Premier League Blog

Manchester United 2 - 0 Inter Milan Champions League Video

2009-03-12T09:33:00.001+08:00

Stadium: Old Trafford, England
Attendance: 74,769
Official(s): Wolfgang Stark (Referee)

Ferguson finally manages a revenge on Jose Mourinho when 5 years ago at the same stage of the competition Mourinho's Porto beat Manchester United, as last night a stronger and more confident Manchester United team, beat the Italian champion 2 -0 at Old Trafford. This win also seals EPL's team rout to advance to the next stage while kicking out all Italian teams.

Manchester United started as early as 4th minute as Vidic, routinely came up and score a header from a Ryan Giggs corner. It was the Irishman again, the catalyst for the next goal as he surged forward, dribbling past 2 Italian defenders and created a chance for Rooney to deliver a wonderful cross across the goal mouth only to be watched by Inter Milan defenders as Ronaldo powers a header into the net.

Any feeling the visitors might claw their way back was dispelled just before the hour, when Adriano, given his head in response to Inter's worsening position, volleyed against the inside of a post and saw the rebound bounce to safety.

Vidic 4' | Manchester United 1 - 0 Inter Milan

Ronaldo 49' | Manchester United 2 - 0 Inter Milan

Liverpool 4 - 0 Real Madrid Champions League Video Highlight

2009-03-11T09:48:00.001+08:00

Juande Ramos' men were outclassed last night with Captain Marvel, Steven Gerrard's superb performance. Proven to be the life of Kop, the Liverpool captain cap his performance with 2 goals to totally demolish a clueless Madrid team.

Torres and Dossena seals Liverpool's majestic victory to cap a night where many would thought to be Benitez's job interview. If the rumours were true, then we might see Benitez stashing out the Kop's contract for a dream move back to Spain.

Despite having 16 shots on goals, as compared to Liverpool's 15, while keeping the lion share of ball possession, Madrid not only fail to break Liverpool's defence but were left dumbfounded to Liverpool's fine passing and shot accuracy.

Obviously a form of a champion if they can keep it up.

Liverpool 1 - 0 Real Madrid

Liverpool 2 - 0 Real Madrid

Liverpool 3 - 0 Real Madrid

Liverpool 4 - 0 Real Madrid

Wigan 0 - 1 West Ham - English Premier League Video Highlight

2009-03-05T23:54:00.001+08:00

West Ham's good run of form continued with Wigan became their latest casualty, strenghtening Gianfranco Zola's team in 7th spot and having a good shot at EUFA cup next season.

Carlton Cole scored a winner to give West Ham a 1-0 victory at Wigan when he superbly put a placing shot at the bottom far post, beyond Kirkland's reach. But it was only 3-minutes of adrenaline rush for Cole when he was later red carded for a second bookable offense.

Wigan manager Steve Bruce accused referee Stuart Attwell of ruining the game in his side's 1-0 defeat at home to West Ham which saw both teams reduced to 10 men.

"The game was ruined as a spectacle. Carlton Cole shouldn't have been sent off. Referee - use a bit of common sense,'' he said. "It had the makings of a decent game but how he sends someone off in the first half for something as petulant as that I don't know. I feel a bit sorry for him because in my opinion Mr Attwell is not ready to step up to the plate. - Steve Bruce

Cole 34' | Wigan 0 - 1 West Ham

Liverpool 2 - 0 Sunderland - English Premier League Result

2009-03-04T19:24:00.003+08:00

Liverpool 2 - 0 Sunderland

Stadium: Anfield, England
Attendance: 41,587
Official: M Halsey (Referee)

After a bad patch of form in their recent Premier League outings, Liverpool finally recorded a win to get all 3-points to close the gap on league leaders Manchester United. Despite some quarters asking for Benitez's head who's hoping Ngog can take the role of Keane, finally, he too can casts the doubters wrong by scoring a votal goal to keep Liverpool's title hope alive.

French teenager David Ngog, making his full home debut, scored one goal and helped create the second for Yossi Benayoun. Sunderland should have been ahead after just four minutes when Kenwyne Jones ran clear after Martin Skrtel's slip, but Jose Reina saved well to his right. That incident change the entire Liverpool game and finish with 3 full points.

