Roberto Mancini began his reign as Manchester City manager with a 2-0 home victory over Stoke City and there was good news for another of the Premier League’s Italian coaches when Gianfranco Zola’s West Ham United climbed out of the bottom three with a 2-0 home win over Portsmouth.Tottenham Hotspur remained in fifth place after a 0-0 draw at Fulham and the points were also shared at Sunderland which drew 1-1 with Everton.
Liverpool moved up to seventh with a 2-0 win at home to 10-man Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Wigan Athletic against Blackburn Rovers ended 1-1 as did Burnley’s home match with Bolton Wanderers.
Birmingham goalkeeper Joe Hart produced a string of fine saves to frustrate the visitor, extending his side’s unbeaten league run to 10 and leaving Chelsea with just one victory from its last seven matches in all competitions.