Chelsea thump Rovers, United mauled by Boro

LONDON – Chelsea finished a stuttering week on a high note when they beat Blackburn Rovers 4-2 at Stamford Bridge to maintain a commanding lead at the top of the English Premiership on Saturday.

But it was a terrible day for Manchester United who were thrashed 4-1 away to Middlesbrough, a result that left them a huge 13 points behind Chelsea. Surprise package Wigan went second after a 1-0 win at home to Fulham.Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard put Chelsea 2-0 up inside 15 minutes before Craig Bellamy struck twice for Rovers before half-time.However, Lampard’s second – his 100th league goal – and Joe Cole’s 74th minute effort secured a win that saw Jose Mourinho’s men retain their nine-point advantage.Wigan, only promoted at the start of the season, recorded their seventh win in a row in all competitions as they moved up into second after Pascal Chimbona’s injury-time header secured a 1-0 win at home to Fulham.Gaizka Mendieta put Boro ahead as early as the second minute when his long-range shot slipped through the grasp of United keeper Edwin van der Sar.Boro doubled their lead in the 25th minute when Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink latched onto Mendieta’s long cross-field ball, dispossessed the dithering Rio Ferdinand and lashed the ball home.Then, on the stroke of half-time, Boro went 3-0 up when Aiyegbeni Yakubu scored from the penalty spot after Kieran Richardson, inside his own box, pulled at the shirt of Boro full-back Stuart Parnaby.Mendieta then scored his second 12 minutes from time after Yakubu powered past Ferdinand and cut the ball back.But there was no clean sheet for Boro when, deep into stoppage time, Cristiano Ronaldo headed in from a Paul Scholes corner.Arsenal made it 13 games unbeaten against arch-rivals Tottenham after coming from a goal behind at White Hart Lane to secure a point in a 1-1 north London derby draw.Bolton knocked Charlton, Chelsea’s midweek League Cup conquerors, down from second to fifth and went fourth thanks to Kevin Nolan’s 72nd minute goal at The Valley.Simon Davies took Everton off the bottom of the table as he scored the winner in a 1-0 win away to fellow strugglers Birmingham.Portsmouth overcame what appeared to be Laurent Robert’s refusal to take his place on the bench and a 1-0 deficit for a 4-1 win at Sunderland that left the Black Cats at the foot of the Premiership.Liverpool, after defeats by Fulham and a League Cup exit against Championship side Crystal Palace, eased some of the pressure on manager Rafael Benitez with a 2-0 win at home to West Ham thanks to goals from Xabi Alonso and Bolo Zenden.-Nampa-AFPSurprise package Wigan went second after a 1-0 win at home to Fulham.Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard put Chelsea 2-0 up inside 15 minutes before Craig Bellamy struck twice for Rovers before half-time.However, Lampard’s second – his 100th league goal – and Joe Cole’s 74th minute effort secured a win that saw Jose Mourinho’s men retain their nine-point advantage.Wigan, only promoted at the start of the season, recorded their seventh win in a row in all competitions as they moved up into second after Pascal Chimbona’s injury-time header secured a 1-0 win at home to Fulham.Gaizka Mendieta put Boro ahead as early as the second minute when his long-range shot slipped through the grasp of United keeper Edwin van der Sar.Boro doubled their lead in the 25th minute when Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink latched onto Mendieta’s long cross-field ball, dispossessed the dithering Rio Ferdinand and lashed the ball home.Then, on the stroke of half-time, Boro went 3-0 up when Aiyegbeni Yakubu scored from the penalty spot after Kieran Richardson, inside his own box, pulled at the shirt of Boro full-back Stuart Parnaby.Mendieta then scored his second 12 minutes from time after Yakubu powered past Ferdinand and cut the ball back.But there was no clean sheet for Boro when, deep into stoppage time, Cristiano Ronaldo headed in from a Paul Scholes corner.Arsenal made it 13 games unbeaten against arch-rivals Tottenham after coming from a goal behind at White Hart Lane to secure a point in a 1-1 north London derby draw.Bolton knocked Charlton, Chelsea’s midweek League Cup conquerors, down from second to fifth and went fourth thanks to Kevin Nolan’s 72nd minute goal at The Valley.Simon Davies took Everton off the bottom of the table as he scored the winner in a 1-0 win away to fellow strugglers Birmingham.Portsmouth overcame what appeared to be Laurent Robert’s refusal to take his place on the bench and a 1-0 deficit for a 4-1 win at Sunderland that left the Black Cats at the foot of the Premiership.Liverpool, after defeats by Fulham and a League Cup exit against Championship side Crystal Palace, eased some of the pressure on manager Rafael Benitez with a 2-0 win at home to West Ham thanks to goals from Xabi Alonso and Bolo Zenden.-Nampa-AFP