Ngog 52' | Liverpool 1 - 0 Sunderland

Benayoun 65' | Liverpool 2 - 0 Sunderland

Having only recorded 2nd league home win since Boxing Day, there's more need to be done my the Reds as they are now tied with rejuvenated Chelsea at second spot, while Arsenal also breaks the 4 games goal droughts, if they were to have any chance at the title.

English Premier League Result - 28 February 2009

2009-03-01T08:47:00.010+08:00

Liverpool 0 - 2 Middlesbrough

IF Manchester United were to kill off the title race between the big four, now is the most perfect opportunity and the game against Newcastle on March 4th, shouldn't be taken lightly. With an opportunity to add another trophy to the cabinet tonight, it's interesting to see how Sir Alex juggles his squad selection.

Sir Alex were left with this joyous dilemma as Liverpool were beaten 2-0 at the Riverside by a dynamic Boro team, with some glossy display by Stewart Downing and Sanli Tuncay.Liverpool looked certain to score with free flowing attack but was left frustrated by Boro's resolute defense and hard luck.

Stewart Downing hit a corner which Skertl failed to clear, and the ball struck Alonso's hip before bouncing into the net. Boro added a second with a sweeping move up the right, culminating in Turkish star Tuncay poking the ball beyond Pepe Reina from 10 yards.

See the Liverpool VS Middlesbrough video highlights →

Chelsea 2 - 1 Wigan

At Stamford Bridge, it looked as if Wigan is going to take lead with quality passing and clear cut chances. Chelsea had goalkeeper Petr Cech to thank for keeping them on level terms in the 17th minute.Mario Melchiot's ball was helped on by Amr Zaki to put Scharner clean through with just Cech to beat.However, the Wigan midfielder saw his low shot pushed around the post by the Czech Republic international.Chelsea then survived a double scare when Ashley Cole cleared a Titus Bramble header off the line and Terry did likewise seconds later with a Charles N'Zogbia shot.

Later, Chelsea looked compose and started to launch more attacks. It paid offwhen they got a corner where Terry delivers a volley from outside the box that rocketed into Wigan's goal. Wigan never looked as dangerous from then onwards. However, they still occasionally created dangerous counter attacks and it paid off on the 82nd as what looked like a harmless cross were pounced by Kapo, who ran ahead of the Chelsea's defenses. Chelsea continued to press forward and finally Lampard manages a header from a mess inside a box and seals the winner on the 90th minutes to save Guus Hiddink's side.

See the Chelsea VS Wigan video highlights →

Arsenal 0-0 Fulham

Arsenal's woes continued at the Emirates Stadium as they once again failed to find the net against Fulham in a 0-0 draw. The Gunners have now played four goalless Premier League matches in a row, and the team were booed off the pitch by their own fans both at half time and again at the final whistle.

Everton 2-0 West Brom

Finally, West Brom were made to pay for the failure to mark Tim Cahill on the 36th minutes from a freekick which the Aussie heads a trademark into the net, while Saha finished Everton's remarkable from from a quality 30-yarder straight into the bottom corner of the far post to remind the fans why he was once a Manchester United player.

See the Everton VS West Brom video highlights →

English Premier League Video Highlights - 28 February 2009

2009-02-28T03:33:00.001+08:00

All the video highlights on English Premier League, Saturday, 28 February 2009.

Liverpool 0 - 2 Middlesbrough

Chelsea 2 - 1 Wigan Athletic

Everton 2 - 0 West Bromwich Albion

Tim Cahill - 36'

Lois Saha - 70'

Real Madrid 0 - 1 Liverpool Champions League Result

2009-02-26T12:16:00.000+08:00

Final Result: Real Madrid 0 - 1 Liverpool

Benayoun (82')

Stadium: Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Spain
Attendance: 85,000
Tournament: Champions League (Last 16, 1st leg)

Liverpool's league title challenge might be in jeoperdy but Rafa Benitez still has got his Champions League magic up his sleeves. Though only managing a draw with Manchester City in the last league outings, somehow this Liverpool side has shown what they are truly capable of.

