Drogba, Terry Lead Chelsea Past Arsenal

John Terry held his good form as he guided his side to a deserved 2—0 victory over Arsenal on Sunday.
Drogba, Terry Lead Chelsea Past Arsenal
GETTING IT DONE: Chelsea captain John Terry put his off-field issues aside and led his team to victory over Arsenal on Sunday. (Geoff Caddick/AFP/Getty Images)
2/7/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/terry96481816.jpg" alt="GETTING IT DONE: Chelsea captain John Terry put his off-field issues aside and led his team to victory over Arsenal on Sunday. (Geoff Caddick/AFP/Getty Images)" title="GETTING IT DONE: Chelsea captain John Terry put his off-field issues aside and led his team to victory over Arsenal on Sunday. (Geoff Caddick/AFP/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1823334"/></a>
GETTING IT DONE: Chelsea captain John Terry put his off-field issues aside and led his team to victory over Arsenal on Sunday. (Geoff Caddick/AFP/Getty Images)
John Terry held his good form on the pitch, as he set up Chelsea’s opener to guide his side to a deserved 2–0 victory over Arsenal on Sunday at Stamford Bridge.

Terry had his England captaincy stripped by manager Fabio Capello after allegations of an affair with one of his England teammates’ partners.

Terry flicked on a corner for Didier Drogba to score the first goal in the eighth minute of play.

And Drogba was in form to grab the second when Chelsea broke on the counterattack, after soaking up the pressure Arsenal applied for a sustained period.

The Ivorian star showed no signs of fatigue after the African Cup of Nations and nearly got a hat trick when he clattered the bar from a free kick.

With the win, the Blues once again assume top spot in the Premier League, two points ahead of Manchester United, who won easily 5–0 over Portsmouth on Saturday. The Blues travel to Everton on Wednesday.

Arsenal’s title hopes are very slim at best now, being nine points back of Chelsea and 13 games left to play.

Liverpool 1, Everton 0


Dutchman Dirk Kuyt scored the only goal in a fiercely competitive Merseyside derby as 10-man Liverpool beat Everton at Anfield on Saturday.

The hosts recovered from losing Sotirios Kyrgiakos, who fouled Marouane Fellaini and received a straight red card.

Tim Cahill came closest for Everton with a header, but the visitors rarely challenged in the final third of the pitch.

For the Reds, the win continues the vein of rich form in which they’ve gained 17 points out of a possible 21 over the past seven games.

“It was massive for us. To win in a derby with 10 players at Anfield is more important,”
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez told the BBC.

“Hopefully we’ll have even more confidence for the next game against Arsenal.” Liverpool travels to London to face Arsenal on Wednesday.

“I think there have been lots of derbies very similar; quite feisty and that’s why fans like them because they sometimes have a little bit extra in them,” Everton manager David Moyes said.

Manchester United 5, Portsmouth 0


Manchester piled on the misery as they hammered Portsmouth, who are showing little sign that they can handle the pace in the Premiership. The financial difficulties of the club appear to be affecting the product on the pitch.

Goals from Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov and three own goals from Portsmouth showed that United are Chelsea’s main rival for the title.

“We went looking for goals and managed to get three more, the one from Berbatov was brilliant,” said United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

United next travel to Villa Park for a matchup against Aston Villa on Wednesday.