UEFA Champions League Matchday 6 - Arsenal finish the English job

ARSENAL required a win last night and finished the English job of ensuring all four sides qualified for the knockout stages.  As the UEFA Champions League heads into its winter hibernation, the Gunners recorded a 3-1 win over the whipping boys of Group H, Partizan Belgrade, without being anywhere near their best.

BATTLE: Samir Nasri showed his class again last night

A tetchy first half hour was eased when Robin Van Persie went over and got a very fortunate penalty.  There seemed to very minimal contact from Marko Jovanovic, but the makeshift Arsenal captain couldn’t care less, as he confidently powered the penalty away, his first goal of any description since May.  If anyone thought that the floodgates would open, then they were to be seriously mistaken as the Brazilian Cleo bought the Serbians level, with a shot that took a wicked deflection off Sebastian Squillaci and looped over Lukasz Fabianski into the net.  A pin drop could be felt around the Emirates, as Arsene Wenger’s side looked on the edge.  Those growing fears were ultimately eased by substitute Theo Walcott, who took advantage of a poor cleared header from Jovanovic to produce an instinctive shot that Vladimir Stojkovic never saw.  Qualification for the next round was secure as Samir Nasri scored his 12^th goal of an impeccable season for the Frenchman, rounding off a brilliant team move, something the Gunners lacked all night.  Bakary Sagna was dismissed for clipping one of the Partizan strikers, when the last defender with four minutes to go.  It could be a costly dismissal, depending on who Arsenal ends up getting in the next round, but they dragged their way through for the eleventh year in a row.  The news was good elsewhere, as Sporting Braga’s dream was dismissed, seen off 2-0 in a tame affair by the group winners Shakhtar Donetsk.

TROUBLES: Salomon Kalou couldn't find a way through

Didier Drogba made an emotional return to the Stade Velodrome, but Chelsea continued their miserable record of late, beaten 1-0 in France by Marseille.  All the early threat came from Marseille, with Mathieu Balbuena hitting the frame of the goal in the first half and Gabriel Heinze having a flashing header ruled out for offside. However, Soulyemane Diawara was lucky to get away with two dodgy challenges in the box, one which was initially penalised by the referee, only to be over-ruled by the extra official behind the goal.  The only goal came with ten minutes remaining; Taye Taiwo’s shot was deflected, but fell perfectly for Brandau, who rolled the ball past Petr Cech.  Chelsea’s first slip-up in Europe this season, but how long has Carlo Ancelotti got left in the West London dugout.  Elsewhere in Group F, UEFA are bound to investigate the distasteful crowd scenes in the dead rubber between MSK Zilina and Spartak Moscow.  Play was held up for twenty minutes, with flares being thrown onto the field.  For the record, the Russians came from behind to win 2-1.

On Tuesday night, a far from clinical Manchester United got the point they required to top Group C. They fell behind to their rivals, Valencia; Pablo Hernandez put the Spaniards infront after a glaring error from Michael Carrick.  It was the first goal that United have conceded in Europe this season.  Anderson levelled the match, following up the quickest from Ji-Sung Park’s shot, which had been excellently stopped.  The major positive for Sir Alex Ferguson will be the return to top form of Wayne Rooney, who looked evidently dangerous all night for the first time in a long while.

CONFIDENT: Jermain Defoe looks back to his best

Spurs spectacular campaign continued, with another special match in Holland, but their 3-3 draw against FC Twente was enough to top Group A.  Tottenham took the lead three times in the game, the first coming when 40-year old goalkeeper Sander Boschker made a calamitous attempt to clear a Peter Wisgerhof back pass and the ball trickled in on 12 minutes.  It was a goal that would be perfect to grace any Christmas blooper DVD.  Denny Landzaat scored a retaken penalty to make it 1-1 at half-time, but two confident finishes from Jermain Defoe, either side of a good header from right-back Roberto Rosales had the visitors infront again.  Nacer Chadli drew the Dutch champions’ level again with a near-perfect free-kick, securing European football after Christmas for FC Twente.