Coming back from a 6-1 romping of Real Betis, confidence should be flowing from the team that is currently hot on form. But in truth, they were left frustrated as the rejuvenated Liverpool showed some class and discipline.

While Madrid had kept 59% possession, but in truth it was Liverpool who made better use of the ball as counter attacks by Torres and long shots from Alonso could well gave Liverpool an earlier lead. Finally, eight minutes before time, Gabriel Heinze's foul on Kuyt gave Fabio Aurelio the opportunity to curl in a free-kick that Benayoun headed past Casillas from six yards.ity to curl in a free-kick that Benayoun headed past Casillas from six yards.

82' Yossi Benayoun's header for Liverpool 1 - 0 Real Madrid

It is interesting to see how Liverpool respond in the return leg in Anfield. Could Benitez field a 5 team defence and sit on their lead? Or could captain marvel - Gerrard get back on the team and make better of a team that has done so well in the Champion League campaign over the years?

English Premier League January Transfers Summary

2009-01-05T22:20:00.006+08:00

English Premier League January Transfer News

Manchester City
Its back. The transfer season is now back. To start things up, as expected Man City under new coach Mark Hughes already flex their financial muscle by securing the service of Wayne Bridge for £10million. Scolari is not too happy to have his main backup leave, but with limited budget and rumours that owner Abramovich might sell the club, he needs the money to bring in quality strikers.

It's all good for Bridge though as not only he will gain a starting berth but also a handsome paycheck too. Already happy with the move, the buoyant Bridge declared that Man City will have him at his peak. Whether or not that's true, we will just have to see how he can contribute to Citizen's porous defense and maybe help on the offense too.

Serbian starlets are the last of the current season signings as Ferguson insists that he's happy with the current squad

Manchester United
Neighboring club and defending champion Manchester United on the other hand, insisted that the signing of the Serbian duo Zoran Tosic and Adem Ljajic is the only purchase they'll ever make for the remainder of the season. Vidic has already expressed his delight by promising to help the duo settle. Tosic, 21, will sign with immediate effect and wear the no.14 shirt, while an agreement is in place for 17-year-old striker Ljajic to remain with Partizan for the rest of 2009.

English Premier League January Transfer Rumours

Tottenham Hotspurs
Boss Harry Redknapp seems to wanting to add more to the current squad. Having done good with the current squad, the fiery Chairman Levy would bet his money on Harry. Defoe has always been his priority signing even during his time with Pompey and rumours are mounting that he might just re-sign his favourite striker which brings Jermaine Defoe to his former club.

Stewart Downing is subject to transfer speculation to many clubs

Stewart Downing has been impressive and caught the eye of Harry too. The speedy left winger has always been influential for Middlesbrough and Southgate will most likely reject all bids. But things have change it seems as Downing is expected to hand in a transfer request to force his way to London. If any deal should go through, it'll be in the region of a reported £6million. Now just imagine a team with both flanks are covered by Bentley on the right and Downing on the other end. Scary huh? But then again, we said the same thing when Robbie Keane was to partner Torres. A potential which so far failed to materialised.

Liverpool
Danny Agger, touted to be one of the most promising centerbacks, are being link with a move to AC Milan. His contract uncertainties and role in the Reds squad which leads the Premier League currently are being capitalized by Milan by launching a €8.5 million bid. Now, Rafa could use this money to fund his targets because it has been made public that he is not happy with the backing of the current management specifically in the form of transfer funds.

Arsenal
Arsene Wenger is again said to be looking for experienced players to add depth and stability to his current young squad - at a bargain again, of course! Udinese midfielder Gokhan Inler is said to be interesting Wenger. The Gunners boss had been widely tipped to trigger the Swiss international's buy-out clause with an £8 million bid but Wenger has now turned his attention elsewhere.

