Arsenal make a point: Chelsea, Man U are second best

Victory left Arsenal two points clear at the top after Chelsea lost their 100 percent record, with boss Jose Mourinho furious at referee Rob Styles for refusing his team a penalty and booking his Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba for diving.

Manchester United continued a faltering start to the season and looked destined for defeat after Les Ferdinand got Bolton’s second in the 90th minute, only for an Alan Smith effort to go in off David Bellion in stoppage time.

Liverpool cruised to a 3-0 win over West Bromwich Albion, while skipper Alan Shearer scored once as Newcastle United beat Blackburn Rovers 3-0 and Middlesbrough were 2-1 winners over Birmingham City.

Arsenal rode their luck in the first half at Craven Cottage, with Fulham having a penalty denied for an Ashley Cole challenge on Andy Cole and a goal disallowed for Collins John.

The champions, who also had a spot-kick appeal turned down for Moritz Volz’s challenge on striker Thierry Henry, continued to live dangerously after the break.

But Ljungberg settled nerves with one goal and pressuring Knight into another before Reyes maintained his record of scoring in every game, making it six goals in six appearances.

Ninth in the table, Manchester United are nine points adrift of the champions just five games into the season. New Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze scored on his debut, having missed the start of the season on Olympic duty in Greece, putting Alex Ferguson’s men in front just before the break. Midfielder Kevin Nolan levelled for Bolton just after the re-start and Ferdinand looked to have got the points until United grabbed their equaliser in the second minute of stoppage time.

(Reuters)