EPL Results, Reviews, Tables for 2008/9

[johntheclaret]

Tuesday 28th October

Result

Newcastle 2 - 1 West Brom

Review

Joey Barton will once again have his name in the headlines after setting Newcastle United on their way to their first win under Joe Kinnear - and their second of the season - as West Brom were seen off at St James' Park.
The controversial midfielder fired the Magpies into the lead in the tenth minute after Shola Ameobi was pulled down by Ryan Donk.
The penalty was never in doubt - and there was an inevitability about Barton's decisive kick as he sent Scott Carson off to one side, before blasting the ball confidently down the middle.

Chances at either end followed - James Morrison being played in for West Brom by Robert Koren but failing to beat Shay Given, and Habib Beye skied a chance from seven yards for Newcastle.
But it was Newcastle that doubled their lead as Obafemi Martins marked his 24th birthday with an instinctive header from a Beye cross.
United had a two-goal lead for the first time all season but the Magpies nearly threw it away.

West Brom substitute Ishmael Miller latched onto a fabulous threaded through ball behind Fabrizio Coloccini, rounded Given with his first touch and netted with his second.

Table

Pos Team P Pts
1 Liverpool 9 23
2 Chelsea 9 20
--------------------------
3 Hull City 9 20
4 Arsenal 9 19
--------------------------
5 Aston Villa 9 17
6 Manchester United 8 15
7 Portsmouth 9 14
8 Manchester City 9 13
9 Sunderland 9 12
10 West Ham United 9 12
11 Blackburn Rovers 9 12
12 Middlesbrough 9 10
13 West Bromwich Albion 10 10
14 Everton 9 9
15 Newcastle United 10 9
16 Wigan Athletic 9 8
17 Fulham 8 8
----------------------------
18 Bolton Wanderers 9 8
19 Stoke City 9 7
20 Tottenham Hotspur 9 5

[johntheclaret]

Wed 29th October

Results

Bolton 0 - 1 Everton
Middlesbrough 2 - 0 Man City
Liverpool 1 - 0 Portsmouth
Stoke 1 - 0 Sunderland
Arsenal 4 - 4 Tottenham
Man Utd 2 - 0 West Ham
Fulham 2 - 0 Wigan
Hull 0 - 3 Chelsea
Aston Villa 3 - 2 Blackburn

Round Up

New Tottenham boss Redknapp watched his new charges come back from the dead to draw 4-4 with bitter rivals Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.
Bentley's stunning long-range effort in the 13th minute against the club where he started his career but failed to make the grade gave Spurs the lead with a genuine contender for goal of the season.
There looked to be no danger when a spell of scrappy play ended with Jermaine Jenas chesting the ball to his midfield team-mate, who cushioned it on his thigh before unleashing a 40-yard volley which dipped over the helpless Manuel Almunia and into the net.
But Mikael Silvestre levelled before the break with a glancing header after hapless Gomes' latest gaffe, as the goalkeeper came for Robin van Persie's corner and only managed to punch Jenas with the ball already destined for the net.
With the second half less than 60 seconds old, William Gallas climbed highest in the Arsenal box to glance Van Persie's free-kick from out on the right into the bottom corner.
And Emmanuel Adebayor made it 3-1 in the 64th minute when he made sure Samir Nasri's goal-bound effort from Van Persie's delightful pass found the back of the net.
Spurs responded immediately, with Almunia making a mess of Tom Huddlestone's long-range shot and Darren Bent slotting home the loose ball.
But Alan Hutton's shocking pass then gifted possession to Adebayor, who rolled the ball to Van Persie to smash home his 50th goal for Arsenal.
The defensive errors kept on coming as Gael Clichy slipped to allow Jenas to run through and curl a stunning effort into Almunia's top corner.
And there was still time for Lennon to snatch the equaliser in the fourth minute of added time after Luka Modric's deflected long-range striker had struck the post.

Steven Gerrard's second-half penalty ensured Liverpool stayed top of the Premier League as Rafa Benitez's men saw off the challenge of Portsmouth.
Benitez tinkered with his starting XI after the 1-0 win over Chelsea at the weekend and saw his side go close early on with Dirk Kuyt hitting the post in the 10th minute.
They were then frustrated by Adams' men before Papa Bouba Diop was ruled to have handled as he challenged Sami Hyypia with referee Steve Tanner pointing to the spot.
Gerrard stepped up and coolly found the bottom corner of David James' net in front of the Kop end with the England goalkeeper going the right way but unable to keep it out.

Chelsea bounced back from their weekend setback with a comfortable victory over Premier League surprise-package Hull.
The Blues made the perfect start at the KC Stadium when they took the lead after just three minutes thanks to a sublime finish from Frank Lampard.
The Tigers' defence failed to deal with Ashley Cole's cross and Florent Malouda's follow up, with the ball breaking to Lampard on edge of box from where the England international produced a stunning chip to float the ball over Boaz Myhill and into the top corner.
Luiz Felipe Scolari's men then took control at the start of the second period when the previously impressive Myhill dallied on the edge of his area when he came to clear a long ball, allowing Nicolas Anelka to sneak in and roll the ball into the empty net.
Florent Malouda then made it 3-0 with 15 minutes to go from Cole's pass, but the Blues lost Ricardo Carvalho with a hamstring injury in the closing stages.