Talking to reporters, Wenger reveal that : "I feel that if we do add somebody, we add somebody who has a special class." It's been in the rumour mill now that, that somebody could be in the form of Andrei Arshavin. As Advocaat is willing to let him go, at a good price of course and Wenger are also reported to be having a huge transfer warchest, this could materialised. Again, a midfield with Arshavin and Cesc Fabregas could be a potential threat to the rest of the league. But having 2 creative midefielders doesn't make any sense though. Maybe Wenger wanted Cesc to dictate play while Arshavin tries to break down defenses.

Manchester United
And of course, again, Cristiano Ronaldo is being linked with a move to Real Madrid. However, he speaks of a different tone now by insisting that he feels at home in Manchester. Of course, this could be another antics by the newspaper to attract readers, but seriously, enough is enough. I bet you that this will happen on every transfer windows. Sigh.

But with Cristiano Ronaldo, you can never be sure. Just wait till summer and Real comes knocking again. It might take Ferguson all his will to keep him at Old Trafford.

Christiano Ronaldo Won the Prestigious Ballon d'Or

2008-12-02T21:26:00.006+08:00

It's final. After much debate about who should win the Ballon d'Or, today Christiano Ronaldo won the prestigious award as confirmed by the France Football website.

Though there have been some arguments on whether he deserved the award, as compared to Lionel Messi, Ronaldo is always seen as the favourite to grab this one.

Christiano Ronaldo scored 446 points out of a possible 480 points given by 96 top journalists in which 77 of them voted Christiano Ronaldo as their number 1 player while he is in the top 5 players lists of all the 96 journalists. 2nd and 3rd place winner Lionel Messi from Barcelona and Fernando Torres from Liverpool were nowhere near him with only 281 points and 179 points respectively.

With an impressive 42 goals last season which almost single-handedly won the League title and Champions League for Manchester United, it is not hard to see why is he given the prestigious Ballon d'Or which also carries the title of European Player of the Year 2008.

This is weird as such arguments even arises in the first place. Well, though even some of the Manchester United players have some reservations about him and his attitude which is always perceived to arrogant and deceitful, but he has, contributed too much for the club.

Some of those Premiera Liga hooligans even claimed that Messi is actually more superior than Christiano Ronaldo in terms of skills and attitude. While that might be true, the Ballon d'Or is not about who has the most skills, or who is more charming, but it's about the player's contribution for club and country for that year which makes Christiano Ronaldo the clear winner.

Having already won the FifPro World Player of the Year, and now European Player of the Year 2008, he's expected to sweep all individual awards by finally winnning the coveted FIFA World Player of the Year.

Other players nominated for the Ballon d'Or Award :

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd), 446 points
2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona), 281 pts
3. Fernando Torres (Liverpool), 179 pts
4. Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), 133 pts
5. Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona), 97 pts
6. Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St Petersburg), 64 pts
7. David Villa (Valencia), 55 pts
8. Kaka (Milan), 31 pts
9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Internazionale), 30 pts
10 Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), 28 pts
--------------------------------------------------------------
11. Marcos Senna (Villarreal),16 pts
12. Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal), 12 pts
13. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), 11 pts
14. Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), 10 pts
15. Frank Lampard (Chelsea), 8 pts
16.Franck Ribery ( Bayern Munich), 7 pts
17. Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona), 6 pts
18. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), 5 pts
19. Michael Ballack (Chelsea), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), 4 pts
21. Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), 3 pts
24. Edwin van der Sar (Man Utd), Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid), 2 pts

There are some exciting names like El Kun who helped Athletico staying competitive in the La Liga. Maybe with the right club signing him, his contribution could be better and possibly climbed higher in ranks. It was quite a surprise to see Arshavin not in the top 5 as he helped Zenit St Petersburg to win EUFA and European Super Cup! Xavi's position is highly debatable and I believe its Arshavin who should be there as Xavi won nothing for the troubled Barcelona last year. Kaka should make a move if he were to again taste the Ballon d'Or.

Congratulations Christiano Ronaldo. Now it's time for you to focus on the team and your football to put Manchester United back in the title race. Last Sunday's red card incident should be just be a very very bad memory.

Premier League Watch is About to Look Better

2008-12-02T21:07:00.003+08:00

Well, for starters, I'm quite shocked to find that I have 7 readers in my Feedburner to begin with. I initially created this blog to express myself and share my thoughts with friends on the latest happenings of the English Premier League.

