Birmingham City 0 - 2 Newcastle
Løvenkrands 2’
Best 50’
Review:
Jonas Gutierrez inspired Newcastle to their first win in six matches at the expense of Birmingham at St Andrew's. The Argentine winger set up both goals, with the first coming in the second minute when Peter Lovenkrands stole in at the near post to poke in. Leon Best added a second after the break when he headed in Gutierrez's left-wing cross from close range. Birmingham's Nikola Zigic forced a good low save from Steve Harper who was also alert to Roger Johnson's header. The result moves Newcastle up from 10th to ninth but more importantly for Alan Pardew's men it puts them within striking range of a possible European spot. For Birmingham, the defeat leaves them on the the fringes of the drop-zone and with a Carling Cup final date at the end of the month, they could do with going into that day without having to worry about a relegation dogfight.
Cech's last-minute penalty stop salvaged Chelsea a point at Fulham but their title hopes continue to fade. The hosts rarely threatened before Clint Dempsey was fouled by David Luiz in stoppage time, only for Cech to keep out the American's spot-kick. Fernando Torres was wasteful as Chelsea dominated, the Spaniard's touch letting him down when put through by Luiz and then nodding over a cross by Ramires. Michael Essien went close with a header before the late drama unfolded. It was a breathtaking finish to a match that had, up until the 93rd minute, been a quite unspectacular event.Fulham, on the back of three home victories, would have sensed more blood going into this battle at Craven Cottage against the defending Premier League champions and although they created precious little, Mark Hughes' team will rue their missed opportunity to snatch victory and rise to ninth in the table.
Daniel Sturridge scored his third goal in three games to help Bolton earn a scrappy victory over Everton. The hosts took an early lead when Gary Cahill ran clear to head in Stuart Holden's free-kick from the left. Tim Cahill could have levelled when he failed to make proper contact with Leighton Baines' fine cross. But Sturridge, 21, underlined his potency in front of goal since joining the Trotters in January by lashing in following a Bolton free-kick. The on-loan Chelsea forward also went close late on and his recent form has shown strong indications he can flourish when playing from the start.
His two league starts for his new club are as many as he has achieved in the previous two seasons at Stamford Bridge. Bolton boss Owen Coyle and his men were boosted by this win which keeps them in eighth spot in the Premier League but it was a miserable afternoon for their opponents, who could not find any rhythm to their play and were restricted to very few chances.
Manchester United 2 - 1 Manchester City
Nani 41’ Silva 65’
Rooney 78’
Review:
Manchester United managed to win the derby against City, thanks to a wonderfull goal from Rooney! Even though Manchester City played a strong football, they didn't manage to get more than one goal. Now the Red Devils are leading 8 points in front of City.
Robin van Persie scored twice to secure Arsenal's victory over Wolves and keep them in touch with Premier League leaders Manchester United. The Dutchman sent a free-kick over and also sliced wide before scoring with a sweet volley from Cesc Fabregas' cross. Wayne Hennessey kept out Theo Walcott's shot and Richard Stearman blocked on the line from Fabregas within seconds. Walcott shot wide when he should have scored but the winger later squared for Van Persie to lash in his second.
The striker, who has now notched nine goals in five games, was in sparkling form once again and was matched by a stellar performance from midfielder Jack Wilshere. The pair were far too good for a Wolves side that have now lost 11 out of their 13 games on the road this season, and the visitors never looked likely to improve that woeful record at the Emirates.
West Bromwich Albion 3 - 3 West Ham
Dorrans 3’ Ba 50’, 83’
Thomas 8’ Cole 58’
Reid 32’ (csc)
Review:
After a frantic Friday, awhirl with managerial appointments and new stadiums, back to the here-and-now of Premier League survival with West Bromwich Albion and West Ham United showing some of the necessary strengths but all too many of the frailties of struggling sides in a rollercoaster relegation epic in the Black Country. West Ham, looking forward to an exciting future at the Olympic Stadium from 2014, overcame a significant hurdle at the Hawthorns in their battle to preserve top-flight status as Avram Grant's men transformed an absurdly inept first-half performance into a magnificent three-goal fightback. They may still be in the bottom three but the vociferous travelling support headed back to London with renewed optimism for the fight ahead.
