Drogba lets his feet do the talking

DIDIER Drogba let his actions speak louder than words as he fired Chelsea to a 2-0 win at Middlesbrough, while Arsenal consolidated their lead at the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over Bolton on Saturday.

Drogba dropped a bombshell this week by revealing he is determined to leave the London club because the squad’s morale had been shattered by Jose Mourinho’s departure. But Chelsea manager Avram Grant kept faith with the Ivory Coast striker at the Riverside Stadium and got the perfect response, with Drogba laying the foundations for the team’s third successive win.It took Drogba just eight minutes to show Chelsea what they would be missing if he did leave.He collected Frank Lampard’s pass and drove a perfectly-placed shot past Mark Schwarzer for his third goal of the season.Alex came in for John Terry and the Brazil centre-back ensured there was no need to rue the captain’s absence when he scored his first goal for the club with a blistering free-kick in the 57th minute.Kolo Toure was the unlikely hero as Arsenal beat managerless Bolton at the Emirates Stadium.Arsene Wenger’s side stretched their winning run to 11 matches – their best streak since 2002 – thanks to a superb long-range goal from Toure in the 68th minute and Tomas Rosicky’s effort 10 minutes from full-time.The Ivory Coast defender’s first goal since April was perfectly timed as Arsenal were struggled to kill off Bolton, playing their first match since Sammy Lee’s sacking.With rock bottom Bolton’s resistance finally broken, Arsenal were able to turn on the style and Czech midfielder Rosicky put the result beyond doubt late on.Wayne Rooney scored twice as Manchester United stormed back into second place with a 4-1 win at nine-man Aston Villa.Gabriel Agbonlahor had given Villa a 12th minute when he headed in Ashley Young’s cross.But Zat Knight gifted United an equaliser soon after when he let Nani’s low cross run through to Rooney who tapped in.Then Rooney notched his fourth United goal in three games with fine low strike before Craig Gardner turned Rio Ferdinand’s header into his own net just before half-time.Ryan Giggs’s deflected effort in the 75th minute was a fitting finish to a dominant display from the champions.Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt’s stoppage time penalty snatched a dramatic 2-1 win over nine-man Everton in the 206th Merseyside derby.Kuyt had already scored from the spot once at Goodison Park to cancel out Sami Hyppia’s first half own goal and he held his nerve again to get Rafa Benitez’s team back on track.Hyppia had put Everton in front in the 38th minute when he diverted Phil Jagielka’s shot into his own net.Steven Gerrard helped drag Liverpool level in the 54th minute when he surged into area and was hauled down by Tony Hibbert, who was sent off by referee Mark Clattenburg.Kuyt drilled home the penalty and repeated the trick with just minutes to go after Phil Neville was sent off for handling Lucas’s shot on the goalline.Nampa-ReutersBut Chelsea manager Avram Grant kept faith with the Ivory Coast striker at the Riverside Stadium and got the perfect response, with Drogba laying the foundations for the team’s third successive win.It took Drogba just eight minutes to show Chelsea what they would be missing if he did leave.He collected Frank Lampard’s pass and drove a perfectly-placed shot past Mark Schwarzer for his third goal of the season.Alex came in for John Terry and the Brazil centre-back ensured there was no need to rue the captain’s absence when he scored his first goal for the club with a blistering free-kick in the 57th minute.Kolo Toure was the unlikely hero as Arsenal beat managerless Bolton at the Emirates Stadium.Arsene Wenger’s side stretched their winning run to 11 matches – their best streak since 2002 – thanks to a superb long-range goal from Toure in the 68th minute and Tomas Rosicky’s effort 10 minutes from full-time.The Ivory Coast defender’s first goal since April was perfectly timed as Arsenal were struggled to kill off Bolton, playing their first match since Sammy Lee’s sacking.With rock bottom Bolton’s resistance finally broken, Arsenal were able to turn on the style and Czech midfielder Rosicky put the result beyond doubt late on.Wayne Rooney scored twice as Manchester United stormed back into second place with a 4-1 win at nine-man Aston Villa.Gabriel Agbonlahor had given Villa a 12th minute when he headed in Ashley Young’s cross.But Zat Knight gifted United an equaliser soon after when he let Nani’s low cross run through to Rooney who tapped in.Then Rooney notched his fourth United goal in three games with fine low strike before Craig Gardner turned Rio Ferdinand’s header into his own net just before half-time.Ryan Giggs’s deflected effort in the 75th minute was a fitting finish to a dominant display from the champions.Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt’s stoppage time penalty snatched a dramatic 2-1 win over nine-man Everton in the 206th Merseyside derby.Kuyt had already scored from the spot once at Goodison Park to cancel out Sami Hyppia’s first half own goal and he held his nerve again to get Rafa Benitez’s team back on track.Hyppia had put Everton in front in the 38th minute when he diverted Phil Jagielka’s shot into his own net.Steven Gerrard helped drag Liverpool level in the 54th minute when he surged into area and was hauled down by Tony Hibbert, who was sent off by referee Mark Clattenburg.Kuyt drilled home the penalty and repeated the trick with just minutes to go after Phil Neville was sent off for handling Lucas’s shot on the goalline.Nampa-Reuters