Something caught me and I wasn't able to update this blog as I had hoped for initially. But now, I have some spare time. So this blog could be updated.

If you are aware, this blog is under construction. Thanks to a wonderful template I found. It's perfect for everything I ever needed. However, I'm not really good with CSS so this might take a while.

Once everything is tidied up, we can all enjoy one of the best alternative football blog around... I hope! ;-)

So stay tune guys.

English Premier League Results, Sunday 5 October 2008

2008-10-06T16:34:00.000+08:00

Manchester City 2 - 3 Liverpool

Hart breaking as Kuyt scored the winning goal

As many watched and thought that the emergence of Manchester City as the new power in the Premier League last night while they were leading 2 - 0, how wrong they were. Liverpool, after being under performing for years, had finally put their act together to trail Chelsea as league leaders.

Liverpool looked in trouble as they trailed to a 19th-minute goal from Stephen Ireland and Javier Garrido's curling free-kick four minutes from the interval.

However, Fernando Torres slid in from close range to reduce the deficit in the 55th minute before the Spain striker headed a 73rd-minute equaliser from Steven Gerrard's left-wing corner. Dirk Kuyt scored his first Premier League goal since November to secure a dramatic 3-2 victory for Liverpool at Manchester City.

West Ham 1 - 3 Bolton

Zola's dream start came to an end last night as they were beaten 3 - 1 by Bolton. 2 straight league wins since taking over the club from Alan Curbishey, the club looked to be in good shape under the management of Chelsea's legend.

Davis celebrates by opening the 'gift' from Green

It took an uncharacteristic blunder by Green, on the wet pitch that gave Bolton the lead when he fumbled the ball at the edge of the area, leaving Davis to score on an empty net. Second goal for Bolton came soon after as they got a freekick which was saved by Green, but was quicly snapped by Cahill to score his first ever goal for the club.

Hammers fight back and Matthew Etherington's corner from the right was nodded back into the six-yard box where Cole arrived to head the ball in off the underside of the crossbar and chalk up a fourth goal of the season on the 68th minute.

However, as they struggle to level the game, Bolton sealed the final nail when substitute Taylor smashed in a 30-yard free-kick four minutes from time.

Porsmouth 2 - 1 Stoke

It was a worthy 18.5 million pound gamble for Harry Redknapp as the dynamic duo scored each to secure a home win for Pompey.

Ooppss, he did again!

It only took the pair 25 minutes to break the deadlock when Defoe's cross was met with a spectacular bicycle kick by the lanky Crouch. It was not the first time he did it as he once did the same during his time in Liverpool.

But after Fuller bundled home an equaliser three minutes into the second half, Defoe cracked the winner three minutes later, having already hit a post.

Tottenham Hotspurs 0 - 1 Hull City

Geovanni with the winning goal for Hull again - Why did City throw this guy?

Hull claimed another London club's skull and possibility Juande Ramos' head as they beat Spurs 1-0. It was Geovanni again, proven to be the key figure in Hull's impressive league form, now standing 3rd in the table.

A brilliant first-half free-kick from Brazilian Geovanni did the damage to continue Hull's brilliant arrival in the top flight for the first time in their history.

Please, I need more than one more chance - see the hands?

As it is great news for Hull City supporters, it is a different story for Juande Ramos who's losing time to keep his job as Spurs were again, still rooted at the bottom of the table. The club which should be title contenders or at least a top four looked to be playing with no confidence and their lacklustre performance had frustrated the fans as they chant "You're getting sacked in the morning,'' on a day which had begun with reports linking Terry Venables with a return to Spurs.

Chelsea 2 - 0 Aston Villa

Joe Cole scored his 3rd of the season - Robin-who?

Chelsea looked as solid as ever to brush Aston Villa's challenge, despite having an injury crisis. First-half goals from Joe Cole and Nicolas Anelka kept Scolari's men at the top of the Barclays Premier League, and it could have been more but for the reflexes of Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

Lampard set up the opener three minutes later after Curtis Davies' clearance fell to Malouda. Malouda slipped the ball inside to Lampard, who in turn helped it on to midfielder Cole which he took one touch and lashed his finish past Friedel and inside the near post, his third of the season.

