Lampard treble fires Chelsea, Spurs beat Arsenal

Tuesday, 4 October 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Frank Lampard’s hat-trick inspired Chelsea to a 5-1 thumping of Bolton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur poured more misery on Arsenal with a 2-1 victory in a controversial Premier League north London derby on Sunday. Chelsea were four goals up with less than half an hour played as they sent a reminder to their free-scoring Manchester title rivals that they can also find the net at will.

Spurs waited until five minutes before halftime to break the deadlock at White Hart Lane when Rafael van der Vaart beat Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny, though he appeared to handle the ball before shooting into the bottom corner. Arsene Wenger’s side pulled level through Aaron Ramsey before the hosts snatched all three points on 73 minutes when defender Kyle Walker’s fierce shot swerved past Szczesny.

Victory lifted Spurs to sixth, four points behind third-placed Chelsea who are three adrift of leaders Manchester United and Manchester City. Usual top-four side Arsenal are languishing in 15th with just seven points from seven games.