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Chelsea cruise as Arsenal stumble

LONDON: Chelsea strengthened their position at the top of the Premier League by cruising to a 4-0 win over struggling Wolves on Saturday. Manchester United remained five points adrift of the leaders after beating Everton 3-0 at Old Trafford but Arsenal stumbled significantly ahead of their next meeting with Chelsea. The Gunners failed to score for the first time this season as they went down to a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland, with England striker Darren Bent notching the winner in the 71st minute.

Chelsea’s win was their 12th on the trot at Stamford Bridge, a new club record. Florent Malouda opened the scoring with a 25-yard drive after five minutes and a Michael Essien double in the space of ten minutes ended the contest before half-time. Joe Cole’s first goal of the season, 11 minutes into the second half, rounded off a satisfying afternoon for Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti.

After losing to Chelsea on their last outing, Manchester United returned to winning ways with the help of a stunning opener from Darren Fletcher, who lashed a bouncing ball into the top corner of the net ten minutes before half-time. Second-half strikes from Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia completed an ultimately comfortable win for the champions. Arsenal’s failure to score underlined the significance of the injury, which will keep top scorer Robin van Persie out for up to six weeks.

Liverpool and Manchester City’s hopes of challenging for the title were left looking remote after they settled for a 2-2 draw at Anfield. Liverpool, who have won only once in 10 matches in all competitions, are now 12 points adrift of Chelsea while City trail the leaders by 11 points after drawing their last six league matches. Martin Skrtel volleyed Liverpool into the lead five minutes into the second half. Emmanuel Adebayor headed City back onto level terms and Stephen Ireland gave the visitors the lead only for substitute Yossi Benayoun to equalise barely a minute later.

Aston Villa climbed into the top four at the expense of Tottenham after coming from behind to earn a 1-1 draw at Burnley. Scotland international Steven Caldwell’s 9th-minute strike had put Burnley on track for another win at Turf Moor but Emile Heskey salvaged a point for Villa with four minutes left. Birmingham’s recent improvement continued with a 1-0 win over Fulham that extends their unbeaten run to four matches. Midfielder Lee Bowyer beat Fulham’s offside trap to score the winner after 16 minutes. The relegation battle between Hull and West Ham ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw. afp

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