CHELSEA beat Middlesbrough 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in London on Sunday to regain second place in English Premier League, five points behind defending champion Manchester United.

Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho scored in the sixth minute to lift the Blues back above Arsenal. Chelsea now has 71 points, one more than the Gunners, who rallied from 2-0 down to halt a five-match winless streak and beat Bolton 3-2 Saturday.

The win was crucial for Chelsea after defending champion United won Saturday.

Liverpool took control of the fight for fourth place with a 1-0 win over city rival Everton through Fernando Torres’ 28th goal of the season.

The Spanish striker scored in the seventh minute at Anfield to lift the Reds to 62 points from 31 games, with Everton back in fifth and now struggling to clinch a Champions League qualifying spot.

Liverpool got its early breakthrough when Yakubu Ayegbeni lost possession on the edge of his own area and Dirk Kuyt prodded the ball through to Torres inside the area. Torres hit a right-foot shot past American goalkeeper Tim Howard into the far corner.

Steven Gerrard hit the post with a fierce right-foot volley and Liverpool had more opportunities to stretch its lead.

Lucas Leiva had a volley blocked by Joseph Yobo, Kuyt’s shot was deflected over the bar and Gerrard had a shot saved by Howard.(SD-Agencies)