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Chelsea throttles West Ham; Liverpool held at Bolton
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-01-03 11:34 Chelsea swept to an
impressive 3-1 win over West Ham United but Liverpool stumbled in their pursuit
of the Premier League champions with a 2-2 draw at Bolton Wanderers on Monday.
Victory at Upton Park gave Chelsea an imperious 14-point lead over their
nearest rivals Manchester United, who face Arsenal at Highbury in the showcase
match on Tuesday.
Third-placed Liverpool ended their 10-game Premier League winning streak and
lost ground with their draw at the Reebok, moving on to 41 points -- 17 adrift
of Chelsea, albeit with two games in hand.
Struggling Birmingham City beat Wigan Athletic 2-0, Everton notched a second
win in three days after seeing off Charlton Athletic 3-1 helped by two Tim
Cahill headers and Aston Villa edged West Bromwich Albion 2-1 in the Midlands
derby.
Both sides finished with 10 men as Sunderland lost 2-1 at Fulham while a
third derby, in the north east, finished 2-2 as Newcastle United snatched a
90th-minute equalizer against Middlesbrough at St James' Park.
Argentine striker Hernan Crespo scored within seconds of coming on as a
substitute and Didier Drogba lashed in the goal of the game as Chelsea romped
home in the London derby.
Chelsea's England midfielder Frank Lampard volleyed home against his former
club in the 25th minute, though the leaders were pegged back just after the
re-start by Marlon Harewood's equalizer.
Crespo, put through by Arjen Robben, rounded Roy Carroll to restore the lead
in the 61st minute and Drogba hit the third from a tight angle with 10 minutes
to go.
A fourth win from their four festive season matches helped Chelsea's canter
towards a second consecutive league title.
"That's what we set out to do," Lampard told Sky Sports. "We don't want to
let up, we want to keep winning games, keep the gap at the top and if anything
make it bigger."
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