BOLTON, England – Didier Drogba scored on a swerving 33-yard shot that dipped past goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen in the 11th minute, starting Chelsea to a 4-0 victory at Bolton on Monday night that gave the defending champions consecutive Premier League wins for the first time since October.
After Drogba's ninth league goal of the season, Florent Malouda side-footed home from a tight angle in the 41st, Nicolas Anelka scored on a left-footed drive in the 56th and Ramires added his first Chelsea goal in the 74th minute.
Chelsea, which beat Blackburn last week, has won consecutive league matches for the first time since defeating Wolves on Oct. 23 and Blackburn seven days later.
Chelsea (12-6-5) has 41 points, seven behind first-place Manchester United (12-0-10). Bolton (7-8-9) is 10th with 30 points.
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BILBAO, Spain (AP) — Javier Martinez scored in the fifth minute, and Fernando Llorente and Iker Muniain added second-half goals, leading Athletic Bilbao over visiting Hercules 3-0 and into sixth place in the Spanish league.
Bilbao (10-8-2) won for the eighth time in 11 home games and has 32 points, 23 behind first-place Barcelona. Promoted Hercules (6-10-4) is 12th with 22 points, five points above the relegation zone, heading into Saturday's home match against Barcelona.
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