Liverpool 1 - 1 Wigan Raul Meireles 24’ Gohouri 65’
Review:
Liverpool's ambitions of staging a late charge for Champions League qualification suffered an untimely blow as bogey side Wigan ended their four-match winning run in a draw at Anfield. A fifth successive victory would have put the Reds within four points of fourth-placed Chelsea but despite dominating two-thirds of the game they failed to press home their advantage. Raul Meireles impressed once again, extending his remarkable goalscoring spree to five in his last six matches, but at the other end Jose Reina's goal was breached for the first time in 463 minutes when Steve Gohouri prodded home from close range.
Blackpool 1 - 1 Aston Villa Grandin 14’ Agbonlahor 10’
Review:
World Cup referee Howard Webb pointed to the penalty spot in injury time it would have been rough justice on Blackpool. But the way things have been going for Ian Holloway's side one suspected it was in the script. Thankfully it was not. For a split second, when Ashley Young collapsed under Alex Baptiste's challenge, a collective gasp hung in the seaside breeze. Not only would it have been a brave decision from Webb, given that he was in the centre circle, it would have been cruel on a Blackpool team who refuse to compromise on their principles despite a run of five straight defeats.
Review: Stoke had a fully fit squad to pick from where as Birmingham were boosted by receiving international clearance to play Obafemi Martins. Birmingham produced the first chance of the game in just the fourth minute when Sebastian Larsson delivered a swinging cross to the back post which was met by the in-form Nikola Zigic but he couldn’t direct his header on target.
Newcastle and Blackburn played out a goalless draw in a game that the Magpies dominated at Ewood Park. Rovers forward Roque Santa Cruz headed against the post after a flick-on by towering defender Chris Samba. Peter Lovenkrands went close for the Magpies, hitting the bar with a fine lob after he had been played in by the excellent Jose Enrique on the left.
Rovers keeper Paul Robinson was busy throughout, saving Leon Best's header and Fabricio Coloccini's volley. Newcastle kept faith with the same side that produced an amazing comeback against Arsenal last weekend and they started with plenty of endeavour at Ewood Park.
Tottenham leapfrogged Chelsea and moved up to fourth in the Premier League table after coming from behind to beat Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. With William Gallas off the field changing his boots, Asamoah Gyan's skilful finish opened the scoring. But Spurs equalised on the stroke of half-time through Michael Dawson's thunderous header direct from a corner. Niko Kranjcar had an excellent game and the Croat gave the visitors all three points with a terrific volley. The north Londoners can now travel to Milan for their Champions League last-16 tie in good spirits, with manager Harry Redknapp hoping to add Rafael van der Vaart to his squad should the flying Dutchman recover from the injury that kept him out of this game.
Arsenal 2 - 1 Everton
Arshavin 70’ Saha 24’
Koscielny 75’
Review:
Arsenal recovered from Louis Saha's hotly disputed goal to come from behind and beat Everton at the Emirates.
Everton took a first-half lead when Saha scored from what looked like an offside position - but the officials ruled that the intervention of Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny made the goal legitimate. Arsenal struggled long and hard to make the breakthrough in the face of discipline and organisation from David Moyes's side, but ensured they maintained the pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester United with two swift strikes in the final 20 minutes. Substitute Andrey Arshavin drew them level when Jack Rodwell unwittingly headed Cesc Fabregas' pass into his path before Koscielny took advantage of poor Everton marking at Robin van Persie's corner to head the winner five minutes later. It was a crucial victory for Arsenal, who faced a potentially damaging defeat as Everton protected the lead given to them in contentious circumstances for so long.
He may have been hundreds of miles away back in London but the Fernando Torres effect was already clearly in evidence here at the Stadium of Light. Everyone knows the most expensive footballer in the history of English footballer can be an inspirational presence on the field, but on Tuesday night the £50 million striker’s new Chelsea colleagues showed just how influential he can be even when he’s got his feet up.