RARE: Miller's first CL strike in four years wasn't enough

Rangers were already out of the qualification race in Group C, but they earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Turkey against Buraspor.  Kenny Miller scored his first Champions League goal in four years, but the hopeless Turks earned their first and only point of the group stage courtesy of a Sercan Yildiram effort.  Elsewhere in Europe and AS Roma’s 1-1 draw in Romania against CFR Cluj, good enough to qualify in Group E.  Marco Borriello’s early goal made it a comfortable night for Claudio Ranieri’s side, but it was a miserable week for the Italian sides.  AC Milan were shocking at home to Ajax and lost 2-0 in the San Siro in Group G, a perfect start to Frank de Boer’s caretaker reign after Martin Jol’s resignation on Monday.  Meantime, the job prospects are far from good for Rafa Benitez, after his witnessed his Inter side suffer an embarrassing 3-0 loss in Germany to Werder Bremen.  Ten points off the pace in Serie A, Rafa’s position is in severe jeopardy, especially if Inter don’t win the under-strength FIFA World Club Championship in Abu Dhabi later this month.  Finally, congratulations to FC Copenhagen, whose 3-1 win over Panathinaikos in Group D was enough for them to become the first Danish side to escape the group stages.  The Greeks miserable campaign was sealed by a stunning header for ex-Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse.  Just a shame that it was in the wrong net!

Sixteen gone, sixteen remain and a quarter of the sides remaining are English.  Can Tottenham continue their fairytale?  Will Arsenal improve?  Can Chelsea hold it together?  Or have Manchester United got something in the tank?  We will find out more in February.  Happy Christmas from UEFA! 

FA Barclays Premiership Report (4th - 6th December)

DESPITE the cold chill, nine out of ten Premiership fixtures beat the weather.  Not quite the action of the previous weekend, but with Manchester United’s game at Blackpool frozen off, new league leaders were found and we have now seen the first managerial casualty of the season.

Sunday 5^th December: West Brom 3-1 Newcastle United

KNELL: Peter Odemwingie sealed Chris Hughton's fate

CHRIS Hughton was sacked as Newcastle United manager, after being comfortably seen off at the Hawthorns.  Salmon Choi put West Brom infront with a precise shot on 32 minutes.  Peter Odemwingie doubled Albion’s lead when he got the better of the Magpies defence, after Danny Guthrie got his foot trapped in the turf.  With three minutes to go, Odemwingie got round Tim Krul to help himself to a second, and to seal the Baggies first win in the league over Newcastle since 1984.  Newcastle scored in added time through substitute Peter Lovenkrands, but they looked a pale shadow of the side that drew with champions Chelsea last week.  Despite not winning in five games, Hughton’s dismissal is another piece of lunatic actions from owner Mike Ashley.  Alan Pardew is set to be announced tomorrow as successor and he will have a tough job on his hands on Tyneside.

Saturday 4^th December: Arsenal 2-1 Fulham

MOVING: Samir Nasri's brilliance took the Gunners top

ARSENAL were very twitchy again at the Emirates, but held off a brave Fulham challenge to claim the three points and go top of the league.  Samir Nasri fired Arsenal to the top with two more goals, both pieces of individual brilliance.  The first came when he stepped inside two defenders, before finishing from Andrei Arshavin’s delayed pass.  A collision between Sebastian Squillaci and Laurent Koscieny allowed Diomansy Kamara in for the equaliser.  Koscieny had a head injury and Arsene Wenger had every right to be unhappy that play wasn’t stopped.  A beautifully balanced Nasri waltzed into the penalty box to seal the match with fifteen minutes to go.

Saturday 4^th December: Manchester City 1-0 Bolton Wanderers

CARLOS Tevez’s 50^th Premiership appearance for the home side ended in disgust, when the Argentine was replaced by James Milner is stoppage time.  The captain was seen to have a rather distasteful and animated argument with Roberto Mancini afterwards.  Tevez had settled the match with the only goal early on as City dominated throughout.  Left-back Aleksandar Kolarov was sent off late on for two yellow cards, but Bolton couldn’t find a way through.

