FA Barclays Premiership Round-up (1st - 2nd February)

MORE engrossing action took place in midweek from the Barclays Premiership, as the competition settled back into some form of continuity, following the craziness of deadline day on Monday.  Here is a quick round-up;

POWER: Wayne Rooney looked back to his best in midweek

Manchester United maintained their unbeaten record, as they recorded a 3-1 win over Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.  It took the pacesetters just 49 seconds to score the opener, as Wayne Rooney smashed home his first home goal since August.  United doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time when Rooney tucked in his second goal; his first brace since March 2010.  A typical Darren Bent goal bought Gerard Houiller’s side briefly bought Villa back into it, but their hope only lasted five minutes, as Nemanja Vidic killed the game off with a finish that Rooney would have been proud of.  Had it not been for Brad Friedel, the scorelines could have been even more emphatic.

Arsenal came from behind against Everton to win 2-1 at the Emirates and keep their title hopes alive.  On a controversial night, which ended with David Moyes accusing Cesc Fabregas of meeting the referee in the half-time interval, the Gunners showed real character to overcome a gritty Everton unit.  Louis Saha’s recent revival continued as he fortuitously put the Toffees infront midway through the first half.  He was in an offside position, when he latched onto Seamus Coleman’s pass.  Arsenal got on terms with twenty minutes to spare.  Fabregas’s clipped ball flicked off Jack Rodwell and was vaulted in by the woefully out-of-form Andrei Arshavin.  Four minutes later, an unmarked Laurent Koscieny met Robin Van Persie’s corner to head home his first Premiership goal and consign Everton to another defeat.  They now haven’t won at Arsenal since January 1996.

Chelsea are beginning to return to their best after their winter wobble, highlighted by an excellent 4-2 win at Sunderland.  The Black Cats were ahead inside of four minutes, as Phil Bardsley ghosted past an invincible John Obi Mikel and left Petr Cech with no chance.  The left-back second goal in a month was cancelled out by a Frank Lampard penalty and Salomon Kalou’s first goal in the league since November.  A third goal in two games for Kieran Richardson has the game tied at 2-2 with just 25 minutes gone.  It was all Chelsea though after the interval and they gradually pulled away from their opponents.  Craig Gordon produced a brilliant save to deny Lampard, but the Scottish international could do nothing about the follow-up from John Terry on the hour mark.  In time added on, the impressive Nicolas Anelka put the seal on a fantastic away performance, to move Chelsea to within two points of third placed Manchester City.

City dropped more points, this time away to Carling Cup finalists Birmingham City.  The home side were behind early on, when top scorer Carlos Tevez scrambled home an opener, which Ben Foster probably could have done better dealing with.  Nikola Zigic turned home from close range for Birmingham midway through the first half, only for a beautifully flighted free-kick from Aleksandar Kolarov to restore the visitors lead.  Birmingham have only won one of their last eight Premiership matches, but showed great character and deserved their point.  Kevin Phillips was pushed over in the penalty area by Patrick Vieira, allowing Craig Gardner to smash home the penalty and earn a share of the spoils in a 2-2 draw.

DREAM: Luis Suarez is off and running at Anfield

Liverpool began life after Fernando Torres with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Stoke City at Anfield, their third successive league win.  After a frustrating first half, it took Liverpool less than two minutes into the restart to grab the lead.  Steven Gerrard’s free-kick was deflected into the path of Raul Meireles, who scored his third goal in four matches, finally starting to justify his massive price tag.  The moment Liverpool fans wanted came with 11 minutes to go, as Luis Suarez scored his first goal for the club, having come off the bench.  He rounded Asmir Begovic and after scuffing his shot horribly, it needed help from Andy Wilkinson to cross the line.  He will score prettier goals, but at least the Uruguayan is off and running as the Reds new No.7.

DEBUT: It was a dream start to Robbie Keane's new life at West Ham

At the bottom of the table, West Ham United moved off the foot of the table, courtesy of a 3-1 win at Bloomfield Road over Blackpool.  Robbie Keane scored on his debut for the Hammers and could turn out to be a very valuable signing for Avram Grant.  Wolves replace West Ham at the bottom, after suffering another morale-crushing loss, this time 1-0 at Bolton.  The winner came in the 90^th minute, from another deadline day signing, Daniel Sturridge; acquired from Chelsea on loan until the end of the campaign.  An entertaining 2-2 draw on Tuesday night did little to help West Brom or Wigan Athletic in their quest to move out of the danger zone, but one club going in the right direction is Fulham.  Damien Duff scored the solitary goal of a tight and dire match at Craven Cottage on Wednesday evening to beat his former employers, Newcastle United.  To round-off the midweek action, Tottenham earnt their first win since New Year’s Day.  Peter Crouch’s fine first half header was good enough to beat Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park. 

More weekend matches on the way, including Chelsea v Liverpool, West Ham v Birmingham and Newcastle United v Arsenal.  However, can anyone stop Manchester United?  On current form, it’s a tough ask.