Chelsea missed a chance to return to the top of the Premier League on Sunday when they crashed to their first defeat of the season, going down 2-0 at Aston Villa.

Missing England midfielder Frank Lampard, who suffered a thigh strain in training on Friday, Chelsea struggled for any attacking rhythm and were beaten by second-half goals from debutant central defender Zat Knight and striker Gabriel Agbonlahor.

The result left Chelsea fourth, level on 10 points with the leading trio Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton, and one point ahead of fifth-placed Manchester City, who lost 1-0 at Blackburn Rovers after a Benni McCarthy strike.

Arsenal had earlier beaten Portsmouth 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium despite being reduced to 10 men after a 49th-minute red card for Swiss defender Philippe Senderos.

Arsenal were two goals ahead at the interval, thanks to an eighth-minute penalty from Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor and a 35th-minute close-range finish by Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

On Saturday, Liverpool brandished their credentials as potential Premiership champions with a 6-0 demolition of Derby  as champions Manchester United continued to recover from their slow start to the season, defeating Sunderland 1-0, courtesy a second-half goal by substitute Louis Saha.