Portsmouth 1-1 Man Utd

Ronaldo was sent off for an apparent headbutt on Portsmouth substitute Richard Hughes in a dramatic last few minutes at Fratton Park – just seconds after Portsmouth’s Sulley Muntari was dismissed for a second bookable offence as the two sides played out a 1-1 draw.

Although the Portuguese player faces a three-match ban for violent conduct, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson may be even more worried that his champions are going into Sunday’s Premier League derby against City still seeking their first competitive win in five games – and four points behind Chelsea.

Benjani Mwaruwari’s second goal in two games – a bullet header after 52 minutes – wrecked their hopes of victory here after Sunday’s disappointing home draw against Reading.

Reading 1-2 Chelsea

Goals from Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba inside five second-half minutes gave Chelsea a deserved 2-1 win over Reading and spared the blushes of goalkeeper Petr Cech.

Cech’s failure to punch the ball clear on the half-hour allowed Royals substitute Andre Bikey to give the home side the lead with his first touch. But Lampard levelled in the 47th minute and three minutes later Drogba preserved Chelsea’s 100% start to the season when he curled a 20-yard effort beyond Marcus Hahnemann to keep them hot on the heels of Everton at the top of the Premier League.Torrential rain before kick-off had left the playing surface extremely slippery but Chelsea mastered them quicker than the home side and should have taken the lead in the fifth minute.Paulo Ferreira fed Shaun Wright-Phillips on the right flank and his cross found Drogba unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box.But the Ivorian striker, who scored 33 goals last season, smashed his right-foot volley against an upright.