Lampard tries again on the 43rd minute which was saved by Friedel, who has a busy afternoon, but even he couldn't prevented Anelka from scoring after the rebound was tuck in nicely by the Frenchman to seal an empathic win.

Newcastle 2 - 2 Everton

Finally, Duff is fully fit and getting back his confidence

Newcastle looked doomed as they were 2 goals down. But as the referee blew the final whistle, it was Moyes who were left to shake his head.

Everton cruised into the lead through a Mikel Arteta penalty and £15million new boy Marouane Fellaini's first for the club.

But Steven Taylor headed one back seconds before the break and then set-up Damien Duff for the equaliser a minute into the second half.

And had it not been for two desperate goal-line clearances from Leighton Baines, Everton could have been severely embarrassed as their poor form continued.

It seems that Kinear's started to work out his magic, or simply players are too scared to get a word or maybe a curse or two from their firey manager.

English Premier League Results, Saturday 4 October 2008

2008-10-06T15:08:00.000+08:00

Sunderland 1 - 1 Arsenal

Fabregas scored the winning goal

Cesc Fabregas keep it late to before giving Arsene Wenger a relief and doomed Arsenal for a second successive defeat in the English Premier League with an 86th minute equalizer.

Having turned in a below-par display in the previous home game against derby rivals Middlesbrough before staging a late smash and grab raid, the Irishman had left his players in little doubt as to what would be required when the Gunners arrived on Wearside.

Leadbitter drilled the ball past Almunia and in off the underside of the bar. It already seemed that the Black Cat would have been purring back home with a win but that is before Cesc Fabregas notch an equalizer after his head met with a van Persie cross to make it 1-1. The score remained at full time.

West Brom 1 - 1 Fulham

Roman Bednar is delighted with his match winning goal

It's two in a row now for the Baggies after gunning down their latest victim - Fulham. Albion were well worth their victory and can head into the international break full of confidence that they have the ability to finally establish themselves as a top-flight team.

Bednar is looking more at home in the Premier League with every game, James Morrison is thriving on the flanks and in the middle of the pitch, Albion have the experience and know-how of skipper Jonathan Greening to fall back on.

Fulham clearly missed the presence of the suspended Andy Johnson in attack and seldom posed a threat as the hosts kept a second successive clean sheet.

It looked almost even in the first half but the Baggies looked more superior in the second half. West Brom looked promising and it's only a matter of time before they break the deadlock. It's on the 61st minute that Roman Bednar scored for his open game goal for the team, and it's enough to bring home 3 points for the Baggies.

Wigan 0 - 1 Middlesbrough

Alierdiere celebrates a bonus goal

It's another heart break story as Wigan were beaten 0-1 at home thanks to Jeremie Allardiere who scored on the 89th minute.

Gareth Southgate's men had come under increasing pressure from the buoyant home side with goalkeeper Ross Turnbull keeping them in the match before Aliadiere pounced to drill home Stewart Downing's header in the box.

The ex-Arsenal man had been a virtual passenger up to that point as Boro, reeling from last week's dismal home loss to West Brom, were made to look distinctly second best. While Amr Zaki, the current top scorer was denied on several occasion by Turnbull who did well to keep a clean sheet.

Then, just when Boro looked like they would be happy to cling on for a point, they seized the win when Downing nodded the ball into the path of Aliadiere - who squeezed the winner low past Kirkland.

Blackburn 0 - 2 Manchester United

Wes Brown were mobbed by delighted team mates

Blackburn looks helpless in front of their own supporters as they were beaten 2 - 0 by the defending champion Manchester United. Goals from Wes Brown and Rooney concluded an evening in which Paul Ince's men looked jaded.

Wes Brown seems to be the most unlikely person to be on the receiving end of a free kick in which he headed home for the opener. Though it looked dubious, but the referee gave Manchester the goal the fans been waiting for. Berbatov looked superb through his ball control and passes which on several occasion unleashed Rooney, Fletcher and Ronaldo which each player failed to capitalized.

