Cole rescues Chelsea with late goal
London, England (Sports Network) - Chelsea moved three points clear at the top of the Premiership table on Saturday as Ashley Cole's 85th-minute goal handed the Blues a 1-0 win over Stoke City at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea's star-studded attack struggled for much of the match, and it was Stoke that came the closest to opening the scoring as Jonathan Walters hit the crossbar with a first-half header.
Stoke had drawn its first four games to open the season, and looked like a team capable of holding out for another point.
But the Blues put together a nice move to grab the win five minutes from time as Juan Mata's neat back-heel found Cole in front of the net, and he did enough to put the past goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, who got a hand to the ball but couldn't keep it out.
Everton 3, Swansea City 0
Swansea, Wales - Everton put together a strong performance in claiming a 3-0 win at Swansea City on Saturday to move into second place in the Premiership table.
The Toffees took control of the game from the start and went in front after 21 minutes through a close-range goal from Victor Anichebe.
Kevin Mirallas doubled the lead shortly before halftime as he finished off a nice move from the visitors, while Swansea's Nathan Dyer was sent off just before the hour mark.
Marouane Fellaini then capped the dominant performance with his third goal of the season in the 82nd minute.
Southampton 4, Aston Villa 1
Southampton, England - After four successive defeats to open the season, Southampton claimed its first win of the campaign in emphatic fashion, securing a 4-1 home victory over Aston Villa.
Villa took a 1-0 lead into halftime courtesy of Darren Bent's 36th-minute goal, but Rickie Lambert inspired a furious second-half rally when he equalized in the 58th minute for the Saints.
Nathaniel Clyne put Southampton into the lead in the 63rd minute by scoring from close range, while Jason Puncheon extended the lead to 3-1 before Lambert netted his second goal of the contest in stoppage time from the penalty spot.
West Bromwich 1, Reading 0
West Bromwich, England - West Bromwich continued its good start to the season as Romelu Lukaku's second-half goal was enough for the Baggies to claim a 1-0 win over Reading at The Hawthorns on Saturday.
Steve Clarke's team has now won its first three home matches this season, while Reading slides to the bottom of the league having earned just one point from four contests.
Reading offered little in attack on Saturday, but it wasn't until the 71st minute that West Brom took the lead.
Shane Long came off the bench six minutes earlier, and he knocked down a floated ball for Lukaku to fire past goalkeeper Alex McCarthy, which was enough to move West Brom into third place.
West Ham 1, Sunderland 1
London, England - Sunderland was forced to settle for its fourth straight draw to open the season on Saturday as West Ham's Kevin Nolan snatched a point for his side with a stoppage-time goal in a 1-1 contest at Upton Park.
Steven Fletcher's strong start at Sunderland continued as he netted his fourth goal in three games for the club in the ninth minute to put the Black Cats ahead.
The goal stood up until the third minute of added time when Modibo Maiga nodded the ball down for Nolan to volley past goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
Fulham 2, Wigan 1
Wigan, England - Fulham collected its third win in five games by handing Wigan a 2-1 defeat at the DW Stadium on Saturday.
Former Wigan forward Hugo Rodallega tallied his first Fulham goal in the 31st minute after nice cross from Dimitar Berbatov, while Damien Duff scored for the third time this season midway through the second half after a nice bit of play from Bryan Ruiz.
Wigan's only response arrived in stoppage time as Arouna Kone scored for the second time since joining the Latics in August.
