ROUNDUP English soccer



LONDON -- Chelsea beat Birmingham 1-0 Saturday on Joe Cole's 68th-minute goal for its second straight shutout in the Premier league.
Chelsea defeated Manchester United 1-0 in an opener a week ago. The club is playing conservative, defensive soccer under Jose Mourinho, who coached FC Porto to the Champions League title last season. The tactics have prompted some criticism.
Mourinho insists winning, not style, is primary, and that is the goal of chief executive Peter Kenyon and owner Roman Abramovich.
"They want to win the big thing," Mourinho said. "They want to put Chelsea as one of the biggest clubs in the world."
Mourinho lauded the team play of his millionaire stars.
"People still speak about money and stars and players coming from the moon," he said. "But, I tell you, it is very difficult to have top players fighting like my players are fighting."
Another new non-English coach, Liverpool's Rafa Benitez, picked up a 2-1 victory at home over Manchester City on goals by Milan Barros, the top scorer in the European championship, and Steven Gerrard.
After dropping its opener, Man United rebounded with a 2-1 victory over just-promoted Norwich. David Bellion and Alan Smith gave the Reds a 2-0 lead after 50 minutes, with Paul McVeigh scoring for Norwich in the 75th. Fulham defeated Bolton 2-0 behind Andy Cole's two goals, giving him 200 in league play.
In other Premier League games, it was: Charlton 2, Portsmouth 1; Everton 3, Crystal Palace 1; Tottenham 1, Newcastle 0; and Southampton 3, Blackburn 2. Today, Arsenal attempts to tie an English top-tier record of 42 consecutive league games without a loss.
Associated Press
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