Cole sends Chelsea top & Zamora’s Ronnie moment

There was fire and brimstone at Anfield as Liverpool kept up their winning streak over Manchester United, and Arsenal missed the chance to go clear in third after being held by West Ham. But elsewhere in the Premier League...

Return of the diamond geezer
Joe Cole started his first game for Chelsea for nine months against Blackburn on Saturday evening, and soon had the Stamford Bridge faithful on their feet with an inspired display at the tip of Carlo Ancelotti's midfield diamond as the Londoners ran riot in a 5-0 stuffing. It means Sam Allardyce's Rovers have let in 11 goals on their last two visits to the capital (they were hammered 6-2 by Arsenal at the beginning of the month), and the result helped Chelsea regain the summit of the table. Even Frank Lampard scored a brace, his first Premier League since mid-August.

Home comforts pall
Burnley and Manchester City lost their 100 per cent home records this weekend, leaving just Arsenal and Chelsea with perfect performances on their home patch. City looked to be in the driving seat after they went two goals up against Fulham at the City of Manchester Stadium, but the Londoners fought back to secure a 2-2 draw through goals from Clint Dempsey and Damian Duff. Burnley's home citadel was breached 3-1 by Wigan - with the Clarets yet to take a point away from home this season, they'll need to get the ramparts again at Turf Moor.

The spirit of Ronnie Rosenthal
Whenever the name Ronnie Rosenthal is bandied about, it can only ever be in relation to that miss, when the Israeli international missed an open goal from less than 10 yards playing for Liverpool against Aston Villa in 1992. The unfortunate player this weekend to evoke comparisons with Rosenthal was Fulham's Bobby Zamora, who put the ball over the net at Manchester City yesterday from six yards when it would have been easier to score. "It's a shame because that is what will be remembered," said Fulham manager Roy Hodgson. "What people won't see is the fantastic manner of his overall performance. For the other 96 minutes and 45 seconds of this game, he was terrific."

Best league in the world?
Hull (18th) and Portsmouth (20th) shared a scoreless draw at the KC Stadium which let the Premier League down as a showcase for breathless and enjoyable football. Worse still for Pompey was the presence of two potential buyers for the club in the crowd - Israeli mogul Levi Kushnir and Hong Kong-based businessman Balram Chainrai. The pair are in the picture after the club's latest saviour, Ali Al Faraj, admitted in an interview to a Saudi Arabian newspaper that he has no long-term interest in the club and only committed (borrowed) money to the club when he bought it this month with an eye on short-term profits. ·