Monday 6^th December: Liverpool 3-0 Aston Villa

STRIKE: N'Gog fired Liverpool up to eighth in the table

GERARD Houillier experienced a miserable return to Anfield as his Aston Villa side were soundly beaten by Liverpool on Monday night.  The match was over as a contest within of fifteen minutes, with the Reds 2-0 up through goal from makeshift front pairing David N’Gog and Ryan Babel.  Missing Steven Gerrard through injury and Fernando Torres away in Spain, with his wife expecting their second child, Roy Hodgson will be delighted with this convincing performance, sealed by Maxi Rodriguez second-half strike.  Villa looked devoid of confidence and the club are now in a serious relegation battle.

Saturday 4^th December: Chelsea 1-1 Everton

SMASH: Drogba's penalty wasn't enough for Chelsea

YET again, Chelsea failed to pick up three points at home to their new bogey side, Everton.  Didier Drogba scored in the Premiership for the first time since October, smashing home a penalty after Phil Neville’s poor back pass allowed Nicholas Anelka to be clattered by Tim Howard in the area.  Everton rapidly improved in the second half and Leighton Baines in particular caused havoc.  One of his crosses found the head of Tim Cahill, who nodded it back across the box for Jermaine Beckford to equalise.  Chelsea’s dismal form continues, now only have won one of their last six Premiership games.

Saturday 4^th December: Wigan Athletic 2-2 Stoke City

HUDDLE: Wigan fought back to draw

THE honours were shared at the DW Stadium with four first-half goals and hardly a goal straightforward between Wigan Athletic and Stoke City.  Robert Hutch opened the scoring for the visitors, with a deflected free-kick.  Danny Collins put the ball into his own net to make it 1-1, but Stoke soon went back infront, Matthew Etherington scoring for the second successive match.  Tom Cleverly’s mishit strike then came off the luckless Rory Delap to earn Wigan a point, but not enough to take Roberto Martinez’s team out of the bottom three.

Sunday 5^th December: Sunderland 1-0 West Ham United

WEST Ham’s mini revival came to an abrupt end in a game where both teams looked devoid of ideas and creativity.  The only goal of a very scrappy encounter came from Jordan Henderson.  Asamoah Gyan’s clever pullback found Henderson, who crowned his 50^th appearance in the Premiership with his first goal of the season.

Saturday 4^th December: Blackburn Rovers 3-0 Wolves

HAPPY: Blackburn were in cheery mood at the weekend

SAM Allardyce’s two-day rest he gave his players after the mauling in Manchester seemed to reinvigorate Blackburn, who produced a glorious display of purposeful finishing against struggling Wolves.  David Dunn had Rovers infront, heading in from close range and Brett Emerton smashed in a second before half-time, after being teed up by the dangerous Jason Roberson.  Mortem Gamst Pedersen’s free-kick was floated into the net by Ryan Nelsen to wrap the game up.

Saturday 4^th December: Birmingham City 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur

IT WAS a missed opportunity for the visitors, as Birmingham deserved their point against Champions League contenders Spurs.  Once again, Gareth Bale was involved in the build-up for a Tottenham goal.  His free-kick was dealt with by Ben Foster and allowed Sebastian Bassong to take full advantage and poke home the first goal.  Birmingham looked much better in the second half and got a credited leveller through Craig Gardner.

  

FA Barclays Premiership Report (27th - 28th November)

AN EXTRAORDINARY weekend of Premiership football took place last week, with forty-one goals in ten matches and an extraordinary performance from an under-fire striker, who found the net no fewer than five times in a game, an incredible feat.

