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Drogba scores as Chelsea respond

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LONDON, England -- Didier Drogba kept up his remarkable scoring run this season by grabbing the opening goal of the match as Premier League champions Chelsea stayed nine points behind leaders Manchester United with a 2-0 win at Portsmouth.

Drogba struck with a 33rd minute volley as Chelsea looked to respond to United's vital victory at Liverpool in the Saturday lunchtime kickoff that briefly took them 12 points clear, albeit having at that juncture played two games more.

It was the 29th goal of the season for the Ivorian striker but Chelsea owed their three points to a pair of superb saves from goalkeeper Petr Cech in the closing moments at Fratton Park.

Cech, back to his best after recovering from his horrific fractured skull earlier in the season, kept out headers from home strike pair Andrew Cole and Kanu.

With Pompey bemoaning their lack of an equalizer, substitute Salomon Kalou clinched victory with an 82nd minute strike as he latched on to a flick-on by England international Ashley Cole.

Manager Jose Mourinho was asked how many more points Chelsea would have won if Cech had been fit for the entire season.

"It's a question without an answer -- but we could answer it by saying this is a goalkeeper who gives you 10 - 15 points a season," he told Sky Sports. "He's the best."

Though he respected United, Mourinho said: "Our job is to fight them, to keep winning matches, to win the next two and get back again to a six-point gap and keep the pressure on them."

Miserable week

In other action on Saturday, Arsenal closed to within a point of third-placed Liverpool with two games in hand after they finished a miserable week with a morale-boosting 2-1 win over Reading.

The northeast derby finished 0-0 between Newcastle United and Middlesbrough, Wigan Athletic's revival continued with a 1-0 win at Manchester City who slip to 17th in the table, while Watford let slip a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Charlton Athletic in another relegation dogfight.

Things have not gone well for Arsenal recently with three players -- Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor and Ivorian defenders Emmanuel Eboue and Kolo Toure -- banned after the ugly fracas in Sunday's League Cup final defeat by Chelsea.

That loss completed a hat-trick of setbacks with their Champions League reverse at PSV Eindhoven and FA Cup exit in midweek at Blackburn Rovers, making Saturday's win all the more welcome for Arsene Wenger's men.

Gilberto converted a 51st minute penalty and fellow Brazilian Julio Baptista hit their other goal before Arsenal's Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas turned the ball into his own net in the 87th minute after a corner.

Wenger, who has been asked by the FA to explain his allegations that a cup final linesman lied in his report, said:

"We missed a few chances in the second half because we were a bit slow to make our decisions, because we have given a lot physically in the last week."


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Drogba celebrates his opening goal with team-mate Andriy Shevchenko.

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