AFP/Getty ImagesLONDON - Michael Essien scored twice in Chelsea’s 4-0 romp over Wolverhampton to stay five points clear at the top of the Premier League on Saturday.
Arsenal tumbled 1-0 at Sunderland and Manchester United moved into second with a 3-0 victory over Everton.
Goals by Florent Malouda and Essien put Chelsea 3-0 up inside the first 22 minutes before Joe Cole scored his first goal in 13 months in the second half.
The result meant that Chelsea has won all seven home games and hasn’t conceded a goal at Stamford Bridge since the opening game of the season against Hull. Chelsea has 33 points from 13 games and also has a club record 12 home wins in a row in all competitions.
Darren Bent scored Sunderland’s 71st-minute winner in a surprise victory over Arsenal, which had won six of its previous seven league games but was left on 25 points from 12 games and dropped to third.
“It’s a big setback because you do not prepare yourself to drop points in a situation like that,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “It’s not especially worrying but it’s frustrating.”
Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia scored in Manchester United’s routine win over Everton at Old Trafford as the defending champions moved up to second with 28 points from 13 games.
Liverpool and Manchester City fell further out of contention with a 2-2 draw. Although it has a game in hand on Chelsea, City stayed sixth with 21 points and Liverpool is seventh with 20.
Werder Bremen routs Freiburg
Werder Bremen scored five second-half goals to outplay Freiburg 6-0 and go past idle Bayer Leverkusen to the top of the Bundesliga.
Mesut Oezil scored one goal, set up three and earned a penalty to help Bremen stretch its unbeaten run to 20 games in all competitions. Bremen has 26 points and leads on goal difference over Leverkusen, which can regain the top spot if it wins or draws at Bayern Munich on Sunday.
Hannover lost its first game after the suicide of captain and goalkeeper Robert Enke, going down 2-0 at Schalke, which moved into third place. A minute of silence was held at all stadiums in memory of Enke, who threw himself before a train Nov. 10 after suffering from depression for six years.
Defending champion Wolfsburg lost 3-2 at home to Nuremberg, Stuttgart rallied to earn a 1-1 draw against bottom-place Hertha Berlin, Hoffenheim jumped to fourth place by winning 4-0 in Cologne and Borussia Moenchengladbach also won on the road, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1.
Werder Bremen leads Bundesliga
Werder Bremen scored five second-half goals to outplay Freiburg 6-0 and go past idle Bayer Leverkusen to the top of the Bundesliga.
Mesut Oezil scored one goal, set up three and earned a penalty to help Bremen stretch its unbeaten run to 20 games in all competitions. Bremen has 26 points and leads on goal difference over Leverkusen, which can regain the top spot if it wins or draws at Bayern Munich on Sunday.
Hannover lost its first game after the suicide of captain and goalkeeper Robert Enke, going down 2-0 at Schalke, which moved into third place. A minute of silence was held at all stadiums in memory of Enke, who threw himself before a train Nov. 10 after suffering from depression for six years.
Defending champion Wolfsburg lost 3-2 at home to Nuremberg, Stuttgart rallied to earn a 1-1 draw against bottom-place Hertha Berlin, Hoffenheim jumped to fourth place by winning 4-0 in Cologne and Borussia Moenchengladbach also won on the road, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1.
Rubin Kazan wins Russian league
Rubin Kazan captured its second straight Russian league title with one game to spare after a 0-0 draw with Zenit St. Petersburg.
Rubin has 60 points from 29 games in the 16-team league, putting it out of reach for second-place Spartak Moscow. Spartak lost 3-2 to crosstown rival CSKA to sit five points back. Zenit and Lokomotiv Moscow are tied for third with 51.
Rangers scores early
Rangers scored three first-half goals to beat Kilmarnock 3-0 in the Scottish Premier League.
Kris Boyd, Kenny Miller and Steven Whittaker put Rangers in control at Ibrox Park and the defending champion now heads the standings by one point from traditional rival Celtic, which plays at Dundee United on Sunday.
Zambia has won the African Cup of Nations, beating pre-tournament favorite Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties in a dramatic final at Stade de l'Amitie.
Alex Morgan's 2 goals, including the winner in stoppage time, lift the U.S. past New Zealand 2-1.
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