Chelsea opened up a five-point gap at the top of the English Premier League yesterday, goals from Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou wrapping up a 2-0 victory over Wolves.
With Manchester City facing Arsenal today and Manchester United travelling to Stoke, the champions seized the chance to put pressure on the chasing pack by taking maximum points at Stamford Bridge.
Malouda’s goal came on 23 minutes, the French international providing the finish after neat interplay between Yuri Zhirkov and Nicolas Anelka.
Salomon Kalou bagged Chelsea’s second after a scintillating sequence of one-touch play opened up the Wolves defence on 81 minutes.
In another match yesterday, a dreadful blunder by Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard gave Tottenham a share of the points in a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane which was enough to see Spurs move up to third in the table.
Everton had taken a 1-0 lead with an exquisite free-kick from Leighton Baines on 17 minutes.
But Spurs levelled within three minutes when Howard fluffed a punched clearance, allowing Peter Crouch to guide the ball across the face of goal for striker Rafael Van der Vaart, who hammered home the equaliser.
Yet despite enjoying plenty of possession for the remainder of the game, Spurs were unable to penetrate a well-organised Everton line-up.
“They’re a good side. You don’t get an easy game with Everton, you never do,” Spurs boss Harry Redknapp told Sky Sports.
“We had the better of the chances but I’m happy with a point ... to come back from 1-0 down again shows tremendous character.”
Everton boss David Moyes was equally happy with a point earned by a starting line-up missing stalwarts Mikel Arteta, Marouane Fellaini and Jack Rodwell.
“Well before Liverpool and Tottenham if you’d given me four points I’d have certainly taken that. So give the players a lot of credit. They’ve worked really hard for the points,” Moyes said.
Elsewhere, newly promoted West Bromwich Albion advanced to fourth after coming from behind to defeat Fulham 2-1 at the Hawthorns.
Fulham had taken the lead on nine minutes when a Zoltan Gera shot was tipped onto the post by Scott Carson only to cannon back off the West Brom keeper and roll into the net.
Yet the Baggies were back on level terms soon afterwards, when Chris Brunt picked out Congolese striker Youssouf Mulumbu, who rifled past Mark Schwarzer to make it 1-1.
West Brom took the lead five minutes before half-time, Brunt and Jerome Thomas combining well to play in Marc-Antoine Fortune who made it 2-1.
Baggies manager Roberto Di Matteo played down his side’s flying start to the season.
“I keep saying the same – we’ve only played nine games. It’s important where we stand at the end of the season not right now,” Di Matteo said.
At the Stadium of Light, Aston Villa defender Richard Dunne set an unwanted Premier League record when his own goal handed Sunderland a 1-0 victory.
It was the eighth own goal of Dunne’s career and proved decisive as Villa struggled in vain to find an equaliser after dominating the second half.
Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier bemoaned his side’s inability to convert any of a string of openings.
“A fair result would have been a draw,” Houllier said.
“We had opportunities but in football you have to put the ball into the back of the net.”
Wigan and Bolton Wanderers fought out a 1-1 draw at the DW Stadium, Hugo Rodallega scoring on 59 minutes for the Latics before Swedish international Johan Elmander levelled for the visitors seven minutes later.
Birmingham piled on the misery for minnows Blackpool with a 2-0 victory at St Andrews.
They went 1-0 up through a Liam Ridgewell goal shortly before half-time, following up to nod home after Serbian Nikola Zigic had headed onto the bar.
The Blues doubled their lead shortly after the restart after a mistake by Blackpool playmaker Charlie Adam, who failed to control inside the area allowing Zigic to pounce and drill home on 57 minutes.
Premier League
Birmingham 2
Ridgewell 36; Zigic 56;
Blackpool 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 26,850.
Chelsea 2
Malouda 23; Kalou 81;
Wolves 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 41,752.
Sunderland 1
Dunne 25 og;
Aston Villa 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 41,506.
Tottenham 1
Van der Vaart 20;
Everton 1
Baines 17;
HT: 1-1. Att: 35,967.
West Brom 2
Mulumbu 17; Fortune 40;
Fulham 1
Carson 9 og;
HT: 2-1. Att: 25,625.
West Ham 1
Cole 12;
Newcastle 2
Nolan 23; Carroll 69;
HT: 1-1. Att: 34,486.
Wigan 1
Rodallega 59;
Bolton 1
Elmander 66;
HT: 0-0. Att: 17,100.
Playing Today
Liverpool vs Blackburn - 16.00
Man. City vs Arsenal - 17.00
Stoke City vs Man. Utd - 14.30
Top Scorers
7 goals: Tevez (Manchester City); Malouda (Chelsea).
6 goals: Berbatov (Manchester United); Drogba (Chelsea).
5 goals: Bent (Sunderland); Carroll (Newcastle United); Elmander (Bolton W.); Kalou (Chelsea).
Next Fixtures
Tuesday: League Cup, fourth round 20.45 Birmingham vs Brentford; Ipswich vs Northampton; Leicester vs West Brom; Wigan vs Swansea. 21.00 Man. United vs Wolves.
Wednesday: League Cup, fourth round 20.45 Aston Villa vs Burnley; Newcastle vs Arsenal; West Ham vs Stoke.
Saturday: Premier League 16.00 Arsenal vs West Ham; Blackburn vs Chelsea; Everton vs Stoke; Fulham vs Wigan; Wolves vs Man. City. 18.30 Man. Utd vs Tottenham.
Sunday: 13.00 Aston Villa vs Birmingham. 14.30 Newcastle vs Sunderland. 17.00 Bolton vs Liverpool.
Monday, Nov. 1: 21.00 Blackpool vs West Brom.