Two goals from FifPro World Footballer of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo helped Manchester United see off West Ham at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo fired United into a 14th minute lead when the West Ham defence failed to clear their lines and Nani's low cross reached his compatriot who found the bottom corner of Rob Green's net.
And Ronaldo made it 2-0 on the half-hour mark as Dimitar Berbatov's bewildering skill on the byline left James Collins baffled before the Bulgarian put the ball on a plate for the Portugal international.

Aston Villa extended their unbeaten home record but had to come from behind to take all three points against Paul Ince's Blackburn.
Stephen Warnock, selected in central midfield, played a slick one-two with Benni McCarthy and burst into the Villa box to roll the ball beyond Brad Friedel on the half-hour mark.
But Luke Young levelled on the stroke of half-time as he bundled the ball home from close range at the second attempt after Gabby Agbonlahor flicked on Nicky Shorey's cross into the box.
And Villa went in front with 65 minutes gone as James Milner's quick feet took him to the byline before he cut the ball back for Gareth Barry to slot home.
Gabriel Agbonlahor made it 3-1 late on from Ashley Young's pass before Brett Emerton's stunning free-kick cut the deficit in the dying seconds, but there was not enough time for an equaliser.

Andy Johnson broke his Fulham duck at the seventh time of asking to send Wigan spinning to a fourth successive Premier League defeat.
Johnson opened his Cottagers account to notch his 100th league goal when he slotted home from close range in the 11th minute after Paul Konchesky's dangerous low cross from the left.
And the former Everton, Crystal Palace and Birmingham striker made it 101 with an hour gone after some poor defending from the visitors which left Steve Bruce fuming on the sidelines.

Stoke climbed out of the bottom three with a narrow victory over a Sunderland side who were brought crashing down to earth after their derby victory over Newcastle.
Tony Pulis' side took the lead through their favourite weapon this season, with Rory Delap's long throw headed powerfully home by Ricardo Fuller with 17 minutes remaining.

Bolton are down to 19th in the Premier League table after their defence went AWOL in the closing stages against Everton.
An uninspiring encounter looked to be heading for goalless draw before Steven Pienaar's cross found Marouane Fellaini unmarked six yards out to head beyond a bemused Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Manchester City's frustrating inconsistencies continue as they followed up Sunday's 3-0 win over Stoke with a 1-0 defeat away to Middlesbrough.
Afonso Alves gave Boro the lead from the penalty spot in the 53rd minute as he sent Joe Hart the wrong way after defender David Wheater had been brought down by City striker Daniel Sturridge.
Gary O'Neil then added a second in the 90th minute as Gareth Southgate's side moved level on points with Mark Hughes' men.

Table

Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts

1 Liverpool 10 8 2 0 15 6 9 26
2 Chelsea 10 7 2 1 22 4 18 23
-----------------------------------
3 Arsenal 10 6 2 2 22 10 12 20
4 Aston Villa 10 6 2 2 19 12 7 20
-----------------------------------
5 Hull City 10 6 2 2 14 14 0 20
6 Manchester United 9 5 3 1 15 5 10 18
7 Portsmouth 10 4 2 4 10 15 -5 14
8 Manchester City 10 4 1 5 23 16 7 13
9 Middlesbrough 10 4 1 5 10 15 -5 13
10 Sunderland 10 3 3 4 9 11 -2 12 8
11 West Ham United 10 4 0 6 14 18 -4 12
12 Everton 10 3 3 4 14 19 -5 12 6
13 Blackburn Rovers 10 3 3 4 11 18 -7 12
14 Fulham 9 3 2 4 8 8 0 11 5
15 Stoke City 10 3 1 6 11 18 -7 10 7
16 West Bromwich Albion 10 3 1 6 8 16 -8 10
17 Newcastle United 10 2 3 5 12 18 -6 9
-------------------------------------------
18 Wigan Athletic 10 2 2 6 11 15 -4 8
19 Bolton Wanderers 10 2 2 6 8 13 -5 8
20 Tottenham Hotspur 10 1 3 6 11 16 -5 6

[JK]

Man what is it with Tottenham and high scoring thrillers??

[johntheclaret]

Man what is it with Tottenham and high scoring thrillers??

Did you see it Connie. Great stuff

Watching Villa v b4st4rds now. Only because I know who won. Sweeeeeet

[johntheclaret]

Aye up, he's on line.

[JK]

Man what is it with Tottenham and high scoring thrillers??

Did you see it Connie. Great stuff

Watching Villa v b4st4rds now. Only because I know who won. Sweeeeeet

No I missed it mate, spewing ... Be straight onto Fox tonight when I get home though

[Bluedemon]

Gerard with another goal, Go Liverpool. what a good draw with arsenal and hotspurs.

