Lampard keeps Chelsea on track as Man. Utd lose

Chelsea's Frank Lampard fired the champions to a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa but there was a shock for Manchester United as they went down 2-1 at home to Blackburn Rovers yesterday.

Chelsea's seventh league win in as many games gave them a double-digit lead over their main title rivals after United were stunned by two goals from Norwegian forward Morten Gamst Pedersen and Arsenal drew 0-0 at West Ham.

Charlton's charmed start to the season continued as they stayed second with a 2-1 victory at West Bromwich Albion and Bolton are a surprise third after beating Portsmouth 1-0 in the late kickoff.

Newcastle edged Manchester City 1-0 with a goal from England striker Michael Owen, while a wayward Everton suffered their eighth defeat in nine games this season in all competitions, losing 1-0 at home to promoted Wigan Athletic.

Liverpool needed a late penalty from France striker Djibril Cisse to draw 2-2 at Birmingham City.

But the extraordinary message from the day's action is that with the season barely a month and a half old, holders Chelsea are already looking like champions elect.

The team bankrolled by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich are quoted by bookmakers at 1-7 on to retain their title.

They lead the table with 21 points from seven games, a Premier League record, ahead of Charlton (15), Bolton (14) and three clubs including Man. United on 11 points. Arsenal are seventh on 10 points.

Though they conceded their first league goal of the season, Chelsea's ability to exert pressure from midfield and up front enabled them to turn a tricky match around.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho told Sky Sports: "It was a very difficult game. They defended well but they didn't come to defend - they came to play the game.

"I think we deserved to win because we dominated, especially in the second half."

Brushing off the end of the clean sheets, the Portuguese coach said: "I'm not disappointed, it's not normal that we didn't concede a goal for so long. I said in my programme notes that if we concede a goal and win 2-1 I'll be very happy - and that's what happened."

Asked if Chelsea could let the title slip, Villa manager David O'Leary told reporters: "They'd have to lose a lot of players and Mr Abramovich go skint in January."

Villa striker Juan Pablo Angel had a hand in both the first two goals, heading on Thomas Sorensen's long kick for Luke Moore to squeeze home in the 44th minute. The Colombian turned villain just a minute later, though, breaking away from the Villa wall and allowing Lampard's free-kick to soar into the back of the net.

The England midfielder made no mistake from the spot in the 75th minute after Villa's Olof Mellberg had checked Chelsea's Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba in the area.

United will be reflecting on Paul Scholes's comments in midweek that their title hopes would be over if they failed to win their next two games against Blackburn and Fulham.

Surprise lead

Pedersen gave Blackburn a surprise lead when his floated free-kick ended up in the net through a packed area.

United, who used Wayne Rooney as a second-half substitute, drew level in the 67th minute when Brad Friedel failed to hold a Rooney shot and Ruud van Nistelrooy pounced.

But Pedersen rifled home their 81st minute winner to secure a remarkable win for manager Mark Hughes, a former Old Trafford favourite in his playing career at United.

Results and standings

Premier League
Birmingham 2
Liverpool 2

Bolton 1
Portsmouth 0

Chelsea 2
Aston Villa 1

Everton 0
Wigan 1

Man. United 1
Blackburn 2

Newcastle 1
Man. City 0

West Brom 1
Charlton 2

West Ham 0
Arsenal 0

Playing today
Middlesbrough vs Sunderland 5 p.m.

Playing tomorrow
Tottenham vs Fulham 9 p.m.

The Championship

Burnley-Brighton 1-1
Coventry-Hull 0-2
Crewe-Watford 0-0
Crystal Palace-Preston 1-1
Leeds-Ipswich 0-2
Leicester-QPR 1-2

Luton-Sheffield Wed. 2-2
Millwall-Cardiff 0-0
Norwich-Reading 0-1
Sheffield Utd-Derby 2-1
Southampton-Plymouth 0-0
Stoke-Wolves 1-3

Top scorers

5 goals Bent (Charlton), van Nistelrooy (Man. United)
4 goals Harewood (West Ham), Horsfield (West Brom), Lampard (Chelsea)
3 goals McBride (Fulham), Henry (Arsenal), Drogba (Chelsea) Pedersen (Blackburn), Murphy (Charlton)

Next Premier League fixtures

Saturday: 4 p.m. Blackburn vs West Brom; Charlton vs Tottenham; Fulham vs Man. United; Portsmouth vs Newcastle. 6.15 p.m. Sunderland vs West Ham.

Sunday: 12.15 p.m. Man. City vs Everton; 2 p.m. Wigan vs Bolton; 2.30 p.m. Arsenal vs Birmingham; 3 p.m. Aston Villa vs Middlesbrough 5 p.m. Liverpool vs Chelsea.