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LONDON, Oct 23: Eidur Gudjohnsen's hat trick fired Chelsea to their biggest win under Jose Mourinho and sunk Blackburn deeper into the mire on Saturday.
The Icelandic striker, who went into the match with only two goals to his name this season, doubled his tally with a superbly taken brace in the space of two first half minutes then converted a 51st-minute penalty to ensure he went home with the match ball.
A late free-kick from Ireland winger Damien Duff completed a 4-0 win as Mourinho's men proved they are capable of displaying a cutting edge to match their defensive discipline.
The win moved Chelsea back to within two points of Arsenal at the top of the Premiership table ahead of the champions' showdown with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The defeat means Blackburn slip into the relegation zone and, on this evidence, Mark Hughes's side will struggle to escape from it.
Everton remain in third place after a 3-2 victory over winless Premiership newcomers Norwich at Carrow Road.
David Moyes's side allowed a two-goal lead to slip away when Leon McKenzie and Damien Francis cancelled out Kevin Kilbane and Marcus Bent's first half goals.
But former Scotland striker Duncan Ferguson came off the bench to head the winner and make it seven victories out of 10 for Everton so far this season.
Elsewhere, it was a day to remember for Crystal Palace, who leapt off the bottom of the table and right out of the relegation zone with a convincing 3-0 victory over fellow strugglers West Brom.
Two goals in the first 12 minutes, a Fitz Hall strike and an Andy Johnson penalty, put Palace firmly in control of the meeting with their fellow Premiership newcomers.
Johnson added his second of the afternoon and seventh of the season with a superb solo strike five minutes after the break.
Picking up the ball up in the centre circle, the shaven-headed striker advanced to within 30 yards of goal before unleashing a stunning drive.
Aston Villa won for the first time in six league matches with a 2-0 home win over Fulham that leaves the Londoners right in the heart of the relegation battle.
Peru international Nolberto Solana put Villa ahead just before the half hour mark and midfielder Lee Hendrie secured the points for David O'Leary's side with a quarter of an hour left.
Tottenham's early-season momentum slipped further as Jacques Santini's side slumped to a second successive defeat, at home to Bolton.
Henrik Pedersen notched the winner for Bolton after Spurs striker Robbie Keane had cancelled out Tunisian defender Radhi Jaidi's third goal of the season.
Results:
Aston Villa 2 Fulham 0
Chelsea 4 Blackburn Rovers 0
Crystal Palace 3 West Bromwich Albion 0
Norwich City 2 Everton 3
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Bolton Wanderers 2
Playing on Sunday (1400 unless stated): Manchester United v Arsenal (1505) Middlesbrough v Portsmouth Newcastle United v Manchester City Southampton v Birmingham City (1300)
Bayern stop slump
BERLIN: VfL Wolfsburg stormed back to the top of the Bundesliga table with a 3-0 win over VfL Bochum on Saturday. Bayern Munich ended their losing streak with a 2-0 victory at Hansa Rostock to move up a notch to third.
Reclaiming first place for at least a day from VfB Stuttgart who play at Freiburg on Sunday, Wolfsburg dominated Bochum with three first-half goals from Pablo Thiam (27th minute) Diego Klimowicz (40) and Andres D'Alessandro (42).
With seven victories in their nine matches, Wolfsburg have been the surprise of the season and showed their resilience with an impressive showing a week after a bitter 3-0 defeat in a derby against Hanover 96.
Wolfsburg have 21 points and lead Stuttgart who are on 20 but with a game in hand.
Bayern Munich got two late goals through Willy Sagnol and Mehmet Scholl to move from fourth to third with 17 points in nine matches.
Results:
Hansa Rostock 0 Bayern Munich 2
Borussia Dortmund 0 Hamburg SV 2
Arminia Bielefeld 1 Hertha Berlin 0
Kaiserslautern 0 Bayer Leverkusen 0
Borussia Moenchengladbach 0 Hanover 96 2
Werder Bremen 4 Nuremberg 1
VfL Wolfsburg 3 VfL Bochum 0
-Agencies