[RoosterMarty]

Amazing morning. I can't wait to watch the highlights when I get home from work, in particular the North London Derby and Berbatov's piece of skill which set up Ronaldo's second. Anybody got a link for that??

[johntheclaret]

DA has put it up on the Discussion thread Marty. don't know if oyu have seen it?

[johntheclaret]

Saturday 1st November

Results

Everton 1 Fulham 0
Chelsea 5 Sunderland 0
Man Utd 4 Hull 3
Middlesbrough 1 West Ham 1
Portsmouth 1 Wigan 2
Stoke 2 Arsenal 1
West Brom 2 Blackburn 2
Spurs 2 Liverpool 1

Round Up

Life for new Tottenham boss Redknapp could hardly get any better as his new charges ended Liverpool's unbeaten start to the season with another late goal.
It all looked to be going according to plan for Rafa Benitez as Dirk Kuyt's early strike put the Reds in front and they went on to carve out a series of opportunities.
But having allowed Spurs to remain in the game, the visitors were made to pay when Jamie Carragher could only head David Bentley's corner beyond Jose Reina in the 70th minute.
And with the seconds ticking away, Bentley's shot was turned away by Reina only for Bent to work it back into the middle where Pavlyuchenko was waiting to pounce with a neat near-post finish.

Long-throw expert Delap proved too hot to handle once again at the Britannia Stadium as Stoke delivered what could prove to be a terminal blow to Arsenal's title ambitions.
The home side took the lead in familiar fashion in the 11th minute when Delap's rocket long throw from the right was flicked into the bottom corner by Ricardo Fuller.
It was Stoke's 12th Premier League goal of the season and the sixth time Delap has provided the assist.
Delap was at it again in the 73rd minute, with his latest hurled effort flicked on for Seyi Olofinjana to bundle the ball beyond a bemused Manuel Almunia.
Arsenal's frustrations boiled over and Robin van Persie was shown a straight red card for a clash with Thomas Sorensen, although the Potters goalkeeper made a lot of what contact there was.
Gael Clichy grabbed an injury-time consolation for the Gunners as his shot from outside the box took two deflections before beating the unfortunate Sorensen.

Manchester United held off a brave fightback from Hull to emerge victorious from a seven-goal thriller at Old Trafford.
United took an early lead when Cristiano Ronaldo played the ball out to Berbatov, who returned possession and the Portugal international beat Boaz Myhill via the inside of his near post with a low strike for his 98th United goal on his 250th appearance.
Hull stunned Old Trafford when they levelled in the 23rd minute as Daniel Cousin got his head to guide Andy Dawson's right-wing free-kick across Edwin van der Sar.
But the champions responded swiftly as Nemanja Vidic played the ball out of defence to Berbatov, who found Carrick and the midfielder advanced to the edge of the area and beat Myhill with a low drive across the goalkeeper.
Ronaldo then made it 3-1 before the interval as he rose in the box to head home Nani's corner via Tigers defender Paul McShane.
Phil Brown's men were undone from another corner in the 57th minute as Vidic was given the freedom of the area to volley home Rooney's flag kick.
Bernard Mendy pulled one back for the visitors as he broke into the box and lifted the ball over Van der Sar, with Vidic's attempts to clear the ball in vain.
And when Mendy was hauled down by Rio Ferdinand, Geovanni stepped up to lash home from the penalty spot and set up a nervy finish.

France international Anelka scored probably the easiest hat-trick of his career as Chelsea thrashed sorry Sunderland at a rain-soaked Stamford Bridge.
Alex gave Chelsea the lead in the 27th minute after Frank Lampard found Joe Cole, with the midfielder's low shot squeezing under Marton Fulop for the big centre-back to bundle home.
And it was 2-0 soon after, although there was more than a hint of offside about the final touch from Anelka.
Lampard was again involved as he crossed for Alex to slide in and prod the ball goalwards. It would have found the back of the net anyway but Anelka, who was ahead of play, beyond the entire Sunderland team and therefore offside, got the final touch.
Roy Keane was understandably unimpressed by the decision, but was sent to the stands for making his point too forcibly to referee Martin Atkinson at the interval.
Anelka made it 3-0 before the break, slotting home Florent Malouda's cross from close range after good work from Joe Cole and Lampard.
The England midfield duo then combined for a fourth early in the second half with Cole's burst into the box and clever cross easily nodded home by Lampard.
And Anelka was on hand to slot home Malouda's cross in the 53rd minute with Fulop again unable to keep the ball out as it looped up and bounced home.

Emile Heskey slid home a last-gasp winner as Wigan snapped their four-game losing streak and wrecked new Portsmouth manager Adams' home bow.
The England striker burst into the box to beat international colleague David James at his near post at a drenched Fratton Park.
Amr Zaki had earlier bagged his eighth Premier League goal of the season to give Steve Bruce's men the lead.
The Egyptian striker fired straight down the middle from the penalty spot after Papa Bouba Diop had been penalised for bringing down Titus Bramble.
Jermain Defoe came close to levelling from an indirect free-kick in the area, but the massed Wigan ranks somehow kept the ball out.
Chris Kirkland and his defenders could do nothing seven minutes from time as a deep cross reached Kranjcar at the far post and the Croatian drilled home, only for Heskey to have the final say.

