Chelsea finished with 10 men in its 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion in the English Premier League on Saturday -- Jose Mourinho's 100th game in charge.
At the Hawthorns, Didier Drogba and Joe Cole scored for Chelsea. In between, Arjen Robben was sent off for a foul on Jonathan Greening.
Liverpool moved into outright second when it drew 0-0 with Charlton at Anfield.
PHOTO: AP
Thierry Henry scored twice and Emmanuel Adebayor and Cesc Fabregas added the others in Arsenal's 4-0 win over Fulham to lift it from seventh to fifth in the standings.
In other matches, it was: Aston Villa 1, Portsmouth 0; Middlesbrough 1, Birmingham 0; West Ham 2, Everton 2 and Newcastle 3, Bolton 1.
Chelsea has almost clinched back-to-back Premier League titles. The Blues have 75 points with 10 matches left. Liverpool is second with 55 points, followed by Manchester United with 54, Tottenham 46 and Arsenal 44.
Drogba scored in the 51st minute, with Robben shown the red card by referee Mark Hasley 11 minutes later. Mourinho reacted by sarcastically applauding the match officials while standing on the touchline.
"The referee was saying it was a two-footed tackle but he didn't touch the man at all," Chelsea defender John Terry said.
Cole, who set up one goal and scored the other in England's 2-1 friendly win over Uruguay on Wednesday, scored in the 74th.
Mourinho celebrated Cole's goal by pumping his fists and running down the sideline into West Brom's technical area. Security guards escorted Mourinho back to his bench, while West Brom manager Bryan Robson furiously looked on.
Earlier, Robson was seen arguing with Chelsea assistant manager Steve Clarke. Robson was also annoyed that Chelsea was late coming out onto the pitch for the start of the second half and said Drogba "dives and feigns injury."
With two minutes left, West Brom pulled a goal back through Nwankwo Kanu.
Mourinho didn't acknowledge Robson after the match, walking straight onto the pitch to congratulate his players. No one from Chelsea attended the post-match news conference.
Mourinho has won 72 games, drawn 17 and lost 11 times since joining Chelsea in June 2004 from Portuguese club FC Porto. In the Premier League, he's lost only three times in 66 matches.
A minute's silence was held before the match in memory of former Chelsea and England striker Peter Osgood, who died Wednesday.
Arsenal's poor away form has contributed to its disappointing season. The Gunners rebounded from a 1-0 loss at Blackburn last week to produce a fine warmup for its Champions League match at Highbury on Wednesday. Arsenal holds a 1-0 first-leg lead over Real Madrid.
"I can't see Real Madrid getting anywhere near them," Fulham manager Chris Coleman said. "If Real Madrid play like they did in the first leg and Arsenal come close to that form and show that sort of movement, it's all over."
"We knew before the game we couldn't afford to drop any more points," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "We were under a bit of pressure, but the team is young but developing well."
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