Frank Lampard
scored his 200th Chelsea goal as his side beat West Ham United 2-0
today to snatch third place in the Premier League from faltering London
rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Tottenham's 1-0 loss at home to Fulham had
opened the door for Chelsea and they took full advantage by recording a
victory that lifted them to within four points of second-place
Manchester City.
Lampard broke the deadlock against his former club West Ham in the 19th minute at Stamford Bridge, springing to head Eden Hazard's dinked cross into the top-right corner. The England midfielder, 34, now stands only two goals behind Bobby Tambling in the list of Chelsea's all-time top goal-scorers.
Hazard
added a delightful second goal five minutes into the second half,
exchanging passes with Juan Mata on the right and drifting past Winston
Reid before drilling a left-foot shot into the bottom-right
corner. Fulham dealt Spurs' challenge for a Champions League place
another setback by condemning Andre Villas-Boas' side to a second
consecutive Premier League defeat.
Having
eliminated Inter Milan from the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, Spurs
were bidding to tighten their grip on third place in the table and
Gareth Bale had an early header cleared off the line by Sascha
Riether. However, the hosts lost Michael Dawson to injury at half-time
and then saw former striker Dimitar Berbatov claim the game's only goal in the 52nd minute when he converted Riether's low right-wing cross.
Spurs'
best chance fell to Jermain Defoe in the dying stages, but his effort
from Bale's cut-back met its match in a superb reflex save from Mark
Schwarzer. Coming in the wake of last weekend's 3-2 loss at Liverpool,
Spurs' defeat left them a point below Chelsea and four points above
fifth-place north London rivals Arsenal, both of whom have a game in
hand.

At the other end of the table, Arouna Kone
struck in the final minute to give Wigan Athletic a 2-1 win at home to
Newcastle United that injected fresh momentum into their quest to escape
relegation. Jean Beausejour's first Wigan goal put Roberto Martinez's
men ahead in the 19th minute, but Italian full-back Davide Santon
drilled home an equaliser in the 72nd minute.
Then,
in the 90th minute, Ivorian striker Kone lashed the ball into the roof
of the net following a goalmouth scramble to leave Wigan three points
from safety with a game in hand on fourth-bottom Aston Villa. The game
had threatened to be overshadowed by a horrendous, knee-high challenge
from Wigan midfielder Callum McManaman on visiting defender Massadio
Haidara in the first half. McManaman escaped punishment for the foul,
but Haidara had to be stretchered off and Newcastle coach John Carver
was sent to the stands after losing his temper at the half-time whistle.
Earlier,
relegation-threatened Sunderland failed to capitalise on the dismissal
of Norwich City goalkeeper Mark Bunn as they were held to a 1-1 draw at
the Stadium of Light. After Wes Hoolahan headed Norwich in front in the
26th minute, the visitors lost Bunn to a straight red card when he
handled the ball outside his area. Craig Gardner levelled for Sunderland
with a 40th-minute penalty after a handball by Sebastien Bassong, but
Sunderland could find no way past the visitors' 10 men in the second
half.
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