The most anticipated fixture on the Premier League calendar took place at Anfield over the weekend. Liverpool hosting hated rivals Manchester United in the first match of two on the season. Steven Gerrard was back in the starting line-up after making three appearances off the bench following his lengthy groin injury troubles, and for United it was the first chance for their fans to celebrate being the most successful English club after surpassing their rival’s title count. Chants of nineteen could be heard coming from the contingent of Red Devil supporters that made the trip to Merseyside.
Sir Alex Ferguson decided to keep many of his regulars on the bench, most significant being Wayne Rooney. The striker was deemed by his manager not to be in the right place mentally to start, allegedly. It was also surprising to see Javier Hernandez, Nani and Anderson all on the subs bench for such a massive match. Liverpool started quickly pressing for control while United looked slow and allowed their hosts early possession.
Phil Jones was given the surprising start in midfield for United and had the best opportunity to score for the visitors, finding space at the far post but his header was poor and hit side-netting. Luis Suarez came close to giving his side the lead just past the half-hour mark after the ball generously fell to his feet, deflecting off a defender following the initial shot by Charlie Adam, but the finish by Suarez was below par after turning his defender. David De Gea was able to deflect it away with ease. The first half ended scoreless with both clubs trying to establish a flow but failing to really threaten one another, the pace of the match was extremely quick and made it hard to keep possession of the ball.
Controversy came in the second half when Dirk Kuyt connected on a header that looked to hit the arm of Jonny Evans but play was allowed to resume. The ball clearly hit Evans' arm as he tried to move it out of the way, but it is one of those decisions you hate to go against you and are furious not to receive. Adam made another daring run weaving through traffic before being taken down by Rio Ferdinand right outside the box. Players were arguing for a red card as the defender was the last man, however on the replay you could see it was the slightest of touches that sent Adam to ground. Gerrard stepped up and scored on the free-kick to give Liverpool the lead. It was a curling effort that went through the wall, with Ryan Giggs at fault for breaking away to early, the veteran gave his keeper no chance to make the save.
Liverpool looked the better side in the second half and enjoyed much of the possession keeping United pinned back on their heels. The pressure intensified after scoring, Jordan Henderson was subbed on early in the second half replacing Lucas Leiva and he almost doubled the lead, connecting on the half-volley that seemed poised to be looping over De Gea but the keeper made a miraculous save to keep it out. The Spaniard probably had his best game in the United shirt.
United were on the ropes and Ferguson finally decided to bring in his big guns off the bench. All it took was five minutes for Javier Hernandez to make an impression, charging the net and scoring on a header with Danny Welbeck providing the vital flick on off the corner kick by Nani. Liverpool's defenders were caught sleeping on the play and gave Pepe Reina no chance to make the save from such close range.
The match opened up considerably after that, Stewart Downing made a good run down the flank and produced an exquisite ball for Kuyt only for the Dutchman to be denied by an amazing save by De Gea. The last play of the match could have provided the winner for Liverpool but Henderson squandered a perfect chance by sending his header over the bar right with the keeper at his mercy. United were lucky to escape with a share of the points.
Kenny Dalglish might feel unfortunate not to have earned all three points with Liverpool being the aggressors for most of the match and producing the better scoring chances. The match took a negative turn after the final whistle as reports surfaced that Suarez was to be investigated for allegedly racially abusing Patrice Evra during the match. A charge that the Uruguayan has categorically denied after Evra complained about the alleged incident. The FA is looking into the charge and will respond following a full investigation.
Aston Villa travelled to the Etihad Stadium to face a Manchester City side that decided to keep Samir Nasri and David Silva on the bench to start the match. Roberto Mancini was obviously resting the pair for the Champions League game mid-week. Mario Balotelli was in the starting eleven ahead of Edin Dzeko, the Italian has been given a good run of games by his manager with Sergio Aguero out through injury.
It was the visitors who almost scored first, Gabriel Agbonlahor outmuscling Joleon Lescott for possession and going clear through on goal but Joe Hart cut the angle perfectly to make the save. Vincent Kompany was then forced to clear the rebound by Stephen Warnock which looked to be going in. Balotelli then got involved curling a shot towards the far post but Shay Given was able to stretch enough to keep it out. The striker then made amends for his previous miss in spectacular fashion, pouncing on the loose ball and producing a stunning bicycle kick from close range, intensely staring down the visiting supporters after scoring.
