Chelsea preserve hot start with 4-2 over Spurs; Man City also victorious
By Steve Douglas ,AP
October 22, 2012, 12:40 am TWN
LONDON -- Chelsea maintained its flying start to the Premier League by beating Tottenham 4-2 away to preserve its four-point lead, while Manchester City needed a last-gasp winner to keep the pressure on the European champions on Saturday.
Substitute Edin Dzeko scored twice in the last 10 minutes — his second coming in injury time — to earn City a 2-1 victory at West Bromwich Albion despite playing with 10 men for more than an hour.
Second-place Manchester United remained level on points with City thanks to a 4-2 home win over Stoke, with Wayne Rooney scoring twice — as well as an own goal — to open his account for the season.
Chelsea, though, look unstoppable at the moment after recovering from going 2-1 down to end Spurs' four-match winning run under former manager Andre Villas-Boas.
Spain playmaker Juan Mata grabbed two goals and set up another for the unbeaten visitors, who have picked up 22 points from a possible 24 this campaign — matching City's start to its title-winning season last year.
Arsenal dropped further off the pace by surprisingly losing 1-0 at Norwich, which picked up its first win of the season, and Raheem Sterling became Liverpool's second youngest scorer ever in the Premier League by grabbing a first-half winner in the 1-0 victory over Reading at Anfield.
The win was only the hosts' third at home in 2012, lifting them up to mid-table.
West Ham maintained its impressive start to life back in the top division by thrashing Southampton 4-1, while Swansea beat Wigan 2-1 and Fulham edged past Aston Villa 1-0.
The standout match came at White Hart Lane, where Villas-Boas was undone by a player he signed in the summer of 2011 when in charge of Chelsea.
Chelsea's English defender Ashley Cole, right, vies with Tottenham Hotspur's English midfielder Aaron Lennon during their English Premier League soccer match at White Hart Lane in ...