Lampard steers Chelsea top

Stern test
Chelsea were given a stern test by Portsmouth FC but Lampard's 31st-minute strike and some dogged defending took José Mourinho's men to the summit of the English top flight. Lampard surged on to Didier Drogba's flick-on to fire the only goal of the game past David James from 18 metres after Claudio Pizarro had twice come close for the Londoners, while Portsmouth's Hermann Hreidarsson had his goalbound effort cleared off the line in the dying moments by Ashley Cole.

Fabregas strike
Arsenal looked to have thrown away their chance of staying in touch with the leaders when Robin van Persie saw his penalty saved by Manchester City FC goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel midway through the second half. The Gunners had been fortunate not to go behind when high-flying City's Martin Petrov and Emile Mpenza both missed good chances but the home side piled on the pressure late on and Cesc Fabregas fired in the winner ten minutes from time to leave Arséne Wenger's side three points behind Chelsea on seven points ahead of their UEFA Champions League second leg against AC Sparta Praha on Wednesday.

First goals
Liverpool are level with Arsenal on points and, like the Gunners, have a game in hand on Chelsea after their 2-0 win against Sunderland AFC. However, they will have defensive concerns for their UEFA Champions League second leg tie against Toulouse FC after Sami Hyypiä and Jamie Carragher went off injured. Mohamed Sissoko and Andriy Voronin's first league goals for the club earned three points for Liverpool.

Bolton win
Elsewhere, Aston Villa FC and Bolton Wanderers FC earned their first wins of the season with respective 2-1 and 3-0 victories against Fulham FC and Reading FC while Birmingham FC managed a 2-1 win at Derby County FC. West Ham United FC and Wigan Athletic FC shared a 1-1 draw, as did Everton FC and Blackburn Rovers FC in the late game.