The Premier League’s predictability mercifully took the weekend off as Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur all slumped to defeats in games they expected to win. Elsewhere, struggles continue for Wigan, West Ham and Wolves, while Mario Balotelli showed England exactly what he’s made of. Oh, Owen Hargreaves played too. A bit.
Bolton Wanderers 4-2 Tottenham Hotspur
After reacting well after European ties so far this season, Spurs finally showed signs of the dreaded Champions League hangover as they were beaten at the Reebok. Kevin Davies made it 1-0 with a neat finish from a clear offside position. The second half was more eventful, with Gareth Bale hitting the woodwork before Gretar Steinsson drilled in Bolton’s second and Matt Taylor hit the frame of the goal with 3-0 beckoning. It arrived when Benoit Assou-Ekotto committed a foul in the area to give Davies his second goal of the day from the spot.
Alan Hutton bent in a left-footed strike to pull one back for Spurs and Roman Pavlyuchenko’s volley for 3-2 was simply brilliant. Tom Huddlestone escaped censure for a disgraceful stamp on Johan Elmander but karma did its business when Martin Petrov got Bolton’s fourth on the break.
Birmingham 2-2 West Ham United
West Ham’s repulsive owners headed to their old stomping ground - at least one of them did - and the early knockings were disrupted when the sprinklers came on, so well done Small Heath for that. Carlton Cole was unlucky to hit the post but West Ham did force their way into the lead. Frederic Piquionne got the first, Valon Behrami the second after a fine Hammers move. Victor Obinna cracked a shot against the bar and Birmingham took full advantage of their good fortune. Cameron Jerome and Liam Ridgewell sealed the comeback and saved a point for the Blues.
Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Wigan Athletic
There’s trouble brewing for Wigan, who dropped into the bottom three after defeat at Ewood. Morten Gamst Pedersen’s free kick from the touchline was aimed at the back post and caught out Ali Al-Habsi, who let it swing over him into the top corner. Jason Roberts’ impression of Peter Withe’s most famous goal made it 2-0 with 23 minutes left on the clock. Charles N’Zogbia’s free kick was wonderfully taken but Sam Allardyce will be asking questions about his defensive wall. At 0-0, N’Zogbia had a goal disallowed extremely harshly.
Blackpool 2-2 Everton
Neal Eardley’s curling free kick put the Tangerines ahead but Tim Cahill’s header from a Yakubu cross gave Everton an equaliser and the Australian his 50th Premier League goal. David Vaughan put Blackpool back in front after an accidental handball by DJ Campbell went unpunished. Seamus Coleman’s shot squeezed under Matt Gilks for 2-2, the talented youngster scoring against the team where he played on loan last term. Marlon Harewood had a winner very harshly disallowed.
Fulham 1-1 Aston Villa
Things got worse for injury-hit Villa, who lost stand-in captain Nigel Reo-Coker in the first half. Youngsters Barry Bannan and Marc Albrighton linked up for a superb opener for the visitors but their inability to score goals eventually cost them at Craven Cottage. Brede Hangeland headed in Danny Murphy’s free kick deep into stoppage time and Villa threw away yet more points.
Manchester United 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Midfielder Owen Hargreaves started this game after over two years of almost solid absence, but he lasted just five minutes at Old Trafford. Darren Fletcher’s clever pass set up Ji-Sung Park to open the scoring just before half time. Substitute Sylvan Ebanks-Blake took advantage of patient Wolves play to out-smart Nemanja Vidic and equalise for Mick McCarthy’s side. Park did some more damage in stoppage time, grabbing his second in some style to turn one point into three with a superb goal.
Sunderland 2-0 Stoke City
It was anomalous Ballon d’Or nominee Asamoah Gyan’s afternoon at the Stadium of Light, the Ghanaian striker grabbing both goals as Sunderland defeated Stoke. After tapping in his first, Gyan won a penalty which was taken by Steed Malbranque and saved by Asmir Begovic in the Potters goal. Controversy struck when Lee Cattermole handled the ball out of the top corner when the goal would have made it 1-1. Ryan Shawcross was sent off for two bookable offences and Gyan drilled in the second.
Liverpool 2-0 Chelsea
There was a real turn-up for the books at Anfield, where Fernando Torres showed signs of what makes him one of the best when he’s on form. The Spaniard gave Liverpool the lead with a typical Torres control and finish, and his second was created in conjunction with Raul Meireles and brilliantly dispatched across Petr Cech into the far corner. Chelsea piled on the pressure but the home side held firm to bank an unexpected three points.
Arsenal 0-1 Newcastle United
There was another surprising result at the Emirates, where Cesc Fabregas’ free kick bouncing off the crossbar was the closest Arsenal came before the first goal in their defeat to in-form Newcastle. An error by Lukasz Fabianski allowed Andy Carroll to head past him from a Joey Barton free kick to keep the balance of good and bad headlines featuring his name just about even. Theo Walcott hit the crossbar in the second half and Laurent Koscielny’s red card for a professinal foul on Shola Ameobi put a seal on a poor afternoon for Arsenal.
West Bromwich Albion 0-2 Manchester City
Loopy Italian Mario Balotelli saw off West Bromwich Albion with two goals. His first was laid on by Carlos Tevez, his second taken sharply after a lovely clipped pass from David Silva. Balotelli then got himself sent off with a couple of classic Mental Mario moments. Albion’s Mulumbu was booked in the second Balotelli incident and later sent off for a poor challenge on Tevez.
Top Five Players: Stuart Holden (Bolton Wanderers), Asamoah Gyan (Sunderland), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Joey Barton (Newcastle United), Charles N’Zogbia (Wigan Athletic)
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