Defensively Chelsea might look shaky but in taking their tally of goals in 10 in threePremier League games, Carlo Ancelotti's forwards provided evidence that Torres has had a galvanising effect on Stamford Bridge after being on the payroll for less than 24 hours. Even Ancelotti admitted that Torres and fellow new recruit David Luiz had caused the champions to raise their game after his team overcame a dreadful start to glide to a comfortable victory.
Manchester United 3 - 1 Aston Villa Rooney 1’, 45’Bent 58’ Vidic 63’
Review:
It was at Old Trafford. Two goals from Rooney and one for Vidic see United over the line after Bent gave Villa some brief hope of getting something out of this one. It finished 3-1 for the Premier League leaders.
A 78th minute goal from Fortuné saved a point for Roberto Di Matteo’s West Brom in an enthralling encounter that leaves Wigan still in the relegation zone after a 2-2 draw. The draw means that Wigan remain in 18th place in the Premier League, whereas West Brom lie 16th, three points clear of the drop zone. In a dual between the Premier League’s two youngest managers, it was the visitors who started the brighter of the two sides, with Wigan knocking the ball around confidently and looking to attack from the off.
Birmingham City 2 - 2 Manchester City
Žigic 23’ Tévez 4’
Gardner 77’ (pen.) Kolarov 41’
Review:
During Birmingham City’s nerve-jangling 2-2 draw with Manchester City last week, Nikola Zigic’s 23rd minute equaliser was the first time a Birmingham striker has netted in the Premier League since November. That’s a staggering 937 minutes of action without one of their marksmen beating a keeper. With their recent cup adventures in reaching the Carling Cup final and FA Cup fifth round, Birmingham seem to have found a catalyst for success. Zigic, bought for around £6 million from Valencia, was previously lambasted by critics with just two goals to his name in 19 Premier League appearances. The rejuvenated Serb has since made it two goals in two matches with his headed finish against fellow relegation candidates West Ham United.
Blackpool 1 - 3 West Ham Adam 42’ Obinna 24’,44’
Keane 37’
Review:
First goal; Sublime to the ridiculous for Kingson. Obinna waltzes into the Blackpool box, fires a shot into the near post and it goes through Kingson's hands. West Ham lead 1-0!! 2nd for West Ham, Kingson saves from Obinna, the ball flies back to the striker. There's Kingson again. Ball falls to Keane. who rifles home. 2-0 West Ham. 3rd Goal Blackpool:Adam smacks the corner into the near post. Piquionne takes a wild swing and it's in. Green had no chance. Blackpool 1 West Ham 2. Bizarre goal, but they all count. 4th Goal; Obinna has space some 25 yards out and crashes the ball past Kingson into the net. Blackpool 1 West Ham 3. Then the whistle went.
Blackburn, who have yet to pick up a single point this term from any of the games where their opponents have taken the lead, found themselves trailing as early as the third minute when Peter Crouch headed what proved to be the game's only goal. Crouch leapt highest to Rafael van der Vaart’s cross to give Tottenham the lead. Injury plagued though the visitors may be, there was sufficient strength in depth for Spurs to shine for sustained periods after making much the brighter start of the two sides, even given the absence of Tottenham's most recent casualty, creative midfielder Luka Modric, who is expected to be sidelined for the next two weeks following a bout of appendicitis. However, what the home side lacked in cohesive one-touch passing and close control, they made up for the most part with character, commitment and determination enough to make life frequently difficult for Tottenham's makeshift back four, who regularly found themselves at full stretch in the face of the home side's sustained aerial assault tactics.
Damien Duff scored the only goal on a rather mundane night in west London. Before the match, all talk was on how the Newcastle fans would react to the sale of Andy Carroll to Liverpool on transfer deadline day.
The Toon Army were remarkably silent on the affair, perhaps resigned to being perpetually aggrieved towards their colourful chairman Mike Ashley, or just still coming to terms with how a striker who has only scored 11 Premier League goals can be worth so much money. Pardew said: “The loss of Andy Carroll is a factor on the game. But I thought the response for our fans was terrific, they could have been super negative and given us a hard time, but they didn’t.” They were remarkably quiet and the drab atmosphere was replicated on the field of play. Both teams failed to muster much action in the first half as Newcastle successfully squeezed the Fulham midfield and would not let the home side get their passing game going.
