Tottenham 2 - 4 Chelsea
Juan Mata's superb second-half brace helped Chelsea
overcome the absence of suspended captain John Terry and strengthen their grip
at the top of the Premier League in a six-goal thriller against Tottenham.
It turned into an unhappy reunion with his former club
for Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas, who was unceremoniously axed by the Blues
back in March, as the hosts hit back from going a goal down to lead early in
the second period, only to eventually succumb 4-2.
Gary Cahill, called into the side as Terry served the
first game of his four-match ban for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand, produced
a sweet volley to give his side the lead in the 17th minute.
William Gallas could only head a Chelsea corner out to
the edge of his own box which Cahill lashed home first time beyond Brad
Friedel, with the ball taking a slight deflection off Steven Caulker before
finding the back of the net.
But Gallas made amends immediately at the start of the
second half as he turned the ball home from virtually on the goalline after Jan
Vertonghen did superbly to put Tom Huddlestone's free-kick to the far post back
across the face of goal.
It was the first time Chelsea had conceded a second half
goal in a Premier League game this season, and they were soon breached again as
Jermain Defoe reacted superbly to drill a first-time effort beyond Petr Cech
after Aaron Lennon's scuffed cross-shot.
The enthralling contest continued to ebb and flow, with Mata
finding the bottom corner of Friedel's net with unerring accuracy from the edge
of the box after another poor clearance from Gallas following Oscar's low
cross.
And Chelsea were back in front in the 66th minute as a
flowing passing move started by Mata and involving John Obi Mikel and Eden
Hazard ended with the Spain international grabbing his second of the game with
Friedel again helpless.
Kyle Walker forced Cech into a superb save as time ran
down, before lapsing in defence and allowing Mata a free run into the box where
he squared for substitute Daniel Sturridge to slot home
Fulham 1 - 0 Aston villa
Chris Baird upstaged his returning team-mate Dimitar
Berbatov with the late winner as Fulham condemned Aston Villa to more away day
misery with a 1-0 victory at Craven Cottage.
Baird got a deft touch to John Arne Riise's near-post
corner to beat goalkeeper Brad Guzan and deny Villa what looked increasingly
like a battling point.
Fulham had been the better side, with Berbatov in
commanding form on his comeback from a hip injury, but they had failed to
convert a hatful of chances.
The home support were beginning to get edgy when the man
they hail as "Bairdinho'' popped up with the kind of finish Berbatov would
have been proud of to snatch the points for Fulham.
Villa, who had not won on the road in 13 Premier League
matches dating back to January, had a chance to rescue a point but Christian
Benteke missed a sitter from close range.
Benteke had been sent on for Darren Bent, who was
restored to the Villa starting line-up after being dropped for the last two
matches. Bent failed to make much of impression - glancing one header wide and
otherwise cutting a picture of frustration up front - unlike Berbatov.
The serene Bulgarian was immediately into the action,
playing a key role as Fulham pressed Guzan into action twice inside the first
five minutes.
Berbatov found a yard of space inside the Villa box and
turned on Kieran Richardson's pass but Guzan reacted quickly to palm the shot
away from an acute angle. The Bulgarian still has this wonderful ability to
play the game at his own pace and he calmly held off the attentions of Nathan
Baker to bring Sascha Riether into the box.
The German full-back squeezed a pass through to
Richardson six yards out but Guzan blocked his shot and Riether's effort from
the rebound went wide. Baker's response was to hack Berbatov down from behind,
which seemed just about the only way Villa were going to win the ball off him.
Fulham appeared capable of scoring every time they were
in possession. Baird and Steve Sidwell anchored the midfield and they always
had runners, with Riise and Riether given the freedom to attack from full-back
and stretch Villa.
At times Fulham played with five attackers as Richardson,
Hugo Rodallega and the busy Mladen Petric supported Berbatov in causing Villa
problems.
Brede Hangeland ran out of defence and slid a pass to
Berbatov, who clipped a magnificent cross on the turn towards Baird but the
header was wide.
