LONDON, (Reuters) – Chelsea’s Didier Drogba proved Arsenal’s nemesis again as he inspired the champions to a 2-0 win over their London rivals and Blackpool pulled off a stunning 2-1 victory at Liverpool in the Premier League yesterday.
Chelsea bounced back from defeat at Manchester City to overpower Arsenal at Stamford Bridge and move four points clear at the top as Liverpool slumped into the relegation zone following Blackpool’s triumph on their first league visit to Anfield since 1971.
Liverpool’s day started badly when more than 2,000 fans marched from the city centre to protest against the ownership of Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett and the defeat left new manager Roy Hodgson with just one league victory in seven matches.
Manchester City beat Newcastle United 2-1 to leapfrog Manchester United and Arsenal and move into second place.
Chelsea, who have beaten Arsenal in their last four league matches, top the table with 18 points, followed by City on 14, United on 13 and Arsenal on 11.
The victory was Chelsea’s sixth in seven league games and Drogba again proved an unstoppable force against Arsenal, giving his side the lead with a stunning flick on the turn after 40 minutes to notch up his 13th goal in 13 appearances against Arsene Wenger’s team.
Defender Alex sealed victory with an unstoppable free kick after 85 minutes, ending a difficult week for Chelsea, during which manager Carlo Ancelotti’s father died, on a high.
“For the last two days the players have trained exceptionally well — the day after Carlo’s father’s death was a bit lacklustre,” Chelsea assistant coach Ray Wilkins told a news conference. “We were disappointing against Manchester City last week and we did not perform all that well today. You saw not a fantastic performance but a different performance in that we ground out a win. The three points was what we went for and that’s what we got.”