Chelsea hot on the chase

Blues beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0, while leaders Arsenal held to draw

LONDON: Chelsea closed the gap on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League when they beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 on Saturday and their rivals were held to a surprising 1-1 draw by Birmingham City. 

With second-placed Manchester United playing Newcastle United in an evening match, Arsenal lead the table with 51 points from 22 matches, followed by United with 48 from 21 and Chelsea on 47 from 22.

Chelsea's first goalat Stamford Bridge came after 19 minutes when Brazilian defender
Juliano Belletti scored with an unstoppable35-metre shot and they wrapped up the points witha second from Shaun Wright-Phillips 10 minutesfrom time.

Arsenal took the lead against Birmingham with a 20th-minute penalty from Emmanuel Adebayor. But their opponents, who had not scored an away goal at Arsenal since 1983, equalised when Gary O'Connor headed home in the 47th minute.

Liverpool moved back into fourth place when they scraped a 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough. Manchester City, who were fourth, slipped back after losing 1-0 at Everton.