Chelsea on par with Arsenal after rousing victory

The win was sweater for Chelsea since champions Arsenal were held to a 2-2 draw against Southampton. These results mean Chelsea and Arsenal are now tied at the top of the table with 26 points.

Arsenal should have taken the lead when Dennis Bergkamp was brought down in the penalty area. Thierry Henry, however, smacked his spot kick against the post. Southampton’s Mikael Nilsson also hit the woodwork in the first period. Dutchman Bergkamp broke the deadlock when he slipped the ball to Henry midway through the second half and the Frenchman scored.

Liverpool took an early lead through Norway’s John Arne Riise against Blackburn Rovers but Blackburn, bottom at start of play, went into halftime 2-1 up after goals from Jay Bothroyd and Brett Emerton, the latter following poor Liverpool defending. Czech striker Milan Baros, the focus of harsh treatment from Kerimoglu Tugay, equalised in the 54th minute after a Blackburn mistake and fine work by both goalkeepers, Blackburn’s Brad Friedel and Liverpool’s Chris Kirkland, kept the sides level. Liverpool’s French striker Djibril Cisse was carried off with a suspected broken leg seven minutes before halftime.

Middlesbrough went ahead with a messy goal when Dutch striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s shot went in off defender Talal El Karkouri. Charlton Athletic equalised just after the break when Jason Ewell fed Jonatan Johansson to score. Dutch winger Boudewijn Zenden put Boro ahead with a Left-footed shot in the 58th minute. Charlton have earned just one point from four matches. (Reuters)