Hernan Crespo and Arjen Robben scored in five second-half minutes Saturday to give Chelsea a 2-0 win over second-place Charlton and open up a six-point lead in the Premier League.
Chelsea has now won its opening six matches without conceding a goal, while Charlton lost its perfect start to the season.
Starting instead of Didier Drogba, Crespo headed Chelsea into the lead in the 55th minute at The Valley and Robben drove in the second.
Chelsea has a maximum 18 points, while Charlton stays second with 12 from five.
"We are very happy with the results that we have had but we also know that we can improve our football," Robben said. "It's already getting better if you compare the first three games with the last three. We will keep working on that and of course keep winning our games."
Tottenham had a chance to go third but was held to a 1-1 tie by Aston Villa and had to hit back from going a goal down after five minutes.
James Milner, on loan from Newcastle, gave the home side the lead at Villa Park and Spurs' striker Jermain Defoe had a penalty saved by Thomas Sorensen before substitute Robbie Keane scored an equalizer 12 minutes from the end. Spurs moved up one place to sixth while Villa climbed five places to 11th.
Marlon Harewood got West Ham's first goal in a 2-1 victory at Fulham and almost claimed the second.
Fresh from scoring a hat trick last time out in Monday's 4-0 victory over Aston Villa, Harewood had already scored once when another of his shots hit the post and bounced off goalkeeper Tony Warner before going in.
"Marlon has got his reward for his work," said Hammers' manager Alan Pardew, whose team is now fourth. "He has to play at 100 percent. He did on Monday and he did today and got his goals and that isn't luck that's just him working to his maximum."
West Ham was only promoted to the Premier League when it won last season's League Championship playoffs, but is now fourth after three wins from five games.
"We're playing with a real exuberance," Pardew said. "We were very strong individually at the back and at the moment I am very pleased."
Last-place Sunderland, promoted last season, appeared to be on its way to its first Premier League victory since December 2002 until an equalizer by West Bromwich Albion midfielder Zoltan Gera in the third minute of injury time captured a 1-1 tie.
Gary Breen had headed the Black Cats ahead after seven minutes at the Stadium of Light but Gera's late header halted the Baggies' three-game losing streak.
At least the tie ended Sunderland's run of 20 straight Premier League losses dating back to Jan. 18, 2003.
"I can't take a great deal out of the game with what's happened in the last minutes," said Sunderland manager Mick McCarthy. "There's a great deal of pressure out there -- wanting to win for themselves, for the club, for the fans.
"It was just getting over the line and then somebody not concentrating, not marking properly and the ball's ended in the back of our net. The dressing room is very, very down, very disappointed."
Birmingham's Nicky Butt was sent off in the final minute of the first half but his team held on for a 1-1 tie at Portsmouth.
Lomana LuaLua put Pompey ahead in the fourth minute only for Czech midfielder Jiri Jarosik to level the scores two minutes later. Tottenham's game at Aston Villa kicked off later.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two