London - Chelsea moved to the top of the English Premier League, for a few hours at least, after they beat bottom side West Bromwich Albion 2-0 on Boxing Day.

Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard scored the goals to lift Luiz Felipe Scolari's side two points clear of Liverpool, who were playing Bolton Wanderers later.

Drogba fired Chelsea ahead inside three minutes and Lampard sealed the points with the second in first-half injury time.

Champions Manchester United moved above Aston Villa into third, four points behind Liverpool, thanks to Carlos Tevez's 83rd-minute goal in a 1-0 win at Stoke City.

The home side finished the game with ten men after Andy Wilkinson received his second yellow card for bringing down Cristiano Ronaldo with 18 minutes to go.

Villa can regain third spot later on Boxing Day if they beat fifth-placed Arsenal at Villa Park.

In the day's other early games, Craig Bellamy scored twice as West Ham United won 4-1 at Portsmouth to move clear of the relegation zone and pour more pressure on Portsmouth manager Tony Adams.

Tottenham Hotspur drew 0-0 with Fulham at White Hart Lane. (dpa)