F.A. Premiership 2009/2010

[abadani69]

Arsenal were knocked off the top of the Premier League by Chelsea after suffering a shock 2-1 home defeat by Hull City.

Goals by Geovanni and Daniel Cousin stunned the Gunners after they had gone ahead through an own goal.

Chelsea moved top with a 2-0 win at Stoke City while Liverpool are keeping pace with the frontrunners thanks to a Fernando Torres brace in a 2-0 win at Everton.

Manchester United began to climb the table after a slow start, although they needed a controversial Cristiano Ronaldo penalty to set them on the way to a 2-0 defeat of Bolton Wanderers. Wayne Rooney was also on target.

Chelsea and Liverpool both have 14 points, one ahead of Aston Villa who climbed to third with a 2-1 defeat of Sunderland. Arsenal have 12 points.

Tottenham Hotspur are bottom with no victories from six games after a 2-0 defeat at Portsmouth.

[abadani69]

Brief reports of Premier League matches played at the weekend:

Played Sunday:

PORTSMOUTH 2 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 0

Tottenham’s worst start for 53 years was confirmed by a woeful performance at Fratton Park.

Former Spurs striker Jermain Defoe put Portsmouth ahead from the penalty spot in the first half and Peter Crouch scored his first goal since signing from Liverpool to leave Tottenham rooted to the bottom of the table.

- - -

WIGAN ATHLETIC 2 MANCHESTER CITY 1

After City’s 6-0 win against Portsmouth last week they suffered a second defeat in five days after losing to third division Brighton and Hove Albion in the League Cup.

Antonio Valencia fired Wigan into the lead with a powerful shot before Vincent Kompany levelled.

Amr Zaki slotted home Wigan’s winner from the penalty spot before halftime to seal the points as City wasted the chance to move into the top four.

Played Saturday

ARSENAL 1 HULL CITY 2

Promoted Hull City scored a stunning 2-1 win over Arsenal with goals from Geovanni and Daniel Cousin which left the north London side beaten at the Emirates Stadium for only the second time in 60 matches.

Arsenal took the lead with a scrambled own goal that came off Paul McShane after 50 minutes but Hull equalised when Geovanni scored with a brilliant 25-metre shot after 62 minutes. They clinched all three points when Daniel Cousin glanced in a header from a corner four minutes later.

William Gallas headed against the bar in the closing stages for Arsenal who failed to give Arsene Wenger anything to celebrate on his 12th anniversary as manager.

- - -

ASTON VILLA 2 SUNDERLAND 1

Aston Villa came from behind to win after Djibril Cisse had given Sunderland the lead after 10 minutes at Villa Park. He met a superb pass from Steed Malbranque and did not need to break his stride as he slammed the ball home.

Villa equalised after 18 minutes when Ashley Young took advantage of a poorly built Sunderland wall to score with a well-struck free kick.

John Carew gave Villa the lead after 33 minutes when he was in the right place to score from close range after another Young free-kick.

- - -

EVERTON 0 LIVERPOOL 2

Two goals from Fernando Torres in a three-minute spell midway through the second half gave Liverpool a well-deserved victory in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park where Everton have now lost all three league matches this season.

Everton’s grim afternoon was compounded by the red card shown to Tim Cahill after 80 minutes. He was the 17th player to be sent off in the last 33 Merseyside derbies.

The home team did not force Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina to make a save throughout the match.

- - -

FULHAM 1 WEST HAM UNITED 2

It all happened just before half-time at Craven Cottage where West Ham scored twice in four minutes and Fulham had Andy Johnson sent off.

Fulham, who have not beaten West Ham at home in a league match since 1966, had the better of the first half but conceded two goals in two minutes to Carlton Cole and Matthew Etherington before Johnson was sent off for a second yellow given for a late challenge on Lucas Neill in first-half stoppage time.

Neill was then adjudged to have handled and Danny Murphy scored from the spot for Fulham in the second half.

- - -

MANCHESTER UNITED 2 BOLTON WANDERERS 0

Cristiano Ronaldo put United ahead after they were awarded a highly debatable penalty by referee Rob Styles after 60 minutes. Ronaldo lost the ball in a tackle by Jlloyd Samuel and although he tumbled over in the process he did not appeal for a penalty and looked astonished when it was given.

Wayne Rooney came off the bench to score United’s second after 77 minutes and seal only the second league win of the season for them.

- - -

MIDDLESBROUGH 0 WEST BROMWICH ALBION 1

Both teams went close to scoring late in the first half when Jonas Olsson had a header saved by goalkeeper Ross Turnbull while Afonso Alves saw a header cleared off the line at the other end.

Olsson then had an attempt that counted when Turnbull flapped at a corner, Sherjill MacDonald turned the ball back and Olsson scored after 53 minutes.

Boro had countless chances to grab an equaliser but WBA held on for their first away win since they were promoted.

- - -

NEWCASTLE UNITED 1 BLACKBURN ROVERS 2

Newcastle United crashed to a fifth successive defeat in all competitions after losing 2-1 to Blackburn Rovers at St James’ Park in front of newly-appointed interim manager Joe Kinnear who watched the match as an observer from the stands.

