Chelsea go second, City third

LONDON: Both Chelsea and Manchester City capitalised on Liverpool´s shock defeat by Hull on Sunday to leapfrog the Merseysiders and close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Chelsea recovered from conceding a goal inside the first minute at Stamford Bridge, when Jay Rodriguez pounced on a poor backpass from Michael Essien, to beat high-flyers Southampton 3-1.

Second-half goals from central defenders Gary Cahill and John Terry, on his 400th league appearance, put Chelsea in front before substitute Demba Ba sealed victory with a 90th minute effort.

The win took Chelsea, now in second place, to within four points of Arsenal while City, who went third, were six points adrift of the leaders after another impressive home display saw Swansea beaten 3-0.

Samir Nasri scored twice after Alvaro Negredo broke the deadlock in just the eighth minute at Eastlands.