Man United thrash Liverpool, Chelsea overtake Arsenal for 2nd Place

Manchester United started the day three points ahead of second place Arsenal and ended the day five points ahead of second place Chelsea. So I guess that makes the Red Devils the big winners of the day. But Chelsea are not far behind after Didier Drogba scored two late goals to give the Blues a come from behind victory over their London rivals. � Man United 3 - 0 Liverpool In the early game, Manchester United cruised to victory after Liverpool's Javier Mascherano was shown a second yellow card for dissent. Wes Brown put United into the lead in the 34th minute, and Liverpool's chances for a comeback were seriously damaged when Mascherano was sent off just before half time. The Reds managed to keep United from scoring until ten minutes from time when Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani scored in quick succession to seal the victory. � Chelsea 2 - 1 Arsenal Chelsea's win against Arsenal was not nearly as easy as Man United's win over Liverpool, but it was perhaps more important. Both clubs traded chances in the first half, with Arsenal's passing game controlling periods of play, and Chelsea generating chances on the counter attack. But neither team could find the goal as the first half ended 0-0. � In the second half, Arsenal struck first when Bacary Sagna, an unlikely goal scorer, beat Carlo Cudicini with a near-post header in the 59th minute. A Chelsea loss would have put them eight points behind Man United and all but ended their title chances. But Didier Drogba rose to the occasion. In the 73rd minute, Juliano Belletti's long pass found Frank Lampard in traffic near the edge of the box. Somehow, the ball came off an Arsenal defender's leg into the path of Drogba, who slammed a low strike into the back of the net to pull Chelsea even. � After the tying goal, Chelsea seemed the more likely team to grab a wining goal, and it was Drogba who did just that. Substitute Nicolas Anelka received a long pass, heading the ball towards Drogba, and the Ivorian striker superbly controlled the ball, turned, and directed the ball on goal. Arsenal keeper Manuel Aluminia got a hand to the shot, but the ball went into the goal off the left post. � Chelsea survived the rest of 90 minutes and five minutes of injury time to claim all three points and cut United's lead to five point. The win also preserves Chelsea's home unbeaten streak, something Man United will have to contend with later this season. � Here is the top of the Premiership table after Sunday's matches: � 73 - Manchester United 68 - Chelsea 67 - Arsenal �