Didier Drogba’s goal for Chelsea against Arsenal on Sunday was his sixth of the ongoing Premier League season, and the strike helped the Ivorian draw level with teammate Florent Malouda and United’s Dimitar Berbatov as joint top-scorer in the competition.

Drogba got the first hat-trick of the Premiership season on its opening day playing at home against West Brom. Chelsea won that match 6-0. Thereafter, the Ivorian has had three goals in six matches, in all of which he started for the Stamford Bridge squad.

Interestingly, all of Drogba’s goals have come in home matches, one each against Stoke City, Blackpool and Arsenal, games that Ancelotti’s squad won 2-0, 4-0 and 2-0, respectively.

Like Drogba, Malouda opened his scoring account in Chelsea’s season opener against Albion, in which he found the back of the rival net twice.

But unlike Drogba, Malouda has not restricted his scoring to home matches. His third goal came in Chelsea’s 6-0 away win against Wigan, his fourth came in the home match against Stoke City, his fifth and sixth in the home game with Blackpool on September 19.

Also, unlike Drogba, Malouda has not been in the starting eleven in every match. In fact, in the West Ham match on September 11, the Frenchman came on as a late second half substitute in the 84th minute.

Berbatov has been Manchester United’s saviour this season, with Wayne Rooney’s truancy giving the Bulgarian an opportunity to prove that the Old Trafford squad are not a one-man outfit, centred around Rooney.

Berbatov began his scoring, with a strike in United’s opener at Old Trafford against Newcastle on August 15. He did not add to his tally, in the next game with Fulham, played away at Craven Cottage. The Bulgarian striker’s second goal of the season came in his team’s 3-0 win at home against West Ham, on August 28.

Berbatov’s next goal came in the away game against Everton, that ended in a 3-3 draw, followed by a hat-trick against Liverpool. His third goal came in injury time, ensuring that United banked full points from that match.

Berbatov’s exclusion from the starting eleven in the away match against Sunderland has raised more than a few eyebrows. But following Sir Alex’s refusal to talk to the media after the Liverpool match where the media went to town over the United manager’s comment on Torres, nobody is able to discuss the rationale of Fergie’s team selection, with the big man.

Sunderland’s Darren Bent and Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez have both scored five goals each this season, and are hot on the heels of the top three, in contention for the Golden Boot.