Arsenal win big; Blues down Reds

Champions Arsenal began the defence of their Premier League title by outclassing a poor Everton side 4-1 while Chelsea edged fellow title-co...

Champions Arsenal began the defence of their Premier League title by outclassing a poor Everton side 4-1 while Chelsea edged fellow title-contenders Manchester United 1-0 in two contrasting matches on Sunday.

Arsenal were simply far too good for a poor Everton side and were never remotely in danger of losing after taking the lead through Dennis Bergkamp on 23 minutes.

Chelsea meanwhile were made to fight every inch of the way for their narrow 1-0 win over Manchester United at Stamford Bridge which marked a great start to the English managerial career of Chelsea’s new Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho.

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The only goal at Stamford Bridge was scored by Eidur Gudjohnsen after 15 minutes but injury-hit Manchester United never stopped threatening in a tightly-contested game.

The results meant that Arsenal immediately went to the top of the table after the opening weekend’s results — albeit on alphabetical order.

They displaced Bolton Wanderers, the overnight leaders after their 4-1 win over Charlton Athletic on Saturday — but there is little reason to doubt Arsenal will be in that position as the season progresses.

After Bergkamp gave Arsenal the lead further goals from Jose Antonio Reyes (39th), Frederik Ljungberg (54th) and substitute Robert Pires (83rd) saw Arsenal stretch their unbeaten league run to 41 matches since May 2003.

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They will equal Nottingham Forest’s record of 42 top flight matches without defeat as long as Middlesbrough do not beat them at Highbury next Sunday.

Lee Carsley pulled one back for Everton after 64 minutes after a mix-up in the Arsenal defence, but the champions, even without the injured Patrick Vieira and Sol Campbell, looked far too slick for Everton, who, without the injured Wayne Rooney, rarely threatened to score.

Bergkamp, 35, playing in the 500th league match of his career, opened the scoring when he lashed home an angled drive after a typical Arsenal breakaway after 23 minutes.

Reyes doubled their lead with a 39th minute header and Ljungberg secured the points when he prodded home a Thierry Henry cross from close range.

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Pires made it 4-1, converting a rebound after the ball bounced back off a post from an Ashley Cole effort.

Chelsea were made to battle hard for the points against United, who had nine of their first team missing either through injury, suspension or the Olympics.

Despite that United never stopped battling and only a superb display by debutant Peter Cech in the Chelsea goal and some superb defending kept United out.

The only goal came after 15 minutes when Quinton Fortune allowed Geremi to escape in midfield after misjudging the bounce of a ball.

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The Cameroonian international played the ball up to debutant Didier Drogba who headed on to Gudjohnsen who eluded a poor challenge from United keeper Tim Howard and a late one from makeshift centre back Roy Keane to score a scrappy goal. (Reuters)