Frank Lampard scored twice for Chelsea in their 4-0 win on Wednesday over West Bromwich Albion, putting the defending champions at the top of the league standings.
Lampard scored in the 23rd and 80th minutes — bringing his total to 51 goals — to help Chelsea get their third consecutive shutout.
”We are top because Manchester United and Charlton didn’t play,” Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said. ”It doesn’t matter for me — what matters is my team’s improvement. We played better, used the ball and scored goals.”
Chelsea scored a fluke goal to beat Arsenal 1-0 on Sunday and scraped to a 1-0 win over Wigan on the opening day of the season.
Also, Thierry Henry and Pascal Cygan each scored two goals in Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Fulham; Bolton beat Newcastle 2-0; and Blackburn and Tottenham drew 0-0.
At Stamford Bridge, Lampard’s first goal came from a cross from Didier Drogba. It was Lampard’s 149th consecutive Premier League match.
Joe Cole doubled Chelsea’s lead in the 43rd minute after taking the ball from Shaun Wright-Phillips, who was making his first competitive start for Chelsea.
Drogba scored in the 68th minute before Lampard added Chelsea’s fourth goal.
At Highbury, Arsenal rallied despite Lauren missing a penalty in the eighth minute and Fulham’s Claus Jensen scoring in the 22nd.
Fulham goalkeeper Tony Warner saved Lauren’s penalty — the first time he’s missed a spot kick in his career — after Henry was brought down by defender Zat Knight.
Cygan equalised in the 32nd with only his second goal for Arsenal when he headed in Dennis Bergkamp’s free kick. The defender, who last scored against Everton in the Premier League nearly three years ago, added another in the 90th.
Henry scored in the 53rd and 82nd minutes to reach 184 goals for Arsenal — one behind Ian Wright’s all-time club scoring record.
Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann made a reaction save to tip a shot by Fulham’s Brian McBride over the bar.
At the Reebok Stadium, Bolton went ahead in the 37th minute when Senegal striker El Hadji Diouf headed in from close range. Stelios Giannakopoulos added a second in the 50th to add pressure on Newcastle manager Graeme Souness.
Newcastle have one point from their opening three matches, one less than at the same stage last season under former manager Bobby Robson, who was fired early last season.
At Ewood Park, Blackburn and Tottenham played to a 0-0 draw.
Referee Dermot Gallagher missed an off-the-ball incident in the 75th minute in which Andy Todd appeared to aim a head butt at Tottenham midfielder Andy Reid.
Blackburn’s Lucas Neill was sent off in the 76th for a two-footed lunge on substitute Edgar Davids. — Sapa-AP