Everton striker Saha stepped off the bench to earn the Toffees their first home league win of the season with the only goal of the game against his former club Fulham.
Zoltan Gera and Bobby Zamora both hit the woodwork for the Cottagers after the break, while Marouane Fellaini hit the post for David Moyes' men in the first half.
It was left to Saha to steal the points for the Goodison Park outfit as he headed home Leon Osman's cross three minutes from the end.

Blackburn overcame the first-half dismissal of striker Benni McCarthy to snatch a late point against West Brom at the Hawthorns.
The South Africa international drilled home from the spot in the 13th minute after Ryan Donk was penalised for pulling Jason Roberts' shirt.
But having been booked for a foul on Paul Robinson, McCarthy was dismissed for deliberate handball in the 36th minute, with manager Paul Ince incensed by the decision as he felt the striker had been pushed by Donk.
Roman Bednar levelled for the Baggies at the start of the second period, showing quick feet to beat visiting goalkeeper Paul Robinson after being found in the area by Ishmael Miller.
Miller then went from provider to scorer, with a slick turn on the edge of the box before lashing his shot beyond a diving Robinson.
But Keith Andrews had the final word as he smashed a long-range effort beyond Scott Carson after being given too much time and space by the home defence.

Gianfranco Zola saw his West Ham side end their four-game losing run but they were forced to settle for a point at Middlesbrough.
The Hammers took the lead in the 21st minute with Hayden Mullins eventually finding the back of the net with a thumping drive after Luis Boa Morte's cut-back.
Mullins' first attempt saw him only connect with fresh air, but as the ball hit his standing foot it flew into the air and he volleyed home at the second attempt via the underside of the bar.
Boro deservedly levelled seven minutes from time when Mido drilled a low free-kick under the West Ham wall and beyond Rob Green.

Table
Teams P GD Pts
1 Chelsea 11 23 26
2 Liverpool 11 8 26
-------------------------
3 Man Utd 10 11 21
4 Arsenal 11 11 20
-------------------------
5 Aston Villa 10 7 20
6 Hull City 11 -1 20
7 Everton 11 -4 15
8 Middlesbrough 11 -5 14
9 Portsmouth 11 -6 14
10 Man City 10 7 13
11 West Ham 11 -4 13
12 Stoke 11 -6 13
13 Blackburn 11 -7 13
14 Sunderland 11 -7 12
15 Fulham 10 -1 11
16 Wigan 11 -3 11
17 West Brom 11 -8 11
------------------------
18 Tottenham 11 -4 9
19 Newcastle 10 -6 9
20 Bolton 10 -5 8

[johntheclaret]

Sunday 2nd Nov

Result

Bolton 2 - 0 Man City

Round Up

Manchester City were beaten for the second time in a week after going down 2-0 to Bolton Wanderers.
City were surprised by Middlesbrough in midweek, but failed to make amends by losing at The Reebok courtesy of Ricardo Gardner's close-range strike and a Richard Dunne own goal.
Jamaican winger Gardner opened the scoring in the 77th minute when he sent Gretar Steinsson's right-wing cross in off the crossbar to ease the pressure on under-fire manager Gary Megson.
Any hopes of City getting back into the contest ended late on when Dunne inadvertently diverted Gardner's driven cross into his own net with Kevin Davies lurking at the back post.

Bolton began the day propping up the rest of the Premier League, but have now moved into 17th spot thanks to their third league win of the campaign while City remain well off the pace-setters in 10th position.
The crowd again fell several thousand below capacity, the swathes of empty seats a reflection of The Trotters' struggles but City supporters also failed to come close to selling their ticket allocation.
Those who had bothered to turn up at least got to watch Robinho in the flesh and he showed plenty of early promise with some delightful footwork and acute awareness of players around him.
The Brazilian magician was deployed just behind Ched Evans but frequently drifted out to the left flank in a bid to collect possession.

[johntheclaret]

Monday 3rd Nov

Result

Newcastle 2 - 0 Aston Villa

Round Up

Obafemi Martins scored both goals as Newcastle beat Aston Villa 2-0 to climb off the foot of the Premier League table.
Aston Villa created the best opportunities in a lively but goalless first half as Martin Laursen struck the post with a header and Gabriel Agbonlahor completely missed the ball with the goal at his mercy.
Newcastle always looked dangerous and broke the deadlock on the hour mark courtesy of an excellent Martins strike from outside the area.
Nicky Butt then rattled the woodwork with a free-kick, before Martins tapped home from close range in the 83rd minute after a driving run by Jonas Gutierrez.