Saturday 27^th November: Manchester United 7-1 Blackburn Rovers

EXTRAORDINARY: Dimitar Berbatov hits the target again

DIMITAR Berbatov became only the fourth player in Premier League history to score five goals in a game, as magnificent Manchester United crushed Blackburn Rovers.  Within the opening 90 seconds, Berbatov had United infront, flicking on Wayne Rooney’s deft touch after Anderson had been stronger in a 50:50 challenge with Paul Robinson.  Ji-Sung Park made it 2-0, before a terrible back pass from Pascal Chimbonda allowed Berbatov in for a simple second.  His second hat-trick of the season was of the highest quality, beginning the move in his own half and finishing it off from Nani’s ball into the box.  Nani made it 5-0, cutting inside Chimbonda, before lashing a shot past the helpless Robinson.  Berbatov’s fourth goal was scrappy, but he couldn’t care less and then, looking for Rooney, the brilliant Bulgarian accidentally found the corner of the net for 7-0.  Christopher Samba’s header powered past a frustrated Edwin Van der Sar to get a very scant consolation for a battered Blackburn side.

Saturday 27^th November: Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal

HI-FIVE: Samir Nasri and Andrei Arshavin celebrate

ARSENE Wenger will be relieved to see his Arsenal side not throwaway another advantage, beating Aston Villa 4-2 at Villa Park.  Andrei Arshavin scored seven minutes before half-time, when James Collins and Luke Young showed no communication and ran into each other.  Samir Nasri was given the freedom of Birmingham to strike a beautifully deflected effort past Brad Friedel to give the Gunners a worthy 2-0 lead.  Villa got back into the game six minutes into the second half, when Ciaran Clark produced a cracking shot, his team’s first shot on target.  The two goal buffer was restored, as Marouane Chamakh slid the ball past Friedel from Tomas Rosicky’s lovely ball.  Clark then stretched to reach Richard Dunne’s header that crept over the line against the underside of the bar.  Clark’s brace were his first goals for Aston Villa at senior level.  Arsenal were finally handed the points, when Chamakh lobbed Friedel, which allowed teenager Jack Wiltshire to head home from close range.

Sunday 28^th November: Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Liverpool

TERRIFIC: Aaron Lennon completed Tottenham's fightback

A TERRIFIC match in North London saw Tottenham produce another stirring fightback to beat a Liverpool side that spurned several great chances.  Spurs suffered a blow early on, losing Rafael van der Vaart to a suspected hamstring injury.  Martin Skrtel scored on 42 minutes, poking in a shot on the second attempt, when the home side failed to deal with a set-piece.  Maxi Rodriguez and Fernando Torres then missed glaring chances at the end of the first half, and this came back to haunt Roy Hodgson’s side.  David N’Gog blocked a Gareth Bale free-kick in the wall with hand, but Jermain Defoe dragged the resulting penalty horribly wide.  Moments afterwards, Skrtel had scored at both ends, sticking out a leg to prevent Luka Modric’s cross reaching Peter Crouch.  Tottenham won it in stoppage time, when Aaron Lennon ran past a dithering Paul Konchesky to beat Pepe Reina and move Harry Redknapp’s side into the top five.  Liverpool stays in a disappointing mid-table position.

Sunday 28^th November: Newcastle United 1-1 Chelsea

ADVANTAGE: Carroll holds off Mikel to give Toon the lead

CHELSEA lost top spot in the Premiership, with another shoddy performance at a very snowy St. James Park.  Andy Carroll scored again after only six minutes, taking full advantage of a Chelsea defense that looked in a complete mess.  Both Alex and John Obi Mikel made shocking errors of judgement in the build-up.  Chelsea equalised on the stroke of half-time, when Salomon Kalou controlled Florent Malouda’s pass beautifully, before hitting a shot, which took two big deflections to take it past Tim Krul.

Saturday 27^th November: Wolves 3-2 Sunderland

EQUALISER: Bent's goal wasn't enough to prevent a loss

WOLVES recorded a priceless victory over high-flying Sunderland, but still remain in the bottom three.  After early domination from the home side, Kevin Foley fired Wolves into the lead in the second half in clinical fashion, after Craig Gordon had beaten away Matt Jarvis’s shot.  Darren Bent capitalised on a poor Richard Stearman error to make it 1-1 and the Black Cats went infront soon afterwards, Danny Wellbeck guiding a header into the bottom corner past Wayne Hennessey, making his first appearance in goal for Wolves this term.  A double substitution turned the game around for Mick McCarthy, Stephen Hunt tapping the ball in during a packed penalty area and Sylvain Ebanks-Blake scored a huge winner, a magnificent finish past the luckless Gordon in the 89^th minute.