Christopher Samba put Blackburn ahead after 32 minutes when he launched himself at a cross from Carlos Villanueva and headed powerfully in. Blackburn doubled their lead four minutes before half-time when Roque Santa Cruz connected with a cross from Brett Emerton and headed downwards into the net.

Michael Owen put Newcastle back into contention with a 51st-minute penalty after he was brought down by defender Ryan Nelsen.

- - -

STOKE CITY 0 CHELSEA 2

Chelsea, unbeaten in the league during 2008, maintained that impressive record with a 2-0 win at Stoke where Jose Bosingwa put them ahead after 39 minutes with his first goal for the club. He connected with a Frank Lampard ball played over the defence and cracked his shot goalwards, taking a deflection off Andy Griffin.

Florent Malouda hit the post for Chelsea early in the second half before Nicolas Anelka sealed the points with a second 14 minutes from time.

[abadani69]

Brief reports of English Premier League games played on Sunday:

CHELSEA 2 ASTON VILLA 0

The corresponding fixture last season ended 4-4 but this time round Chelsea were a class apart.

Joe Cole put them ahead after combining well with Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka’s tap-in virtually wrapped up the points before halftime.

Chelsea, who were missing several first team players, could have scored a hatful with Anelka denied by the crossbar.
- - -

EVERTON 2 NEWCASTLE UNITED 2

Two struggling sides met at Goodison Park and Newcastle’s interim manager Joe Kinnear will have been encouraged by his first game in charge.

Mikel Arteta put Everton ahead with a penalty after a Nicky Butt foul in the box and Marouane Fellaini made it 2-0.

United got a lifeline just before halftime when Steven Taylor scored and Damien Duff struck immediately after the interval to level it up. Both sides had chances to take the points late on.

- - -

MANCHESTER CITY 2 LIVERPOOL 3

City appeared set to inflict a first league defeat of the season on Liverpool but were hit by a second-half comeback.

Goals by Stephen Ireland and Javier Garrido put City 2-0 up at halftime. Fernando Torres pulled one back after 55 minutes and struck again with a header after City’s Pablo Zabaleta had been red-carded for a bad foul on Xabi Alonso.

Torres missed the chance to claim a hat-trick but had a hand in the stoppage-time winner when his shot fell to Dirk Kuyt who stole the points for Liverpool.

- - -

PORTSMOUTH 2 STOKE CITY 1

Giant striker Peter Crouch scored with an athletic overhead kick to put Portsmouth in front after 25 minutes.

Ricardo Fuller equalised for struggling Stoke three minutes into the second half but Pompey took the points when Jermain Defoe plundered his sixth league goal of the season.

- - -

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 0 HULL CITY 1

Tottenham endured another desperately disappointing day at the office as they lost to a deadly Geovanni free kick.

The Brazilian’s eighth-minute strike was enough to settle the points and condemn Spurs to equalling their worst start to a league campaign.

The home side applied constant pressure and hit the woodwork twice but could find no way through as promoted Hull hung on to climb to the heady heights of third in the table.

- - -

WEST HAM UNITED 1 BOLTON WANDERERS 3

West Ham lost a league match for the first time under new coach Gianfranco Zola, with goalkeeper Robert Green at fault twice as his side trailed 2-0 at the break to goals by Kevin Davies and Gary Cahill.

Carlton Cole headed West Ham a lifeline with 20 minutes remaining but a fierce, swerving free kick by Matthew Taylor secured Bolton’s first away points of the season.

- - -

Played on Saturday

BLACKBURN ROVERS 0 MANCHESTER UNITED 2

United were all over their Lancashire rivals in a game played in constant rain and should have won by more.

They went ahead after 31 minutes when keeper Jason Brown, claiming he was fouled, failed to collect a deep cross and Wes Brown got his fourth goal in 12 seasons with a simple header.

After several near misses, United wrapped up the points in the 64th minute when Cristiano Ronaldo pulled back a low cross for Wayne Rooney to finish crisply.

- - -

SUNDERLAND 1 ARSENAL 1

All the action came in the last few minutes as Arsenal snatched an injury-time equaliser to match Sunderland’s 86th-minute opener.

The home side packed their defence in search of a point but looked to have grabbed all three when Grant Leadbitter climbed off the bench in the 84th minute and quickly lashed in a 25 metre shot.

Arsenal, beaten 2-1 at home by Hull City last week, levelled in stoppage time with a rare headed goal by Cesc Fabregas from a corner.

- - -

WEST BROMWICH ALBION 1 FULHAM 0

West Brom continued their good start to the season with a deserved win over a struggling Fulham side.

Gianni Zuiverloon clipped a post with a header for West Brom early on but they took charge after the break and took the points with a close-range effort by Czech Roman Bednar.

- - -

WIGAN ATHLETIC 0 MIDDLESBROUGH 1

Boro secured their first away win in the league since December but left it late.

In a game of few chances and little action they won it a minute from time when Stewart Downing nodded the ball into the path of Jeremie Aliadiere who swept it home.

[abadani69]

Hull won again to remain in third place in the Premier League, beating West Ham 1-0 Sunday on Michael Turner’s 51st-minute header. Tottenham lost 2-1 at Stoke to stay in last place.

