1 home win over west London rivals Fulham Monday as two goals in two minutes saved it from what was looking like a first home defeat for more than a year. Tottenham Hotspur moved back into the top four with a 2-0 victory over struggling London rivals West Ham United, while in the day's late match Manchester City gave new boss Roberto Mancini a second straight win with a 3-0 victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers. Chelsea's win moved it five points clear at the top from Manchester United, although United has a match in hand against Wigan Athletic Wednesday. Chelsea has 45 points from 20 games, followed by United on 42 from 19, Arsenal 38 from 19 and Spurs 37 from 20. Aston Villa is fifth with 35 from 20 followed by Manchester City which has 35 from 19. City, which gave new manager Mancini a winning start with a 2-0 victory over Stoke Saturday, followed that up with a superb performance at Wolves with Carlos Tevez scoring twice and another from Javier Garrido, who scored with a free-kick on his first start of the season. Birmingham City is up to seventh on 32 after its 1-0 win at Stoke City extended its unbeaten run to a top flight club record of 11. Fulham took a fourth minute lead at Stamford Bridge through Zoltan Gera before a Didier Drogba header in the 73rd minute and an own goal from Premier League debutant Chris Smalling two minutes later rescued Chelsea, which had lost one and drawn three of its previous five league games. Fulham, which beat Manchester United nine days ago and also took the scalp of Liverpool in October, got off to a flyer at a ground where it had not won for 30 years. Paul Konchesky advanced unchallenged down the left and when the Chelsea defense failed to clear his cross properly the ball fell to Gera and the Hungary forward hooked it back past Cech. Chelsea went on the offensive immediately but though it dominated possession for the rest of the half it struggled to create chances. Mark Schwarzer saved well from Drogba after an hour to raise Fulham's hopes of hanging on but the game then turned completely. Drogba, who sets off for Nations Cup duty Monday, headed the equalizer from a deep Branislav Ivanovic cross and Schwarzer then parried a Daniel Sturridge shot against teammate Smalling for an own goal. “It was not easy to change the game after the first half ... we didn't play well,” Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti told Sky Sports. “In the second half we played with more determination. We wanted to win this game and we changed the system ... we did a fantastic job,” he added. Fulham boss Roy Hodgson said: “To have the lead for so long and defend that lead for over 70 minutes and then concede two goals in two minutes was a little bit tough. “I am disappointed with the result, bound to be, but quite buoyed by the performance.” Tottenham continued its push for a top-four finish with a well-deserved win over struggling West Ham at White Hart Lane. An electrifying burst by winger Aaron Lennon set up Luka Modric, making his first start since August, who scored after 11 minutes while Jermain Defoe settled it nine minutes from time after a sharp counter-attack. “We've got a good squad and some terrific players so why shouldn't we aim for the top four?” said Spurs boss and former West Ham manager Harry Redknapp.
