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Tuesday November 30, 2010

United Takes The Top Spot

Aston Villa 2 Arsenal 4

Arsenal survived a second-half fightback from Aston Villa to claim a thrilling 4-2 victory at Villa Park.
The Gunners looked to be cruising to victory after dominating the opening 45 minutes and netting through Andrey Arshavin and Samir Nasri.
But Villa were transformed in the second period and Ciaran Clark struck twice either side of Marouane Chamakh's 10th goal of the campaign before Jack Wilshere's injury-time clincher.
It enabled Arsene Wenger's side to end an unhappy week on a high note after the derby defeat by Tottenham Hotspur and the Champions League setback away to Braga.
Arsenal played some superb flowing football with Arshavin and Nasri a constant threat.
But their soft under belly, which had seen them throw away a two-goal lead against Spurs, was almost exposed again.
Ashley Young posed more of a threat in the second period while Clark showed his potential.

Bolton Wanderers 2 Blackpool 2

Bolton Wanderers' famous battling qualities were on full show in the home draw against Blackpool as they dug deep to come from 2-0 down late on to salvage a point.
The hero was Mark Davies, who fired home in the 89th minute to round off a glorious team move and snatch what seemed an unlikely result with 15 minutes remaining.
Substitute Martin Petrov had pulled one back for Wanderers in the 76th minute.
Blackpool looked set for a fourth victory in nine away matches after headers from Ian Evatt and Luke Varney but the team with the worst defensive record in the Premier League could not hang on under intense late pressure.
Bolton, who remain in fifth place as a result, extended their unbeaten run to five matches but made hard work of it at times as they had plenty of chances to score both before and after the visitors went ahead.

Everton 1 West Brom 4

West Bromwich Albion struck twice in each half to end their Premier League slump with a convincing win in an eventful encounter at Everton.
Paul Scharner and Chris Brunt put the Baggies into a 2-0 lead at Goodison Park before Everton's top goalscorer Tim Cahill pulled one back.
Everton's hopes of a fightback were dashed as Mikel Arteta was sent off for stamping and Somen Tchoyi and Youssouf Mulumbu, with aid of a Sylvain Distin deflection, finished them off.
Remarkably Mulumbu was then sent off himself for two bookings, the first for celebrating in the crowd and then for a bad tackle on Steven Pienaar.
It was the only blot on an otherwise excellent day for the visitors, who had been looking for a lift after collecting just one point in their previous five matches.
Everton are now without a win in five and their frustration was summed up by Arteta, who could have no excuse for his dismissal for stamping on Gonzalo Jara.
Arteta had taken over the captaincy in the unanticipated absence of Phil Neville but the Spaniard let his side down as they looked to force their way back into the match.
Those incidents overshadowed some excellent play by West Brom, and in particular stunning goals from Brunt and Tchoyi.

Fulham 1 Birmingham City 1

A second-half equalizer from Fulham midfielder Clint Dempsey robbed Birmingham City of their first away win of the season as both sides remained perilously close to the relegation zone in the Premier League.
City had enjoyed an interval lead thanks to a 19th-minute strike from Sebastian Larsson but Fulham salvaged a point through Dempsey's 53rd-minute header.
Fulham are still one place above the relegation zone and they are now without a win in their last five league matches.

Manchester United 7 Blackburn Rovers 1

Dimitar Berbatov joined an elite group of Premier League sharpshooters with a five-star performance as Manchester United demolished Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford.
Since the new league was formed in 1992, only Andy Cole, Alan Shearer and Jermain Defoe have scored five in a single match.
Berbatov joined that band this afternoon, scoring twice before half-time, then three more times after the break as United finally rid themselves of the shackles that have halted their progress this season.
It took the Bulgarian to 12 goals for the season and completed United's first seven-goal haul since the defeat of Roma three years ago.
More importantly, it sent them powering to the top of the table for the first time this season, giving a significant boost to their goal difference as well at the start of a month that includes meetings with both Arsenal and Chelsea in a potentially pivotal seven-day December period.
Seven days ago, Berbatov did not even make the bench for the victory over Wigan Athletic.
In midweek came an admission from the United manager Sir Alex Ferguson that he was responsible for changing his team formation too much, leading to a dip in form by the Bulgarian, who had carried his side through the difficult early weeks of the campaign during Wayne Rooney's malaise. So, Rooney himself was not the only one to be glad he is back.

Stoke City 1 Manchester City 1

Matthew Etherington emphasised Stoke's never-say-die attitude with a stoppage-time equalizer against Manchester City at the Britannia Stadium.
Roberto Mancini's high-fliers looked set for all three points thanks to a marvellous goal from Micah Richards in the 81st minute.
But Stoke refused to lie down and Etherington took advantage of a clever back-heel from Tuncay to ensure his side got a share of the spoils.

West Ham United 3 Wigan Athletic 1

Premier League basement club West Ham gave themselves a much-needed boost with a victory over fellow strugglers Wigan at Upton Park.
The match had been billed by the West Ham board as the "save our season game", although manager Avram Grant maintained that was more aimed at supporters to get behind the team than a shot across his bows.
Nevertheless, there was more than a sense of relief around the Boleyn Ground at the final whistle, with the Irons securing a first win since the end of September following goals from Valon Behrami, Victor Obinna and Scott Parker.
However, the Irons - now within three points of safety, but still bottom after Wolves' late winner against Sunderland - had keeper Robert Green to thank for saving a penalty from substitute Mauro Boselli just after the hour which could have set up a nervous finish, although Tom Cleverley netted a consolation on 85 minutes.

Wolves 3 Sunderland 2

Sylvan Ebanks-Blake's late strike sealed a precious victory for Wolverhampton Wanderers against Sunderland in a dramatic encounter at Molineux.
Kevin Foley's goal five minutes into the second half had put Wanderers 1-0 up before efforts from Darren Bent and Danny Welbeck put the visitors in the driving seat.
Stephen Hunt drew things level, though, and Ebanks-Blake netted at the death to hand Mick McCarthy's side three much-needed points.

Newcastle United 1 Chelsea 1

Salomon Kalou spared Chelsea's blushes as the champions had to come from behind to claim a point at Newcastle United.
The Ivory Coast international fired home the equalizer in first-half injury time to prevent his side slipping to a third successive league defeat for the first time in 11 years.
Andy Carroll had given the Magpies a sixth-minute lead when he capitalized on an error by Alex, and although the Londoners enjoyed the better of the game, they defended resolutely enough to deserve their point in front of a crowd of 46,469.
Chelsea climbed into second place as a result, but have now taken just four points from their last five matches.

Tottenham Hotspur 2 Liverpool 1

Aaron Lennon scored deep into stoppage time as Tottenham Hotspur completed another amazing comeback to beat Liverpool and stay in the Premier League title hunt.
An incident-packed match looked certain to end in a 1-1 draw after Martin Skrtel netted at both ends and substitute Jermain Defoe also missed a penalty.
Several other clear-cut chances went begging for both sides before Lennon became the hero to move Spurs to within a point of fourth-placed Manchester City and back to six off the summit.
It was the second time in eight days, and the fifth time this season, Tottenham had come from behind to win a Premier League match.