Arsenal's Thierry Henry struck twice in his side's 4-0 thrashing of Fulham yesterday. -FILE LONDON (AP):
CHELSEA FINISHED with 10 men in their 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion in the English Premier League yesterday Jose Mourinho's 100th game in charge.
At the Hawthorns, Didier Drogba and Joe Cole scored for Chelsea. In between, Arjen Robben was sent off for a foul on Jonathan Greening.
Liverpool moved into outright second when they drew 0-0 with Charlton at Anfield.
Thierry Henry scored twice and Emmanuel Adebayor and Cesc Fabregas added the others in Arsenal's 4-0 win over Fulham to lift them from seventh to fifth in the standings.
In other matches, it was: Aston Villa 1 Portsmouth 0; Middles-brough 1 Birmingham 0; West Ham 2 Everton 2 and Newcastle 3 Bolton 1.
Chelsea have almost clinched back-to-back Premier League titles. The Blues have 75 points with 10 matches left. Liverpool are second with 55 points, followed by Manchester United with 54, Tottenham 46 and Arsenal 44.
ROBBEN SHOWN RED CARDED
Drogba scored in the 51st minute, with Robben shown the red card by referee Mark Hasley 11 minutes later. Mourinho reacted by sarcastically applauding the match officials while standing on the touchline.
"The referee was saying it was a two-footed tackle, but he didn't touch the man at all," Chelsea defender John Terry said.
Cole, who set up one goal and scored the other in England's 2-1 friendly win over Uruguay on Wednesday, scored in the 74th.
Mourinho celebrated Cole's goal by pumping his fists and running down the sideline into West Brom's technical area. Security guards escorted Mourinho back to his bench, while West Brom manager Bryan Robson furiously looked on.
ANNOYED
Earlier, Robson was seen arguing with Chelsea assistant manager Steve Clarke. Robson was also annoyed that Chelsea were late coming out on to the pitch for the start of the second half and said Drogba "dives and feigns injury".
With two minutes left, West Brom pulled a goal back through Nwankwo Kanu.
Mourinho didn't acknowledge Robson after the match, walking straight on to the pitch to congratulate his players. No one from Chelsea attended the post-match news conference.
Mourinho has won 72 games, drawn 17 and lost 11 times since joining Chelsea in June 2004 from Portuguese club FC Porto. In the Premier League, he's lost only three times in 66 matches.
A minute's silence was held before the match in memory of former Chelsea and England striker Peter Osgood, who died on Wednesday.
Arsenal's poor away form has contributed to their disappointing season. The Gunners rebounded from a 1-0 loss at Blackburn last week to produce a fine warmup for their Champions League match at Highbury on Wednesday. Arsenal hold a 1-0 first-leg lead over Real Madrid.
"I can't see Real Madrid getting anywhere near them," Fulham manager Chris Coleman said. "If Real Madrid play like they did in the first leg and Arsenal come close to that form and show that sort of movement, it's all over."
"We knew before the game we couldn't afford to drop any more points," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "We were under a bit of pressure, but the team is young but developing well."
Newcastle's 3-1 win over Bolton was their fifth in six games for caretaker manager Glenn Roeder. Nolberto Solano, Alan Shearer and Shola Ameobi all scored for Newcastle. Kevin Davies had a late goal for Bolton, who had their first loss in eight league matches.
"We gifted the game to Newcastle, really, with not much between the two sides in the first half," Bolton manager Sam Allardyce said. "They capitalised on what we should have done better with."
Milan Baros scored for Aston Villa's first win at home since December 26. The loss means Portsmouth stay in 19th place, eight points from safety.
Birmingham are also in relegation danger. Their 1-0 loss to Middlesbrough kept them in 18th place, three points from safety.
Everton rallied for a 2-2 draw at West Ham. James Beattie scored Everton's equaliser in the 70th minute.
Reading edged closer to the Premier League with a 3-0 win over Burnley, with goals from Bobby Convey, Leroy Lita and Ibrahima Sonko. Soon after scoring, Lita was carried off the pitch with a suspected broken leg after falling awkwardly.
Reading have 89 points in the Football League Championship, with a 14-point lead over Sheffield United and a 20-point buffer to third-place Leeds.
