Cole goal sends Chelsea top

LONDON – Joe Cole’s strike maintained Chelsea’s perfect start to the season but it was no easy ride in their 1-0 win at Birmingham City on Saturday.

The England midfielder struck just five minutes after coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute for Cameroon’s Gere in the English Premiership match. Jose Mourinho’s expensively-assembled team struggled to impose themselves on a resilient home side at St Andrews, but Chelsea were even tougher to break down.”It’s very difficult to have top players fighting like my players are.Normally top players are never ready to fight so much,” Mourinho told Sky Sports News.”When (Chelsea owner) Roman Abramovich went to speak with me for the first time, they were asking about results.They want to win big things.”As I told (them) on my first day at Stamford Bridge, it’s better to win 1-0 than lose 4-5,” he added after the battling win.Manchester United, 1-0 losers at Chelsea last week, beat newly-promoted Norwich City 2-1 at Old Trafford thanks to an impressive volley from new striker Alan Smith.French forward David Bellion put the hosts ahead, scoring at the back post after Smith flicked on a Ryan Giggs cross.Smith made it two on 50 minutes, chesting down Giggs’ headed cross before looping in a volley off the far post for his first Premiership goal for the Red Devils.Paul McVeigh pulled one back for the Canaries with 15 minutes left to salvage some pride.United boss Alex Ferguson was thrilled with Smith’s performance and compared his to Red Devils legend Mark Hughes.Elsewhere, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard ensured that new manager Rafael Benitez emerged unscathed from his first Premiership game at Anfield by hitting the winner in a 2-1 win over Manchester City after Euro 2004 top scorer Milan Baros had cancelled out Nicolas Anelka’s opener.Newcastle’s nightmare week continued after Tottenham won 1-0 at St James’ Park, Spurs’ first victory under new manager Jacques Santini.England striker James Beattie scored an injury-time penalty to secure a 3-2 victory over Blackburn Rovers, the first win in seven matches easing the pressure on Southampton manager Paul Sturrock.At St Mary’s, Aston Villa transfer target Beattie’s last-gasp penalty rescued matters for Southampton after Blackburn looked set to claim three points.Kevin Phillips put Saints ahead before Barry Ferguson and Paul Dickov struck back.Anders Svensson levelled before Beattie won and scored the crucial spot-kick.After a bust-up between manager Bobby Robson and midfielder Kieron Dyer and the sale of Jonathan Woodgate to Real Madrid, Tottenham completed a miserable week for Newcastle.On his first start for Spurs, Cameroon defender Thimothee Atouba curled the only goal past Magpies stopper Shay Given five minutes after the break.Fulham had plenty to celebrate in their first Premiership game back at Craven Cottage as Bolton were brushed aside 2-0 thanks to Andy Cole’s first goals for his new club.Denmark midfielder Thomas Gravesen scored twice for Everton in their 3-1 win over Premiership newboys Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.Charlton beat Portsmouth 2-1 at the Valley, a howler from visiting keeper Shaka Hislop seeing David Unsworth’s late backpass slip underneath him and into the net.- Nampa-ReutersJose Mourinho’s expensively-assembled team struggled to impose themselves on a resilient home side at St Andrews, but Chelsea were even tougher to break down.”It’s very difficult to have top players fighting like my players are.Normally top players are never ready to fight so much,” Mourinho told Sky Sports News.”When (Chelsea owner) Roman Abramovich went to speak with me for the first time, they were asking about results.They want to win big things.”As I told (them) on my first day at Stamford Bridge, it’s better to win 1-0 than lose 4-5,” he added after the battling win.Manchester United, 1-0 losers at Chelsea last week, beat newly-promoted Norwich City 2-1 at Old Trafford thanks to an impressive volley from new striker Alan Smith.French forward David Bellion put the hosts ahead, scoring at the back post after Smith flicked on a Ryan Giggs cross.Smith made it two on 50 minutes, chesting down Giggs’ headed cross before looping in a volley off the far post for his first Premiership goal for the Red Devils.Paul McVeigh pulled one back for the Canaries with 15 minutes left to salvage some pride.United boss Alex Ferguson was thrilled with Smith’s performance and compared his to Red Devils legend Mark Hughes.Elsewhere, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard ensured that new manager Rafael Benitez emerged unscathed from his first Premiership game at Anfield by hitting the winner in a 2-1 win over Manchester City after Euro 2004 top scorer Milan Baros had cancelled out Nicolas Anelka’s opener.Newcastle’s nightmare week continued after Tottenham won 1-0 at St James’ Park, Spurs’ first victory under new manager Jacques Santini.England striker James Beattie scored an injury-time penalty to secure a 3-2 victory over Blackburn Rovers, the first win in seven matches easing the pressure on Southampton manager Paul Sturrock.At St Mary’s, Aston Villa transfer target Beattie’s last-gasp penalty rescued matters for Southampton after Blackburn looked set to claim three points.Kevin Phillips put Saints ahead before Barry Ferguson and Paul Dickov struck back.Anders Svensson levelled before Beattie won and scored the crucial spot-kick.After a bust-up between manager Bobby Robson and midfielder Kieron Dyer and the sale of Jonathan Woodgate to Real Madrid, Tottenham completed a miserable week for Newcastle.On his first start for Spurs, Cameroon defender Thimothee Atouba curled the only goal past Magpies stopper Shay Given five minutes after the break.Fulham had plenty to celebrate in their first Premiership game back at Craven Cottage as Bolton were brushed aside 2-0 thanks to Andy Cole’s first goals for his new club.Denmark midfielder Thomas Gravesen scored twice for Everton in their 3-1 win over Premiership newboys Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.Charlton beat Portsmouth 2-1 at the Valley, a howler from visiting keeper Shaka Hislop seeing David Unsworth’s late backpass slip underneath him and into the net.- Nampa-Reuters