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Tuesday November 12, 2008

Gunners Defeat United In North London Thriller

Arsenal 2 Manchester United 1

Arsene Wenger got the response he wanted as Arsenal bounced back from a poor run of form to defeat Manchester United thanks to two goals from Samir Nasri. Gunners' manager Wenger admitted dressing-room morale was low after their 4-4 draw with rivals Tottenham Hotspur and the defeat at Stoke City - but this win at the at the Emirates Stadium breathes life into their campaign and lifts them above United in the Premier League.
Wenger had Emmanuel Adebayor injured and Robin van Persie suspended but Nasri provided the attacking threat, taking advantage of slack marking in each half to grab his fourth and fifth goals of the season.
Rafael da Silva, on as a substitute, volleyed home a late strike to give Sir Alex Ferguson's men hope - but there was no repeat of the memorable Spurs comeback.

Wigan Athletic 0 Stoke City 0

Thomas Sorensen made a series of fine second-half saves to secure another valuable point for Stoke City at the JJB Stadium.
Sorensen pulled off a late double-save to deny both Amr Zaki and Antonio Valencia and also got down well to gather an effort from Emile Heskey.
Tony Pulis' men offered little in the attacking department besides a 55th-minute header from Ryan Shawcross which sailed into the arms of home goalkeeper Chris Kirkland.

Hull City 0 Bolton Wanderers 1

Matt Taylor inflicted upon Hull City a third successive defeat - but it was Bolton's goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen who emerged his side's real hero.
For the first time since mid-April, Bolton manager Gary Megson can reflect on back-to-back victories after Taylor's 50th-minute half-volley separated the sides.
However, such a feat would not have come about but for Jaaskelainen, who produced a virtual one-man show for the remainder of the half to frustrate all connected with the Tigers.

Sunderland 1 Portsmouth 2

Jermain Defoe handed Tony Adams his first victory as Portsmouth manager in a dramatic finish at Sunderland.
The England striker converted an injury-time penalty to snatch all three points after the Black Cats had failed to make the most of a host of opportunities, Algerian midfielder Nadir Belhadj had earlier blasted a 51st-minute shot past keeper Marton Fulop to cancel out Djibril Cisse's opener just four minutes into the match.
Cisse was twice denied by David James before the break and then had a second-half header disallowed for offside, while Kieran Richardson hit a post with the keeper beaten.
But Pompey rallied after the restart to make a much more even contest of it and leave the bulk of a crowd of 37,712 frustrated,

West Ham United 1 Everton 3

Everton produced a stunning fightback to crush West Ham with three goals in an amazing five-minute spell at Upton Park.
The Hammers looked to be cruising to all three points when substitute Jack Collison scored on his home debut in the 53rd minute.
But an equaliser from Joleon Lescott in the 83rd minute was followed by a superb double from Louis Saha, who scored in the 85th and 87th minutes to crown an amazing late revival from the Toffees.

Liverpool 3 West Bromwich Albion 0

Robbie Keane gave Rafael Benitez his 150th victory as Liverpool manager as the Anfield club moved back to the top of the League, with victory over West Bromwich Albion.
Keane, who had managed to score only twice previously since his summer move from Tottenham Hotspur - both in the Champions League - finally broke his league duck when he drove home from a Steven Gerrard pass in the 34th minute.
Keane's second came when he rounded Scott Carson a couple of minutes before the break and Alvaro Arbeloa added the gloss in injury time.

Blackburn Rovers 0 Chelsea 2

In Sunday's early game, Chelsea ensured it was many happy returns for manager Luiz Felipe Scolari with a confident 2-0 victory at Blackburn Rovers to send them back to the top of the League.
There would have been more welcoming places for Scolari to celebrate his 60th birthday than Blackburn on a cold and rain-drenched afternoon but the three points made the perfect present for the Chelsea manager.
Nicolas Anelka scored both goals, one by luck and the other by pure finisher's skill, to make it a scoreline that accurately reflected the balance of the match.

Aston Villa 1 Middlesbrough 2

Aston Villa missed out on the chance to climb into a Champions League spot as two-goal Tuncay earned Middlesbrough a 2-1 victory at Villa Park.
The Turkish star capitalised on a dreadful mistake by Steve Sidwell with two minutes remaining to earn Boro their second away success of the season.
Sidwell had cancelled out Tuncay's 34th-minute opener on his full league debut for the home side with an equaliser three minutes later.
But Tuncay's late winner spared team-mate Afonso Alves' blushes after he was guilty of one of the misses of the season.

Manchester City 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2

Darren Bent scored twice as 10-man Tottenham Hotspur continued their good recent run against nine-man Manchester City.
Robinho fired the opener for the home side in the 15th minute before Gelson Fernandes was sent off for a second bookable offence.
Bent ran clear and slotted home to equalise for Spurs and then side-footed his second on the hour.
City captain Richard Dunne was shown a straight red and Spurs' Benoit Assou-Ekotto was dismissed late on.

Fulham 2 Newcastle United 1

Danny Murphy struck from the spot as Fulham edged a lively contest 2-1 to halt Newcastle's surge up the League table.
Murphy's goal set up a thrilling finale but Fulham hung on to protect their impressive home form, which now reads 13 points out of a possible 18.