Two own goals by Stoke City forward Jonathan Walters set Chelsea on their way to a 4-0 Premier League victory yesterday that gave under-fire interim manager Rafael Benitez some respite and lifted his side to third place.
Walters had a nightmare afternoon at the Britannia stadium, putting through his own net with a diving header on the stroke of half-time, then beating Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic again with a header from a corner just past the hour. He also missed a late penalty.
Stoke have not beaten Chelsea in the league since 1975 and Frank Lampard’s penalty and a fine Eden Hazard goal put the Londoners one point ahead of fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur who drew 0-0 at Queens Park Rangers in the lunchtime kick-off.
Rangers prop up the standings after Reading staged a remarkable comeback to beat West Bromwich Albion 3-2, scoring three times in the last eight minutes after trailing to Romelu Lukaku’s double.
Aston Villa dropped into the bottom three following Southampton striker Rickie Lambert’s contentious first-half penalty that secured their fellow strugglers a 1-0 victory at Villa Park.
Leaders Manchester United host fierce rivals Liverpool this afternoon before second-placed Manchester City, seven points behind Alex Ferguson’s side, complete the weekend programme at Arsenal.
Chelsea moved within four points of City, and 11 behind United, after getting a helping hand – or head – at Stoke, normally ferocious opponents on home turf.
Victory should bring some relief to Benitez amid growing discontent among Chelsea fans still seething at the Spaniard’s appointment and his team’s inconsistent performances.
In their previous two games Chelsea suffered a shock home league defeat by QPR followed by a midweek loss to Swansea City in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea also got a boost yesterday with the return to first-team action of captain John Terry after two months out with a knee injury.
Terry replaced Juan Mata after 79 minutes although he did concede the late penalty which the hapless Walters struck against the top of the bar.
Reading gave their fans hope that they can stay up with an unlikely win over West Brom at the Madjeski stadium.
Until the 82nd minute they had been run ragged by on-loan striker Lukaku but Jimmy Kebe started a memorable comeback. Adam Le Fondre then equalised from the penalty spot with two minutes to go before Pavel Pogrebnyak pounced in the last minute.
“We were really resilient. We have got great character,” Reading manager Brian McDermott told Sky Sports.
The main talking point at Villa Park surrounded Lambert’s 34th minute penalty that earned Southampton the three points. Enda Stevens was penalised for bringing down Jay Rodriguez and both managers agreed the decision was harsh.
“Enda Stevens was not even close to him and that is the most hurtful thing. I think referee Mark Halsey will be embarrassed by that,” said Villa boss Paul Lambert.
His opposite number Nigel Adkins agreed, stating: “For me there is no contact with the player but the referee has a decision to make.
“All we can do at our place is make sure the players are not diving. We expect the players to behave properly, it is not a dive from Jay Rodriguez, there was no contact, but if the player had not moved his leg away, there would have been contact.”
Redknapp pleased
QPR manager Harry Redknapp had to be content with a point in his first game against his former club Tottenham Hotspur.
Redknapp, sacked by Spurs in June, hailed a “fantastic” performance from his side as they stifled their opponents for long periods.
In other matches, fifth-placed Everton and Swansea battled to a goalless draw at Goodison Park, as did Norwich City and Newcastle at Carrow Road while Sunderland thumped West Ham 3-0 at the Stadium of Light.
Results and standings
Premier League
Aston Villa 0
Southampton 1
Lambert 34 pen;
HT: 0-1. Att: 32,500.
Everton 0
Swansea City 0
Att: 35,782.
Fulham 1
Karagounis 22;
Wigan 1
Di Santo 71;
HT: 1-0. Att: 25,442.
Norwich 0
Newcastle 0
Att: 26,752.
Reading 3
Kebe 82; Fondre 88 pen; Pogrebnyak 90;
West Brom 2
Lukaku 19, 69;
HT: 0-1. Att: 23,495.
QPR 0
Tottenham 0
Att: 18,018.
Stoke City 0
Chelsea 4
Walters 45og, 63og; Lampard 65 pen; Hazard 73;
HT: 0-1. Att: 27,348.
Missed penalty: Walters (S) 90.