Saturday 27^th November: West Ham United 3-1 Wigan Athletic

OPENER: Valon Behrami gives the Hammers the lead

WHEN you get banners to saving our season in November, you know that your club is in serious trouble.  However, West Ham responded to the call from its fans, with a brilliant win over underachieving Wigan.  Valon Behrami hit a crucial opener, under pressure from two Wigan defenders and Victor Obinha found a crisp finish to put the Hammers on the way to sealing three priceless points.  Mauro Boselli’s first touch in the match for Wigan was a poor one, his spot kick being simply saved by Robert Green, before Obinha found the inform Scott Parker to seal the game.  A terrific goal from Tom Cleverly was no more than a scoreline response for the visitors.

Saturday 27^th November: Everton 1-4 West Brom

COMPETITION: West Brom and Thomas were far stronger

WEST BROM’s fortunes turned around, with a super win at a surprisingly flat Everton.  Paul Scharner scored his first Baggies goal with 15 minutes gone, before Chris Brunt scored a free0kick in spectacular fashion, a shot that Tim Howard never looked like saving.  Tim Cahill netted again for the Toffees, his sixth goal in nine league game, but any hope of Everton getting back into the match went when a blatant double stamp on Gonzalo Jara saw Toffees captain Mikel Arteta rightfully dismissed.  Tchoyi and Youssouf Mulumbu wrapped the result up in the last quarter of an hour, though Mulumbu blotted his copybook with a late dismissal for two yellow cards, which did look a rather soft decision.

Saturday 27^th November: Bolton Wanderers 2-2 Blackpool

EXTENDER: Varney doubled Blackpool's lead

A CRACKING match at the Reebok saw Bolton recover from 2-0 down to rescue a draw against a hard-working Blackpool side.  Tangerines defender Ian Evatt gave the visitors the lead, attacking far more than Johan Elmander at the near post and heading the ball away from Juusi Jaaskelainen.  Luke Varney headed in a second, when Wanderers struggled to deal with another set-piece, but the introduction of Bulgarian Martin Petrov turned the match Bolton’s way.  A fantastic strike from Petrov bought Owen Coyle’s men back into proceedings and Mark Davies finished a brilliant team goal to make it 2-2, after a quality build-up involving Elmander and Kevin Davies.  A share of the spoils was a fair result.

Saturday 27^th November: Stoke City 1-1 Manchester City

IT WAS a tight game at the Britannia, which Micah Richards looked to have settled in the last ten minutes, with a nice turn and a thundering finish underneath the body of Asmir Begovic.  Matthew Etherington grabbed a dramatic equaliser, two minutes into time added on as Stoke fought back to deserve their draw.

Saturday 27^th November: Fulham 1-1 Birmingham City

BIRMINGHAM CITY and Fulham shared the points at Craven Cottage.  A terrific piece of acceleration from Aleksandar Hleb, squared the ball for Sebastian Larsson, who placed a shot past Mark Schwarzer, his first goal since last December.  Clint Dempsey drew Fulham back on level terms, heading home from close range.

FA Barclays Premiership Report (20th - 22nd November)

THE busy November programme in the Barclays Premiership continued this weekend, with more unpredictable results and drama that makes this league as quite simply – the best in the world.  Here’s the round-up.

