Chelsea stayed top of the Premier League on Sunday with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge while Liverpool beat Manchester City 3-2.

First half goals by Joe Cole and Nicolas Anelka steered Chelsea to a comfortable win and put them on 17 points from seven matches, the same as Liverpool who trailed 2-0 before a Fernando Torres double and Dirk Kuyt’s stoppage-time winner.

Tottenham Hotspur remained rooted to the bottom of the table after losing 1-0 at home to Hull City as the pressure mounted on manager Juande Ramos.

Portsmouth beat Stoke City 2-1 while Gianfranco Zola suffered his first league defeat as manager of West Ham United when they slumped 3-1 at home to Bolton Wanderers. (Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Rex Gowar)