Barclays Premier League

LONDON (AFP) - Didier Drogba let his actions speak louder than words as he fired Chelsea to a 2-0 win at Middlesbrough, while Arsenal consolidated their lead at the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over Bolton on Saturday.
Drogba dropped a bombshell this week by revealing he is determined to leave the London club because the squad's morale had been shattered by Jose Mourinho's departure.
But Chelsea manager Avram Grant kept faith with the Ivory Coast striker at the Riverside Stadium and got the perfect response, with Drogba laying the foundations for the team's third successive win.
It took Drogba just eight minutes to show Chelsea what they would be missing if he did leave. He collected Frank Lampard's pass and drove a perfectly-placed shot past Mark Schwarzer for his third goal of the season.
Alex came in for John Terry and the Brazil centre-back ensured there was no need to rue the captain's absence when he scored his first goal for the club with a blistering free-kick in the 57th minute.
Grant said: "I'm happy with the win but I'm more happy that we are improving from game to game. The way we win is very important so we are trying to play more attacking football."
Kolo Toure was the unlikely hero as Arsenal beat managerless Bolton at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsene Wenger's side stretched their winning run to 11 matches - their best streak since 2002 - thanks to a superb long range goal from Toure in the 68th minute and Tomas Rosicky's effort 10 minutes from full-time.
The Ivory Coast defender's first goal since April was perfectly timed as Arsenal were struggled to break down Bolton, playing their first match since Sammy Lee's sacking.
With Bolton's resistence finally broken, Arsenal were able to turn on the style and Czech midfielder Rosicky put the result beyond doubt late on.
Wenger said: "I was concerned because Bolton were very resilient and know how to slow the game down. But we build our success by being patient and keeping a high tempo.
"Overall you can see there is a great spirit in the side." Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt's stoppage time penalty snatched a dramatic 2-1 win over nine-man Everton in the 206th Merseyside derby.
Kuyt had already scored from the spot once at Goodison Park to cancel out Sami Hyppia's first half own goal and he held his nerve again to get Rafa Benitez's team back on track with only their second win in five league matches.
Hyppia had put Everton in front in the 38th minute when the veteran defender diverted Phil Jagielka's shot into his own net.
Steven Gerrard helped drag Liverpool level in the 54th minute when he surged into area and was hauled down by Tony Hibbert, who was sent off by referee Mark Clattenberg.
Kuyt drilled home the penalty and repeated the trick with just minutes to go after Phil Neville was sent off for handling Lucas's shot on the goalline.
Everton still had a chance for one last attack but Clattenburg denied them a penalty when Steve Finnan clearly hauled down Joleon Lescott.
Elano sent Manchester City second in the table as his first half goal sealed 1-0 win over Birmingham at Eastlands.
The Brazil midfielder shrugged off the draining effects of a long flight back from international duty in South America to open the scoring in the 37th minute.
Sven Goran Eriksson's side have won all six of their home league games this season and will be dreaming of at least a top four finish. Derby climbed off the bottom of the table after a dour 0-0 draw at 10-man Fulham.
Billy Davies's side collected their first away point of the season but will feel they could have done better after Paul Koncheskey sent off on the stroke of half time after an elbow on Craig Fagan.
Benjani Mwaruwari maintained his impresssive form as Portsmouth staged a late show to win 2-0 at Wigan.
Harry Redknapp's side were locked in a stalemate until the 81st minute when Zimbabwean striker Benjani scored his fifth goal in three matches.
Glen Johnson wrapped up Portsmouth's fifth consecutive victory when the right-back embarked on a surging run, topped by a fine finish in the 86th minute.
Benni McCarthy helped Blackburn inflict another awayday nightmare on Reading as Mark Hughes's side won 4-2 at Ewood Park.
South African striker McCarthy took his goal tally for the season to six as Rovers ran riot.
He broke the deadlock in the 18th minute and four minutes later Blackburn increased their lead when Roque Santa Cruz ended a flowing move with a fine finish.
It got even worse for Reading in the 32nd minute. Steve Coppell's side had conceded seven goals at Portsmouth in their last away game and they must have feared a repeat when Tugay curled in a stunning long range effort.
Kevin Doyle's 80th strike reduced the deficit. But McCarthy converted an 82nd minute penalty and Doyle's last minute effort was no consolation.
Manchester United travel to Aston Villa in Saturday's late match, while West Ham host Sunderland on Sunday and Newcastle play Tottenham on Monday.