Table

Pos Team P Pts
1 Chelsea 11 26
2 Liverpool 11 26
-------------------------
3 Manchester United 10 21
4 Arsenal 11 20
--------------------------
5 Aston Villa 11 20
6 Hull City 11 20
7 Everton 11 15
8 Middlesbrough 11 14
9 Portsmouth 11 14
10 Manchester City 11 13
11 West Ham United 11 13
12 Stoke City 11 13
13 Blackburn Rovers 11 13
14 Newcastle United 11 12
15 Sunderland 11 12
16 Fulham 10 11
17 Wigan Athletic 11 11
------------------------------
18 Bolton Wanderers 11 11
19 West Bromwich Albion 11 11
20 Tottenham Hotspur 11 9

[TigerBoss]

I hate soccer. My side Man City can't even beat Middlesborough or Bolton. Nice job in spending a trillion dollars on hacks...

[RoosterMarty]

I hate soccer. My side Man City can't even beat Middlesborough or Bolton. Nice job in spending a trillion dollars on hacks...

I thought you would be on the Hull bandwagon.

[johntheclaret]

I hate soccer. My side Man City can't even beat Middlesborough or Bolton. Nice job in spending a trillion dollars on hacks...

Give it time TB. They've only splashed the cash on Robinho up to now. There'll be plenty of activity come January and then the close season 2009.

[Bully]

heres to another wweekend of throwing things at TVs and smashing things

[devilsadvocate]

heres to another wweekend of throwing things at TVs and smashing things

Haha, now you know what it's like for us Spurs fans!

You guys have a stack of injuries too, so the light at the end of the tunnel is a long way off. Arsene can't keep blaming everyone else for too much longer. The buck has to stop with his recruitment policy at some stage.

Tough game this weekend though. Ronnie is back in amazing form. Rooney and Berbatov are scoring for fun. Hopefully it's a cracker of a game.

[johntheclaret]

Sat / Sun 6th & 9th November

Results

Sat 8th
Arsenal 2-1 Manchester United
Hull City 0-1 Bolton Wanderers
Liverpool 3-0 West Bromwich Albion
Sunderland 1-2 Portsmouth
West Ham United 1-3 Everton
Wigan Athletic 0-0 Stoke City

Sun 9th
Aston Villa 1-2 Middlesbrough
Blackburn Rovers 0-2 Chelsea
Fulham 2-1 Newcastle United
Manchester City 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur

Round Up

Arsenal reminded all concerned that talk is cheap in the football world, while Nicolas Anelka was Chelsea's very own Rain Man and Harry Redknapp continues to work his magic.

Ahead of the latest weekend of action in the Premier League, gossipmongers were targeting Gunners boss Arsene Wenger following 10 days of three games of typically eye-catching style but, crucially, no success.
The Emirates Stadium outfit went into Saturday's lunchtime showdown with arch-rivals Manchester United on the back of a dramatically late domestic derby draw with Tottenham, a defeat to Stoke and a frustrating midweek stalemate with Fenerbahce in the UEFA Champions League.
Wenger, therefore, welcomed United to North London having his aesthetic ethics and, more importantly, position questioned for the first point in his 12-year stay with the three-time Premier League champions.
The doom merchants predicted that the Frenchman and his charges - without a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup - would be dead and buried in this season's title race if they lost to United but, as is often the case with one of the 'Big Four', Arsenal responded in scintillating fashion.
In an engaging, end-to-end, contest - described by United boss Sir Alex Ferguson as 'fantasy football' - Arsenal came out 2-1 victors thanks to a well-taken Samir Nasri brace, while the visitors could only respond late on through a superb Rafael da Silva volley.

Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari is now of the age that he could, in theory, apply for an English bus pass, but it is difficult to imagine the Brazilian - who turned 60 on Sunday - cruising past Stamford Bridge on the 211 to Hammersmith, it would go all against a sense of samba flair.
Scolari continues to earn the plaudits for massaging Chelsea's formerly efficient squad into an attacking, attention-grabbing outfit, but the Blues were never truly forced to reach their sparkling best to regain a place at the table's summit with three points at a rain-soaked Ewood Park.
Chelsea had been overtaken by Liverpool on Saturday, of which more later, but Scolari and co returned to the peak with as comfortable-a-victory as they could have hoped for in the North West, with only torrential conditions proving a stumbling block.
Anelka was again the hero as the Frenchman netted twice to secure the 2-0 success, moving to the top of the scoring charts in the process, as a timid Blackburn - who had seemingly listened to the 'physical' comments of Chelsea assistant Ray Wilkins ahead of kick-off which so angered their boss Paul Ince - offered little resistance.

Former Tottenham manager Juande Ramos will still be finding it difficult to understand how his successor, Redknapp, has transformed an inherited team of no-hopers into an exciting and successful side after the in-form Darren Bent struck twice to cancel out a Robinho goal and secure a 2-1 win at Manchester City.
Ramos' old assistant Gustavo Poyet fired an angry broadside at his ex-players over the weekend, claiming they should be 'embarrassed' by performances earlier in the season. Spurs promptly responded by defeating nine-man Manchester City to secure a third win in four games under Redknapp to move off the bottom of the table.

While Redknapp's luck blossoms, his opposite number Mark Hughes is beginning to sweat as the City chief - who saw Gelson Fernandes and Richard Dunne dismissed, while Tottenham had Benoit Assou-Ekotto sent off in the closing stages - sits agonisingly close to the relegation zone after one win in seven games. To make matters worse, the Welshman has also received the dreaded vote of confidence from chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak.