Saturday 20^th November: Arsenal 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur

COOL: Bale begins the remarkable comeback at the Emirates

THE 165^th North London derby will be remembered for one of the most dramatic fightbacks in its distinguished history.  Once again, Arsenal threw away a commanding position, losing at home for the third time already this season.  The build-up was dominated by the pure hatred between Samir Nasri and William Gallas.  They didn’t shake hands in the greeting stage and it was Nasri on form from the outset, meeting Cesc Fabregas angled ball and punishing Hereulho Gomes hesitation to put the Gunners infront.  Andrei Arshavin set-up Marouane Chamakh to make it 2-0, and the game looked as good as over.  However, the reintroduction of Jermain Defoe into first-team affairs turned the match on its head.  Gareth Bale began the comeback, finishing calmly from Rafael van der Vaart’s lay-off.  Van der Vaart then made it 2-2 from the penalty spot after Fabregas stupidly handballed in a free-kick wall.  With four minutes to go, van der Vaart’s free-kick was flicked into the net by Younes Kaboul, sealing Spurs first win on Arsenal soil since May 1993 and leaving Arsene Wenger furious at his side’s traditional failings, which are just as frequent as a European banking collapse.

Saturday 20^th November: Birmingham City 1-0 Chelsea

FINISH: Bowyer sends Chelsea crashing to another loss

CHELSEA’s third defeat in four games came at St. Andrews, and it was down to Ben Foster, who produced a goalkeeping masterclass to shut out the champions.  Didier Drogba was denied on no less than four separate occasions by the sensational Foster, who looked unbeatable.  Lee Bowyer scored the only goal of the match, played in by Cameron Jerome as Chelsea’s defence stood like statues.  Birmingham move out of the bottom three, whilst Ancelotti’s out-of-form Blues remain top on goal difference.

Sunday 21^st November: Fulham 1-4 Manchester City

RESPECT: Hughes and Tevez share a hug before the clash

MANCHESTER CITY put in their most convincing performance of the season at Craven Cottage, as Roberto Mancini’s men had far too much for a poor Fulham side.  Carlos Tevez came up trumps again for City, starting the rout with a lovely finish on six minutes.  A blockbuster from Pablo Zabaleta doubled the visitor’s advantage and Fulham’s awful first half was completed when Yaya Toure neatly finished past Mark Schwarzer from Tevez’s creation.  The Argentine scored his second, flicking in Zabaleta’s drilled shot almost unknowingly soon into the second half.  The only consolation for Fulham came from substitute Zoltan Gera, scoring via a massive deflection with twenty minutes remaining.  This will have been a painful defeat for Mark Hughes to take.

Saturday 20^th November: Bolton Wanderers 5-1 Newcastle United

STUNNED: Newcastle were hit for five at the Reebok

BOLTON moved briefly into the top four, after another efficient attacking display netted three points against Newcastle.  A handball by ex-Wanderer Kevin Nolan started the rout, with Kevin Davies stroking the penalty gift home.  South Korean Lee made it 2-0, despite looking offside in the build-up and as Bolton turned on the style, they got better.  Johan Elmander gave Fabricio Coloccini a nightmare, scoring twice, before the defender elbowed Elmander and got a deserved straight red card from Howard Webb.  Andy Carroll did pull one goal back, before Davies scored again from the spot when he tumbled under Jose Enrique’s challenge.  Bolton have now notched an impressive 26 goals in 14 Premiership games.

Saturday 20^th November: Manchester United 2-0 Wigan Athletic

SLIDING: Hernandez is delighted to wrap up another win

WAYNE ROONEY’s return took the headlines, but Manchester United produced another business like performance to batter a Wigan side that looked like eleven players stuffed to the brim with some early Christmas turkeys.  Patrice Evra had United infront, dealing quickly to some fatal hesitation from Wigan keeper Ali Al-Habsi.  Rooney returned in the second half, coming onto a very mixed reception after his threats to leave the club last month angered many loyal fans.  Wigan didn’t help their cause, as both Antolin Alcaraz and Hugo Rodallega saw red within three minutes of one another, before Javier Hernandez sealed the victory.

Monday 22^nd November: Sunderland 2-2 Everton

MIKEL Arteta’s dramatic late leveller rescued a point for David Moyes in a thrilling Monday night battle at the Stadium of Light.  Tim Cahill headed Everton infront with a trademark header inside of six minutes, before teen sensation Danny Wellbeck scored twice to hand Sunderland control.  Arteta’s goal, with eight minutes remaining means Sunderland missed the chance to break into the top six.

