LONDON, 30 December 2005 — Chelsea extended their Premier League lead to 11 points after Joe Cole earned the champions a 1-0 win over Manchester City and rivals Manchester United were held 2-2 by Birmingham City on Wednesday.
European champions Liverpool ran out 3-1 winners over Everton, who finished with nine men, in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park to close within four points of United.
There were plenty of goals in London where Arsenal crushed Portsmouth 4-0, Fulham drew 3-3 with Aston Villa and Wigan Athletic beat West Ham 2-0. West Bromwich Albion were surprised 2-0 winners over Tottenham Hotspur at the Hawthorns.
Chelsea, whose only league defeat last season came at the City of Manchester Stadium, had to wait until the 79th minute for the match-winning tap-in from Cole after an Eidur Gudjohnsen shot was parried.
Cole’s fellow England midfielder Frank Lampard missed the match due to illness, meaning his record for consecutive Premier League games has ended at 164.
It was a frustrating night for Alex Ferguson’s United, who led twice against Birmingham through Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy and England strike partner Wayne Rooney.
They were pegged back for a draw by a side battling relegation after a late equalizer by Walter Pandiani which left them on 41 points, compared to Chelsea’s 52, from 19 games.
Liverpool stay third after a ninth league win in a row but closed in on United with 37 points from 17 games, three points ahead of Spurs and Wigan. Liverpool captain Steve Gerrard did the damage, setting up their first goal for Peter Crouch and scoring the second. James Beattie pulled one back for Everton but a solo effort by Liverpool’s French striker Djibril Cisse sealed the win. Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez was not fully satisfied with their performance.
Everton had Phil Neville dismissed in the 68th minute and Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta sent off in stoppage time. Their only consolation was that Beattie’s goal denied Liverpool a club record of nine league matches without conceding. Tottenham coach Martin Jol, a former West Brom player, made an unhappy return to his old club as Spurs went down to two goals from Nigerian striker Nwankwo Kanu.
Kanu’s old club, Arsenal, moved up to sixth place on 32 points from 18 games with their thumping win at Highbury.
