[goldenHuddlestone]

Manchester United took over second place in the Premier League on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Chelsea in the London club's first match since the departure of manager Jose Mourinho.

Carlos Tevez scored his first goal for United in first-half injury time and Louis Saha hit a late penalty to extend Chelsea's winless streak to four matches in all competitions and hand Avram Grant a defeat in his first game in charge of the Blues.

United's fourth win lifted it to 14 points, two fewer than leader Arsenal, which routed Derby 5-0 on Saturday to maintain its unbeaten start to the season.

"The first half hour we played as well as we have all season," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "There was terrific penetration, good passing and at that stage we could have been two or three ahead."

Chelsea, which looked like the underdog even before John Obi Mikel was sent off in the 32nd minute for a two-footed tackle, struggled to create chances at Old Trafford even with Andriy Shevchenko back in the starting team.

"I've seen the sending off and it was a bit harsh," Ferguson said. "There was intent there and it could have hurt the boy, but some referees would have let it go."

The Blues were also far less resilient than the team built by Mourinho over the past three years and are now in the midst of their worst start in seven years.

"I am very happy with the boys, they gave me a lot of fight today," Grant said. "It was not ideal to take over the team in this situation."

United paired Tevez and Wayne Rooney in attack for the first time and was already dominating possession when Mikel was given a red card for his challenge on Patrice Evra.

Mikel and his teammates protested that his challenge had not been dangerous, but referee Mike Dean ejected the midfielder for leading with his studs.

United captain Ryan Giggs then set up Tevez for the opening goal, curling in a cross from the right with the outside of his left boot. Tevez dived in front of goalkeeper Petr Cech to head the ball into the net.

Saha replaced Tevez 12 minutes before the end and earned a penalty kick in the 90th when he fell just inside the area after a slight tap from Tal Ben Haim. The France striker took the kick himself, driving it into the middle of the goal and just clipping Cech's legs on its way into the net.

Newcastle beat West Ham 3-1 to mark its best start to a Premier League season in six years, but its win was marred by another injury to Michael Owen.

The England striker limped off in the 51st, with his team already leading 2-1 through two goals by Mark Viduka.

It was the second straight match from which Owen has departed early. He was replaced in the 55th minute of Monday's 1-0 loss at Derby after he felt the recurrence of a groin injury.

"I'm not so sure of the extent of the injury, whether it's any different or the same one," Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce said. "We'll find that out later."

Charles N'Zogbia completed Newcastle's win in the 76th, rounding off a slick passing move with a close-range finish.

Everton missed the chance to climb to third when it lost 2-0 at Aston Villa, which joined Everton with 10 points.

John Carew put the hosts ahead in the 14th with a low shot before Gabriel Agbonlahor placed the ball past goalkeeper Stefan Wessels in the 60th for his third goal in four games against Everton.

Portsmouth ended Blackburn's unbeaten start to the season with a 1-0 win at Ewood Park, secured through Nwankwo Kanu's third goal of the season, while Tottenham missed the chance to climb out of the relegation zone when it drew 1-1 at Bolton.

Robbie Keane put Spurs ahead in the 34th, but Ivan Campo equalized for Bolton five minutes later to leave both sides in the bottom three.