Turner headed in Andy Dawson’s corner kick for Hull’s fifth victory in its first season in 104 years of pro soccer playing in England’s top league.

Although Hull trails Chelsea and Liverpool, it is ahead of fourth-place Arsenal and fifth-place Manchester United.

“There’s people dancing in the dressing room so we don’t have to do a warm-down any more,” Hull manager Phil Brown said. “It’s a good atmosphere at the moment and long may it continue.”

Chelsea won 5-0 at Middlesbrough on Saturday and Liverpool beat Wigan 3-2. They are even at 20 points from eight games while Hull has 17.

Arsenal, which rallied from a goal down to beat Everton 3-1 Saturday, has 16 points and Man United, which outplayed West Bromwich Albion 4-0, has 14 points with a game in hand.

At the start of the season, Tottenham hoped to be among them, too. But Juande Ramos’ team is last with only two points after its latest loss and Spurs were left with nine men Gareth Bale and Michael Dawson were sent off.

Danny Higginbotham put Stoke ahead with penalty kick in the 19th minute. Darren Bent tied it in the 25th, and Rory Delap scored for Stoke from close range in the 53rd. Stoke’s Ricardo Fuller missed a second penalty kick.

[abadani69]

Brief reports of English Premier League games played at the weekend:

Played Sunday:

HULL CITY 1 WEST HAM UNITED 0

Hull maintained their superb start to life in the top flight with a fifth win in eight games to go third.

They rode their luck against a West Ham side who squandered several good chances but took the points thanks to Michael Turner’s second-half header.

Hull made it three consecutive victories against London sides after away wins at Arsenal and Tottenham.

- - - -

STOKE CITY 2 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 1

Tottenham’s season has reached crisis proportions after their sixth defeat of the season left them rooted to the bottom of the table.

Danny Higginbotham put Stoke ahead from the penalty spot after Gareth Bale tripped Tom Soares in the box and was shown a straight red card.

Darren Bent equalised shortly afterwards but Stoke took the points thanks to Rory Delap’s 53rd-minute winner. Hull also missed a second penalty.

Tottenham defender Vedran Corluka finished the match in hospital after being knocked unconscious while Spurs ended with nine men after Michael Dawson was sent off.

- - - -

Played Saturday:

ARSENAL 3 EVERTON 1

A terrific comeback, inspired by the second-half introduction of England winger Theo Walcott, secured the points for Arsenal, who lost to Hull City and drew with Sunderland in their last two games

Leon Osman put Everton ahead after nine minutes but Samir Nasri banged in an equaliser to set up a wave of pressure that culminated in Robin van Persie nodding in the second 20 minutes from time, with Walcott adding the late third.

——

ASTON VILLA 0 PORTSMOUTH 0

Not even 13ft of striking talent could find a way to goal as both teams built everything though long balls to Peter Crouch and John Carew.

Armand Traore hit a post early and Jermain Defoe missed the rebound in the first half while Portsmouth had Sean Davis sent off late on.

The game was held up in the second half when a linesman suffered a cut head after being hit by a coin thrown from the crowd.

——

BOLTON WANDERERS 0 BLACKBURN ROVERS 0

The first 1,000 fans into the Reebok were given a free pint of beer and that was probably the highlight of a goalless local derby that only came to life in the final 30 minutes.

Blackburn had the better chances with Jason Roberts heading the best of them badly wide from close range.

——

FULHAM 0 SUNDERLAND 0

Sunderland were on top but they, and Kieran Richardson in particular was twice denied a goal in unlikely circumstances.

First the midfielder managed to hit the post three times with one shot as his free kick cannoned off one upright against the other then hit the goalkeeper and rebounded back against the post again.

Richardson was even more frustrated when he scored with another free kick but it was disallowed for a team mate pushing in the wall. Djibril Cisse also hit the bar to complete a frustrating day for Sunderland.

—-

LIVERPOOL 3 WIGAN ATHLETIC 2

A great Liverpool comeback, albeit helped by a late red card, left Wigan angry and disappointed.

Egyptian striker Amr Zaki scored twice, including a superb scissor kick, to give them a 2-1 halftime lead.

Wigan’s Luis Antonio Valencia was sent off 15 minutes from time and Liverpool took immediate advantage. Albert Riera equalised in the 80th and Dirk Kuyt grabbed his second of the day with a miss-hit winner five minutes later.

——

MANCHESTER UNITED 4 WEST BROMWICH ALBION 0

Albion, without ever looking like scoring, held United at bay without too much difficulty in the first half but were eventually overwhelmed by their firepower in the second.

Wayne Rooney carried on his England from by firing in the opener after 56 minutes before Cristiano Ronaldo, Dimitar Berbatov, with his first league goal, and Nani finished the job.

——

MIDDLESBROUGH 0 CHELSEA 5

Chelsea produced a superb all-round performance to swamp a feeble Boro side and could easily have had double figures.

Salomon Kalou got two, Juliano Belletti struck another breathtaking 30-yarder while Frank Lampard and Florent Malouda were also on target as Chelsea scored four in a 15-minute burst early in the second half.

