Abdoulaye Faye celebrates Stoke's equaliser against his old club Newcastle
This weekend Manchester United left it late against Sunderland, Chelsea set a record for consecutive away victories and Liverpool and Arsenal ground out wins against Blackburn and Wigan respectively.
On Sunday at Goodison Park, Aston Villa showed just why they are this season’s most likely gatecrashers to the most exclusive of UEFA Champions League parties. A highly entertaining game finished with a last second winner from Ashley Young, this after Everton’s Lescott having equalised for Everton second earlier.
Hull City seem to be having the rub of the green this seaon as they took the spoils against Middlesbrough, a debatable penalty and a lucky rebound off the goalkeeper giving them victory by 2-1
Fellow top flight new boys Stoke have been deemed to be dour and physical, but Tony Pulis and his band of giants deserve only praise for coming away from Newcastle with a 2-2 draw after trudging in at the half-time break trailing 2-0. The second half showing was one of neat football as they outplayed Newcastle
West Brom remain rooted to the division’s basement after a 1-1 stalemate with Portsmouth, while the same scoreline ensued at Craven Cottage as Fulham and Manchester City could not be separated.
Chelsea beat Bolton and Nicolas Anelka was the man of the match, the former Trotter did not disappoint as his 15th goal of the season reminded those in white just what they’ve been missing.
Deco’s spectacular second from a clever Michael Ballack nod-down allowed Chelsea to ease into a record breaking 11 successive away win in the league, with 26 goals scored and just one conceded away from Stamford Bridge.
Blackburn put on a spirited display against top of the table Liverpool, whose 3-1 victory was somewhat flattering.
It was a similar tale at Emirates Stadium for Arsenal, who are on the rise (in beating Chelsea) or on the wane (being beaten by Stoke) on a week-to-week basis. One goal being enough to beat Wigan and please Arsene Wenger
Manchester United squandered chances in front of goal and it was left to Vidic to score the winner in the last seconds of the game.
In the Monday game Spurs beat West Ham 2-0 at Upton Park and the slide continues for the Hammers.
Scotland
Rangers closed the gap on Celtic with a great win 7-1 against Hamilton whilst Hibernian defeated Celtic 2-0
An error from goalkeeper Artur Boruc followed up by a Colin Nish strike handed Hibs a 2-0 success as the champions’ 12-game winning streak was ended.
Spain Primera Liga
Barcelona extended their lead at the top to six points as they brushed aside Valencia 4-0, with striker Henry netting a hat trick at Camp Nou. Real Madrid played 24 hours later and slumped to back-to-back league defeats as Renato snatched a thrilling 4-3 victory for Sevilla on the champions’ home turf.
Villarreal and Valladolid both staged rousing comebacks to claim 3-3 draws versus Getafe and Osasuna respectively. There were seven goals at Sporting Gijon as Atletico Madrid recorded a 5-2 success, while Recreativo Huelva mustered their first win since the season’s opening day, disposing of struggling Real Mallorca.
Italy Serie A
League leaders Inter Milan continued their impressive march at the top as they beat Lazio with the powerful Zlatan Ibrahimovic among the goals. Juventus ensured they remain within six points of Jose Mourinho’s charges, as Amauri’s 89th-minute winner claimed the spoils versus Lecce.
Bundesliga
On Friday evening, Bayern Munich claimed a significant scalp against table-toppers Hoffenheim, with Luca Toni scoring at the end to move level on points with Ralf Rangnick’s charges, who remain at the summit on goal difference.
