PremWatch 29th September 2008

It was a spicy but glorious weekend of Premier League football. Here's what happened:

Fernando Torres kicked things off in style on Saturday, netting twice to send Liverpool to a 2-0 Merseyside derby win over Everton at Goodison Park. Toffees midfielder Tim Cahill was sent off, given a straight red card for a challenge on Xabi Alonso. He made matters worse by walking away from the referee before the card was shown and ignoring requests to turn around.

Aston Villa defeated Sunderland 2-1 at Villa Park to go third in the table. Djibril Cisse scored clinically to put Roy Keane's side ahead, but Ashley Young and John Carew turned the game on its head.

Quick-fire goals from Can't Control and Matty Etherington put West Ham United in front at the end of the first half at Fulham. They were a man up too: Andy "Andrew" Johnson was lucky to receive a yellow card for a horror challenge, but found himself sent off for a second bookable offence in first half stoppage time anyway.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a controversial penalty against Bolton Wanderers to put Manchester United in the lead. Jlloyd Samuel clearly won the ball from the Portuguese and referee Rob Styles will not be surprised to find himself in League Two next weekend. Ronaldo laid a second on for Wayne Rooney, who took his first goal of the season in great style.

Jonas Olsson scored the only goal at the Riverside as Middlesbrough went down to an unexpected defeat at home to West Bromwich Albion.

Newcastle United's new interim manager Joe Kinnear apparently got stuck into his side at half time against Blackburn Rovers, despite not being due to start his job until this morning. The Magpies' unrest continued, with Michael Owen's penalty a mere consolation after Chris Samba and Roque Santa Cruz had put Rovers ahead.

Goals from Jose Bosingwa and Nicolas Anelka gave an international feel to Chelsea's win over Stoke City at the Britannia. The win sent Chelsea top of the Premier League.


The evening kick off on Saturday took place at the Emirates, where Arsene Wenger had to watch his Arsenal side lose a lead and slump to a home defeat by newcomers Hull City. Paul McShane scored an own goal to put the Gunners in front, but a Geovanni stunner and a header from Daniel Cousin secured three points for Phil Brown's team.

On Sunday, former Tottenham Hotspur strikers Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch haunted their old colleagues, scoring the goals in a 2-0 win over Spurs for Portsmouth. Pompey's Lassana Diarra was sent off late on, and the result puts massive pressure on Spurs boss Juande Ramos.

There was controversy at the JJB. Antonio Valencia hit a wonder-strike to put Wigan Athletic one up. Vincent Kompany equalised for Manchester City, but Steve Bruce's charges picked up a win with a questionable penalty - it was won by Valencia and scored by the prolific Amr Zaki.

In terms of the table, the end of the weekend sees Chelsea on top, with Liverpool, Villa and Arsenal in hot pursuit. West Ham will be pleased to occupy the UEFA Cup spot, but Spurs, Newcastle and Stoke remain in the bottom three.

(Photo Credits: BBC Sport)