London, Oct 5 (DPA) Chelsea battled to a hard-fought 2-0 win over Liverpool Sunday to go above champions Manchester United at the top of the English Premier League table.
Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda scored the goals to lift Chelsea onto 21 points, two better than United, leaving Liverpool on 15 points in fifth, behind Arsenal on goal difference.
Arsenal marched into the top four with a thumping 6-2 win over Blackburn, while West Ham and Fulham drew 2-2 and Everton were held 1-1 at home by Stoke City.
Liverpool pushed Chelsea hard throughout and Fernando Torres had a couple of chances, while at the other end, Jose Reina produced a couple of strong saves and Michael Ballack headed over.
The match was always tight but Chelsea made the breakthrough on the hour mark when Javier Mascherano, otherwise superb in midfield, was robbed by Frank Lampard, who fed Didier Drogba and the striker’s early cross found Anelka who slotted the ball home.
Liverpool pressed for an equalizer but as the 90-minute mark ticked by, Malouda finished off after more good work from Drogba to secure the win.
“It was important for us to beat Liverpool as they are a direct opponent for the title,” Drogba said. “It was a difficult game as always but a good one for us. You have to win at home and it is great to get the three points. We are really delighted.”
Liverpool have now lost three of their first eight matches but manager Rafael Benitez said he was happy with the way they battled on the day.
“You have to be disappointed as you want to win every game but at this stage of the season we have to keep improving,” the Spaniard said.
“We were much better defensively. Also we were playing against a good team and had our chances, so there are some positives. We lost the ball and they scored the first goal, so everything changed.
“It’s important to keep calm, keep working hard to improve. We have to focus on the next game, get three points and see what happens.
“This year the top sides will lose points against other teams, so we just have to try to win every week. We will try to win against Sunderland and see. It’s a long race and we have to think about the next game, that’s it.”
At the Emirates, Blackburn led twice but Arsenal roared to an impressive victory with five goals in an hour as they leapfrogged Liverpool into fourth.
Steven Nzonzi gave Blackburn a shock lead on four minutes but Thomas Vermaelen equalized (17) only for David Dunn to restore Blackburn’s lead on the half-hour mark.
But from then on it was all Arsenal and goals from Robin van Persie, Andrey Arshavin, Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner – the last the pick of the bunch – sealed a comprehensive victory for Arsene Wenger’s side.
Fabregas, who stated his renewed commitment to Arsenal after the game, was delighted with the efforts of his team.
“We did not do well in the first 10 to 15 minutes and were a bit shaky defensively,” he said. “But after the goal we did well and it was a good game.
“I am happy with all the team’s performance. We can do better – it is just one more game in the race for the title.”
Fulham picked up a fine point at West Ham despite playing for 50 minutes with only 10 men after the dismissal of Kagisho Dikgacoi for raising his hand to Scott Parker.
Carlton Cole had headed West Ham in front early on but a penalty by Danny Murphy two minutes into the second half pulled Fulham level and they went ahead 11 minutes later through Zoltan Gera.
But Junior Stanislas equalized with a deflected shot in injury time to give second-from-bottom West Ham a share of the points.
In the day’s other match, Everton were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Stoke City, though they needed a stunning strike from Leon Osman to get back on level terms.
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