- - - -

Playing on Monday

NEWCASTLE UNITED v MANCHESTER CITY

[abadani69]

Brief reports of Premier League
games played on Saturday:

- - - -

CHELSEA 5 SUNDERLAND 0

Chelsea turned on the style, led by a Nicolas Anelka
hat-trick, to make it eight goals without reply in two games.

After Deco hit the bar with an early chip, Alex and Anelka
scored within three minutes around the half-hour mark and the
French international grabbed his second just before halftime.

Superb skill by Joe Cole set up Frank Lampard for the fourth
soon after the restart before Anelka notched his third.

- - - -

EVERTON 1 FULHAM 0

Everton struck late for the second time this week to secure
their first home victory of the season.

Both teams hit the woodwork but, following their last-gasp
win at Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday, Everton took the points
when Fulham old boy Louis Saha came off the bench to head in a
Leon Osman cross three minutes from time.

- - - -

MANCHESTER UNITED 4 HULL CITY 3

United were cruising at 4-1 after an hour yet ended up
hanging on as Hull enjoyed another proud day, despite their
first away defeat of the season.

Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring, Daniel Cousin levelled
but Michael Carrick, Ronaldo and Nemanja Vidic made it 4-1.

Hull replied with a neat lob by Bernard Mendy and set up a
nervous finale when Geovanni made it 4-3 with a penalty.

- - - -

MIDDLESBROUGH 1 WEST HAM UNITED 1

Hayden Mullins put West Ham ahead after 21 minutes and they
should have had more from an excellent first-half display.

They paid a high price for that profligacy when Boro
levelled through Mido six minutes from time.

- - - -

PORTSMOUTH 1 WIGAN ATHLETIC 2

Emile Heskey pounced in injury time to win it for Wigan
after Portsmouth had hit the bar four times.

Amr Zaki put Wigan ahead with a penalty late in the first
half after Papa Bouba Diop brought down Titus Bramble.

After pounding the woodwork, Niko Kranjcar finally found a
way through in the 82nd minute only for Heskey to strike.

- - - -

STOKE CITY 2 ARSENAL 1

Arsenal looked out of sorts and became the latest team to be
undone by Rory Delap's long throw-ins for Stoke.

Ricardo Fuller headed one home in the first half and Seyi
Olofinjana bundled in the second after another Delap missile
caused chaos.

Arsenal played the last 14 minutes with 10 men after Robin
van Persie was sent off for a silly shove five minutes after
coming on as a substitute.

- - - -

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2 LIVERPOOL 1

Spurs completed a dream week after another remarkable
comeback handed Liverpool their first defeat of the season.

Dirk Kuyt fired Liverpool into a third-minute lead and they
were in total control until an own goal by Jamie Carragher 21
minutes from time changed the game.

Spurs, who hit two goals in the dying minutes to draw 4-4
with Arsenal in midweek, won it in injury time when Roman
Pavlyuchenko seized on David Bentley's parried shot.
- - - -

WEST BROMWICH ALBION 2 BLACKBURN ROVERS 2

Blackburn won a point despite playing with 10 men for 64
minutes.

Benni McCarthy's penalty put Rovers ahead early but the
South African striker was later sent off for two bookings.

Roman Bednar levelled for Albion and Ishmael Miller scored a
brilliant 20-metre second before Blackburn got a deserved late
equaliser through Keith Andrews's long shot.

- - - -

Playing on Sunday:

BOLTON WANDERERS v MANCHESTER CITY (1600)

Playing on Monday:

NEWCASTLE UNITED v ASTON VILLA (2000)

[abadani69]

Ricardo Gardner eased the pressure on under-fire Bolton manager Gary Megson with a goal and an assist to lift his side off the bottom of the Premier League with a 2-0 triumph over Manchester City on Sunday.

The Jamaica international replaced the injured Mustapha Riga shortly before halftime against Manchester City at the Reebok Stadium and applied the finishing touch to a wicked low cross from Gretar Steinsson in the 77th minute.

It was the Trotters’ first goal for five hours and 50 minutes and Gardner then turned provider by crossing low for City skipper Richard Dunne to put through his own goal with two minutes remaining.

Victory breathed new life into Bolton’s faltering campaign and gave the unfashionable Lancashire outfit its first home win since the opening day of the season.

For Megson - who was verbally abused by his own supporters in the two previous matches - the relief was immense and he could not fault his players’ effort or desire throughout in a largely forgettable encounter.

A chronic lack of firepower has undermined Bolton’s efforts all season but this success was chiseled on obstinate defending, excellent goalkeeping from Jussi Jaaskelainen and Gardner’s outstanding personal contribution.

City, for its part, offered precious little and Mark Hughes’ men have now won just once in six league games and remain as inconsistent as ever.

[Rasputin]

http://www.sportinglife.com/football/cups/facup/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/09/01/24/manual_190349.html

[abadani69]

Brief reports of Premier League matches played at the weekend:

Played Sunday:

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 0 ARSENAL 0

A draw did little for either side’s ambitions although Arsenal will be happier after playing for nearly an hour with 10 men after Emmanuel Eboue was sent off.

Eboue, who had a goal disallowed, was shown a first yellow card for dissent and then kicked out at Luca Modric for his second. Modric should have won the game game for Spurs in stoppage time when he went through on goal but could not beat Manuel Almunia. Robbie Keane also headed a good chance over on his return to struggling Tottenham.

