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Tuesday January 4, 2011

United Stay Top For New Year

West Brom 1 Manchester United 2

Javier Hernandez once again became Manchester United's head boy to seal a victory over West Bromwich Albion.
The little Mexican's eighth goal of the season, 15 minutes from time, sealed a second Premier League away win and kept unbeaten United top of the table.
Wayne Rooney ended his nine-month wait for a goal in open play, James Morrison levelled with a brilliant volley and Peter Odemwingie missed a second-half penalty after Gary Neville had escaped conceding one before the break.
That United ended the match with Rooney limping badly following a tackle by Chris Brunt that initially led to him leaving the field, only added to the drama.

Liverpool 2 Bolton Wanderers 1

Liverpool earned manager Roy Hodgson some breathing space with a last-gasp 2-1 victory over Bolton Wanderers at Anfield.
When Kevin Davies headed in Matt Taylor's 43rd-minute free-kick things looked bleak for Hodgson, but a revitalised Fernando Torres volleyed home an equalizer before Joe Cole tapped in his first league goal for the club he joined in the summer.
The result came as a welcome relief to Hodgson after back-to-back Premier League defeats.
After their worst start since the 1953/54 season - when Liverpool were relegated - Hodgson appeared to have turned things around only for a defeat at Newcastle United and the dreadful performance at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers three days ago to raise more questions about his future.

Manchester City 1 Blackpool 0

Three stunning misses from Carlos Tevez almost proved costly as Manchester City narrowly edged out Blackpool to stay level with neighbours United at the top of the Premier League.
Tevez missed a first-half penalty and then two sitters in the space of five minutes after the break, including an open goal as he fell after rounding the goalkeeper.
But all that came after Adam Johnson's 33rd-minute strike and City endured a nervous finish to take all three points.

Stoke City 2 Everton 0

A Kenwyne Jones header and a freak Phil Jagielka own goal handed Stoke City victory in a full-blooded Premier League match against Everton.
Jones rose to power the ball past Tim Howard midway through the first half before Jagielka put through his own net for the second time in successive appearances with 21 minutes remaining at the Britannia Stadium.
Everton enjoyed large spells of dominance as they looked to kickstart their stuttering season but spurned a number of good opportunities.
Talisman Tim Cahill, making his final appearance before departing for Asia Cup duty with Australia, went the closest when he headed wide soon after Jones' opener.
Stoke, after successive home defeats, were at their most determined and were well rewarded for a typically physical and direct display.

Sunderland 3 Blackburn Rovers 0

Darren Bent ended his personal goal drought as Sunderland bounced back from their defeat against Blackpool.
The England striker glanced home a header eight minutes after Danny Welbeck's deflected 11th-minute shot had put the Black Cats in front to claim his 10th goal of the season and his first in six matches.
Bent could easily have grabbed a second-half hat-trick and was guilty of a glaring 62nd-minute miss from just three yards, although former Sunderland striker El-Hadji Diouf had earlier contrived to fire over from even closer.
But substitute Asamoah Gyan sealed a victory which took Sunderland to 30 points for the season with a third at the death to provide the perfect antidote to their wastefulness against the Seasiders in front of a crowd of 36,242.

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Fulham 0

Gareth Bale's lightning reflexes proved enough to extend Tottenham Hotspur's perfect Christmas and send them back into the Premier League top four in the London derby with Fulham.
The winger reacted brilliantly to flick Rafael van der Vaart's free-kick strike past a wrong-footed Mark Schwarzer three minutes before half-time.
Spurs missed plenty of chances to add to their lead but Michael Dawson also had to clear off his own line.
Otherwise, Fulham's lack of firepower once again cost them dear as they slipped to second bottom of the table, piling the pressure on manager Mark Hughes.

West Ham United 2 Wolves 0

Freddie Sears put the seal on a sweet victory for West Ham United as they climbed out of the relegation zone and sent Wolverhampton Wanderers crashing to the foot of the Premier League.
Winger Sears, a product of the West Ham academy and lifelong Hammers fan, struck in the 79th minute for his first goal since netting on his debut in March 2008.
West Ham were already ahead, but they owed a debt of gratitude to Wolves right-back Ronald Zubar for their 51st-minute opener. Zubar let the ball trickle in off his knee after Carlton Cole had taken an air shot.

Birmingham City 0 Arsenal 3

Arsenal overwhelmed Birmingham City at a rainswept St Andrew's.
A Robin van Persie free-kick and Samir Nasri's 13th goal of the season put them in control before an own goal from Roger Johnson added to City's misery.
The Gunners remain in third spot - two points adrift of Manchester United and Manchester City - after a sixth away success of the season.

Chelsea 3 Aston Villa 3

Chelsea's amazing late fightback was in vain as Aston Villa scored a stoppage-time equalizer to leave the Champions' Premier League title defence in considerable doubt.
Didier Drogba and John Terry looked to have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with goals in the final six minutes at Stamford Bridge but the hosts' poor defending cost them when Ciaran Clark nodded home a late equalizer.
Both sides had held the lead in an exciting match, with Frank Lampard's penalty cancelled out by Ashley Young's spot-kick and Emile Heskey's header giving Villa the lead.
The result left Chelsea marooned in fifth place, six points behind Manchester United having played a match more, and crucially outside the Champions League places.
That will place manager Carlo Ancelotti's position under fresh scrutiny, while opposite number Gerard Houllier may enjoy some respite after ending a run of six defeats in seven.

Wigan Athletic 0 Newcastle United 1

Newcastle United moved back into the top half of the Premier League thanks to Shola Ameobi's close-range finish at Wigan Athletic.
Ameobi, in the Magpies side as a replacement for injured top-scorer Andy Carroll, pounced in the 19th minute when Ali Al Habsi blocked Joey Barton's shot and Peter Lovenkrands's follow-up hit the post.
Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor also both struck the woodwork for the visitors, while Gary Caldwell saw his header come back off the bar for the Latics.
It was a welcome start to 2011 for Alan Pardew as his side bounced back from two straight defeats and moved up to 10th place.
For Wigan, who are just a point and a place above the relegation zone, the situation is more concerning.