LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Chelsea moved to the top of English Premier League standings, while Liverpool suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday.
Liverpool, leaders coming into this weekend’s fixtures, were beaten 1-0 at Anfield by Southampton, which see them remaining on 10points, but dropped to second following Chelsea’s victory over Fulham in the late kick-off.
Dejan Lovren scored the lone goal for the Saints, who jumped into the top ten in the standings with the win.
At Stamford Bridge, Chelsea end a two-game run of defeat with a 2-0 win over Fulham, with Brazilian playmaker Oscar repaying his manager’s trust in him with one of the goals and John Obi Mikel ending a seven year run without a league goal with a close range finish in the 84th minute.
“Against Everton we went home very, very sad and today we go home very, very happy,” Mourinho said. “The result was better than the result against Everton. I still think that we played much better against Everton than we did today but points are also important.
“After a bad start, a start that everybody kept telling me is the worst start for about a decade [for Chelsea] … today I looked at the table, nobody is in front of us.”
He added: “As a No 10 [Oscar] gives us creativity and he gives us ability to press up and defend. Juan [Mata] has to learn to play the way I want to play.
“He has to be more consistent, he has to be more participative when the team lose possession. It is not his fault, just the way he has played in recent years.”
In the meantime, a double from Leighton Baines and a late winner from substitute Romelu Lukaku earned Everton come from behind twice to beat ten-man West Ham United, who had Mark Noble sent off in the 81st minute for a second yellow.
West Ham were leading 2-1 at that stage, but Baines and Lukaku scored in the 83rd and 85th minutes to ensure that Roberto Martinez’s side remained the only undefeated side left in the EPL.
In other results on Saturday, Stephane Sessegnon netted against his former club, as West Bromwich hammered Sunderland 3-0, while Hull City pulled off a 3-2 stunner over Newcastle United on the road, despite Loic Remy, twice giving the hosts the lead in the first half.
In the early kick-off Libor Kozak scored the only goal in Aston Villa’s 1-0 win over Norwich City.
Saturday 21 September 2013 – EPL Results
17:30 Chelsea 2 – 0 Fulham Stamford Bridge
15:00 Liverpool 0 – 1 Southampton Anfield
15:00 Newcastle 2 – 3 Hull St. James’ Park
15:00 West Brom 3 – 0 Sunderland The Hawthorns
15:00 West Ham 2 – 3 Everton Boleyn Ground
12:45 Norwich 0 – 1 Aston Villa Carrow Road
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