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| August 26, 2005 | Friday | Rajab 20, 1426 |
Chelsea and Arsenal on goal spree
LONDON, Aug 25: Champions Chelsea hit top gear with a 4-0 thrashing of West Bromwich Albion to maintain their 100 percent start to the Premier League season on Wednesday.
Coach Jose Mourinho made six changes from the side that beat Arsenal on Sunday and they started slowly, but once Frank Lampard slotted his 50th goal for the club they raced away to a victory that puts them top with nine points.
Last year’s runners-up Arsenal made amends for their 1-0 defeat against Chelsea on Sunday, coming from behind to trounce Fulham 4-1 with two goals from Thierry Henry and an unlikely brace from defender Pascal Cygan.
Fulham had taken a surprise lead through Claus Jensen shortly after Arsenal defender Lauren missed from the penalty spot following a foul on Henry.
Tottenham Hotspur maintained their strong start to the season, grinding out a 0-0 draw at Blackburn Rovers who played the last 15 minutes with 10 men after Lucas Neill was sent off.
Martin Jol’s side, who are second to Chelsea with seven points, are still to concede a goal this season. The two sides meet at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
Newcastle United’s problems mounted with goals from El-Hadji Diouf and Stelios Giannakopoulos giving Bolton Wanderers a deserved 2-0 home win at the Reebok Stadium.
Newcastle, who want to sign Real Madrid’s Michael Owen, have failed to score so far this season, picking up just one point.
Mourinho handed a first start to big money signings Michael Essien and Shaun Wright-Phillips, while England midfielder Joe Cole returned after not making the squad against Arsenal.
Despite the riches pitched against them it was West Brom who made the early running while Chelsea struggled to gel.
However Lampard, who has just celebrated the birth of his daughter Luna, punished a defensive mistake by Thomas Gaardsoe on 23 minutes, firing home after a clever dummy from Essien.
Cole made it 2-0 after being teed up by Wright-Phillips and Didier Drogba’s close-range effort and Lampard’s second put Chelsea in cruise control long before the end.—Agencies
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