Liverpool 2 -0 Stroke City
Raul Meireles 47’
Suarez 79’
Review:
Luis Suarez scored on his Liverpool debut as the Reds began their post-Fernando Torres era by beating Stoke. Potters keeper Asmir Begovic's reflex save kept out a Glen Johnson header but Raul Meireles drove in a 47th minute shot to put the home side ahead. John Carew had a strike which went wide before Suarez rounded Begovic and saw his shot go in despite Andy Wilkinson's attempt at a sliding interception.
Reds keeper Pepe Reina saved from Jon Walters as Liverpool secured victory.
On a day when the giant Torres mural on the outside of the stadium had been removed, inside Anfield Suarez provided enough evidence after his 63rd minute introduction that the Reds faithful might have another hero to appreciate.
A goal in added time goal by Daniel Sturridge, the striker on loan from Chelsea, secured Bolton'sfirst victory in six encounters leaving desperateWolves in even deeper relegation trouble.
The visitors had appeared capable of hanging on for a punt in a dour game of few chances and little entertainment until Ronald Zubar inexplicably turned the ball back across the face of his own penalty area.
That left Sturridge, a 67th-minute substitute, with a clear run at goal to deliver a dramatic finish.
It was a welcome victory for Bolton whose one point from the previous 15 had seen them slip into the bottom half of the table.
In a tiresome opening half they had been denied by the Wolves goalkeeper, Wayne Hennessey, who made excellent blocks to twice deny Johan Elmamder, as well as Matt Taylor.
Sunderland defended set-pieces poorly, there was no getting away from that, but the finger of blame for two of Stoke’s goals could just as easily be pointed at referee Lee Probert and his assistants, Stephen Child and Paul Thompson.
Kieran Richardson had fired Sunderland in front inside the first two minutes but, just after the half-hour, linesman Child – who was also guilty of a major error in Arsenal’s game against Everton in midweek – failed to spot that Carew was offside as the ball was knocked down to him and the on-loan Aston Villa man poked it home.
Wigan 4 - 3 Blackburn
McCarthy 35’, 56' Roberts 23'
Rodallega 50’ Samba 58’
Watson 65’ (pen.) Dunn 81’ (pen.)
Review:
James McCarthy scored twice in a thrilling encounter at the DW Stadium as Wigan beat Blackburn 4-3 to end their eight-game winless run in the Barclays Premier League and climb out of the bottom three.
Tottenham 2 - 1 Bolton
Van der Vaart 6’(pen.) Sturridge 55’
Kranjcar 90
Review:
With a last-minute Niko Kranjcar winner and Arsenal throwing away a four-goal lead, White Hart Lane was simply delirious here. A mixture of disbelief and unbridled joy met Mark Clattenburg’s full-time whistle, as Tottenham’s hunt for a fourth-place finish continued in dramatic circumstances. Tottenham seemed to be ambling towards a scrappy 1-0 victory after Van der Vaart converted from the spot following Kevin Davies’s handball, although they could have made it a lot easier. Van der Vaart netted a second from the spot after Sam Ricketts tripped Aaron Lennon but Wilson Palacios encroached in the area, Clattenburg ordered a retake and the Dutchman missed.
Newcastle 4 - 4 Arsenal
Barton 68’(pen.),83’(pen.) Walcott 1’
Best 75’ Djourou 3’
Tioté 87’ van Persie 10’, 26’
Review:
Player-turned-pundit Chris Kamara has lauded the remarkable comeback staged by Newcastle United after Alan Pardew’s side snatched a 4-4 draw with Arsenal having been 4-0 down with 22 minutes remaining.
The Gunners totally dominated proceedings in the first with goals from Theo Walcott, Johan Djourou and a brace from Robin van Persie putting Arsene Wenger in a seemingly unassailable position. However, two penalties from Joey Barton, sandwiching a Leon Best strike, set up a grandstand finish before Cheik Tiote smashed home a superb equaliser on the volley.
Manchester City 3 - 0 West Bromwich Albion Tévez 17’ (pen.), 22’, 39’ (pen.)