After giving an injury scare, Christiano Ronaldo shook it off with a brilliant run down the right, and make a low, short cross just perfect for Rooney to blast it off for a second goal of the night for the Devils. Capello will be happy to see his attacking options are now better, with Rooney looked sharper than ever.

English Premier League Results, Sunday 28 September 2008

2008-09-29T08:11:00.000+08:00

Wigan 2 - 1 Manchester City

It's the clash of the ManUtd old boys. For a long time, both Mark Hughes and Steve Bruce found themselves together on a pitch, but this time in a different team. As people looked on to criticise Man City for failing to beat Wigan despite their multi-million backing and impressive line up as compared to Wigan, but I believe Wigan has looked more solid since Bruce took over.

Despite having Jo and the expensive talents of British record signing Robinho on the attack, City struggled to break down organised Wigan.

Antonio Valencia had given Wigan the lead with a spectacular 16th-minute opening goal from long range. Kompany's close-range finish from Elano's free-kick five minutes later pulled the visitors level but City were unable to find an equaliser in the second half.

But the decider came on the 34th minute in which after a clever setup by Heskey, Palacios sped in the box and was dubiously fouled. Replays showed that Palacios might have dived but a careful look will see that he's in a promising position and was nudge by Garrido - despite Palacios theatritical way of throwig himself.

Zaki who had been imstrumental for Wigan took the resulting spot-kick and confidently sent Hart the wrong way with a placed effort into the bottom-right corner of the net.

Tottenham Hotspurs 0 - 2 Portsmouth

Harry Redknapp men finally found their footing after recent drop of form. But it was Juande Ramos' Tottenham side that are now deep in relegation zone and it's a quiz on why this has come to happen. They got promising players and a talented coach, but yet, not only they didn't met the expectation of title challengers, but they are now challenging for relagation survival.

It's a sweet one for Jermain Defoe as he scored a first-half penalty against former club Tottenham before Peter Crouch added a second as Portsmouth won 2-0 and left Juande Ramos' hapless side rooted to the bottom of the Premier League.

For Pompey it was a welcome return to winning ways having conceded 10 goals in their previous two matches, although the victory was tarnished when Lassana Diarra was sent off after a second yellow card foul on fellow Frenchman Benoit Assou-Ekotto two minutes from time.

EPL Results - Saturday, 28 September 2008

2008-09-28T10:54:00.000+08:00

Manchester United 2 - 0 Bolton

The champions are roaring again. With their ace, Christiano Ronaldo back in the team, it is easy for them to score. Though many ManUtd fan would like to see the player leave because of his antics, but it proved to be a wise decision by Ferguson for fighting to keep him at Old Trafford.

United's margin of victory may have been deserved but the manner of Cristiano Ronaldo's opener left a sour taste for the Trotters as referee Rob Styles amazingly gave the hosts a penalty when Jlloyd Samuel clearly played the ball when he slid into Ronaldo just before the hour mark.

Substitute Wayne Rooney also found the net for the first time this season, curling home superbly after exchanging passes with Ronaldo to give the margin of United's triumph a more comfortable look.

Chelsea 2 - 0 Stoke

Chelsea coach Luiz Filipe Scolari is beginning to make his mark at Stamford Bridge as he guided his side to the top of the Barclays Premier League with a 2-0 win at Stoke.

Bosingwa is the man with a match winning performance by scoring 1 - from an acute angle, and helping team mate Nicolas Anelka scored another to marked a comprehensive winning display by Chelsea which seems to on the roll since the season started.

The victory stretched Chelsea's unbeaten league run to 27 games and Scolari should be pleased with the way his team went about their business.

Arsenal 1 - 2 Hull

It's one of those must win games for Arsenal. Or so eveybody thought when The Gunners take on Hull at home. Many wouldn't expect another 6-0 trashing, but a win is in Arsenal's hand - on paper.

The hosts had taken the lead through Paul McShane's own goal but Geovanni struck a spectacular equaliser before Cousin headed home in the 66th minute.

