The commanding Chelsea crushed Blackburn 5-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to return to the top of Premier League. The visitors were totally out of pace in front of the confident Blues who had just sent off Atletico de Madrid 4-0 three days ago in the European Champions League group stage even though their top scorer Didier Drogba was absent.
Chelsea were denied several times by Blackburn's goalkeeper Paul Robinson in the first period but were granted the lead when Gael Givet diverted Nicolas Anelka's cross into his own net in the20th minutes.
Then Chelsea enjoyed their harvest through ruthless attacks with Frank Lampard opened the second-half score three minutes after the break. Four minutes later, Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien fired home from long range to make it three.
Meanwhile, the powerful striker Drogba kept threatening in front of Blackburn's struggling defence and when he pounced into the box in the 59th minute, Ryan Nelsen tripped him to concede a penalty to the hosts. Lampard slotted in the bottom left corner with hesitation.
Drogba concluded Chelsea's scoring show by nodding home Michael Ballack's corner in the 64th minute.
Leaders Chelsea are two points ahead of Manchester United and the defending champions are slated to visit Liverpool on Sunday.
With new owner Carson Yeung on the stands, Birmingham City edged Sunderland 2-1 to claim their third win in Premier League this season.
Birmingham dominated the first half and Sebastian Larsson's free kick flipped into the net after bouncing Liam Ridgewell's body in the 37th minutes.
Three minutes into the second period, forward James McFadden added a goal to cheer the home fans.
Although Sunderland fought back hard later and came closer with Scott Dann's own goal in the 82nd minute, Birmingham kept three points in pocket at last.
In addition, Tottenham Spur were depressed at home as Glenn Whelan scored the only goal for Stoke City. Burnley were defeated 3-1 by visiting Wigan.
Hull City and Porsmouth drew 0-0. Wolverhampton and Aston Villa claimed one point each after a 1-1 tie.