Saturday 20^th November: Liverpool 3-0 West Ham United

HEAT: Avram Grant is feeling the pressure with every game

AVRAM Grant is coming under more scrutiny, as his West Ham side put in a shocking performance and wilted far too easily at Anfield.  In fact, they made Liverpool look like a world class side.  Glen Johnson finished brilliantly, after bringing down the ball on his chest to open the scoring.  Dirk Kuyt dispatched a penalty after Fernando Torres was blocked off by Danny Gabbidon’s arm and Maxi Rodriguez made it 3-0, converting Paul Konchesky’s cross.

Sunday 21^st November: Blackburn Rovers 2-0 Aston Villa

FUN: Pedersen continued his recent run of cracking form

ROVERS new Indian owners watched on as their side recorded an impressive win – their third in four matches.  Mortem Gamst Pedersen scored both goals; the first coming two minutes into first half stoppage time with a free-kick that made Brad Friedel look rather stupid.  The second came when Ryan Nelsen’s shot was deflected home by the Norwegian midway through the second half. 

Saturday 20^th November: Blackpool 2-1 Wolves

A STUNNING volley from Luke Varney infront of Prince William portrayed the way for another Blackpool victory.  Marlon Harewood scrambled in a second goal, after Marcus Hahnemann dropped the ball from a dangerous corner.  A late consolation from Kevin Doyle wasn’t enough to prevent Wolves fourth straight defeat.

Saturday 20^th November: West Brom 0-3 Stoke City

64% of POSSESSION meant nothing to West Brom, as Stoke moved upto eighth in the table, after their third straight win.  Jonathan Walters scored twice, once from the penalty spot and Matthew Etherington also netted from twelve yards.  One point in five games leaves WBA in the bottom five.

FA Barclays Premiership Report (23rd - 24th October)

ANOTHER weekend with plenty of action, even if that isn’t suggested in the scorelines.  Here is a round-up of this weekend’s action, which saw victories for all of the former ‘big four’ in the Barclays Premiership.

Sunday 24^th October: Stoke City 1-2 Manchester United

WHILST Wayne Rooney was nursing his injured ankle on a £17,000 holiday in Dubai, Manchester United did their talking on the pitch, recording their first away win of the Premiership campaign.  Rooney’s replacement in the team, Javier Hernandez furthered his credentials with two more goals.  The first, on 27 minutes was a brilliant twisting header from a Nemanja Vidic knock-on.  Stoke were poor by their standards, but a glaring error from Paul Scholes allowed Tuncay to equalise with just eight minutes to play.  His wonderful curling effort was cancelled out by Hernandez’s second just four minutes later, poking home from Patrice Evra’s mishit shot.  Although Gary Neville was exceptionally fortunate to stay on the field, after two poor challenges on Matthew Etherington in his 600^th appearance for the club, United were well worthy of their three points. 

Sunday 24^th October: Manchester City 0-3 Arsenal

MANCHESTER City’s unbeaten home record was smashed up by Arsenal at Eastlands.  For the neutral, the game was ruined when youngster Dredrick Boyata was sent off after only five minutes.  The Belgian bought down Marouane Chamakh when the Moroccan was bearing down on goal, and Mark Clattenburg had no option but to dismiss him.  After that, despite City’s brave efforts, Arsenal always looked in the driving seat and took the lead in the 21^st minute, when Samir Nasri opened the scoring.  Cesc Fabregas had a penalty saved in the first half by Joe Hart, but once Alex Song smacked a second past Hart midway through the second half, the result was never in doubt.  Niklas Bendtner returned to action in the dying stages, and completed the scoring, a crisp finish from Nasri’s pass with two minutes remaining.

Saturday 23^rd October: Chelsea 2-0 Wolves

CHELSEA went five points clear again, with a 2-0 win over Wolves, though the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story.  Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou scored the goals, one in each half, but Petr Cech was tested on several occasions by the visitors, which will give Mick McCarthy encouragement. 