Liverpool remain hot on the heels of Chelsea following a 3-0 victory over West Brom at Anfield, which sees the Reds only separated from top spot by goal difference.
Robbie Keane was the man of the moment on Merseyside as the Republic of Ireland international scored his first league goals for the Reds since his £20million summer arrival from Tottenham, while Fernando Torres returned from injury off the substitutes' bench and Alvaro Arbeloa wrapped up the victory.

Like Hughes, Bolton chief Gary Megson has been taking a lingering look around his respective manager's office each time he shuts the door over recent weeks in the fear that it could be the last, but the Trotters eased the heat on their leader with a 1-0 victory at Hull courtesy of Matt Taylor's goal and shot-stopping heroics from Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Newcastle's interim boss Joe Kinnear was another tactician to grab his place in the spotlight after blaming 'Mickey Mouse' referee Martin Atkinson for his team's 2-1 defeat at Fulham.
Kinnear might have been better advised to hold defender Claudio Cacapa to account after the bumbling Brazilian headed against colleague Fabricio Coloccini to allow Andy Johnson to open the scoring. Shola Ameobi equalised, but a Danny Murphy penalty earned Fulham the prize.

Three goals in the final six minutes at Upton Park allowed Everton to come back to earn a 3-1 win over West Ham, a result which piles the pressure on home boss Gianfranco Zola.
The former Chelsea star made playing in the Premier League resemble the possibility of Pele running out for the Railway Inn's Sunday XI, but he is finding life a lot tougher as a manager after Joleon Lescott and a brace from Louis Saha cancelled out Jack Collison's opener to stretch West Ham's winless run to six games.

Portsmouth striker Jermain Defoe's injury-time penalty helped Tony Adams to his first victory as a Premier League manager after Nadir Belhadj had struck earlier in the game to equalise Djibril Cisse's fourth-minute opener for Sunderland.

Middlesbrough caused one of the shocks of the weekend by recording a win at Champions League hopefuls Aston Villa as Tuncay Sanli hit a brace, while Steve Sidwell grabbed the home goal.
The contest in the Midlands also made the writing of skysports.com's Gaffe of the Weekend a less than testing task as first Afonso Alves demonstrated the striking instincts that £12million buys these days, while Sidwell had time to produce a howler to let Tuncay in for an 88th-minute winner.

Last but not least, or so the saying goes, Wigan's 0-0 draw with Stoke will not live long in the memory as even Rory Delap's long-throws could not fashion a breakthrough at the JJB Stadium.

Table

Teams P GD PTS
1 Chelsea 12 25 29
2 Liverpool 12 11 29
--------------------------
3 Arsenal 12 12 23
4 Man Utd 11 10 21
--------------------------
5 Aston Villa 12 4 20
6 Hull City 12 -2 20
7 Everton 12 -2 18
8 Middlesbrough 12 -4 17
9 Portsmouth 12 -5 17
10 Fulham 11 0 14
11 Bolton 12 -2 14
12 Stoke City 12 -6 14
13 Man City 12 4 13
14 West Ham 12 -6 13
15 Blackburn 12 -9 13
16 Tottenham 12 -3 12
17 Wigan 12 -3 12
----------------------------
18 Newcastle 12 -5 12
19 Sunderland 12 -8 12
20 West Brom 12 -11 11

[johntheclaret]

Sat 15th Nov / Sun 16th Nov

Results

Arsenal 0-2 Aston Villa
Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Sunderland
Bolton Wanderers 0-2 Liverpool
Fulham 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester United 5-0 Stoke City
Newcastle United 2-2 Wigan Athletic
West Bromwich Albion 0-3 Chelsea
West Ham United 0-0 Portsmouth

Sun 16th November

Everton 1-1 Middlesbrough
Hull City 2-2 Manchester City

Round Up

Arsenal's hopes of challenging for the Premier League crown look to be over after they suffered their fourth defeat of the season at the hands of Aston Villa.
Ashley Young passed up a glorious early opportunity to give Villa the lead when the winger's weak penalty was saved by Manuel Almunia after he had been felled by Theo Walcott.
But Young made amends when his dangerous, curling 70th-minute cross from the left was headed into his own net by Gael Clichy under pressure from Gabriel Agbonlahor.
And Agbonlahor showed pace, power and an eye for goal as he raced onto a long ball out of defence, held off William Gallas and fired low to Almunia's left for the second 10 minutes from time.

Chelsea bounced back from their midweek Carling Cup defeat to Burnley to regain their Premier League advantage over Liverpool thanks to a routine victory over West Brom.
Luiz Felipe Scolari's side looked in determined mood from the off and had the game won by half time thanks to three goals in an 11-minute spell.
Jose Bosingwa opened the scoring with a drive from the edge of the box which caught Scott Carson off guard, before Nicolas Anelka continued his recent hot streak in front of goal.
Anelka made it 2-0 with a deft finish over Carson after Florent Malouda's pass, before beating the Baggies goalkeeper at his near post after another pass from his compatriot on the stroke of half-time.