- - -

WEST HAM UNITED 0 MANCHESTER UNITED 1

Veteran winger Ryan Giggs sent United back to the top of the table with a classy 61st-minute goal as the champions racked up an eighth successive league win.

United were rock-solid at the back without posing much threat up front but Giggs broke the deadlock when he weaved past two West Ham players and fired a low shot past Robert Green.

Carlton Cole wasted West Ham’s best chance as they lost for the first time this year.

- - -

Played on Saturday:

BLACKBURN ROVERS 0 ASTON VILLA 2

James Milner put Villa on the road to a club record seventh successive away league victory with a tremendous angled shot after 27 minutes.

Villa missed a host of chances to increase their lead and were nearly made to pay when Roque Santa Cruz swivelled late on and lashed a shot just past the post.

Gabriel Agbonlahor sealed victory with a deflected near-post shot in the 90th minute.

- - -

CHELSEA 0 HULL CITY 0

Chelsea’s tally of dropped home points rose to 16 as their title hopes took another battering.

Ricardo Quaresma made his debut after signing on loan from Inter Milan but was largely ineffective.

Hull, without a league win for two months, were well worth a point and could have taken all three had Dean Marney converted a chance instead of shooting across the face of goal.

- - -

EVERTON 3 BOLTON WANDERERS 0

Brazilian Jo marked his debut in style, earning a penalty that Mikel Arteta converted to put Everton ahead and then scoring twice after the interval.

Everton dominated from start to finish as they consolidated sixth place with Jo, signed from Manchester City last week, looking to have solved the club’s problem of a lack of strikers.

His first goal was a well-struck volley and his second a penalty in stoppage time.

- - -

MANCHESTER CITY 1 MIDDLESBROUGH 0

City eased further away from the wrong end of the table as Craig Bellamy showed again why manager Mark Hughes spent most of January trying to sign him.

The impish Welsh striker cut in from the right after 52 minutes and planted a shot past keeper Brad Jones to register his second goal for the club.

Shay Given played well in goal on his City debut, making three saves to deny Afonso Alves. Boro have now gone 13 matches without a win.

- - -

PORTSMOUTH 2 LIVERPOOL 3

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez started with strikers Fernando Torres and Dirk Kuyt on the bench but they both came on late in the game to spark a superb fightback and keep the pressure on leaders Manchester United.

David Nugent shot Portsmouth in front just past the hour before Fabio Aurelio equalised following an indirect free kick in the box.

Hermann Hreidarsson headed Pompey back in front and they seemed set for a priceless victory until Kuyt shot past David James from a tight angle after 85 minutes and Torres won it in stoppage time with a header from Yossi Benayoun’s cross.

- - -

SUNDERLAND 2 STOKE CITY 0

Stoke remain just outside the relegation zone after losing and having Matthew Etherington sent off in the second half for a straight red card.

Henri Camara was denied by the woodwork for Stoke just after Etherington’s dismissal and Kenwyne Jones headed Sunderland in front with 12 minutes left. David Healy then scored the second.

- - -

WEST BROMWICH ALBION 2 NEWCASTLE UNITED 3

Newcastle won at bottom club West Brom despite manager Joe Kinnear being taken to hospital on the morning of the match after feeling unwell.

Damien Duff put United ahead only for Marc-Antoine Fortune to level, both goals coming in the opening four minutes.

New signing Peter Lovenkrands made it 2-1 and Steven Taylor added a third before halftime. Fortune struck again with 17 minutes to go but Newcastle hung on.

- - -

WIGAN ATHLETIC 0 FULHAM 0

Egyptian striker Mido wasted the best chance for Wigan when he headed off target from an inviting position.

Bobby Zamora was also wasteful for Fulham as the game petered out to a dull draw between two mid-table sides.

[abadani69]

Brief reports of Premier League
matches played at the weekend:

SUNDAY

FULHAM 2 WEST BROMWICH ALBION 0

Mid-table Fulham were worth much more than their two goals
as they completely outplayed a West Brom side stuck at the
bottom of the table.

The only surprise was that they had to wait more than an
hour to break the deadlock when Bobby Zamora tapped in. Andy
Johnson doubled the lead after Zamora's blocked shot came back
to him in the penalty area. Fulham also hit the woodwork four
times while West Brom missed a late penalty.

- - -

LIVERPOOL 1 MANCHESTER CITY 1

Liverpool flagging title challenge took another blow as they
laboured to a draw that left them seven points off the pace.

Former Anfield striker Craig Bellamy's shot took a big
deflection off Alvaro Arbeloa after 51 minutes to put City in
front but Dirk Kuyt struck with 12 minutes left to spare
Liverpool a first home league defeat this season.

- - -

NEWCASTLE UNITED 0 EVERTON 0

Newcastle played more than half of the match with 10 men
after Kevin Nolan was sent off for an ugly two-footed tackle on
Victor Anichebe while Everton were handicapped by a bad injury
to midfielder Mikel Arteta.

Peter Lovenkrands wasted the best side of the match for the
home side, missing the target with only the keeper to beat.

- - -

SATURDAY

ARSENAL 0 SUNDERLAND 0

Andrei Arshavin made his debut for Arsenal but was
substituted in the second half as the Gunners drew 0-0 for the
third consecutive league match.

