Chelsea beat Arsenal 2-0 on Sunday to stay ahead of Manchester
United in the race for the Premier League title.
Didier Drogba scored twice in the first 23 minutes to
establish a dominance that Arsenal was unable to overturn despite
an improved second-half performance.
"Arsenal played well and we are happy with those two goals,"
Drogba said.
Victory lifted the Blues to 58 points, two more than
defending champion United and nine more than third-place Arsenal.
After losing 3-1 to United last weekend, Arsenal was
desperate for victory at Stamford Bridge but now faces a tough
challenge to close on the leading pair with just 13 games
remaining.
Chelsea captain John Terry started the game two days after
being stripped of the England captaincy and set up the first goal
in the eighth minute.
"It's a difficult week for us, for all the club," said
Drogba, who has scored 12 goals in 10 games against the Gunners.
"We try to stay together and focus on the games. We offered him as
much support as we can.
"I think the best thing for him is to play."
But the defender could be a doubt for Wednesday's match at
Everton after receiving treatment to his left thigh midway through
the second half, only returning to the game with his leg heavily
strapped.
Terry made the opening goal when he rose to meet a corner and
headed the ball to the far post, where Drogba tapped it in from
close range.
The second goal came from the sort of counterattack more
usually seen from Arsenal or Manchester United.
Chelsea won possession on the edge of its own area and Frank
Lampard carried the ball up the middle of the field against a
retreating defense. The midfielder slipped a pass to Drogba on the
right and the Ivory Coast striker cut inside defender Thomas
Vermaelen before smashing a shot past stranded goalkeeper Manuel
Almunia.
Drogba now has 17 Premier League goals this season, putting
him second in the scoring charts to United's Wayne Rooney on 21.
Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas went close with a curling free
kick from just outside the area but he too was shaken by a clash of
heads with Branislav Ivanovic in injury time at the end of the
match.
Arsenal hosts fourth-place Liverpool on Wednesday.
Also Sunday, former England striker Kevin Phillips scored
twice in the last 10 minutes to give Birmingham a 2-1 win over
Wolverhampton Wanderers and preserve his side's five-month unbeaten
streak at home.
Birmingham was leading through Kevin Doyle's 42nd-minute shot
from a rebound until the 36-year-old Phillips, who had been on as a
substitute for about 15 minutes, scored in the 80th with a
first-time shot.
Phillips then controlled a cross from captain Stephen Carr on
his chest and volleyed into the bottom corner for an 85th-minute
winner.
"Kevin will never lose that ability he has got in the box,"
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish said. "He might lose his teeth, he
might go bald, and his legs will go at some stage, but he will
always have that magnificent technique and touch of a top player."
Birmingham's first win in three matches lifted it to 37
points in eighth place, 11 spots ahead of a Wolves side that has
won away from home only twice in the league this season.
All of Birmingham's 10 Premier League wins this season have
been by a margin of just one goal.
Liverpool beat Everton 1-0 on Saturday to take fourth place
from Tottenham, which was held to a 0-0 draw by Aston Villa.
Manchester United beat last-place Portsmouth 5-0 and now has
the best goal difference in the league.
