LONDON, 18 September 2005 — Chelsea made it six wins from six games after Hernan Crespo and Arjen Robben guided the Premier League champions to a 2-0 victory at Charlton Athletic yesterday.
Jose Mourinho’s side hit the woodwork twice before Crespo headed them into a 55th minute lead and Robben curled in the second just five minutes later to seal the points.
Victory left Chelsea six points clear at the top of the table, having scored 12 and conceded no league goals this season as they build on their Community Shield win over Arsenal.
West Ham United won 2-1 at Fulham in the other London derby, Portsmouth were held 1-1 at home by 10-man Birmingham City and there was heartbreak for Sunderland after West Bromwich Albion scored in the final seconds for a 1-1 draw.
Tottenham Hotspur settled for a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa after their England striker Jermain Defoe missed a penalty in the day’s late kickoff.
Premier League action continues today, with Liverpool hosting Manchester United in the day’s showcase game, while Arsenal meet Everton tomorrow at Highbury.
Unbeaten Hearts Stay Top;
Rangers Share Second
Champions Rangers moved into joint second in the Scottish Premier League with a 3-0 home win over Kilmarnock as Hearts stayed top after a 1-0 victory at Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Unbeaten Hearts, who have won their first seven outings of the season, head the standings on 21 points. Rangers have 13 points along with Celtic, Kilmarnock and Hibernian.
Croatian striker Dado Prso opened the scoring for Rangers with a penalty in the ninth minute. Captain Barry Ferguson added a second on 67 minutes and defender Gordon Greer completed a miserable afternoon for Kilmarnock by turning the ball into his own net for the third.
League leaders Hearts maintained their 100 percent winning record, Czech international Rudi Skacel keeping up his tally of scoring in every league game this season with the only goal of the match at Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
In other games, Motherwell hammered Premier League newcomers Falkirk 5-0, Aberdeen won 2-0 at Dunfermline and Dundee United earned their first home league victory of the season with a 2-0 success against bottom club Livingston.
Richie Foran struck twice for Motherwell, late in the first half and almost immediately after the break, with Jim Hamilton, Shaun Fagan and Scott McDonald scoring the other goals.
Corradi Goal Gives Parma
First Win of the Season
A goal by Italy striker Bernardo Corradi gave Parma a 1-0 win over promoted Empoli and their first Serie A victory of the season yesterday.
Empoli started strongly and only a last-ditch tackle by defender Paolo Cannavaro stopped Christian Rigano finishing into an empty net after he rounded home keeper Luca Bucci.
Gradually, however, Parma took control and in the 17th minute Corradi picked up a low cross, turned his marker and angled a shot past Empoli keeper Gianluca Berti for his first goal since returning to Italy from Valencia during the close season.
He almost struck again just before halftime but Berti stretched out a leg to deflect his close-range header. Parma could have extended their lead in the second half. Marco Delvecchio failed to hit the target from point-blank range and midfielder Andrea Pisanu curled the ball against a post.
Bayern Extend Winning Streak
to Record 14 Games
Bayern Munich stretched their Bundesliga winning streak to a record 14 matches as a Martin Demichelis header proved enough to give them a 1-0 victory at home to Hanover 96 on Saturday. Argentine midfielder Demichelis popped up unmarked at the back post to meet a Willy Sagnol cross and give Bayern the lead at their World Cup stadium in the 10th minute.
Felix Magath’s side, missing Michael Ballack because of an ankle injury, kept Hanover at bay with few difficulties to make it five wins from five in the league so far this season.
That perfect start to the campaign follows a nine-match winning sequence on the run-in to last season’s title and breaks the previous Bundesliga record set by Bayern in 1981 and matched by Magath’s team last weekend against Nuremberg.
Bayern needed their latest win to stay two points clear of Werder Bremen. Bremen, beaten 2-0 by Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday, came back to win an entertaining clash with Borussia Dortmund 3-2.
Hamburg SV lost ground with a 1-1 draw at home to Eintracht Frankfurt. With five matches played, Bremen have 13, followed by Hamburg in third on 11. VfB Stuttgart claimed their first league win of the season with a 2-1 success at bottom club Mainz. Jon Dahl Tomasson’s opener on 76 minutes was canceled out by Nikolce Noveski almost immediately but Mario Gomez struck the winner two minutes from time to ease the pressure on Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni.
Bayer Leverkusen, who sacked coach Klaus Augenthaler on Friday, are in action today away to MSV Duisburg. Sporting director Rudi Voeller, the former Germany coach, will be on the bench until a new coach is appointed.
Bayern were playing without Ballack for a second time in four days and, just as they had in the 1-0 win over Rapid Vienna in the Champions League on Wednesday, they looked short of attacking inspiration without him.
Ballack remains doubtful for Tuesday’s clash with Eintracht Frankfurt and that will be a real worry for Magath.
Wiltord Gives Tired Lyon a 1-1
Draw at Bordeaux
In Paris, a second half strike by Sylvain Wiltord gave Olympique Lyon a hardly deserved 1-1 draw at Girondins Bordeaux in a top of Ligue 1 match yesterday.
Lyon extended their unbeaten run to seven games since the start of the season and have 17 points, four more than Paris St Germain who visit St Etienne on Sunday. Bordeaux are on 12. The French title holders looked tired four days after their stylish 3-0 Champions League victory over Real Madrid. Bordeaux, who have title ambitions, went in front thanks to a superb goal from Czech international Vladimir Smicer in the seventh minute.