The Russia playmaker, Arsenal's record signing, began
brightly and had two early chances but faded as his lack of
match fitness caught up with him. Arsenal, who host Roma in the
Champions League on Tuesday, were booed off at the final
whistle.

- - -

ASTON VILLA 0 CHELSEA 1

Aston Villa's long unbeaten run was shattered by Chelsea
thanks to a 21st goal of the season by Nicolas Anelka.

The French striker struck after 19 minutes of Guus Hiddink's
first match in charge following inspired play by Frank Lampard.
Ashley Young struck the crossbar with a free kick for
disappointing Villa.

- - -

BOLTON WANDERERS 2 WEST HAM UNITED 1

A lightning start helped Bolton ease their relegation
worries although they had to hang on in the second half.

Matt Taylor opened the scoring after 10 minutes and Kevin
Davies turned in the second a minute later. Scott Parker replied
for West Ham after the break.

- - -

MANCHESTER UNITED 2 BLACKBURN ROVERS 1

United's relentless progress towards the title was given a
thorough test by Rovers who breached a defence that had managed
a league record of 14 consecutive clean sheets.

Wayne Rooney put United in front early on but Roque Santa
Cruz levelled when he rounded goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak and
slid a shot into the net.

Cristiano Ronaldo's dipping free kick on the hour sealed a
10th straight win for United but Rovers were unlucky not to get
a late penalty when Morten Gamst Pedersen was pulled back.

- - -

MIDDLESBROUGH 0 WIGAN ATHLETIC 0

Boro look to be in serious danger of going down after
another uninspired performance.

They have now gone 14 matches without a league win and have
managed just 18 goals in 26 games.

- - -

STOKE CITY 2 PORTSMOUTH 2

An incident-packed last 15 minutes resulted in a draw that
left both sides deep in relegation trouble

An own goal in stoppage time by Ryan Shawcross earned
Portsmouth a deserved point after James Beattie's double, the
first a controversial penalty and the second suspiciously
offside, had seemingly won it for Stoke.

Portsmouth took the lead after 75 minutes through Croatian
midfielder Niko Kranjcar.

- - -

Playing Monday:

Hull City v Tottenham Hotspur

[abadani69]

Brief reports of Premier League matches played on Sunday:

ASTON VILLA 2 STOKE CITY 2

Villa, who could have gone eight points clear of Arsenal in the race for a Champions League slot, blew a 2-0 lead in the final three minutes.

Stilian Petrov, on the stroke of halftime, and substitute John Carew in the 79th put Villa in control but Ryan Shawcross pulled one back with an 87th-minute header and Glenn Whelan completed the comeback in stoppage time.

- - - -

BOLTON WANDERERS 1 NEWCASTLE UNITED 0

Bolton manager Gary Megson signed a new contract before the match and his side rewarded him with a home win that lifted them to 10th place.

Second half substitute Ricardo Gardner scored the winner in the 47th minute, firing into the top left corner for his third goal of the season. Newcastle had a late penalty appeal rejected.

- - - -

HULL CITY 1 BLACKBURN ROVERS 2

Blackburn’s first away win in five months lifted them out of the relegation zone on goal difference. Stephen Warnock and Keith Andrews put the visitors 2-0 up by halftime but Ian Ashbee pulled one back in the 79th.

Both teams ended the match with 10 men, Hull’s Dean Marney getting a red card in the 63rd and Blackburn’s Morten Gamst Pedersen collecting a second booking in the 71st.

- - - -

WEST HAM UNITED 1 MANCHESTER CITY 0

The Hammers moved up to seventh with a deserved victory against a City side who have won just once away from home all season.

Jack Collison made the breakthrough in the 71st minute. West Ham also had Swiss international midfielder Valon Bahrami carried off with a serious-looking injury in the first half.

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Played on Saturday:

ARSENAL 0 FULHAM 0

Arsenal were jeered off the pitch after a fourth successive 0-0 league draw left them struggling to get back into the top four.

Robin van Persie had a point-blank header saved by Mark Schwarzer but a confident Fulham had their share of the game and Andy Johnson could and should have converted at least one of four decent opportunities.

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CHELSEA 2 WIGAN ATHLETIC 1

Frank Lampard was the Chelsea hero again as he seized on a Michael Ballack header to nod the winner in injury time.

John Terry’s deflected volley has put the home side ahead midway through the first half but Wigan were always in the game and thought they had done enough for a point when Olivier Kapo levelled after 82 minutes.

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EVERTON 2 WEST BROMWICH ALBION 0

Two pieces of clinical finishing, helped by poor defending, made the difference as bottom club West Brom played plenty of football, had one effort cleared off the line and also hit the bar but lost again.

Tim Cahill, not for the first time in recent weeks, was left unmarked at a free kick to head a sluggish Everton into the lead after 36 minutes and substitute Louis Saha added a superb second with a clever spin on the edge of the box followed by a fierce low shot 20 minutes from time.

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MIDDLESBROUGH 2 LIVERPOOL 0

Boro’s first win in 15 league games and Liverpool’s second league defeat of the season was a huge result for both and left Rafa Benitez’s side seven points adrift of leaders Manchester United, who won the League Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur on penalties at Wembley on Sunday.