It did not take long for City to extend their lead following the break, Stephen Warnock looking foolish in his attempt to clear a long pass by Yaya Toure towards Adam Johnson. All alone the Englishman finished with ease low inside the far post. Balotelli continued his fine form with an identical curl shot as in the first half that forced another good save out of Given, it was all looking to easy. Soon after the City captain made it three, Kompany timing his jump perfectly and burying the powerful header past the keeper.
Unfortunately for Hart his clean sheet was broken when City defenders failed to clear a soft cross by Agbonlahor into the danger zone, Warnock was wide open to smash the shot past Hart who was left helpless to stop it. The lone bright spot for Villa did not last long. Six minutes later James Milner made it 4-1 smashing a one-timer past Given who could only watch it ripple the net meshing. The victory put City alone at the top of the standings two points clear of their United rivals.
Bolton limped into the DW Stadium at the bottom of the table losers of six straight. Owen Coyle was starting to feel the pressure and nothing short of a victory was needed against Wigan Athletic. Roberto Martinez was also feeling the heat as the Latics were without a victory since the end of August. It was the visitors who jumped to the early lead, Nigel Reo-Coker getting on the other end of a nice cross by Chris Eagles to chest in the opening goal with not even five minutes played. Eagles then came close to doubling the lead with a fantastic curl with the outside of his boot only to be denied by a great save by Ali Al-Habsi.
Wigan struggled to create any decent chances from the run of play with their best efforts coming off set-pieces. Ben Watson almost equalized from a corner as Jussi Jaaskelainen was caught out of position and barely got a hand on the cross to keep it out. The home crowd finally had something to cheer about near the end of the half, Mohamed Diame unleashed a tremendous strike that curled into the top corner and left Jaaskelainen watching in amazement. The joy did not last long for the Latics, Kevin Davies stripped Steve Gohouri of the ball and fed David N'gog, scoring low into the corner after losing his defender. It was his first goal for Bolton since arriving at the transfer deadline.
The miss of the week if not the season so far came from Dedryck Boyata, left alone inside the six yard box he sent his header terribly wide and wasted a decent opportunity to take a two goal lead. Bolton were then awarded a penalty, Davies stepped up but was denied by Al-Habsi, the effort was poor by the Trotters captain. But it was another defensive error that undid Wigan, Antolin Alcaraz this time was at fault of losing possession and Eagles sealed it for the visitors. The win lifted Bolton off the foot of the table, one point ahead of Wigan who are now tied for last.
Loftus Road has been anything but a fortress for Queens Park Rangers this season, losers of all three of their matches thus far at home, only managing a single goal in the process. Coming off a demoralizing loss in their previous match, QPR were hoping to kick-start a run of good form against Blackburn.
The first decent chance fell to the home side, Joey Barton inadvertently blocked Heidar Helguson's initial header off the corner kick, but the Icelandic striker followed up on the rebound and produced a remarkable chip from a tight angle to give QPR the lead, but it was short-lived. Christopher Samba tied it up with a good header after beating his defender to the spot and getting high enough to notch in Jason Lowe's corner kick.
In the second half Shaun Wright-Philips almost regained the lead for QPR but watched his shot drift slightly wide of the post. Rovers did produce a chance of their own when David Holiett displayed some of his skill, walking in from the left side and unleashing a shot that beat Paddy Kenny but not Anton Ferdinand, who saved a sure goal. With time ticking away Martin Olsson had the chance to win the match but Kenny made a timely save. It ended all squared with QPR earning their first point at home, but with the result Rovers sit at the bottom of the table to end the week.
Norwich City took on fellow promotion new boys Swansea City at Carrow Road hoping to continue their impressive start to the season. The Swans have struggled on the road, having lost all three of their matches and scoring only a single goal.
It only took a minute for the Canaries to take the lead, Anthony Pilkington connecting on the half-volley after being left unmarked right in front of goal. Elliott Bennett provided the cross that was headed across the goal crease by Steve Morison to Pilkington for the finish. Brendan Rodgers must have been fuming at the careless defending by his back line. Ten minutes later the lead was doubled. Russell Martin was left unmarked and headed the ball past Michel Vorm off a brilliant cross from a set-piece by David Fox.
Despite having little possession the Swans were able to cut into the lead two minutes later. Scott Sinclair made a great run to split two defenders before being sandwiched off the ball but showed great determination in making a pass after stumbling to ground, Danny Graham then put it in of the far post for his second of the season.
