Chelsea went five points clear of reigning champions Manchester City at the top of the Premier League after a 2-0 win at home to Arsenal in a fiery all-London clash on Sunday.
Eden Hazard gave Chelsea a 27th-minute lead with a coolly-taken penalty after he had been brought down in the box by Gunners defender Laurent Koscielny.
Diego Costa’s ninth goal in seven Premier League games after an excellent lofted through-ball from former Arsenal favourite Cesc Fabregas sealed Chelsea’s victory 12 minutes from time.
Kick-off at Stamford Bridge was delayed by 15 minutes as officials slowed the entry of Arsenal fans into the away end after a flare was set off.
There was a flare-up of a different kind when Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger clashed with Jose Mourinho after the Gunners’ Alexis Sanchez was fouled by Gary Cahill.
“There are two technical areas not one,” said Mourinho. “He (Wenger) was coming to my space.”
Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois then went off due to suspected concussion following an earlier collision with Sanchez.
Wenger, whose side were thrashed 6-0 on their last visit to Stamford Bridge in March, suggested Arsenal had been unlucky.
“We had more shots and missed opportunities to take more,” he said.
The defeat, Arsenal’s first in the Premier League this season, left the Gunners nine points off top spot and meant Wenger had failed to beat a Chelsea side managed by Mourinho in 12 attempts.
Earlier, Radamel Falcao’s first goal for Manchester United secured a 2-1 victory over Everton.
Colombia striker Falcao — signed on loan for a reported 10 million euros (£7.8 million, $13.1 million) on transfer deadline day — marked his fourth United appearance by scoring from inside the box after deflecting Angel di Maria’s long-range shot in the 62nd minute.
Argentina midfielder di Maria had given United a 27th-minute lead when he curled in a shot from just inside the penalty area.
Everton could have equalised on the stroke of half-time following a penalty but United goalkeeper David de Gea saved Leighton Baines’s spot-kick — the first of several fine stops.
However, Baines recovered his composure to whip in a superb cross from which Gary Naismith headed Everton level 10 minutes after the break.
Stoppage-time saw de Gea preserve United’s lead with two impressive saves to deny Everton substitutes Leon Osman and Bryan Oviedo.
The result meant United, who moved up into fourth place, had their first back-to-back successes under Dutch manager Louis van Gaal following last week’s 2-1 victory at home to West Ham.
– ‘Fantastic de Gea’ –
“David de Gea was fantastic,” van Gaal told the BBC before saying of his new goalscorer: “Falcao was forcing himself last week against West Ham. I told him to be satisfied about his performances and that the goals are coming. The goals are coming!”
Everton’s defeat, which left them hovering above the relegation zone, was compounded by John Stones being carried off on a stretcher late on — with the defender now set to miss England’s Euro 2016 qualifiers against San Marino and Estonia next week.
“John Stones has an ankle ligament problem….it must be something serious for him to come off,” said Everton manager Roberto Martinez.
Christian Eriksen’s 40th-minute goal was good enough to give Tottenham Hotspur a 1-0 win at home to high-flyers Southampton — the club Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino left before moving to White Hart Lane in pre-season.
“We are still improving,” said Pochettino, with the Argentinian boss adding: “Southampton will always be special for me in my heart.”
Queens Park Rangers remained bottom of the table after a 2-0 defeat London derby defeat by West Ham.
Nedum Onuoha’s early own-goal and Diafra Sakho’s 59th-minute header — the Senegal striker’s fifth goal in as many games — eant there was no happy return to Upton Park for former Hammers boss Harry Redknapp and ex-Irons Rio Ferdinand and Robert Green.
Victory lifted West Ham into seventh in the table, with their England winger Stewart Downing insisting: “If we consistently perform like we did against Liverpool (a 3-1 win) and we did today, then we have a hell of a chance of being inside the top 10, if not further up.”
