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Chelsea profit as rivals fade away
 Lampard struck twice to give Chelsea a seventh successive win LONDON, England -- Champions Chelsea have taken a firm grip on the English title race as main rivals Manchester United and Arsenal dropped points on Saturday. A Frank Lampard double saw them beat Aston Villa 2-1 for a seventh straight Premier League victory, while Manchester United lost their unbreaten record with a 2-1 home defeat to Blackburn. United now trail Chelsea by 10 points, while Arsenal, who were held goalless at West Ham, are 11 points adrift. Chelsea briefly trailed at home to Villa as Luke Moore fired David O'Leary's men ahead on 44 minutes as he latched on to a Juan Pablo Angel flick on. It was the first goal Chelsea have conceded in 641 minutes of Premiership action. It also earned Moore a $17,780 reward offered by the tabloid Sun newspaper for the first player to breach the Chelsea goal. But Lampard equalized before half-time with a curling free kick and scored the winner from the penalty spot with 15 minutes remaining after Olof Mellberg was adjudged to have pulled down Didier Drogba. Unheralded Charlton remain their nearest challengers, six points adrift with a game in hand, after beating West Bromwich Albion 2-1 as Danny Murphy grabbed both goals. Bolton, who beat Portsmouth 1-0 in Saturday's late game, courtesy of Kevin Nolan's 25th minute winner, occupy third spot a further point adrift. But it was United's shock defeat at Old Trafford that will afford the most comfort to Chelsea and their Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho. Huge blowTwo goals from Morten Gamst Pedersen dealt a huge blow to United's chances of reclaiming the title. The Norwegian winger's opener in the 33rd minute came via a free kick from the right edge of the area that crept into the far corner of the net. Wayne Rooney, left on the bench by manager Sir Alex Ferguson, sparked United when he came on after the break and he set up Ruud van Nistelrooy for the equalizer. His shot was only parried by Brad Friedel and the Dutchman was on hand for his sixth of the season. But Pedersen snatched the winner against the run of play nine minutes from time. "In the first half, we were far too open and Blackburn played some terrific football," Ferguson told Sky Sports. "We had a lot of chances but never hit the target -- Blackburn at least were hitting the target and deserved to go in the lead. "We had a great surge on the second half, got to 1-1 and I thought at that point we should take over. But a lapse of concentration at the back cost us the game. "It's a terrible disappointment losing your home games," said the Scot. "Our home record over the years has always been terrific." Arsenal, who finished as Chelsea's nearest challengers last season, have made a stuttering start to the season and rarely looked capable of claiming three points at new boys West Ham, who are fourth in the standings ahead of Manchester United on goal difference. Elsewhere, Everton season is rapidly deteriorating after a 1-0 home defeat to newly promoted Wigan. Former Norwich striker Damien Francis condemned David Moyes's side to their fifth defeat in six matches with a 46th-minute strike. Michael Owen scored for the second week in a row to earn Newcastle a 1-0 win over Manchester City in front of a delighted St James's Park. The 18th-minute strike was a typical Owen effort, Lee Bowyer's pass allowing him to spring the offside trap and finish with a toe-poke past David James. 
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