The English premier league has never failed to live up to its hype.
Yesterday a total of 6 matches were played which saw 12 teams in action.
Soccer4life take a look at what went on yesterday in the most watched drama series( The English Premier League).
Manchester City 1 - 0 Swansea
Manchester City emerged from a European hangover to maintain their unbeaten league record with a 1-0 defeat of Swansea at the Etihad.
Second-best for 45 minutes as a subdued home support took stock of their side's Champions League troubles, City improved after half-time and took the points thanks to a Carlos Tevez goal (61).
The Argentine's first in nine games delivered just a second win in five home games, and the impression remains that Roberto Mancini's champions are some way from hitting last season's stride despite sitting just a point off top spot.
And there was further discomfort for the manager when Micah Richards followed Swansea goalkeeper Michel Vorm in departing on a stretcher with what appeared a serious injury.
Mancini went with four at the back after his brief flirtation with three centre-backs at Ajax brought a baffled response, but City's defenders looked ill-at-ease even in their favoured 4-4-2 formation.
The visitors made the better chances, and only some uncharacteristically hesitant finishing from Michu prevented the home side paying for the kind of careless defending which characterised the midweek defeat in Holland.
Twice before the break Richards got round from right-back in the nick of time to cover his wayward colleagues, and twice more Michu found it all too easy to latch on to through balls from midfield.
Sadly for the Spaniard his emphatic finish past Joe Hart was ruled out for offside, and when Ki Sung-Yueng sent him away again a heavy touch allowed Hart to intervene.
Swansea had not kept a clean sheet since the season's second weekend, but it took City 38 minutes to muster anything like a shot on target and even then Tevez's low effort was easy for Vorm.
Michu again picked out Hart with a headed chance after the break, but Mancini's half-time rocket had an effect and Tevez's next attempt was altogether more successful as his dipping 20-yarder defeated Vorm's dive.
The keeper's awkward landing ended his involvement, and Richards then went down clutching his knee - worryingly, with no opponent in the vicinity.
Lengthy treatment for both left Swansea 12 minutes to find an equaliser at the end of the Premier League's longest game, but it was Mario Balotelli who came closest to a second goal with the last kick
Arsenal 1 - 0 QPR
Arsenal left it late to lift the air of mutiny among the home support with an unconvincing 1-0 victory over QPR.
Jack Wilshere's promising return from 17 months out looked likely to count for little until Stephane Mbia's red card invited a late assault which yielded Mikel Arteta's bundled winner (84).
And after a week which brought back-to-back defeats and a barracking for Arsene Wenger and his board at the club's AGM, Arteta's intervention provided a desperately needed morale boost.
It was also enough to keep QPR bottom and without a win, denying Mark Hughes' side a deserved point which their discipline appeared certain to bring until Mbia's rash kick at Thomas Vermaelen left them a man short.
In the chaotic climax that followed Arsenal might have had a handful but for Julio Cesar, while Esteban Granero and Jamie Mackie both missed one-on-one opportunities to rescue the draw.
When the dust settles Wenger will reflect on an afternoon which did little to support his theory that Arsenal can challenge for the title, though there was encouragement in the shape of Wilshere's return.
The England midfielder had been pencilled in for Tuesday's Capital One Cup tie at Reading, and his inclusion had a hint of expediency given Wenger's pressing need for a performance to silence the Emirates' harsher regulars.
The 20-year-old did not disappoint his manager, coming close to a first-half opener with a drop of the shoulder and low 20-yard shot, while Cesar was equally edgy dealing with Olivier Giroud's ambitious drive.
The goalkeeper was beaten altogether by an Aaron Ramsey header, but the midfielder's looping attempt from Bacary Sagna's cross cannoned to safety off the top of the crossbar.
Rangers slowly emerged as an attacking force and, after weathering a fraught second-half spell when Bobby Zamora came close to an own goal and Granero was fortunate to stay on, only a linesman's offside flag denied Junior Hoilett.
Wilshere succumbed to fatigue as Wenger threw on Theo Walcott, and the substitute's right-wing centre broke for Santi Cazorla, who fired wastefully high from the penalty spot.
That appeared that, but Mbia's mindlessness beckoned Arsenal on and when Cesar parried Giroud's header Arteta - loitering in what looked like an offside position - forced in the rebound at the second attempt.