Gabriel Agbonlahor created Villa's first opportunity
himself, cutting in from the left before unleashing a deflected shot which
brought a diving save from Mark Schwarzer.
Bent could not get enough on Matthew Lowton's cross from
the right wing and his glancing header drifted harmlessly wide but that was as
close as Villa came in the first half.
Riise whipped one cross in for Berbatov, who did well to
force a save from Guzan, and then another for Rodallega but the Colombian
headed wide.
Agbonlahor was working hard for Villa and he tried to
pick out Bent in the Fulham box but Sidwell, enjoying a strong game against his
old club, was on hand to intercept.
Villa started the second half brightly, with Agbonlahor
heading over the bar from Lowton's cross but Fulham still looked the more
likely team to score.
Karim El Ahmadi was booked for a foul on Berbatov that
checked a Fulham counter-attack.
Berbatov failed to make decent contact as he attempted an
acrobatic volley after Rodallega's cross had fallen to him at the far post.
Villa failed to clear their lines properly and it
required a brave block from Lowton to deny Richardson before Bent was replaced
by Benteke.
Ashkan Dejagah came on for Fulham to make his debut and
was quickly in the thick of the action, stinging Guzan's hands with a 25-yard
drive after some sublime build-up play.
Then came the breakthrough. Baird stole in front of Eric
Lichaj, Fabian Delph and Bennett to get a touch to Riise's corner and beat
Guzan at the near post.
The reaction inside Craven Cottage as much one of relief
as celebration - although that should have been cut short immediately.
Charles N'Zogbia squared the ball to Benteke six yards
out but he inexplicably failed to hit the target and with that miss went
Villa's hopes of a point.
Liverpool picked up their first home win of the season
with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Reading at Anfield.
Raheem Sterling's first goal for the Reds proved to be
enough to give Brendan Rodgers' side the three points.
Luis Suarez's delicate flick-on was seized by the
teenager who raced through the inside-right channel and fired a shot across
Alex McCarthy and into the far corner of the net.
The defeat means the Royals are still looking for their
first win since earning promotion back to the Premier League.
Liverpool dominated the first half and but for some poor
finishing and some good defending they would have been out of sight in the
opening period.
The visitors improved after the break and Brad Jones,
playing in place of the injured Pepe Reina, was called into action with a
couple of good saves.
The Reds had opportunities to make the game safe late on
but Steven Gerrard, Suarez and Glen Johnson all failed to take advantage
It was a strange day for Rooney though, who also became
the first United player to score at both ends in a league game since David
Beckham in 2001.
In fact, it was an odd afternoon all told given the own
goal meant United once again had to come from behind, recovering courtesy of
Rooney, Robin van Persie and Danny Welbeck, only to require Rooney's second to
ease nerves created by a Michael Kightly goal for the visitors.
And the thrills will only partially divert attention away
from Rio Ferdinand's decision to snub Sir Alex Ferguson by refusing to wear the
Kick It Out anti-racism T-shirts worn by all his outfield team-mates in the
pre-match warm-up.
Ferguson said yesterday he felt Jason Roberts was
misguided in his determination not to wear the shirts, so Ferdinand's reasoning
will be interesting, even if his position is somewhat easier to understand
given the year-long dispute between brother Anton and former England team-mate
John Terry.
Away from the politics, Ferguson had described Stoke as
the ``jolly green giants'' prior to the game.
Yet it was Tony Pulis' side who looked like they had the
magic beans, such was the gusto with which they attacked their hosts.
Charlie Adam in particular was a major threat, providing
Stoke with the kind of direct midfield momentum United so obviously lacked.
It was the Scot's touchline free-kick that Rooney ended
up nudging into his own net.
In a packed six-yard box, under pressure from Ryan
Shawcross and facing his own net, Rooney was in an impossible situation once
Adam had drilled the ball beyond the near-post.
It was not the way Rooney would have wanted to score for
the first time this season, and condemned United to conceding the opening goal
for an incredible seven occasions out of 11 games in all competitions.
