Chelsea kept up the pressure on trailblazer Arsenal at the top of the Premiership with a comprehensive 4-1 victory over local rivals Charlton.
The Blues took just three minutes to break the deadlock, with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink scoring from the spot after a Chris Powell foul. Just eight minutes later Frenchman William Gallas doubled his side's advantage and Icelandic international Eidur Gudjohnsen ended the match as a contest with Chelsea's third just after the half hour mark.
Charlton were handed a ray of hope when Jason Euell converted from the penalty spot just before the break, but Ranieri's men re-established their three-goal cushion through Graham Le Le Saux on the 54th minute.
At Upton Park, Lee Bowyer's West Ham debut was marred by a small protest of Hammers fans unhappy with Bowyer's move, but the former Leeds midfielder let his feet do the talking on the pitch. Craig Bellamy opened the scoring for Newcastle after just nine minutes, but with Glen Roeder's side desperate for points, they were never going to lay down and die.
Joe Cole levelled the scores on fourteen minutes before Jermain Defoe popped up with a second goal just before the half-time whistle. West Hammer held out until the 81st minute, but were denied victory by Jermaine Jenas' goal. Despite being held, West Ham still managed to move off bottom spot, thanks to Man United's 3-1 victory over West Brom.
Bowyer's former side Leeds travelled to Maine Road where all the focus was on City target Robbie Fowler. Fowler started on the bench for Leeds and watched City take the lead through Shaun Goater just before the half hour mark.
Nicholas Jensen's volley on the 50th minutes doubled City's lead and despite a late strike from Harry Kewell, Leeds saw their recent good run under Terry Venables come to an end.
At the Riverside Stadium James Beattie's good run showed no sign of stopping as he was on hand to notch his 15th and 16th goals of the season. However, Beattie's brace was not enough to give Southampton victory over Middlesbrough, despite having a 2-0 lead going into the final third of the game.
Noel Whelan got one back for Boro in the 73rd minutes and with just eight minutes to go Massimo Maccarone scored from the penalty spot to give his side a point.
There were no goals in the relegation dogfight between Bolton and Fulham at theReebok Stadium, and it was the same result between struggling Sunderland and Blackburn at the Stadium of Light.
Filed by Rob Wright
