Drogba wins it for Chelsea, Arsenal beat United

A superb strike by Didier Drogba earned 10-man champions Chelsea a 1-0 victory over Liverpool, while Arsenal shattered Manchester United's 100 per cent record with a late 1-0 win at Old Trafford yesterday.

Chelsea, who had Germany midfielder Michael Ballack dismissed for stamping after 51 minutes, ground out their win after Drogba swivelled and struck an unstoppable shot from the edge of the area just before halftime at Stamford Bridge.

The day's other showcase game was decided in the 85th minute of a pulsating encounter at Old Trafford when Arsenal's Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor steered the ball home off a defence-splitting pass by Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

United had won all four of their previous league games, while Arsenal, who missed an early penalty taken by Gilberto, kickstarted their campaign with a first win of the season.

Blackburn Rovers beat Manchester City 4-2, Tottenham Hotspur were held 0-0 at home by Fulham and Glenn Roeder's Newcastle United were 2-0 winners over his former club West Ham United in the day's other games.

The weekend's action left Harry Redknapp's Portsmouth as unlikely Premier League leaders with 13 points, one clear of both Manchester United and Chelsea, who are third on goal difference.

Though there was only one goal at Stamford Bridge, Ivory Coast striker Drogba's effort will be an early candidate for goal of the season.

Drogba, on the edge of the area, collected a Frank Lampard pass with his back to goal and turned round to smash a blistering half-volley past Liverpool keeper Jose Reina three minutes before half-time.

The match began to swing Liverpool's way soon after the restart when Ballack brought his boot down on the thigh of Liverpool's Mali international midfielder Momo Sissoko.

But despite the red card for Germany's World Cup captain, playing only his fifth game since a close season move from Bayern Munich, Chelsea stuck to their task.

Penalty appeals were waved away at both ends, while Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard missed a golden opportunity to equalise, drilling the ball straight at keeper Petr Cech from close range. Defeat left his team 15th in the table.

There was plenty of excitement too in Manchester, where Polish keeper Tomasz Kuszczak made a memorable debut by tripping Adebayor in the area after 10 minutes but then saving the resulting penalty.

Gilberto, wearing the captain's armband, slipped as he struck the spot-kick and his team were no luckier a minute later when a goal-line clearance by Paul Scholes denied William Gallas a simple tap-in.

Arsenal had squandered several scoring chances before Adebayor stole in to prod Fabregas's inviting through-ball beneath the advancing Kuszczak.

The strike moved Arsenal from 17th before the weekend to 10th place in the table and will give Arsene Wenger's side a much-needed lift.