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| October 30, 2005 | Sunday | Ramzan 25, 1426 |
Chelsea beat Rovers, Spurs hold Arsenal
LONDON, Oct 29: Chelsea finished a stuttering week on a high note when they beat Blackburn Rovers 4-2 at Stamford Bridge to maintain a commanding lead at the top of the English Premier League on Saturday.
Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard put the Blues 2-0 up inside 15 minutes before Craig Bellamy struck twice for Rovers before half-time.
However, Lampard’s second - his 100th league goal - and Joe Cole’s 74th minute effort - secured a win that saw Jose Mourinho’s men retain their nine-point advantage
Wigan, only promoted at the start of the season, recorded their seventh win in a row in all competitions as they moved up into second after Pascal Chimbona’s injury-time header secured a 1-0 win at home to Fulham.
Elsewhere Arsenal made it 13 games unbeaten against arch-rivals Tottenham after coming from a goal behind at White Hart Lane to secure a point in a 1-1 north London derby draw.
England centre-back Ledley King put Spurs, who stayed three points ahead of Arsenal, in front before Robert Pires atoned for his part in last week’s penalty mix-up against Manchester City by coming off the bench to score a 77th minute equaliser.
Bolton knocked Charlton, Chelsea’s midweek League Cup conquerors, down from second to fifth and went fourth thanks to Kevin Nolan’s 72nd minute goal at The Valley.
Simon Davies took Everton off the bottom of the table as he scored the winner in a 1-0 win away to fellow strugglers Birmingham.
Portsmouth overcame Laurent Robert’s refusal to take his place on the bench and a 1-0 deficit for a 4-1 win at Sunderland that left the Black Cats at the foot of the Premiership.
Liverpool, after defeats by Fulham and a League Cup exit against Championship side Crystal Palace, eased some of the pressure on manager Rafael Benitez with a 2-0 win at home to West Ham.
The belaguered boss’s fellow Spaniard Xabi Alonso put Liverpool 1-0 up before Bolo Zenden scored eight minutes from time.
After a week that had featured a 1-1 draw away to Everton, which ended their nine-game unbeaten start to the league season and a penalty shoot-out exit in the League Cup, there were signs of Chelsea slipping from their lofty perch.
However, that looked anything but the case as they stormed into a 2-0 lead inside the first 15 minutes, Drogba heading in Lampard’s cross and the provider than turning scorer from the penalty spot after Chelsea skipper John Terry was brought down.
Rovers though were given a lifeline with a penalty of their own in the 18th minute when Ricardo Carvalho fouled Zurab Khizanishvili and Wales striker Bellamy scored from the spot.
And approaching half-time the visitors were level when Chelsea keeper Petr Cech’s sliced clearance eventually led to Bellamy’s second.
But Lampard, one of Chelsea’s most consistent performers, restored the Blues’s lead with a 62nd minute free-kick which evaded the Rovers defence before Cole completed the scoring.
Pompey winger Robert, unhappy at being left on the bench, initially appeared to storm out of the Stadium of Light and left the visitors with just four men on the bench.
To make matters worse Sunderland took a fourth minute lead from a Dean Whitehead penalty. But Portsmouth, now with Robert sat behind but not on the bench, levelled in the 48th minute when Zvonimir Vukic struck.
And the visitors were ahead just short of the hour mark when Matthew Taylor capitalised on confusion between Sunderland centre-half Alan Stubbs and keeper Kelvin Davis to lash the ball home.
Taylor though topped that effort six minutes later when, from just three yards inside Sunderland’s half, he spotted Davis off his line and lobbed him with an audacious strike. Striker Dario Silva then completed the remarkable turnaround with Pompey’s fourth.
Manchester United will have the chance to come within a point of Wigan if they beat Middlesbrough in Saturday’s late kick-off match.
West Brom entertain Newcastle on Sunday while Manchester City will look to bolster their bid for European football at home to Aston Villa on Monday.
Results:
Birmingham City 0 Everton 1
Charlton Athletic 0 Bolton Wanderers 1
Chelsea 4 Blackburn Rovers 2
Liverpool 2 West Ham United 0
Sunderland 1 Portsmouth 4
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Arsenal 1
Wigan Athletic 1 Fulham 0
—Agencies
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