EPL: Chelsea back on top after Lampard brace

Chelsea returned to the top of the Premier League when they convincingly beat Birmingham City 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.

Two goals from Frank Lampard and one from Florent Malouda lifted Chelsea on to 51 points from 22 matches as they ended Birmingham's unbeaten run of 12 league games.

The victory took Chelsea back into first place after seven days in which Arsenal and Manchester United occupied top spot while they were inactive in the league.

Arsenal, who started the night in second place, had a chance to go top if they had matched or bettered Chelsea's performance, but they were held to a goalless draw at Aston Villa and slipped to third with 49 points from 23 games.

Manchester United, who clinched a place in the League Cup final against Aston Villa by beating Manchester City 3-1, fell to second with 50 points from 23.

Tottenham Hotspur complete the top four on 41 points following their 2-0 win over Fulham on Tuesday, with Liverpool, Manchester City and Villa all in pursuit.

MALOUDA BOOST

Chelsea, who had won their previous four league and cup matches scoring 16 goals, took only five minutes to find the net when Malouda headed in a Joe Cole cross.

They doubled their lead before halftime when Lampard controlled the ball and scored with a low shot past Joe Hart and he added his second with another low strike just before the end.

Arsenal, who crushed Aston Villa 3-0 at home last month with Cesc Fabregas scoring twice in a 27-minute substitute appearance, could find no way past Villa.

In the night's other matches, improving Everton beat Sunderland 2-0 at Goodison Park with goals from Tim Cahill and Landon Donovan to climb up to ninth as Sunderland's run without a league win stretched to nine matches.

Blackburn moved up to 11th with a 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic, Nikola Kalinic heading the winner 14 minutes from time.