Liverpool and Chelsea narrowed the gap behind English Premier League leader Manchester United on Tuesday with victories over Sunderland and Portsmouth respectively. Arsenal kept fourth place in their sight by finally scoring a goal and beating West Brom 3–1.
Liverpool bounced back from a 2–0 loss to Middlesbrough last Sunday but still lie four points back of United while having played two more games. David Ngog and Yossi Benyoun scored for the Reds in the home win. Ngog got his first start at Anfield.
Chelsea extended their perfect record under interim boss Guus Hiddink to 4–0–0 with a 1–0 win on the road. Didier Drogba scored his second goal of the season in the 79th minute for the win. Like Liverpool, Chelsea trails United by four points with the leaders having two games in hand.
Arsenal broke a string of four straight scoreless draws in the Premier League by beating the league’s bottom club. The Gunners scored three goals in the first half, two of which were scored by tall Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner.
“There’s a very healthy and strong spirit in this team,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger after the game in an interview on Sky Sports.
“I have no doubt about the spirit and attitude of the players.”
The Gunners trail fourth-place Aston Villa by three points. Villa travels to take on Manchester City on Wednesday.
Manchester United travels to face Newcastle United on Wednesday. They will host Liverpool in Saturday’s early game.
The stretch run has started in the English Premier League as the top teams can expect to be playing two and maybe three matches a week until they get knocked out of a competition.
