PremWatch 20th October 2008

So after my partisan rant about Harry Redknapp, it's back to balanced business as usual this morning, with this weekend's PremWatch at twofootedtackle.

The weekend began at the Riverside, where Chelsea dismantled Middlesbrough with a magnificent 5-0 victory. The goals came from Saloman Kalou (2), Florent Malouda, Frank Lampard and a ripsnorting 30-yarder from Juliano Belletti.

Arsenal beat Everton 3-1. Leon Osman's determination earned him an opener for the Toffees, but Samir Nasri, Robin Van Persie and Theo Walcott struck as Arsenal fought their way back to a deserved victory.

Portsmouth travelled to Villa Park and picked up a point in a goalless draw with Aston Villa. Pompey's Sean Davis saw red - harsh, in my opinion, but the referee had little choice.

Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers, and Fulham and Sunderland, also finished goalless. Kieran Richardson of Sunderland had a free kick disallowed because Pascal Chimbonda pushed the Fulham wall, probably provoked by much fondling from comedy genius Jimmy Bullard.

Two goals from Amr Zaki put Wigan Athletic 2-1 up at Liverpool, with a Dirk Kuyt strike sandwiched between. Pepe Reina and Dan Agger were at fault for Zaki's first, but the measured acrobatic volley for the second was utterly brilliant. Albert Riera and Kuyt, with a scuffed volley, helped Liverpool to victory after Antonio Valencia's red card.

In the late kick off, Manchester United took a while to get into their stride, but eventually hammered West Bromwich Albion 4-0. An impressive spread of scorers saw Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Dimitar Berbatov and Nani hit the net for United.


On Sunday, Hull City notched up yet another victory, going third with a 1-0 home win over West Ham United. Michael Turner headed in the winner for Phil Brown's side.

At the Britannia, a staggering match between Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur saw Spurs stay bottom after a massive 11 minutes of second half stoppage time. Gareth Bale was sent off for up-ending Tom Soares, and Danny Higginbotham thumped in the penalty. Darren Bent equalised for lucky Spurs, but a Rory Delap tap-in settled matters. At the end, an injury to Vedram Corluka led to the stoppage time, and Michael Dawson saw red. A Ricardo Fuller penalty hit both posts (and the rebound hit the bar), before Fuller himself struck the bar late on. Amazing.

So Hull stay in third, below Chelsea and Liverpool but above Arsenal and Manchester United. Spurs, Newcastle and Stoke make up the bottom three, but Newcastle face Manchester City this evening.

(Photo Credits: BBC Sport)