Cazorla and Ramsey threatened to end the argument but it was Rangers who finished the stronger, Granero skewing wide on the stretch and Mackie firing too close to Vito Mannone.
Reading 3 - 3 Fulham
Berbatov was in action yesterday for fulham to really help provide answer to our previous post.
Is Berbatov really Happy at Fulham?
Substitute Hal Robson-Kanu struck a late leveller to grab struggling Reading a dramatic 3-3 draw with Fulham at the Madejski Stadium.
Fulham seemed sure to take the points with a minute left courtesy of Dimitar Berbatov's expert finish, but Robson-Kanu bundled home at the death to ensure a draw.
Brian McDermott's hosts - without a Premier League win this season - were bright early on and would have led but for Pavel Pogrebnyak heading wastefully wide from three yards out.
At the other end, Berbatov began to drop slightly deeper to link up play, and the Bulgarian had flown a warning shot over from 25 yards by the time he teed up for Mahamadou Diarra to do the same.
In the event, it was Mikele Leigertwood who found the net first - the midfielder striding onto Jobi McAnuff's lay-off and flying a sweet drive into the top corner from 20 yards.
Damien Duff wasted an inviting chance to equalise just before the break when he sent Kieran Richardson's cut-back wide of goal, and Jason Roberts nearly punished his folly early in the second period when his effort was smothered by Mark Schwarzer.
But on the hour, substitute Bryan Ruiz announced himself with a stunning 20-yard strike that gave Alex McCarthy no chance - and Fulham continued to look the more threatening as Berbatov dragged into the side-netting.
Home fans fell silent with 13 minutes left when Chris Baird nodded home John Arne Riise's corner from close-range - but three goals in the final five minutes meant proceedings were far from over.
Garath McCleary, also on as a substitute, benefited from Roberts' miscontrol to convert from eight yards with an assured finish, only for the Cottagers to surge ahead again when Berbatov bent home beautifully in the 88th minute.
But with the clock ticking into injury time, Nicky Shorey whipped a free-kick to the far post and as the visiting defence struggled to hack the ball clear, Robson-Kanu popped up to force home from two yards and bag a morale-boosting point.
Wigan 2 - 1 west Ham
Wigan won at home in the Premier League for the first time this season with a 2-1 victory over West Ham.
Ivan Ramis volleyed the hosts into an eighth-minute lead and James McArthur profited from a loose ball two minutes after the break to earn the Latics a first win since their 4-1 League Cup rout of the same opponents a month ago.
Sam Allardyce's side had made their best start for 13 years but with their muscular approach all-too predictable, the win that would have propelled them fourth never looked likely.
It was typical, Allardyce will no doubt muse, that Ramis - a man he tried to sign in the summer - did the early damage but his own side's cutting edge was in scant supply and James Tomkins' late header was a mere consolation.
Wigan had set the early tempo, Arouna Kone a common denominator in West Ham worries but the breakthrough came from an unlikelier source and so sweetly did Ramis meet Jean Beausejour's corner, there were surely gasps amid the cheers.
The defender might have undone his fine work with a blatant check on Mohamed Diame in a dangerous area but Mark Noble curled harmlessly against the wall.
An Andy Carroll flick gave ex-Newcastle team-mate Kevin Nolan a sniff, while another knockdown afforded James Collins an effort on goal, scuffed though it was.
But the visitors' best chance to restore parity came from the left flank, Matt Jarvis's inswinging cross only narrowly evading the right boot of Yossi Benayoun (32).
Wigan had ample further chances of their own, Beausejour and James McCarthy denied from range, but breathing space came and was timely, McArthur drilling home Shaun Maloney's lay-off two minutes after the restart.
Allardyce called for the fresh legs of Modibo Maiga but the striker's first touch was a shot dragged horribly wide and when a deep cross dropped into Carroll's path soon after, the big forward swiped at air.
Carlton Cole and Gary O'Neil entered the fray as Allardyce tinkered again in search of late reward but Nolan saw his shot blocked, Cole his header loop high and shoulders sagged.
Gary Caldwell stood firm in the home rearguard as West Ham got desperate but a late Tomkins volley came back off the bar, rendering his looping header seconds later (90+3) a footnote
Stoke 0 - 0 Sunderland
Sunderland are still searching for their first Premier League away win after they were held to a hard-fought 0-0 draw by Stoke.
