AP
Chelsea's Frank Lampard reacts after the Blues won 2-0 in their Premier League match against Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium yesterday.
LONDON (AP):
LIVERPOOL MAINTAINED their one-point lead atop the Premier League by defeating Blackburn 3-1 yesterday as second-place Chelsea overcame Bolton with a record 11th consecutive away victory in the top flight.
Nemanja Vidic scored in injury time to give Manchester United a 1-0 win over Sunderland and stay third above Arsenal, who edged Wigan by the same score.
Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso took until the 69th minute to penetrate a stubborn Blackburn defence and Yossi Benayoun added the decisive second 10 minutes later.
Slack defending enabled Roque Santa Cruz to pull one back for Blackburn in the 87th, but Steven Gerrard scored in stoppage time to confirm Blackburn manager Paul Ince's fifth straight league loss.
Good position
"This kind of game when the other team is fighting to get out of the relegation zone, we know will be physical and difficult, but we were in control," Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said. "Clearly, it is important to see the strikers scoring goals, but if the midfielders can score goals like today, it is better for us. We are in a very good position and we want to stay there."
Chelsea made lighter work of Bolton, with early goals from Nicolas Anelka and Deco sealing a 2-0 win.
Hull moved up to fifth place by rallying to beat Middlesbrough 2-1 with two late goals, Jimmy Bullard gave Fulham a 1-1 draw against Manchester City and Michael Owen's double for Newcastle helped to re-establish his England credentials, though Stoke retrieved a 2-2 draw.
Liverpool have 37 points, one ahead of Chelsea and six in front of Manchester United. Arsenal have 29 points.
Winning ways
At Ewood Park, Liverpool returned to winning ways thanks to their attacking midfielders after being held to two frustrating 0-0 draws. Despite top striker Fernando Torres being injured, Benitez's biggest off-season signing, Robbie Keane, never came off the bench.
The deadlock was broken after Dirk Kuyt could not control Gerrard's cross but the ball fell to Alonso, who shot under Andrew Ooijer and beat goalkeeper Paul Robinson.
Superb solo work by Benayoun provided the second, with the Israeli skipping past left back Stephen Warnock before firing into the net from a tight angle.
Santa Cruz provided a late scare for the Reds by heading in at the far post after Ooijer had flicked on Keith Andrews' free kick.
Left stranded
But in the closing moments, Robinson left himself stranded when he darted out to deny Nabil El Zhar, allowing Liverpool winger Albert Riera to pick up the loose ball and pass to Gerrard, who sidefooted into the empty net.
Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka took just nine minutes to remind Bolton of the talent they lost in January, leaping to head home Jose Bosingwa's cross.
Deco wrapped up the win in the 21st with his first goal since August, sending a sublime scissors kick past Jussi Jaaskelainen after Salomon Kalou had been denied by the Bolton goalkeeper.
The 11th consecutive away victory - with eight from this campaign - allowed Luiz Felipe Scolari's side to surpass the record of 10 set by Bill Nicholson's Tottenham side in 1960.
LONDON (AP):
ARSENAL MANAGER Arsene Wenger took Emmanuel Eboue off the field three minutes before the end of his team's nervy 1-0 victory over Wigan in the Premier League yesterday because the defender was being loudly booed by Gunners fans.
Arsenal were hanging on to the lead with time running out and Eboue, a first-half substitute for the injured Samir Nasri, repeatedly gave the ball away in midfield.
Unusual step
The more it happened, the louder the boos became, and Wenger took the highly unusual step with three minutes to go. When he did send on Mikael Silvestre for Eboue, the crowd cheered and applauded.
Wenger said it was a difficult but necessary decision to take Eboue off.
"I felt he had completely lost confidence. He couldn't keep the ball any more and then he became a danger. It is very sad but I think the most important thing is that the team wins the game," said Wenger, whose team won the game through Emmanuel Adebayor's 16th-minute goal. "The crowd was very hard with him but that was not the most important thing in the game."
No scapegoat
The Arsenal manager agreed that the crowd contributed to Eboue losing confidence during the game. But he stressed he didn't take him off to make Eboue a scapegoat for the below quality performance.
"He's a sensitive boy and he cares about the club," Wenger said. "When you have the crowd on your back, it is difficult. It was three minutes to go and we started to lose balls in the middle of the park.
"And why not (take him off)? I want to show nothing. I want to win the game. I just thought he could put the 90 minutes work in trouble and you want to save the game."