Sunderland 3
Larsson 12; Johnson 47; McClean 74;
West Ham 0
HT: 1-0. Att: 39,918.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| Man. United | 21 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 54 | 28 | 52 |
| Man. City | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 41 | 19 | 45 |
| Chelsea | 21 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 43 | 19 | 41 |
| Tottenham | 22 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 39 | 27 | 40 |
| Everton | 22 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 35 | 26 | 37 |
| Arsenal | 20 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 40 | 22 | 34 |
| WBA | 22 | 10 | 3 | 9 | 31 | 30 | 33 |
| Liverpool | 21 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 34 | 26 | 31 |
| Swansea | 22 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 31 | 26 | 30 |
| Stoke | 22 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 21 | 24 | 29 |
| West Ham | 21 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 24 | 27 | 26 |
| Norwich | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 24 | 34 | 26 |
| Fulham | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 33 | 38 | 25 |
| Sunderland | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 24 | 29 | 25 |
| Southampton | 21 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 21 |
| Newcastle | 22 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 27 | 39 | 21 |
| Wigan | 22 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 23 | 40 | 19 |
| Aston Villa | 22 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 17 | 42 | 19 |
| Reading | 22 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 26 | 42 | 16 |
| QPR | 22 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 17 | 36 | 14 |
Playing today
Arsenal vs Man. City - 17:00
Man. Utd vs Liverpool - 13:30
Top scorers
16 goals: Van Persie (Man. United).
15 goals: Suarez (Liverpool).
13 goals: Michu (Swansea), Ba (Chelsea).
10 goals: Defoe (Tottenham).
Next fixtures
Wednesday: Premier League 20.45 Chelsea vs Southampton.
Saturday: Premier League 16.00 Liverpool vs Norwich; Manchester City vs Fulham; Newcastle vs Reading; Swansea vs Stoke; West Ham vs QPR; Wigan vs Sunderland. 18.30 West Brom vs Aston Villa.
Sunday: Premier League 14.30 Chelsea vs Arsenal. 17.00 Tottenham vs Manchester United.
Monday, Jan. 21: 21.00 Southampton vs Everton.
The Championship
Barnsley 2 - Leeds 0
Bolton 1 - Millwall 1
Brighton 2 - Derby 1
Bristol City 0 - Leicester 4
Burnley 1 - Crystal Palace 0
Cardiff 0 - Ipswich 0
Charlton 2 - Blackpool 1
Huddersfield 1 - Birmingham 1
Hull 1 - Sheff. Wed. 3
M’boro 1 - Watford 2
N. Forest 2 - Peterborough 1
Standings: Cardiff 57; Hull 49; Leicester, C. Palace, Middlesbrough 47; Watford 43; Millwall 41; Brighton, N. Forest 40; Burnley 39; Leeds 38; Derby 37; Blackburn, Charlton 36; Blackpool 34; Bolton, Huddersfield 33; Wolves 32; Ipswich 31; Birmingham 30; Sheffield Wednesday 28; Peterborough 25; Barnsley 24; Bristol City 22.
League One
Bournemouth 1 - Swindon 1
Colchester 1 - Scunthorpe 2
Leyton Orient 1 - Crewe 1
MK Dons 1 - Bury 1
Oldham 0 - Brentford 2
Portsmouth p - Notts County p
Sheffield Utd 0 - Yeovil 2
Shrewsbury 1 - Hartlepool 1
Stevenage 1 - Doncaster 2
Tranmere 2 - Crawley 0
Playing today:
Carlisle vs Coventry - 16.00
Preston vs Walsall - 16.00
Standings: Tranmere, Doncaster 53; Brentford 49; Sheffield United 47; Swindon 46; MK Dons, Bournemouth 43; Yeovil 42; Crawley 41; Crewe, Stevenage 40; Coventry 37; Notts County 36; L. Orient, Walsall 35; Preston 34; Shrewsbury 30; Carlisle 29; Oldham 27; Scunthorpe 25; Colchester 23; Bury 22; Portsmouth 21; Hartlepool 13.
League Two
Aldershot 2 - Accrington 0
Bradford City 1 - Oxford 2
Burton 2 - Torquay 1
Cheltenham 1 - York City 1
Chesterfield 3 - Northampton 0
Dagenham 0 - Rochdale 1
Exeter 3 - Southend 0
Fleetwood 0 - Bristol Rovers 3
Gillingham 1 - Port Vale 2
Plymouth 2 - Morecambe 2
Rotherham 0 - Barnet 2
Wimbledon 2 - Wycombe 2
Standings: Port Vale 52; Gillingham United 51; Exeter 44; Rotherham United, Cheltenham Town 43; Burton 42; Southend, Fleetwood, Bradford 40; Northampton, Chesterfield 39; Oxford 38; Dagenham 37; Rochdale 36; York 35; Torquay, Wycombe 33; Morecambe 32; Accrington 30; Barnet 29; Aldershot 28; Plymouth 27; Wimbledon 26; Bristol Rovers 25.