Liverpool had temporarily climbed back to the summit of the Premier League with a 2-0 victory over Bolton at the Reebok Stadium.
Dirk Kuyt's precision header from Fabio Aurelio's cross handed Rafa Benitez's men the lead before Gary Cahill had a goal ruled out just before the break after Kevin Nolan blocked Jose Reina.
Fernando Torres then came off the bench after the interval and his cross was headed home by Steven Gerrard to seal the victory.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th goal for Manchester United as they saw off Stoke 5-0 at Old Trafford.
The Portuguese ace fired home a long-range free-kick which Thomas Sorensen may feel he should have done better with to become the 19th player in the history of the Red Devils to reach the century landmark.
Ronaldo then fed Michael Carrick before the interval who created space for himself with some clever footwork and unleashed a shot from edge of box which flew into top corner.
Dimitar Berbatov made it 3-0 at the start of the second half as he controlled strike partner Carlos Tevez's cross and drilled home from six yards out.
Danny Welbeck then stepped off the bench to score on his Premier League debut with a stunning long-range effort into the top corner before Ronaldo scored goal No.101 with another free-kick.

Tottenham suffered their first defeat since Redknapp's arrival as Fulham triumphed 2-1 in the London derby on the banks of the Thames.
Heurelho Gomes added another howler to his already bulging collection of goalkeeping gaffes as he gifted the home side the lead at Craven Cottage.
The blundering Brazilian, who seems to be doing everything he can to lose his place in the side, misjudged a routine shot from Simon Davies which flicked off Jonathan Woodgate's head before bouncing off Gomes' chest and into the net.
Spurs were the victims of their own downfall again when they failed to clear a corner 20 minute from time and Andy Johnson was allowed to turn and fire home from close range.
Substitute Fraizer Campbell made it 2-1 when he provided an assured finish to a slick move involving Jermaine Jenas and David Bentley.

Former Newcastle defender Titus Bramble scored a last-gasp equaliser as 10-man Wigan took a deserved point from their trip to St James' Park.
The Latics took the lead with only three minutes on the clock as Emile Heskey played in Ryan Taylor who unleashed a stunning effort which dipped and swerved beyond Shay Given, giving the Magpies No.1 no chance.
But the visitors were reduced to 10 men in the 54th minute when Emmerson Boyce, booked in the first half for a crude challenge on Jonas Gutierrez, tackled Shola Ameobi and was dismissed by referee Andre Marriner, although he appeared to take the ball.
Substitute Michael Owen, who had earlier missed a glorious opportunity, made no mistake from close range after Chris Kirkland failed to hold Ameobi's shot from outside the box.
Obafemi Martins looked to have snatched victory for Joe Kinnear as he lashed home after Charles N'Zogbia's run and pass, only for Bramble to head home a late corner.

Sunderland proved that rumours of Roy Keane's departure had been exaggerated as they gained a measure of revenge for their Carling Cup defeat to Blackburn.
Three days after suffering a 2-1 defeat at the Stadium of Light, the Black Cats turned the tables at Ewood Park.
Rovers went ahead on the stroke of half-time when Christopher Samba's towering header from Morten Gamst Pedersen's deep corner from the left found the back of the net despite defender Dean Whitehead's best efforts on the line.
But Sunderland were back on terms straight after the re-start as Paul Robinson's weak punch under pressure from a corner allowed Kenwyne Jones to volley home from close range.
And the Black Cats edged in front 19 minutes from time when Djibril Cisse raced onto Steed Malbranque's header and lifted the ball beyond Robinson.

West Ham's search for a victory continues after they were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Portsmouth.
Gianfranco Zola's side are sliding alarmingly towards the relegation zone having taken just two points from the last 21 available.

Table

Teams P GD PTS
1 Chelsea 13 28 32
2 Liverpool 13 13 32
--------------------------
3 Man Utd 12 15 24
4 Arsenal 13 10 23
--------------------------
5 Aston Villa 13 6 23
6 Hull City 13 -2 21
7 Everton 13 -2 19
8 Middlesbrough 13 -4 18
9 Portsmouth 13 -5 18
10 Fulham 12 1 17
11 Sunderland 13 -7 15
12 Man City 13 4 14
13 Bolton 13 -4 14
14 West Ham 13 -6 14
15 Stoke City 13 -11 14
16 Wigan 13 -3 13
17 Newcastle 13 -5 13
---------------------------
18 Blackburn 13 -10 13
19 Tottenham 13 -4 12
20 West Brom 13 -14 11

[johntheclaret]

Sat 22nd Nov

Results

Aston Villa 0 Man Utd 0
Chelsea 0 Newcastle 0
Liverpool 0 Fulham 0
Man City 3 Arsenal 0
Middlesbrough 1 Bolton 3
Portsmouth 2 Hull 2
Stoke 1 West Brom 0

