Man City stretch lead, Chelsea end dismal run

Reuters: Manchester City took another step towards the Premier League title when they brushed aside Blackburn Rovers 3-0 for their 18th successive home league win to move five points clear of Manchester United at the top of the table on Saturday.

Chelsea ended a five-match run without a win when they beat Bolton Wanderers 3-0 to ease some of the pressure on under-fire coach Andre Villas-Boas.

Newcastle United, challenging for a top four finish for the first time since 2003, stumbled to a 2-2 home draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers for whom Terry Connor was in charge for the first time as caretaker manager.

There appears to be no stopping City who won with goals from Mario Balotelli, Sergio Aguero and substitute Edin Dzeko to move on to 63 points from 26 matches, five clear of the champions who play at Norwich City on Sunday.

Tottenham Hotspur, who visit Arsenal in the North London derby on Sunday, are third on 53 points, seven ahead of Chelsea. Arsenal are fifth on 43, the same tally as Newcastle United.

The reconciliation of Argentine striker Carlos Tevez with his club dominated the off-field headlines earlier in the week, but Man City’s form on the field showed again they could well win their first title since 1968 whether he plays or not.

Their victory was rarely in doubt after Balotelli ended a swift City counter-attack by thumping home first time after 30 minutes. Aguero made it 2-0 when he took advantage of Rovers goalkeeper Paul Robinson’s flap at a corner to fire in from close range after 52 minutes.