And the damage was nearly much worse as Adam chanced his
luck from the opposite touchline, forcing David de Gea into a fine reaction
save as the United defence was almost caught out.
Ferguson has spoken optimistically of United's defence
becoming more secure once there is consistency in selection.
It does not seem to be happening though, despite
Ferdinand and Evans playing alongside each other in central defence for the
fifth time on the trot, with the exception of a Capital One Cup tie.
However, if defending remains a chore, United are
thrill-a-minute heading the other way.
Danny Welbeck, twice, and Patrice Evra all wasted
glorious opportunities before Van Persie and Rooney linked up to drag the hosts
level.
Rooney fed his strike partner to the left before heading
off into the box, where an inch-perfect cross was delivered.
From a similar position to the one he found himself in at
the other end, Rooney again found the net.
Stoke continued to forage but United were now on one of
those familiar rolls, and the visitors had no way of halting the steamroller.
Welbeck should have put his side in front from Rooney's
cross, then clipped the crossbar with a curling effort.
But when Van Persie stole into space to meet Antonio
Valencia's cross, the deft-close range finish rolled into the corner.
A minute after the break, United had another. Rooney was
the provider this time with a cross that invited Welbeck's flying header.
Jonny Evans was denied a fourth by Asmir Begovic's
magnificent save and Welbeck was inches away from turning home Rafael's cross
as he slid in at the far post.
Nothing is secure for this United team, though.
Kightly's charge straight down the centre of the pitch
has been seen far too often for comfort, and after a fortunate ricochet off
Ferdinand, the midfielder calmly finished.
It was the seventh goal the Old Trafford outfit had
conceded on home soil in four league games this season, a quite startling
statistic considering they have kept a clean sheet in that run.
Rooney was destined to end a hero, though.
Twenty-seven on Wednesday, the Merseysider was captain
fantastic for England in San Marino, hooked and humbled in Poland.
Today he completed his double century of club goals for
United and Everton in the easiest manner possible as Van Persie's low cross
bobbed about in the six-yard area before rolling to the far post, where an
unmarked Rooney tucked home.
Swansea 2 - 1 Wigan
Swansea ended a run of five Premier League games without
a win as two goals in three second-half minutes saw them past Wigan 2-1 at a
relieved Liberty Stadium.
Record signing Pablo Hernandez grabbed his first goal for
the club in the 65th minute and Michu's sixth of the campaign quickly doubled
their advantage.
Emmerson Boyce pulled one back almost immediately for
Wigan but Arouna Kone had an equaliser ruled out for offside as their own
winless run extended to six games.
The pre-match focus was on the fact that neither side
wore the anti-racism Kick It Out T-shirts during the warm-ups, understood to be
a gesture of solidarity from the respective squads towards players who did not
wish to wear them.
But it could not hide how important a game this was for
both sides, particularly for the hosts, who had been stung by reports of
dressing-room unrest and dissatisfaction with manager Michael Laudrup's
methods.
Swansea knew a win would go some way to silencing such
talk and, with top scorer Michu up front instead of Danny Graham, they started
purposefully.
It was the visitors, though, who had the best early
chances, Kone and Shaun Maloney being denied by sharp saves from Michel Vorm.
Michu had a great chance at the other end but could not
keep his volley down from Wayne Routledge's deft pass but the game was proving
a scrappy affair indicative of both sides' recent struggles.
Michu headed over the bar after some slick build-up
involving Ki Sung-yueng, Leon Britton and Wayne Routledge on the half-hour and
it needed fine clearances from Jean Beausejour and Ivan Ramis when there was
more danger down the Wigan left seconds later.
Swansea were almost caught on the break when Maloney
evaded Angel Rangel and played Beausejour in but the Chile international could
only fire over Vorm's bar.
Routledge was at the heart of Swansea's better moments
and his superb flick and volleyed pass with two minutes left in the first half
set Michu free to play a ball across the box, which saw Beausejour block a
Hernandez effort.