A Xabi Alonso own goal put Boro ahead after 32 minutes and a confident finish by Tuncay following good work by Jeremie Aliadiere made it 2-0 in the 64th.

Liverpool, who beat Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, missed two great chances through Nabil El Zhar while Dirk Kuyt also missed a fine opportunity late on and Steven Gerrard limped off 15 minutes from time.

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Gareth Barry salvaged a 3-3 draw for Aston Villa against Everton on Sunday, equalizing from the penalty spot to keep the team fifth in the Premier League.

Referee Howard Webb awarded the 66th-minute penalty after Joleon Lescott’s boot inadvertently caught Stilian Petrov’s face while acrobatically trying to clear the ball.

“It was a harsh decision,” Everton manager David Moyes said. “I thought it might have been an indirect free kick because all Joleon has done is put his foot up to try and get the ball.”

Also, Clint Dempsey scored twice as Fulham rallied to beat Manchester City 3-1, keeping the London club in contention for European qualification.

Everton, which is nine points ahead of Fulham in sixth place, twice threw away two-goal leads at Villa Park, squandering a chance to move ahead of the home side into fifth.

Marouane Fellaini and Tim Cahill had put the visitors in control with goals in the first 23 minutes. Leighton Baines slipped the ball across from the left for Fellaini to tap into the net in the 20th. Cahill scored his ninth goal of the season, reacting to the rebound to nod past Brad Friedel after his header from Stephen Pienaar’s corner came off the crossbar.

John Carew pulled one back for Villa in the 33rd from close range after confusion in the Everton defense.

Pienaar restored Everton’s two-goal cushion in the 53rd, turning past Luke Young and curling a 20-meter (yard) shot past Friedel into the corner of the net.

Two minutes later, James Milner bent a free kick inside Tim Howard’s post to make it 3-2.

Despite rescuing a point, Villa remains winless since Feb. 7 and the fourth Champions League spot it once had is now occupied by a resurgent Arsenal, which is eight points ahead.

“Are we out of the Champions League? I would not disagree. I think either of us had to win (Sunday) to keep in touch. It is a result that suits Arsenal,” Villa manager Martin O’Neill said. “With Arsenal winning yesterday it will now be very hard but we shouldn’t just give up the fight like that. Arsenal have some very tough games ahead.”

Manchester City put British record signing Robinho on the bench against Fulham after a string of lackluster performances from the Brazil striker despite Craig Bellamy and Shaun Wright-Phillips being injured.

City scored in the 28th with its first shot on goal when a dipping, deflected strike from Stephen Ireland beat Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

Fulham leveled five minutes into the second half after Pablo Zabaleta gifted possession to Dempsey, who quickly fed Bobby Zamora. When Micah Richards jumped in to make the tackle, the City defender could only direct the ball for Dempsey to shoot past Shay Given.

Fulham pressed forward with more enthusiasm, with Zamora shooting wide before Nedum Onuoha’s feeble clearance allowed Dickson Etuhu to volley from 20 meters (yards) into his former club’s net in the 59th.

Robinho came on in the 64th, but the ?42.5 million ($56 million) signing added little to the attack and Dempsey slotted in Fulham’s third in the 83rd after being fed by Zamora.

“We kept fighting and we got the result we needed and now we are on 43 points,” Dempsey said. “It’s great to get back-to-back away wins because it’s something we haven’t been doing. Hopefully we can continue that form and have a strong end to the season and see where we get in the table.”

City’s loss replicated the one at Hamburg in the UEFA Cup on Thursday, when the team lost the first leg of the quarterfinals despite Ireland’s early goal.

“You need energy in the Premier League and Fulham had the advantage of having a clear week,” Hughes said. “Towards the end of the game we felt the affects of the game in midweek and sometimes tired minds make mistakes in key areas of the field.”

On Saturday, defending champion Manchester United stayed a point clear of Liverpool with a game in hand by beating Sunderland 2-1 while Liverpool defeated Blackburn 4-0. Third-place Chelsea beat Bolton 4-3 to stay within four points of the leaders.

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Chelsea striker Didier Drogba was back to his best against Arsenal at Wembley yesterday, striking the decisive goal in a 2-1 victory that sealed a place in the final on May 30, where, it was confirmed today, they will face Everton, after the Toffees beat Manchester United on penalties in the other semi-final.

It was an impressive display by the Ivorian, and his club captain thinks that when the striker is in that kind of form, then there are few in the world who can currently touch him.

"Didier has been in great form of late and long may that continue," said the Chelsea skipper," he told Sky Sports News.


"Because when he plays like that even if you're the strongest defender in the Premier League or the world you are not going to get near him. He pins people back - he was chucking big defenders on the floor.

"His link-up play is good and we saw in the end he's got a great finish as well. Long may his goals continue.

"Early on in the season we had Nicolas Anelka's goals, Frank Lampard contributes an awful lot, Florent Malouda popped up with one today and now at the back end of the season Didier is banging them in.

"On that form he's the best in the world for me. I've played against an awful lot of strikers and he's definitely up there with the best."

