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Tuesday November 23, 2010

Spurs Beat The Gunners Away!

Arsenal 2 Tottenham Hotspur 3

Arsenal missed the chance to go top of the Premier League as Tottenham Hotspur fought back from 2-0 down to record a remarkable first victory at Emirates Stadium.
Samir Nasri and Marouane Chamakh had put the Gunners in complete control as they looked set to leapfrog Chelsea, who played Birmingham City later in the day.
However, Spurs - who had just one Premier League away victory over their old rivals, in May 1993 - regrouped for the second half following the introduction of fit-again England striker Jermain Defoe.
Gareth Bale pulled a goal back on 50 minutes, before a handball from captain Cesc Fabregas from a free-kick gave away a penalty, which Rafael van der Vaart converted. Arsenal were then condemned to successive home league defeats for the first time in 13 years when Younes Kaboul headed in a dramatic late winner.

Birmingham City 1 Chelsea 0

Birmingham City keeper Ben Foster produced a superb performance as leaders Chelsea suffered successive Premier League defeats for the first time in more than four years.
Lee Bowyer's opening-half goal - his first for nearly 12 months - earned Alex McLeish's side a shock victory.
But their hero was Foster who bounced back from his error on England duty in midweek with a series of stunning saves.
Chelsea dominated proceedings for the entire 90 minutes but they could not find a way past the former Manchester United player.
It was a vastly improved performance by Chelsea compared to their 3-0 home defeat by Sunderland last weekend.
But they tasted defeat in back to back league matches for the first time since the end of the 2005-2006 campaign and they now only lead Manchester United on goal difference.
In addition to Foster, City centre-backs Scott Dann and Roger Johnson were outstanding.

Blackpool 2 Wolves 1

Luke Varney and Marlon Harewood piled on the pressure for Wolverhampton Wanderers by firing Blackpool to victory in front of Prince William.
Varney set up a thrilling Premier League contest with a stunning volley after just three minutes at Bloomfield Road and Harewood added a second just before the interval.
Kevin Doyle set up a tense finish after Nenad Milijas hit the post for Wolves in a fine second-half response but the hosts held on.
Prince William, taking time out from his wedding preparations, was among the 15,922 crowd with a number of his friends.
The result leaves Wolves entrenched in the bottom three after a run of nine defeats in 11 matches.

Bolton Wanderers 5 Newcastle United 1

Kevin Nolan's big return to Bolton Wanderers turned sour in spectacular fashion as he gave away an early penalty and could do nothing to prevent his old club soaring to the dizzy heights of fourth in the League.
Kevin Davies hit a brace from the spot and in-form Johan Elmander also scored two as Owen Coyle's men brushed aside the beleaguered Magpies, who finished with 10 men after the late sending-off of Fabricio Coloccini.
Nolan's first appearance at the Reebok Stadium since his £4m move to Newcastle in January last year had started with a rousing reception from the home fans but quickly turned sour as Chris Hughton's men slid to a dismal defeat.

Manchester United 2 Wigan Athletic 0

The return of Wayne Rooney made it a perfect day for Manchester United as Sir Alex Ferguson's side took full advantage of their title rivals' misfortunes.
United brushed aside Wigan Athletic, who self-destructed in the second half with two unnecessary red cards, but perhaps more importantly Rooney made his first appearance since the contract saga that saw the England striker threaten to leave before signing a new five-year deal.
The setbacks suffered by Arsenal and Chelsea made it imperative that United did not slip up too and they made no mistake as headers by Patrice Evra and Javier Hernandez ensured Ferguson's men second spot in the Premier League table, behind Chelsea only on goal difference.
Rooney should have put the icing on the cake by scoring too but passed up a glorious opportunity.
For Wigan, red cards for Antolin Alcaraz and Hugo Rodallega virtually ensured they would get nothing from the match.

West Brom 0 Stoke City 3

Stoke City netted three times in the second half at West Bromwich Albion to extend their winning run in the Premier League.
Matthew Etherington's penalty put the visitors 1-0 up in the 55th minute after referee Chris Foy adjudged Scott Carson to have fouled Kenwyne Jones.
Substitute Jon Walters converted another spot-kick with five minutes of normal time remaining and then bagged his second at the death to make it three wins out of three for the Potters.
That takes Tony Pulis' side, only recently hovering around the relegation places, up to eighth in the table as they built on victories over Birmingham City and Liverpool.
The result brings more disappointment for the Baggies, though, who have now lost four of their last five league fixtures.

Liverpool 3 West Ham United 0

It was hardly a proper test of being able to cope without Steven Gerrard but Liverpool did more than enough to dispose of West Ham United at Anfield.
With the captain out for a month with a hamstring tear manager, Roy Hodgson called for his players to step up to fill the void and the Premier League's bottom side provide the perfect opposition.
First-half goals from Glen Johnson and Maxi Rodriguez, either side of a Dirk Kuyt penalty, were enough to wrap up the points in the first half.
It is unlikely Liverpool will have an easier match this season and it was the ideal tonic for them after two poor performances in a 1-1 draw at Wigan Athletic and last Saturday's defeat at Stoke City which ended a six-match unbeaten run.
Raul Meireles looked better in a more accustomed central position, filling Gerrard's place, while Johnson and Rodriguez also did well and Christian Poulsen had his best display since joining in the summer.
If there was one criticism it was that Hodgson's side eased up so much after the break they lost all the momentum and rhythm built up in the first half.
But they never looked in danger of conceding and the clean sheet was Jose Reina's 134th in all competitions, taking him past Tommy Lawrence into fourth on the club's all-time list.
West Ham's league record at Anfield is woeful, as they have not won this fixture for 47 years and scored just four Premier League goals in 16 attempts.

Blackburn Rovers 2 Aston Villa 0

Blackburn Rovers' new owners had plenty to cheer as a brace from Morten Gamst Pedersen ensured they made a winning start against Aston Villa.
Rovers, playing for the first time since being taken over by Indian company Venky's, took the lead in stoppage time at the end of the opening period at Ewood Park thanks to Pedersen's delightful looping free-kick.
The Norwegian then struck again midway through the second half to wrap up a comfortable victory for Sam Allardyce's side.

Fulham 1 Manchester City 4

Carlos Tevez showed his old manager Mark Hughes no mercy at Craven Cottage as Manchester City romped to a victory that saw them close to within three points of the Premier League summit.
Twelve months ago Hughes was the man profiting from the South American's prowess in front of goal.
Now it is Roberto Mancini hailing two goals and a man-of-the-match display from the inspirational South American.
Indeed, as Mancini reflects on a table that shows his side to be bang in the title hunt and four more goals on the road to answer the critics who have panned him for being too negative, the Italian could be forgiven for having a large chuckle to himself.
Pablo Zabaleta and Yaya Toure struck within a three-minute period at the end of the first half after Tevez had given City a flying start.
And although Zoltan Gera netted a consolation for the hosts, Tevez had already grabbed a fourth for the Blues, who would have to be rated as strong championship challengers in this crazy season, if they can start playing at home as they do away.