Swansea pressed again on the resumption and Britton
whistled a shot beyond Ali Al Habsi's despairing dive, but also past the
left-hand post.
They were soon on the front foot again and it took a
strong parry from Al Habsi to beat out Ki's strike from Routledge's neat
reverse pass.
The breakthrough finally came after 65 minutes. Routledge
brilliantly beat Ramis out on the left and when Jonathan de Guzman fed
Hernandez, the Spaniard swivelled and dispatched a right-foot shot low into the
net.
It was 2-0 barely two minutes later. De Guzman's superb
inswinging corner picked out Michu's near-post run for the forward to glance
home his sixth league goal of the campaign.
The unexpected glut of goals continued as Wigan instantly
pulled one back. Chico Flores misjudged a long ball and his error ended with
Boyce acrobatically flicking in from James McCarthy's scuffed shot.
Kone thought he had equalised during the chaotic spell
but his far-post header was chalked off for a tight offside decision.
Swansea, who were by now guilty of dropping ever deeper
in defence, were denied a third as Al Habsi pushed away a rising strike from
substitute Nathan Dyer after an excellent Swansea break.
Franco Di Santo then wasted Wigan's best opportunity as
he fired tamely at Vorm when the ball broke to him in the box, while the
Dutchman had to save from opposite number Al Habsi as Swansea held on in a
frantic finish.
West Brom 1 - 2 Manchester city
Manchester City salvaged a 2-1 injury-time win at West
Brom despite playing more than an hour with 10 men.
The champions' unbeaten league record looked dead and
buried when James Milner's early dismissal was followed by a Shane Long goal
(67), but substitute Edin Dzeko scored twice in 10 minutes (80 & 90) to
keep his side within four points of leaders Chelsea.
And despite a frantic late assault from the home side,
City were value for the win as Albion's hitherto perfect home record went by
the wayside.
Steve Clarke's side - peerless at The Hawthorns in their
first four games - were second-best from the start and it took Ben Foster's
best to keep out a Micah Richards header.
Even Milner's red card - brandished for a trip on Long as
the Irishman bore down on goal - failed to alter the flow of play, Mario
Balotelli firing at Foster after a first half meander and Carlos Tevez testing
the keeper after the break.
Yaya Toure then missed the target from four yards, and it
looked like City would pay a heavy toll when Long expertly redirected a miscued
Peter Odemwingie shot beyond Joe Hart.
But Dzeko headed in a Tevez cross with Foster nowhere
and, moments after Hart had kept out Romelu Lukaku's overhead, the Bosnian
bundled home Sergio Aguero's centre after a quick counter-attack.
Westham 4 - 1 Southampton
Southampton's fragile defence was exposed again as Mark
Noble scored two second-half goals in a comfortable 4-1 victory for West Ham.
Saints remain out of the drop zone but pointless on their
travels and after conceding their 24th goal of the season at Upton Park - the
worst defensive record in the Premier League - these are worrying times for the
South Coast club.
Meanwhile, Sam Allardyce's men from east London continue
to impress in the top-flight as their fourth win in the current campaign
hoisted them up to seventh.
The opening period was a turgid affair, lit up only
occasionally by the lively Matt Jarvis and Andy Carroll for the hosts, but two
goals in as many minutes immediately after the break changed everything.
It all started with a slice of luck for the Hammers when
Noble's free-kick deceived Southampton's static defence with the ball bouncing
straight in for the opener.
Within 93 seconds the lead was doubled and it was thanks
to the influential Yossi Benayoun, whose shot was parried by keeper Artur
Boruc, leaving Kevin Nolan to tap in.
Adam Lallana's sizzling half-volley lifted the hopes for
the visitors, but an act of madness by Jose Fonte handed West Ham a reprieve to
restore their two-goal advantage.
The defender tugged at Carroll's pony tail when the ball
was floated into the box and Noble stepped up to slam in the penalty and settle
any West Ham nerves.