Round Up

Arsenal's turbulent week took a further nosedive as Manchester City bounced back to form with a comfortable 3-0 home triumph.
William Gallas had been left behind, and stripped of the captaincy, following his outburst as Arsenal turned up at the City of Manchester Stadium with a team lacking a driving force and leader.
A disappointing first half came to life in injury-time when City took the lead after a mistake in the Arsenal defence.
Stephen Ireland was unable to take in a Benjani pass, but Gael Clichy sliced his attempted clearance into the path of the City midfielder, who finished clinically past stand-in captain Manuel Almunia
City extended their lead on 56 minutes with a delightful goal as Shaun Wright-Phillips won possession in his own half before slipping a pass through to Robinho, who lifted an impudent chip over Almunia.
Gunners keeper Almunia then had a fortunate escape after he parried Ireland's shot, but Robinho was ruled offside before the Brazilian saw another attempt cleared off the line by Johan Djourou.
Robin van Persie had a cheeky goal ruled out before City added a third in the last minute when Daniel Sturridge converted from the penalty spot after the substitute had been tripped up by Djourou.

Chelsea's stuttering home form continued after a stubborn rearguard action from Newcastle United resulted in a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge.
The leaders thought they had taken the lead 10 minutes into the second half when Joe Cole wheeled away in delight after stabbing home from close range.
However, replays showed that Cole had strayed into an offside position before Florent Malouda's firmly-struck shot had been parried by Shay Given.

Liverpool's old frailties came back to the surface at Anfield as Fulham battled for a 0-0 draw against the title contenders.
Robbie Keane was denied in the first half, and Dirk Kuyt in the second, but the Reds rarely threatened to score against a well-drilled Fulham side.

Champions United remain eight points behind the leading duo after a 0-0 draw at Aston Villa in a game of few chances.
Wayne Rooney had United's best chance of the match in the second half, but he lashed wildly over the bar from close range after being played in by an astute pass by Michael Carrick.
Villa similarly failed to seriously trouble the opposition keeper, but could have been awarded a penalty on 58 minutes when Nemanja Vidic's shirt tug on Gabriel Agbonlahor was not spotted by the referee.

Hull City's never-say-die spirit was again in evidence as Phil Brown's men twice came from behind to force a 2-2 draw at Portsmouth.
Portsmouth came close to taking the lead after just two minutes when Papa Bouba Diop's header from Glen Johnson's cross crashed off the underside of the bar and bounced down on the line, with the hosts appealing for a goal.
On 20 minutes, Pompey did nose ahead when Younes Kaboul dug out a cross and Peter Crouch rose well to head home from close range.
The Tigers rallied in the second half and equalised on 54 minutes when Michael Turner headed home at the far post after Dean Marney's corner had been helped on.
Pompey regained the lead on 63 minutes with a stunning goal from Johnson, who brought a Hull clearance under control and unleashed a magnificent volley which flew past Boaz Myhill from 30 yards.
The visitors, however, are not a team to give up and snatched a point a minute from time when Ian Ashbee's shot deflected into the air before bouncing off Pompey defender Noe Pamarot's head and past David James.

Middlesbrough's five-match unbeaten run came to a lacklustre end as Bolton ran out convincing 3-1 winners at the Riverside.
Bolton enjoyed a dream start on Teesside as Gretar Steinsson and Matthew Taylor combined to put the visitors 2-0 up inside the opening 10 minutes.
The opener arrived on eight minutes when Taylor curled a free-kick from the right to the far post where Steinsson headed home via a deflection off team-mate Kevin Davies.
And just two minutes later, Steinsson's low cross into the box was expertly controlled by Taylor and he fired a right-footed shot beyond Ross Turnbull and in off the far post.
Boro gave themselves hope on 77 minutes when Emanuel Pogatetz smashed a shot beyond Jussi Jaaskelainen after a corner had pinged around the penalty area.
But within 60 seconds Bolton had restored the two-goal cushion as Johan Elmander ended his goal drought by bringing the ball under control and flashing a crisp shot beyond Turnbull.

Stoke made it five home wins on the spin in all competitions after edging to a 1-0 win over bottom club West Brom at the Britannia Stadium.
A tight game was settled on 84 minutes when Danny Higginbotham played a one-two with Michael Tonge before swinging in a cross to the far post which was headed home by Mamady Sidibe.

Table

Teams P GD Pts
1 Chelsea 14 28 33
2 Liverpool 14 13 33
----------------------
3 Man Utd 13 15 25
4 Aston Villa 14 6 24
----------------------
5 Arsenal 14 7 23
6 Hull City 14 -2 22
7 Everton 13 -2 19
8 Portsmouth 14 -5 19
9 Fulham 13 1 18
10 Middlesbrough 14 -6 18
11 Man City 14 7 17
12 Bolton 14 -2 17
13 Stoke 14 -10 17
14 Sunderland 13 -7 15
15 Newcastle 14 -5 14
16 West Ham 13 -6 14
17 Wigan 13 -3 13
--------------------------
18 Blackburn 13 -10 13
19 Tottenham 13 -4 12
20 West Brom 14 -15 11