LONDON: Chelsea went four points clear at the top of the Premier League Sunday thanks to a 2-0 win over Arsenal, and Liverpool's shambolic season reached a new low with an embarrassing 2-1 home defeat to Blackpool. Didier Drogba proved to be Arsenal's nemesis once again, glancing in from close range in the 39th minute for his 13th goal in his last 11 matches against the Gunners, before Alex's unstoppable late free kick clinched victory. “There will be one game when I won't score (against Arsenal),” Drogba quipped. Chelsea leads the league on 18 points with its nearest rival Manchester City, which beat Newcastle 2-1 in Sunday's other game. Liverpool couldn't be much further from the title race after another humiliating result for the 18-time champion. Adam Johnson came off the bench to score the winner for City in a match marred by a suspected leg break for Newcastle winger Hatem Ben Arfa. Carlos Tevez's 18th-minute penalty put City ahead before Newcastle equalized in the 24th through Jonas Gutierrez. The Reds stayed in the relegation zone, with only six points, piling the pressure on manager Roy Hodgson. His team has not won in five matches, including a penalty-shootout defeat to fourth-tier Northampton in the League Cup and a dire goalless draw at Utrecht in the Europa League Thursday. “Their great result is our nightmare result. It is a very bad day and there is nothing I can say,” Hodgson said. Arsenal dominated possession for large spells but failed to find a cutting edge as Chelsea clinched a sixth victory in seven league matches, its only defeat coming at City last weekend. Drogba enjoys playing against Arsenal and the Ivory Coast striker made the visitor pay for its early profligacy in front of goal by meeting Ashley Cole's cross from the left with a flicked finish that went in off the post. Marouane Chamakh and Laurent Koscielny were guilty of wasting clear chances in the first half and striker Chamakh headed wide in the second half as Arsenal piled forward in search of the equalizer. Alex, who hobbled off injured in stoppage time, settled the result with a powerful free kick that swerved past Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski and into the top corner in the 85th. Arsenal dropped a place to fourth and is two points behind Manchester United, which drew 0-0 with Sunderland Saturday. United has 13 points and Arsenal 11 from seven games. Juventus holds Inter European champion Inter Milan was held to a 0-0 draw at home to Juventus Sunday after Diego Milito once again failed to find the target. The draw left Inter second in the table, two points behind Serie A leader Lazio, which beat Brescia 1-0. Lazio leads with 13 points and Inter, Napoli and AC Milan are level on 11 points each. Juventus has eight points. Earlier, Lazio won with a first-half goal from Stefano Mauri, while Napoli extended AS Roma's struggles with a 2-0 victory. Milan won 1-0 at Parma on Saturday with a superb strike from Andrea Pirlo. Chievo Verona also has 10 points after drawing 0-0 with Cagliari. Elsewhere, Luca Toni scored the winner five minutes into added time as 10-man Genoa beat Bari 2-1. Palermo won 2-1 away at Fiorentina. Also, Daniele Portanova scored an own goal for Sampdoria and Uruguay defender Miguel Angel Britos equalized for Bologna in a 1-1 draw; while Lecce beat Catania 1-0 with a 36th-minute volley from Daniele Corvia in the lunchtime fixture.
