Deco bicycle kick sees Chelsea rub noses with Reds

LONDON: Liverpool beat Blackburn Rovers 3-1 at Ewood Park on Saturday to stay top of the Premier League and increase the pressure on Rovers manager Paul Ince whose team have now gone 10 league matches without a win.

Xabi Alonso got the breakthrough goal after 69 minutes before Yossi Benayoun added a second and Steven Gerrard scored a late third to take Liverpool to 37 points from 16 matches.

The top four all won with Chelsea beating Bolton Wanderers 2-0, Manchester United overcoming a stubborn Sunderland side 1-0 and Arsenal edging Wigan Athletic 1-0.