Normal Service is Resumed: Daily Premiership Recap (8/27/06)

Fairly empty day today in the Prem. Only two games since everyone else played yesterday:

Chelsea at Blackburn Normal service was resumed today at Ewood Park as Chelsea, playing in their new all-black third jerseys, got back to their winning ways. Frank Lampard opened the scoring with a penalty kick in the 50th minute, and Didier Drogba wrapped up the win in the 81st.

Chelsea boss The Special One Jose Mourinho, eager to inject some life into his squad following their mid-week loss at Middlesbrough, was happy to start newcomer Michael Ballack and veteran Petr Cech after their recoveries from injury. Mourinho also handed a starting position to Khalid Boulahrouz, marking his Premiership debut.

The Blues nearly scored only two minutes into the game as midfielder Michael Essien just missed with after a Lampard free kick has been poorly cleared. After that effort both teams settled down a bit and the game turned into a back-and-forth affair. Both teams had their chances, although Chelsea's came more often, and at halftime the score was tied at 0.

Lampard's penalty goal came after Blackburn's Andre Ooljer was called for fouling Chelsea and England National Team skipper john Terry inside the box. There is a reason Super Frank is the designated penalty kick taker for both Chelsea and his national side, and today would be no different as he notched his second goal of the young season.

Following Lampard's goal the game began to really heat up as both teams had very near goals and clear chances, but neither scored until Drogba's clinical finish after he won the physical battle with Ooljer and fired home over helpless goalie Brad Friedel. The game would end 2-0, and Chelsea should be pleased to get back to their winning ways.

It seems as though the midweek surprise loss to Middlesbrough was just a small blip and Chelsea is back on track. They are in the top four of the table again, three points behind Manchester United. Only three games into the season, the race for the title is looking to be a very good one. Chelsea and ManU should both play well enough to make sure that the other must keep winning if they are to have a chance at the trophy. The main question at Chelsea now is whether or not they can work out a deal for Arsenal's Ashley Cole before the transfer window closes. The addition of the defenseman would help shore up a Chelsea defense that is missing a couple of true talents at a couple positions, and a defense anchored by Cole and Terry would strike fear into any club's attackers.

Newcastle at Aston Villa New Villa owner Randy Lerner's era got off to a great start today as his team climbed into second place in the Premiership with a 2-0 win over the Magpies.

Luke Moore scored in just the third minute to give Villa the advantage, his goal coming off a free kick that got knocked around in the Newcastle box before falling to him and he would not miss as he slotted the ball into the corner of the net to give his team the very early lead.

Villa's second goal came in the 38th minute as Juan Pablo Angel timed his run brilliantly to catch onto a Gabriel Agbonlahor pass and fire home. The half and the match ended with the 2-0 scoreline.

Newcastle had their chances, a few coming from new signing Damien Duff, but were not able to get the ball into the net, and their day's misery was increased by the probable knee injury of another new signing, Obafemi Martins. Martins, signed in midweek from Inter Milan, came down awkwardly after an aerial challenge and was clutching his knee and he was taken off on a stretcher in the 56th minute. The injury put an end to Newcastle's attacking game as they were forced to playt he final half hour with ten men.

Despite the win, Villa manager Martin O'Neill is keen to bring in more new players before the transfer deadline. "There is a feelgood factor at the moment and it would be good for the side to get someone in before the window shuts. The side needs bolstering and all thoughts will be channelled towards that until Thursday." The infusion of Lerner's money into the club should help that quest, although one cannot expect Lerner to turn into another Roman Abramovich. A couple good signings should help Villa stay near the top of the table, and qualifying for next season's Champions League would be a great result for them.

Premiership table So far this season:

2006-07

	GP	W	D	L	PTS	GF	GA	GD
Manchester United	24	18	3	3	57	53	18	35
Chelsea	29	15	6	3	51	41	19	22
Liverpool	24	14	4	6	46	37	16	21
Arsenal	24	13	6	5	45	45	20	25
Bolton Wanderers	24	12	4	8	40	28	26	2
Portsmouth	24	10	7	7	37	34	24	10
Everton	24	9	8	7	35	31	23	8
Reading	24	10	4	10	34	34	32	2
Tottenham Hotspur	24	9	6	9	33	29	32	-3
Blackburn Rovers	24	9	4	11	31	28	33	-5
Middlesbrough	24	8	6	10	30	29	29	0
Newcastle United	24	8	6	10	30	28	32	-4
Manchester City	24	8	6	10	30	19	28	-9
Aston Villa	24	6	11	7	29	26	28	-2
Fulham	24	6	11	7	29	26	36	-10
Sheffield United	24	6	6	12	24	19	33	-14
Wigan	23	6	4	13	22	23	38	-15
West Ham United	24	5	5	14	20	17	38	-21
Charlton Athletic	24	5	4	15	19	19	43	-24
Watford	23	2	9	12	15	14	32	-18
Update these standings