LONDON, Sept 24: A superb header from Carlos Tevez and a late penalty by Louis Saha sent 10-man Chelsea crashing to a 2-0 defeat at Manchester United on Sunday in Avram Grant’s first match as Chelsea’s coach.

Chelsea, playing after last week’s sudden departure of Jose Mourinho, endured a miserable afternoon in the rain at Old Trafford and played with 10 men after John Obi Mikel was controversially sent off by referee Mike Dean after 32 minutes for a lunge on Patrice Evra.

Saha wrapped up the points for United with an 89th minute penalty after the French substitute was fouled by defender Tal Ben Haim.

The victory moved United into second place on 14 points from seven matches, two behind leaders Arsenal who crushed Derby County 5-0 on Saturday. Chelsea, who have not scored a goal for three successive league matches, slipped to sixth.

Newcastle United moved up from ninth to fifth after their 3-1 win over West Ham United at St James’ Park but England striker Michael Owen was substituted for the second successive match.

Owen, who has returned to Newcastle and England after missing most of last season due to injury, was replaced after 51 minutes by Obafemi Martins. He will undergo a second scan on an injured groin later in the week.

He also came off early in the second half of Newcastle’s defeat at Derby County on Monday.

Newcastle won thanks to two goals from Mark Viduka and one from Charles N’Zogbia. Dean Ashton scored for West Ham.

At the other end of the table, Bolton Wanderers moved off the bottom after a 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur, who stayed in 18th place.

Robbie Keane put Spurs ahead after 34 minutes before Ivan Campo equalised five minutes later with a header from a free-kick.

Portsmouth won 1-0 at Blackburn Rovers while Aston Villa beat Everton 2-0 in Sunday’s other matches.

Results:

Played on Sunday:

Aston Villa 2 Everton 0

Blackburn Rovers 0 Portsmouth 1

Bolton Wanderers 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1

Manchester United 2 Chelsea 0

Newcastle United 3 West Ham United 1

Played on Saturday:

Arsenal 5 Derby County 0

Fulham 3 Manchester City 3

Liverpool 0 Birmingham City 0

Middlesbrough 2 Sunderland 2

Reading 2 Wigan Athletic 1

—Reuters

Opinion

Editorial

GB polls’ aftermath
Updated 11 Jun, 2026

GB polls’ aftermath

The new administration must address the region’s issues proactively.
Peace in retreat
11 Jun, 2026

Peace in retreat

THE ceasefire announced in April was supposed to create space for negotiations. Instead, it has been repeatedly...
A few good men
11 Jun, 2026

A few good men

IT was a brave move, no doubt. This Tuesday, in the land of the Afghan Taliban, a few good men decided to take a...
Centre vs provinces
Updated 10 Jun, 2026

Centre vs provinces

The reason the centre finds itself in this position is rooted in its failure to expand the tax net and boost revenues.
Party in crisis
10 Jun, 2026

Party in crisis

THE young KP chief minister must be starting to realise just how thorny a seat he occupies. There has been a flurry...
Varsity woes
10 Jun, 2026

Varsity woes

FINANCIAL crises affecting public sector universities across Pakistan are now having an impact on academic...