As for Chelsea's chances of landing a treble of trophies this season, with the Blues still pushing in the Premier League and Champions League as well as reaching the FA Cup final, Terry concluded by asserting that anything was still possible.

He added, "We've got a very good chance and we'll keep pushing in the Premier League.

"Manchester United and Liverpool are doing very well at the minute but we'll never give in. We've shown that over the last two years, when everybody has ruled us out we've fought and given it a good go.

"We took it to the last game last season and we'll do it again this year. We're in the final now and we've got a massive game in Barcelona in a couple of weeks so things are going well for us. We need to keep this momentum now and really kick on."

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Chelsea hit back to win 3-1 at Sunderland and promoted Wolves captured a 1-0 victory at Wigan in the English Premier League on Tuesday.

Darren Bent fired Sunderland into an 18th-minute lead at the Stadium of Light after a shot from Kenwyne Jones was blocked.

Michael Ballack leveled in the 52nd after Branislav Ivanovic had headed on a corner by Frank Lampard. Lampard then fired the visitors ahead from the penalty spot after George McCartney’s foul on Didier Drogba, and Deco added the third in the 70th from the edge of the area from Jose Bosingwa’s pass.

“In the second half we made the spaces to score the goals,” said manager Carlo Ancelotti, whose team has maximum points from their first two games after Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Hull at Stamford Bridge.

“I liked very much the play of the team tonight. Every game is different but I want to maintain this quality.”

Wolves’ victory at Wigan was a major surprise after the home side’s 2-0 victory at Aston Villa on Saturday. Andy Keogh headed the only goal after six minutes and Wolves went on to record its first away goal in Premier League football after failing to win on the road the last time it was promoted in 2003.

“I think that what I have learned and the players have learned is that we can play at this level,” said Wolves manager Mick McCarthy, who guided the team to the top of the League Championship last season.

Wednesday’s games are Birmingham vs. Portsmouth, Burnley vs. Manchester United, Hull vs. Tottenham and Liverpool vs. Stoke.

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Burnley beat Manchester United for the first time in 41 years with a stunning 1-0 victory over the English Premier League champions on Wednesday.

Liverpool bounced back from its loss at Tottenham on the opening weekend of the season by routing Stoke 4-0, while Spurs maintained its strong start by thrashing Hull 5-1 as Jermain Defoe scored a hat trick.

After a 33-year absence of topflight football at Turf Moor, Robbie Blake scored for Burnley in the 19th minute with a near post volley which flashed past goalkeeper Ben Foster.

Blake conceded a penalty before halftime after making a sliding tackle on Patrice Evra, but goalkeeper Brian Jensen made a flying save to keep out England midfielder Michael Carrick's spot kick.

Jensen then repelled United's threat throughout the second half to clinch Burnley's first victory since September 1968 over the Red Devils, who are bidding for a fourth straight title.

"We're disappointed and it wasn't a great performance by us," United manager Alex Ferguson said. "It was Burnley's night - so many things happened in their box I don't know how we didn't score.

"With the chances we had, we should have won."

Since Burnley was last in England's top division in 1975-76, the club had played United just three times. United had triumphed in each encounter - all in the League Cup - by a combined 9-0.

"Nobody gave us any sort of chance tonight," said Burnley manager Owen Coyle, whose side was beaten by Stoke on Saturday. "We scored a wonderful goal and are absolutely delighted."

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez made two changes from the side that lost 2-1 at Tottenham, with 18-year-old Daniel Ayala making his first start for the club in defense due to Martin Skrtel's injury and Yossi Benayoun replacing Ryan Babel.

The switches paid off inside four minutes with Fernando Torres scoring after Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard burst through on the right and pulled the ball back for the Spain striker to fire past Thomas Sorensen.

Glen Johnson, on his home debut at Anfield, hooked in the second a minute from halftime, Dirk Kuyt scored the third from Gerrard's pass, and David Ngog rounded off the 4-0 win in injury time.

"We have plenty of room for improvement, some players are still short of full fitness," Benitez said. "We are working hard to see if we can announce good new signings. We have enough money for now."

Liverpool's two draws with Stoke last season cost Benitez's side the Premier League title, which United took by four points.

At KC Stadium, Defoe and Wilson Palacios scored in the opening 14 minutes for Spurs.

But the visitors lost goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, who injured himself stretching for a high ball and had to be replaced by Carlo Cudicini.

Hull manager Phil Brown was clearly alarmed by Tottenham's dominance and made an early change, replacing Daniel Cousin with playmaker Geovanni after 21 minutes.

Hull started to look brighter and grabbed a lifeline when Stephen Hunt floated in a cross but no Tottenham players reacted and the ball bounced into the net in the 25th.

Defoe restored the two-goal cushion on the stroke of halftime and, after Robbie Keane scored with a header, completed his hat trick in the 90th.

"I don't think, hand on heart, 5-1 flattered Tottenham tonight - they were fabulous," Brown said. "It's difficult to say to our boys to go out there and do what Spurs do because the gulf in class looks alarming."

Birmingham, which lost to Man United on Sunday, claimed its first points of the campaign with a 1-0 victory over Portsmouth.

James McFadden converted an injury-time penalty after England goalkeeper David James fouled Blues midfielder Sebastian Larsson.