Review:
A wrong day for Roberto Di Matteo, a happy birthday for Carlos Tevez.The fate of the Albion boss was sealed at Eastlands through an Argentine striker who was gifted two of his three goals. Tevez received the match ball for his 27th birthday but Albion were in a kind mood. Steven Reid brought down Aleksander Kolarov to give Tevez an early spot-kick, which he converted. The ex-Manchester United man then grabbed a second when he exchanged a one-two, hurdled Jonas Olsson’s challenge and slotted a low shot past Boaz Myhill. It was the touch of genius. The touch of Jerome Thomas was less celebrated when he collected an innocuous cross on to his hand. Tevez did the rest. Albion looked out of sorts and were lucky not to be punished further, with poor finishing and Myhill restricting the home side.
Everton 5 - 3 Blackpool
Saha 22’, 47’, 76’, 84’ Baptiste 37’
Beckford 80’ Puncheon 62' Adam 64’
Review:
Louis Saha grabbed four goals as Everton broke Blackpool's ressistance in a remarkable game.Everton played strong in the midfield ie; Fellaini lost only 1 out of 11 duel. They even had a goal ruled out in controversial circumstances when referee Kevin Friend disallowed a Saha effort. The game was wide open and played at a dizzying pace with Blackpool happy to commit men forward when their chances arrived and the Blues, at times, playing some slick inventive football. Twice Saha fired his side in front only for Alex Baptiste and Jason Puncheon to drag the visitors level. Charlie Adam then stunned Goodison by putting the Tangerines in front for the first time in the match, only for Saha to plunder his third as momentum shifted again. Substitute Jermaine Beckford sparked pandemonium inside the old ground by volleying in Leighton Baines’ sublime pass with a razor-sharp finish. And Saha put the seal on the win with the pick of his goals, running half the length of the pitch before beating keeper Paul Rabchuka with the outside of his boot. It was an absorbing contest packed with action, fulsome in talking points and culminating in Everton climbing to 13th in the ranking.
Aston Villa 2 - 2 Fullham
Pantsil 13’(OG) Johnson 53’
Walker 73’ Dempsey 79’
Review:
Kyle Walker capped a weekend in which he was called up to the senior England squad by scoring his first ever Premier League goal in Aston Villa’s 2-2 Premier League draw with Fulham at Villa Park.
It was a screamer of a strike on 72 minutes to put his side in the lead, taking the ball out of defence before firing low into the bottom left corner from 20 yards. Although Clint Dempsey cancelled out the goal to earn a point for Fulham six minutes later, it was Kyle’s second Villa goal in what is proving to be a successful loan spell.
Wolverhampton 2 - 1 Manchester United
Elokobi 10’ Nani 3’
Doyle 40’
Review:
United descended on Molineux with the hauteur of invading Romans seeking to crush and collect. They ran into hostile hosts ready to fight. The result was an ambush. The early goal from Nani meant nothing. Wolves smashed the conceit out of United. The crowd blew the lid off the stands and first George Elokobi, then Kevin Doyle set the night on fire with their set-piece plunder.
Circumstances conspired against United. Rio Ferdinand fell off the fitness tightrope he constantly walks, injuring his calf in the warm-up. The pitch evoked the days when Billy Wright ran out with a laced ball under his arm. It was a dog’s dinner, which combined with a brutish wind to take the pace off the ball and negate any advantage United may have had in movement and technique.
Nikola Zigic’s fourth league goal of the season was enough to separate these two teams who are fighting to avoid relegation. The away win see’s Alex McLeish’s side climb out of the bottom three, but leaves Avram Grant’s men reeling at the foot of the table.
Both teams went into this clash at Upton Park in the relegation places but knowing that a win would take either of them out of the drop zone. This may have been why both thee home and away sides went for attacking looking 4-4-2 formations. Robbie Keane made his home debut for the Hammers playing alongside Frederic Piquionne in attack and Birmingham opted for the powerful combination of Cameron Jerome and Nikola Zigic upfront.
Liverpool made Fernando Torres debute for Chelsea dramatic by winning in Stamford Bridge. Thanks to a wonderfull goal of Raul Meireles, in the 26th day of the Premier League. The Blues, 4th in the rankings, have now 5 points less than necessary for the podium. The Reds are now 6th in the rankings.
