Carlos Tevez's fantastic free kick gave Manchester City a thrilling 2-1 win over Chelsea at Eastlandson Saturday. The victory also benefited their city rivals Man United as the Red Devils defeated West Ham to chase Premier Leagueleaders Chelsea closer in two points. Man City suffered an early setback as Emmanuel Adebayor deflected the ball into his own net on eight minutes after goalkeeper Shay Given saved well from Nicolas Anelka. But the Togostriker made amends later by slotting in from close range eight minutes from the interval.
Man City continued to threaten the visitors with quick counterattacks in the second half and Argentina forward Tevez fired home a 56th minute set-piece to give the hosts their first league victory in eight games.
Manchester City's Emmanuel Adebayor (R) challenges Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic (L) during their English Premier League soccer match in Manchester, northern England, December 5, 2009
Chelsea gained a great opportunity to draw the match on 82 minutes, but England midfielder Frank Lampard's spot kick was held back by Given heroically.
The failure cut Chelsea's lead over Man United to two points only, as the defending champions grabbed three points from West Ham with four goals to nil.
Veteran Paul Scholes broke the deadlock in the stoppage time of the first half before Darron Gibson added a second six minutes after the restart. Then Antonio Valencia and Wayne Rooney struck in quick succession to seal the win.
Arsenal enjoyed a 2-0 victory over Stoke City while Liverpool finished their trip to Blackburn with a 0-0 tie. Aston Villa beat Hull City 3-0. Portsmouth sank Burnley 2-0. Wigan were defeated by Birmingham City 3-2. Wolverhampton overplayed Bolton 2-1.