There was still time for Southampton's beleaguered
defenders to fold again as they allowed Modiba Maiga to stroll through and curl
in a fabulous fourth.
Norwich recorded a deserved first Premier League win
under new manager Chris Hughton as lacklustre Arsenal were beaten 1-0 at Carrow
Road.
The Gunners, who included England midfielder Jack Wilshere
in the squad after more than a year out with injury, were second best all
afternoon as Grant Holt's scrambled effort after 20 minutes following a mistake
by goalkeeper Vito Mannone proved enough for all three points to move the hosts
out of the relegation zone.
Arsenal, who have now lost two of their past three league
games, were well below the usual fluent best and created very few openings as
for once the Premier League's second worst defence held firm.
Norwich started brightly as winger Anthony Pilkington,
watched by Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni, fired a 20-yard
effort wide.
At the other end, German forward Lukas Podolski cut in
from the left and flashed a shot across the face of John Ruddy's goal.
Norwich did not resemble a team which had shipped 17
goals in their previous seven games, and looked much more of an attacking
threat with Wes Hoolahan tucked in behind Holt.
The Canaries were in front in the 20th minute.
Norway midfielder Alex Tettey let fly from 25 yards
across a skiddy surface and Mannone - again deputising for injured number one
Wojciech Szczesny - parried the ball back out into the six-yard box, where Holt
was quickest to react ahead of Per Mertesacker and stab home.
Arsenal had also fallen behind at West Ham last time out,
and soon went on the offensive again.
Bradley Johnson, who was on Arsenal's books as a
youngster, was cautioned for a late challenge on Santi Cazorla.
There was, though, panic in the visitors' box again when
Holt drew Mannone out to the touchline and hooked the ball back across goal,
where Carl Jenkinson hacked it clear as Pilkington was set to shoot at an
unguarded net.
Despite all of their possession, Arsenal lacked a killer
pass in the final third, and Norwich looked dangerous on the counter-attack.
Centre-back Michael Turner planted a free header wide
after a late run into the six-yard box from a corner.
At the other end, Gervinho was picked out by an angled
free-kick from Mikel Arteta, but completely missed the ball - much to the
delight of the home crowd.
Arsenal pressed Norwich back at the start of the second
half, but again looked suspect from balls into their own area as Javier
Garrido's floated cross from the left just eluded Holt at the far post.
The Gunners broke quickly on 51 minutes with Jenkinson's
cross palmed away by Ruddy - but Olivier Giroud could only hook the loose ball
wide.
Hoolahan thought he had sprung the offside trap as he
darted through to net from Johnson's pass - but despite claims he could not
hear the whistle, the Irishman was quickly shown a yellow card by referee Lee
Probert.
As the hour mark passed Norwich continued to press with
Holt again asking questions of the Gunners' defence.
When Arsenal did break, Gervinho's header lacked any pace
after a clever flick-on by Giroud.
Wenger had seen enough and on 65 minutes Podolski was
replaced by England midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Turner went through the back of Giroud to concede a
free-kick some 22 yards out, just right of centre. Cazorla curled his effort
around the wall, but it lacked enough pace to test Ruddy.
Oxlade-Chamberlain picked up what looked like a hip
problem, and had to be replaced by Andrey Arshavin after less than 10 minutes.
Norwich made a change for the final 12 minutes when
winger Elliott Bennett was replaced by Robert Snodgrass, fit again after
missing Scotland's World Cup qualifiers because of an ankle problem.
Holt capitalised on a slip by Thomas Vermaelen on the
half-way line to rush clear - only to then float a tame chip at the keeper with
Hoolahan unmarked to his left.
Arsenal made their final change with eight minutes left
when 17-year-old German Serge Gnabry replaced Aaron Ramsey.
Arteta's low strike was held by Ruddy as Norwich closed
out a hard-earned first league win through five minutes of added time
What a way to end the saturday's episode of the English premier League week 8.
No comments:
Post a Comment