Just past the hour mark the Swans paid the price after lazier defending left Pilkington unmarked inside the six yard box, spinning and firing into the gaping net. A Terrible clearance from the corner kick was followed by Bradley Johnson sucking in two defenders before finding Pilkington open for the easy finish. Slack defending by the Swans cost them as Norwich earned the decisive victory which placed them in the top-half of the table.
Fulham were coming into the match at the Britannia Stadium full of confidence after their impressive lop-sided victory two weeks prior. Stoke City are tough to beat at home and have continued to punch above their weight class to keep pace with the top-half of the table.
Peter Crouch was in place to give the home side the lead but mistimed the wonderful cross by Jermaine Pennant. It was a gift by Aaron Hughes who completely missed on his clearance attempt. Crouch should have done better on the play. The Cottagers then had their own opportunity to go in front, with Bobby Zamora connecting on a nice header that skipped wide of the far post. Right before the break Jermaine Pennant produced a good solo effort linking up with Crouch but the finish was less than spectacular going wide of the far post.
The Potters came even closer to scoring in the second half, Rory Delap caused a mad scramble in the box following his trademark long throw, Mark Schwarzer was caught out of position but Chris Baird came to the rescue and quickly cleared the loose ball, although given his size Crouch should have been able to get a better touch on the loose ball. Stoke continued to press, Delap's deflected shot striking the post after faking out his marker. Danny Murphy was then at the right place at the right time, blocking Marc Wilson's header on the goal line. Tony Pulis must have been wondering what else his players needed to do to score.
The Cottagers came close to stealing the points. John Arne Riise smashing a bullet of a strike off the crossbar that would have stunned the hosts had it gone in. Two minutes later Stoke finally got the goal they rightfully deserved, Jonathan Walters re-directing Matthew Etherington's low drive. Delap then secured the win with three minutes remaining, beating his defender to the spot and heading in Etherington's free-kick. With the victory Stoke climbed to seventh in the table and are within striking distance of the European places.
The final stop on the Saturday fixture list was at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea entertaining Everton. The Toffees had a surprising winning record at the Bridge, undefeated in their last five meetings with the Blues. The result on this night however would be completely different.
It took Chelsea a half hour before they netted the opener, Juan Mata displayed more of his brilliance on the ball, perfectly timing Ashley Cole's run down the left and producing a fantastic cross which was then relayed across the face of goal for Daniel Sturrdige to head home. It was a gem of a play. The Blues doubled their lead deep into stoppage time, John Terry nodding in Frank Lampard's cross from the set-piece. Tim Howard looking most to blame for failing to clear his area after coming out to challenge the cross by Lampard.
Everton came out like a flash after the re-start. Leon Osman hitting the post after the set-up by Seamus Coleman, Chelsea was clearly caught napping. But that is where the match ended as a contest. The hosts took control from then on putting together an assortment of fine passing plays to open up the defence. Didier Drogba started the play that led to Chelsea's third of the night, finding Mata who then sent a low drive right through the goal mouth that was bundled in by Ramires as he crashed the net. Unfortunately Ramires was hurt on the play and forced to sub off, it looked like a knee injury as he was helped off the field.
David Moyes was able to take something positive from the match, denying Petr Cech the clean sheet after a smart substitution to bring on Apostolos Vellios. The Greek striker scored immediately, re-directing Royston Drenthe's cross to pull one back for the Toffees, it was his second goal in five games and is looking like a genius summer purchase by Moyes. The match ended 3-1 in favor of the hosts, moving them within three points of City for the league lead and only one behind United.
The Black Country Derby was first on the Sunday fixtures list, with The Hawthorns as the venue West Bromwich were looking for their first top-flight win in twenty-nine years against rivals Wolverhampton, but the visitors have been struggling as of late, losers of four straight after starting the year with seven out of a possible ten points. The opening exchanges were uneventful, with both clubs failing to produce an adequate scoring chance. Wolves had an edge possession wise but the Baggies did play the counter attack well enough to keep their opponents honest and on their toes.
Wolves had a couple of half-chances to go ahead but it was West Brom that broke the deadlock inside ten minutes. Chris Brunt hammered the ball past Wayne Hennessey from close range after a great cut back by Billy Jones, who was making his first appearance for the Baggies. Kevin Doyle almost equalized soon after, but it took an amazing last ditch sliding tackle by Jonas Olsson to block him on the rebound and preserve the lead for the hosts. Another chance fell to Paul Scharner, set up by Shane Long, the Austrian failed to hit the target. Back and forth it went, Ben Foster showing great reaction speed to tip a deflected shot by Christophe Berra.