Martin O'Neill's men twice appealed for a penalty in the second half, but Stoke could have snatched it in the dying stages as Peter Crouch was denied by Simon Mignolet.
Both sides struggled to settle at a blustery Britannia and Michael Kightly spurned an early opening for Stoke with a mishit cross, while Sunderland's Craig Gardner could not pick out Jack Colback with a low centre.
The Potters' prowess from set-pieces is no secret and Mignolet was forced to punch away Charlie Adam's curling free-kick before he got down well to save Ryan Shawcross' follow up effort.
Kightly tried to add spark to Stoke with a run and shot that was headed behind by Carlos Cuellar and the Sunderland defender was soon in action at the other end, nodding wide from Sebastian Larsson's free-kick.
The Black Cats were coping well with the hosts' aerial threat and Mignolet again elected to punch clear when Adam's cross took a wicked deflection.
Stoke soon suffered a setback in the second half as Marc Wilson was stretchered off with a nasty looking injury and their reshuffled defence was almost breached when Adam Johnson fired narrowly over from long-range.
Sunderland were playing with more attacking purpose and they appealed in vain for a penalty when Colback crashed into Shawcross in the box.
But the Black Cats were given brief cause for concern when Geoff Cameron broke into the box and picked out Adam, who failed to trouble Mignolet with a chipped effort.
A scrappy contest finally came to life in the closing stages and Sunderland's shouts for a spot-kick were again shunned by referee Mark Halsey after Stephen Fletcher's drive hit Huth's arm.
It was then Stoke's turn to push for a breakthrough as Huth's close-range header drew a reaction save from Mignolet.
And the Potters nearly pinched it in stoppage-time when Mignolet rushed out to claw the ball away from Crouch before Kightly scuffed wide.
Aston villa 1 - 1 Norwich.
This was the game that kickstarted the footballing weekend in the premier league. It gave us an insight into what to expect in the EPL week 9.
Paul Lambert was denied victory over his former club as Michael Turner rescued a deserved 1-1 draw for Norwich at 10-man Aston Villa.
Christian Benteke (27) had set the hosts on their way to a first league win in five but Villa were finally made to pay for Joe Bennett's second-half dismissal and Turner's finish (79) was just reward for City's subsequent dominance.
Lambert had played down his continuing legal dispute with the Carrow Road club in the build-up but it was hard to believe that this, for him, was just another game: this missed opportunity will grate.
Tension there may have been in his dugout but it was sure in evidence on the pitch for both sides - just two wins between them so far - as the early play was pockmarked by loose balls and careless passes.
Benteke looped an early header towards John Ruddy's goal and Brett Holman found the target, but Norwich had the space and the intent to attack a defence deep and vulnerable-looking.
Ron Vlaar's nudge on Elliott Bennett in the box might well have had consequences (17) but the first key moment came soon after at the other end when Grant Holt poked into Wes Hoolahan's path, only for Brad Guzan to stop the goalbound clip with his left leg (22).
The opener came then against the run of play but Villa cannot be picky these days and when Benteke controlled Joe Bennett's cross and gently curled beyond a stranded Ruddy, the relief was audible.
Norwich had been given a jolt and might have got another soon after the restart had Ruddy not pushed a Benteke header to safety but Joe Bennett's sending-off (52) - a push on Elliott Bennett yielding a second yellow - gave them unexpected impetus.
Guzan pushed away one Hoolahan shot, then another, before Robert Snodgrass came on - superfluous defender Elliott Bennett the man to make way - to add further attacking weight and saw a fierce volley well blocked.
Villa finally deployed Darren Bent at the expense of their goalscorer but he remained on the periphery as his team-mates tried to combat chaos in their box, Vlaar's block denying Snodgrass what surely seemed the equaliser.
Instead parity came from the resulting corner, Hoolahan affording Turner a header that drifted tantalisingly towards the far post and crossed the line via the goalframe.
This was professional as well as personal for Lambert - a chance to still the dissenting voices after Villa's worst start to a season in more than 25 years - but he and his side exited to boos, just one win in 19 now to their names.
Norwich fans gleefully chanted 'there's only one Chris Hughton' but their new man too has work to do, their side just three points off the drop zone.
Fingers are crossed as we wait for today's Super sunday clash between Chelsea and Manchester United.
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