• Premier League

Chelsea slip further back after defeat at Wolves

ESPN staff
January 5, 2011
Chelsea have won just one of their last nine league matches © PA Photos
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Jose Bosingwa's own goal condemned Chelsea to their fifth defeat in 11 matches as they lost 1-0 at bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Wolves took the lead in the fifth minute when the right-back scrambled the ball into his own net from Stephen Fletcher's effort. Salomon Kalou squandered a chance to equalise when he failed to find the target after a one-on-one chance with Wayne Hennessey.

Chelsea continued to press for an equaliser, but Mick McCarthy's men hung on for 85 minutes to secure a much-needed three points to move out of the bottom three. Chelsea, who have won just one of their last nine Premier League matches, are nine points behind leaders Manchester United.

Roy Hodgson's return to Ewood Park ended in misery as his Liverpool side were beaten 3-1 by Blackburn. Benjani's double heaped more pressure on the former Rovers boss after Martin Olsson opened the scoring with his first goal of the season.

Benjani smashed in his first after turning Sotirios Kyrgiakos to double Rovers' lead shortly before the break and he added to Hodgson's woes after 57 minutes, sidefooting home from close range from Junior Hoilett's pass.

Steven Gerrard's strike in the 81st minute was mere consolation for the Reds, and his missed penalty in the dying minutes added insult to injury for Hodgson, who appears to be on borrowed time at Anfield.

Manchester City maintained a two-point lead over Arsenal after holding the Gunners to a 0-0 draw at Emirates Stadium. Bacary Sagna and Pablo Zabaleta were shown red in the dying stages after the match petered out into a stalemate following a bright start.

Arsenal raced out of the blocks, and after Samir Nasri released Jack Wilshere on the left, the youngster's shot-cum-cross narrowly evaded Robin van Persie, who was sliding in at the right post.

The Gunners dominated the opening exchanges and were twice denied by the woodwork; Fabregas's strike beat Joe Hart to hit the left post, only for Theo Walcott's rebound to clatter the inside of the other post. Walcott was denied a penalty when his cross struck the arm of Vincent Kompany. But despite their best efforts, they were unable to find the net as the game fizzled out into stalemate as both sides failed to keep pace with Manchester United.

Leon Best scored a hat-trick for the Magpies © PA Photos
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Seamus Coleman scored his second goal in three games as Everton ended Tottenham's unbeaten run with a 2-1 win at Goodison Park. Louis Saha scored his first goal in 11 months to give Everton the lead, drilling the ball past Heurelho Gomes to ease David Moyes' concern over his strikeforce.

But the lead lasted just eight minutes, as Alan Hutton sent in a probing cross, which Peter Crouch nodded down to Rafael van der Vaart to score his ninth league goal of the season. But Coleman's 75th minute winner sealed a much-needed three points for the Toffees, who move up to 11th.

Leon Best scored a hat-trick on his first Premier League start as Newcastle thrashed West Ham 5-0 at St James' Park. In the absence of injured strikers Andy Carroll and Shola Ameobi, Alan Pardew handed the 24-year-old only his seventh start for the club, but Best repaid his faith with three goals to stake his claim for a regular place in the starting XI.

Best needed just 18 minutes to open the scoring, slotting past Robert Green from Peter Lovenkrands' knockdown, before doubling his tally with a close-range finish after Danny Gabbidon failed to clear his lines. But he saved his best for last, thundering in his hat-trick from the edge of the area after Magpies captain Kevin Nolan's crisp finish had made it three. Lovenkrands added the icing on the cake to condemn Pardew's old club to a return to bottom of the Premier League.

Emile Heskey was the villain for Gerard Houllier's Aston Villa as they lost 1-0 at home to Sunderland. Villa enjoyed the best of the opening exchanges, but were left to rue Heskey's miss - slamming the ball against the post from close range after Stewart Downing's ball across the face of goal.

Things got worse for Houllier when Heskey was shown red for pushing Jordan Henderson in the face, and Phillip Bardsley's first Premier League goal snatched three points for the Black Cats, who lost Bolo Zenden to a second yellow card. The defeat sees Villa, who have picked up a single point in their last four matches, slip into the relegation places on goal difference.

Wigan defender Ronnie Stam's equaliser earned the Latics a point at Bolton after a 1-1 draw at the Reebok Stadium. Rodrigo Moreno broke the deadlock after half-time after a promising first half for the hosts, but Stam's equaliser snatched a much-needed point for Roberto Martinez's men.

However, there will be some concern for Martinez, who saw Tom Cleverley limp off in the 12th minute and goalkeeper Chris Kirkland carried off on a stretcher in the second half.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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