The second half brought controversy, Wolves captain Roger Johnson seemed to get none of the ball when bringing down Long inside the box, only for the referee to wave play on to the dismay of the home crowd. Watching the replay proved without a doubt that a penalty should have been called. Foster came up big again right before the hour mark, getting down quick and tipping Adam Hammill's shot wide of the post.
Peter Odemwingie was brought on with just less than twenty minutes remaining. The Nigerian made a statement to manager Roy Hodgson and scored almost immediately upon entering the game. He was dropped out of the starting line-up but responded well with the strike to double the lead. The win lifted the Baggies out of the relegation zone and condemned Wolves to their fifth straight defeat.
The Emirates played host to two struggling teams both trying to kick-start a run of good form. Sunderland have been well below par after making a huge splash in the transfer market this past summer, while Arsenal were marred in their own shortcomings and have looked unrecognizable to the team that used to compete for titles.
It only took less than a minute for Robin Van Persie to get on the score sheet, netting his fourth of the season in lightning speed. Gervinho squared it and the Dutchman controlled before driving the low shot past Simon Mignolet. The early goal gave the Gunners the confidence moving forward and you started to see signs of the old Arsenal coming to life. The woodwork came to the rescue of Mignolet after the keeper was neatly chipped by Van Persie, quickly turning to lose his marker and striking the post with an intelligent strike. Steve Bruce was under tremendous pressure and under the microscope because of the Black Cats woeful start. The opening half hour did nothing to calm the nerves on Wearside.
Sebastian Larsson silenced the Emirates with a beautiful curling free kick just outside the box to equalize. It was yet another impressive finish by the Swede, an unstoppable strike for Wojciech Szczesny. Arsenal was visibly shaken and their confidence dwindled. Szczesny had to come up huge to keep it on level terms, denying a header by Lee Cattermole right on his doorstep with a stunning diving save.
The play turned ugly in the second half with both teams going into the referee's book for reckless fouls, the worst coming from David Vaughn and his two-footed challenge on Tomas Rosicky. Andrei Arshavin almost gave the home side the lead with a fantastic individual effort, weaving through three defenders with three quick touches but sending his shot wide of the post. With less than ten minutes on the clock, Van Persie netted his second of the match off a marvelous free kick to give the Gunners the lead. The shot by the captain was of high standard as it curled into the top corner, giving him five on the season.
Sunderland thought they leveled the score immediately after conceding, however Ji Dong-won was correctly judged to be offside by the referee. Arsenal's performance was not even close to being impressive but Arsene Wenger must be happy to collect all three points. The loss left Sunderland just outside the drop zone simply on goal difference.
Newcastle United took on Tottenham at St. James Park in what was the biggest test of the season for the Magpies. Holding an impressive undefeated record, Alan Pardew's side were up for the challenge against a Spurs team that has won four straight after starting the year with two humiliating loses.
Both struggled to create much in the opening frame, possession went back and forth but neither keeper was really threatened or tested. Emmanuel Adebayor then sprang into action with close to the break, making a good run into the penalty area, Steven Taylor mistimed his challenge and the referee took his time before pointing to the spot. Up stepped Rafael van Der Vaart to put Spurs in the lead, sending Tim Krul the other way on his penalty shot.
Coming out of the break Newcastle responded quickly, Demba Ba heading the ball directly into the hands of Brad Friedel from close range, only for the momentum to take the ball into the net along with the American keeper as he slid across to try and make the save. Play continued to go back and forth with both sides failing to convert some decent chances to put themselves in the lead.
Jermain Defoe entered the game just after the hour mark and made an immediate impact, turning quickly and firing a shot low past Krul as Spurs went back in front. The Magpies then sprung back to life and controlled the rest of the match, producing chance after chance only to be denied by the Friedel on each occasion, the veteran keeper proving his worth and keeping his team ahead.
Time was running out and it seemed only a moment of magic would be needed for Newcastle to keep their undefeated streak alive. It came from the bench courtesy of Shola Ameobi, the striker beat Friedel with a powerful low shot to earn his team a share of the points. The draw keeps Newcastle in fourth spot only six points behind league leaders Manchester City. Who would have guessed after eight matches the Magpies have yet to taste defeat, tied at the top with fewest goals conceded in the league.
Game of the Week: Newcastle United vs. Tottenham
Goal of the Week: Robin Van Persie vs. Sunderland
Goalkeeper of the Week: David De Gea vs. Liverpool
Lowlight of the Week: Swansea City defending vs. Norwich City
Please share your thoughts and opinions on the best of the week.
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