London, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Chelsea widened its margin atop the Premiership table to seven points on Saturday after a 4-0 victory over 10-man Tottenham-Hotspur at Stamford Bridge.
Coming off a superb second-half performance against Fulham last week which included a hat trick from Andre Schurrle, the Blues were a bit sluggish out of the gate and failed to produce many scoring chances in a scoreless first half.
But the match turned sharply in Chelsea's favor in a span of four minutes as a poor back pass from Spurs defender Jan Vertonghen in the 56th minute was easily cut out by Samuel Eto'o, who slid it past Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
Just three minutes later things continued to unravel for Spurs when Eto'o worked his way into the penalty area and was taken down by Spurs defender Younes Kaboul, who was shown a straight red card, as referee Michael Oliver pointed to the spot.
Eden Hazard made no mistake, sliding the ball past Lloris for his team-leading 13th goal of the season.
Chelsea then put the match completely out of reach as a pair of defensive mistakes allowed substitute Demba Ba to strike twice and complete the rout.
Spurs rarely mounted an attack after the red card and suffered their eighth defeat of the season and remain in fifth place with 53 points, four behind fourth-place Manchester City for the final Champions League place.
Manchester United 3, West Bromwich 0
West Bromwich, England - Manchester United climbed to sixth place in the Premier League table on Saturday after easing to a 3-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns.
It's been an unconventional season for the Red Devils under David Moyes, but they got back to looking like the defending champions on Saturday as Phil Jones gave the club the lead with a goal in the 34th minute.
Wayne Rooney made it 2-0 in the 65th minute after he rose up and nodded home a cross from Rafael, and Danny Welbeck put the result away with a goal eight minutes from time after firing home a Rooney through ball.
United improve to 48 points, but are still nine points behind fourth-place Manchester City for the final Champions League place, while West Brom remain in 17th place, out of the drop zone on goal difference.
Cardiff City 3, Fulham 1
Cardiff, Wales - Cardiff City gained a leg up in the relegation battle on Saturday after easing to a 3-1 victory over fellow strugglers Fulham at the Cardiff City Stadium.
Both clubs entered the match in the bottom three and battling to stay in the Premier League and it was the home side that struck first as Steven Caulker opened the scoring for Cardiff on the stroke of halftime.
Fulham managed an equalizer through former Tottenham man Lewis Holtby in the 59th minute, but Cardiff City snagged the lead back in the 67th minute when Caulker completed a brace and Fulham defender Sascha Reither deflected home an own goal four minutes later to wrap up the points.
Southampton 1, Crystal Palace 0
London, England - Jay Rodriguez's first-half goal was enough to see Southampton earn a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday at Selhurst Park.
The Saints did not muster an overwhelming amount of offensive pressure as they put just three attempts on target, but Rodriguez put his side in front in the 37th minute with a fantastic strike from outside the penalty area.
Crystal Palace only managed 36 percent of possession and just one attempt on goal as they suffered their 17th defeat of the season to remain in 16th place on 25 points, out of the bottom three on goal difference.
Norwich City 1, Stoke City 1
Norwich, England - Jonathan Walters' penalty kick late in the second half was enough to save a point for 10-man Stoke City against Norwich City on Saturday at Carrow Road.
After a scoreless opening 45 minutes, the Canaries struck first in the 56th minute through a goal from Bradley Johnson. But the hosts were unable to hold the lead as Walters converted a penalty kick in the 73rd minute to draw the sides level.
Norwich City was thrown a lifeline just five minutes after the goal when Walters was sent off, but the Canaries were unable to find a winner as the clubs were forced to settle for a point apiece.
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