Sunday 24^th October: Liverpool 2-1 Blackburn Rovers

THIS was a marked improvement from Liverpool; they remain in the bottom three, but recorded a priceless victory over an off-colour Blackburn.  A splendid goalkeeping display from Paul Robinson kept Rovers in the match, but they fell behind to a Sotiris Krygiakos header two minutes into the second half.  Illness prevented John Henry from attending his first match as new chairman at Anfield, and if he was watching, he would be shocked by awful defending from Liverpool that led to El-Hadji Diouf’s scuffed effort being cleared off the line by Paul Konchesky, rebounded off Jamie Carragher and creeping in.  Two minutes later, Liverpool’s more urgent attacking display got its rewards, when the Rovers defence went AWOL and left Fernando Torres unguarded from Joe Cole’s cross.  Torres couldn’t miss, his goal drought is now over and hopefully, the Reds have now turned the corner.

Saturday 23^rd October: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Everton

EVERTON’s unbeaten run extended to four matches with an excellent point at White Hart Lane.  Left-back Leighton Baines opened the scoring for the visitors, with a cracking free-kick after Yakubu had won the decision, despite no contact from the offender, Younes Kaboul.  Three minutes later, Rafael van der Vaart equalised, after Tim Howard missed a simple punch, allowing the Dutchman a free target.  A share of the spoils was a fair result in this lunchtime duel.

Saturday 23^rd October: West Brom 2-1 Fulham

THE Baggies came out on top against Fulham in a hard-fought encounter which saw them leap into the top four for 24 hours.  Ex-Albion player Zoltan Gera gave the visitors the lead, when his quality strike fortunately went in off Scott Carson.  Diomansy Kamara hit the post shortly afterwards, but the game was turned by an equaliser from Mulumbu for West Brom.  A debatable winner came from Marc-Antoine Fortune, who looked offside before half-time.  It is West Brom’s best start in Premiership history, whilst a second successive defeat for Mark Hughes’s men slips them into the bottom five.

Saturday 23^rd October: Sunderland 1-0 Aston Villa

SUNDERLAND moved into seventh place, but they got a massive slice of fortune off Aston Villa and Richard Dunne.  Dunne’s shocking attempted clearance ended up beating Brad Friedel from Steed Malbranque’s dangerous cross.  It was a daft misjudgement, Dunne’s 8^th own goal in Premiership history – which is the most by any player.  Stewart Downing, Emile Heskey and Marc Albrighton all went close for the visitors, whose poor away form continues, their fourth defeat in five games.

Saturday 23^rd October: West Ham United 1-2 Newcastle United

ON A week when Andy Carroll was bailed after a nightclub assault, he bailed the Magpies out of trouble with victory at Upton Park.  Carlton Cole opened the scoring with his first of the season from Frederic Piquionne’s cross.  Carroll’s new landlord Kevin Nolan equalised, after Joey Barton’s ball was missed by Carroll.  Carroll wrapped the points up in the second half, with a diving header, his first goal in two months.  A miserable David Sullivan could only look on as West Ham remain at the foot of the table.

Saturday 23^rd October: Birmingham City 2-0 Blackpool

BIRMINGHAM recorded only their second win of the Premiership season, but got a big slice of luck against Blackpool.  Ian Holloway, who had a strong viewpoint on the Wayne Rooney situation in midweek, was cursing the fact that Liam Ridgewell handled in his own penalty area.  Before half-time, the guilty party put the Blues infront with a very scrappy opener.  A rare mistake by Blackpool captain allowed Nikola Zigic to finish the match off and move Birmingham away from danger.

Saturday 23^rd October: Wigan Athletic 1-1 Bolton Wanderers

FOUR games unbeaten now for Wigan Athletic, though better defending could have given them a priceless win.  The match was overshadowed by a reckless challenge from Fabrice Muamba on James McCarthy.  It left McCarthy with a broken ankle.  Hugo Rodallega opened the scoring, before Johan Elmander equalised after a Matt Taylor cross wasn’t cleared away by Antolin Alcaraz.