions League football is the key. It would be lovely to finish above Arsenal, but that is going to be tough now. It is still all to play for.” In-form Newcastle is now firmly in the mix for fourth place and is one of the league's surprise outfits this season. “To have this points total and not make Europe would be tough to take,” Newcastle manager Alan Pardew said. “So we have got to keep our eye on the ball, and we aren't giving up on anything — apart from winning it.” The northeast club went in front in the 73rd minute through a fine solo goal from Ben Arfa, who dribbled through the defense before dispatching the ball into the net. Cisse tapped in Newcastle's second in the 83rd after latching onto Shola Ameobi's cross. The result leaves Bolton in 16th place and still in a relegation fight, sitting only one point above 19th-place Wigan. Valencia frustrates Real Valencia blew the title race wide open when it held Real Madrid to a 0-0 draw Sunday that trimmed the leader's advantage over chasing Barcelona to four points with seven La Liga games left. Goalkeeper Vicente Guaita was the hero for the visitors in a tense encounter at the Bernabeu as he produced a string of superb saves to frustrate Cristiano Ronaldo, Angel Di Maria and Karim Benzema. Real, who plays Barca at the Nou Camp later this month, has 79 points from 31 matches, with Barca on 75 after Saturday's 4-1 win at Real Zaragoza and Valencia in third on 49. Champion Barca, chasing a fourth straight title, can cut the gap to one point with a win at home to Getafe Tuesday, with Real not playing at Atletico Madrid until Wednesday. Jose Mourinho's Real side had a 10-point lead over its arch-rival three weeks ago but slipped to consecutive draws against Malaga and Villarreal and was held again Sunday by a spirited Valencia side.
