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Tuesday December 5, 2007

Arsenal Stay Three Clear

Chelsea 1 West Ham United 0

Joe Cole's late winner gave them a 1-0 victory over West Ham at Stamford Bridge. Cole, who began his career with the Hammers, finished a 75th-minute move to deny Alan Curbishley's stubborn side a point.

Sunderland 1 Derby County 0

Anthony Stokes' first Premier League goal two minutes into stoppage time secured a valuable 1-0 win for Sunderland against basement side Derby at the Stadium of Light. The Republic of Ireland international hooked home from two yards after a goalmouth scramble to ensure maximum points and lift the Black Cats out of the bottom three.

Wigan Athletic 1 Manchester City 1

Paul Scharner spared Titus Bramble's blushes as Wigan held City to a 1-1 draw in Steve Bruce's first game. Bramble's clanger inside the first minute allowed Geovanni to score the EPL's quickest goal this season. The Latics bounced back after 25 minutes through Paul Scharner who met Jason Koumas' cross with a diving header. Two minutes from full-time Mario Melchiot was dismissed for a two-footed lunge on Stephen Ireland.

Portsmouth 0 Everton 0

Portsmouth stretched their unbeaten run to nine games as they played out an uninspiring goalless draw with Everton at Fratton Park.

Reading 1 Middlesbrough 1

Tuncay Sanli headed home with seven minutes remaining to salvage a point for 'Boro against Reading at the Madjeski. After a poor first half the hosts made the breakthrough nine minutes after the break. Dave Kitson latched onto Marcus Hahnemann's long ball and lobbed Mark Schwarzer from the edge of the penalty area. But just as it looked like Reading would claim all three points Tuncay claimed a point.

Blackburn Rovers 3 Newcastle United 1

David Bentley's brace helped Blackburn to a 3-1 win over Newcastle at Ewood Park. The visitors went ahead a minute after the break as Obafemi Martins' header from Geremi's free-kick found the corner of Brad Friedel's net. Blackburn pulled level seven minutes later. Charles N'Zogbia fouled Roque Santa Cruz 25 yards from goal and Bentley stepped up to whip the resulting free-kick into the top corner and Bentley netted his second after 67 minutes with a drive from 25 yards into the net and Tugay added a third in stoppage time.

Aston Villa 1 Arsenal 2

In the late game on Saturday, Arsenal went five points clear at the top of the EPL thanks to a 2-1 victory at Villa Park. Craig Gardner had given Villa hope of their first win over the Gunners in 18 meetings when he put them ahead 14 minutes in. But Arsenal responded by handing out a footballing lesson for the remainder of the first half with goals from Mathieu Flamini and Emmanuel Adebayor.

Liverpool 4 Bolton Wanderers 0

In Sunday's early game Liverpool went third in the table with a 4-0 victory over Bolton. Sami Hyypia's early header set Liverpool on their way but Bolton were defiant until Fernando Torres grabbed his 11th goal of the season a minute from half-time. Steven Gerrard rammed home the third from the penalty spot after Peter Crouch had been fouled after 54 minutes and Ryan Babel tapped in the fourth with six minutes left.

Tottenham Hotspur 2 Birmingham City 3

In Sunday's other game, Sebastian Larsson produced a stunning injury-time winner to give Birmingham their first victory at Tottenham for 24 years as they edged a clash 3-2. Robbie Keane appeared to have secured victory for Juande Ramos' men with two goals in three second-half minutes, but Cameron Jerome fired an equalizer before Larsson struck late on to give Birmingham victory in Alex McLeish's first game in charge. Keane turned from hero to villain when he was harshly sent off for a tackle on Fabrice Muamba in the 68th minute.

Manchester United 2 Fulham 0

Ronaldo scored a goal in each half to keep Manchester United three points behind Arsenal at the top of the table. Tevez had some good early chances before Ronaldo fired in a sensational volley in the 10th minute. Despite some fine efforts from Danny Murphy, Ronaldo sealed United's win in the 58th minute, heading in a cross from John O'Shea.