Daniel Cousin grabbed the winner for Hull to end Arsenal's unbeaten run at the Emirates Stadium and mark Arsene Wenger's 12th anniversary at the club with a shock 2-1 defeat.

Phil Brown's men join West Ham as the only teams to have beaten Arsenal at their new ground - they had gone 17 months without a home loss - with victory also denying the Gunners a return to the top of the Barclays Premier League.

Liverpool 2 - 0 Everton

This is a tough one to predict, really. Everton has recently claimed that they are now the main club in Liverpool. On form and constantly challenging for 4th spot, while Liverpool struggles to keep their 4th spot, this could look to be a draw. In this game, however, Liverpool striker Fernando Torres shrugged off his Euro 2008 hangover to score twice to beat 10-man Everton 2-0 in the 208th Merseyside derby to prove that they are still Liverpool's no 1 club.

Torres volleyed home his first after 59 minutes and cracked in the second three minutes later.

Everton have still to win at home this season and had Tim Cahill sent-off with 10 minutes to go to cap a miserable day for David Moyes' side.

West Ham 2 - 1 Fulham

The arrival of Gianfranco Zola has really lifted West Ham. In this tight game, they proved to have the edge over 10-man Fulham by winning 2-1.

Two goals in the final three minutes of the first half turned out to be decisive, with Carlton Cole and then Matthew Etherington finding the net.

There was still time for Fulham striker Andrew Johnson to be sent off before the half-time whistle was blown and although the home side were back in the game on the hour mark thanks to Danny Murphy's penalty, there was to be no further scoring.

Middlesbrough 0 - 1 West Brom

In another shocker, Middlesbrough lost to West Brom by one goal to nothing. Middlesbrough legend Tony Mowbray staged a smash-and-grab raid on his former club as Jonas Olsson's 53rd-minute winner gave West Brom their first away win of the Barclays Premier League season.

Boro piled forward from the re-start, O'Neil's free-kick almost teeing up Alves at the far post, then David Wheater's powerful header from a Downing corner headed off the line by Morrison.

Boro came even closer in the 65th minute when Downing crossed from the left but Carson managed to save at point-blank range from Mido before Alves bundled the rebound wide.

And they must have begun to feel it was not going to be their day when Carson palmed away an O'Neil effort in the 75th minute before also getting down to save the follow-up from Mido.

O'Neil slammed a long-range effort over the bar and Downing somehow failed to connect when he slid in to meet Adam Johnson's cross behind the Albion defence with seven minutes left.

Newcastle 1 - 2 Blackburn

Newcastle continues to sink and rooted to the bottom of the table. The departure of King Kev has definitely almost destroyed the team. They need a new coach that can boosts their confidence.

Joe Kinnear's arrival at St James' Park failed to inspire Newcastle to end their losing run as Blackburn piled on the misery with a 2-1 victory.

However, after a woeful first-half display which saw Rovers take a 2-0 lead through Christopher Samba and Roque Santa Cruz, the Magpies did at least stage a fightback which suggested their spirits have not been completely crushed.

Skipper Michael Owen converted a 48th-minute penalty for his fourth goal in six games after he had been tripped by Ryan Nelsen, and the home side made a genuine attempt to repair the remaining damage.

In the end, they were unable to snatch the point which might have partially eased their woes.

Aston Villa 2 -1 Sunderland

Aston Villa seems stronger each year under the guidance of Martin O'Neill. The quality of players that he had brought in , and the time they adjusted themselves to the Premier League and the team's play is great.

Ashley Young made Sunderland pay for conceding two free-kicks in dangerous positions as Aston Villa came from behind to beat Sunderland 2-1 at Villa Park.

The Black Cats had taken the lead through Djibril Cisse after 10 minutes but Young quickly retaliated from 20 yards out after being brought down by Liam Miller.

Then Anton Ferdinand handled just outside the box and Young's deflected free-kick found John Carew, via Stiliyan Petrov, and he grabbed the winner after 33 minutes.

But Villa were left hanging on for much of the second half as their fifth match in only 13 days appeared to take its toll.