Chelsea lose top spot to United
Manchester United replace Chelsea at the top of the English Premier League after Swansea pull back a late goal.
Manchester United are one point ahead of Chelsea at the top of the English Premier League after Roberto Di Matteo’s men could only manage a draw against Swansea on Saturday.
In the early kick-off, Manchester United defeated Arsenal 2-1 with former Gunner Robin van Persie on the scoresheet for United. Patrice Evra added a second for the Red Devils with his head before Santi Cazorla grabbed Arsenal a last minute consolation goal. The win means United lead the top flight for the first time this season.
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Chelsea went ahead in their match but gave away two valuable points when they conceded a late equaliser to Pablo Hernandez.
Hernandez drilled the ball into the corner of the net in the 88th minute at Liberty Stadium, ending Chelsea’s stay on top of the standings since August 22.
Premier League results |
Saturday November 3 Man Utd 2-1 Arsenal |
Victor Moses scored his first league goal for Chelsea by heading on Garry Cahill’s header from a corner in the 61st minute.
The result caps a bad week in the league for Chelsea after losing their unbeaten status in an acrimonious match at home to United last Sunday.
Manchester City forgoed the opportunitiy to leapfrog Chelsea into second by only managing a goaless draw themselves against West Ham.
City dominated possession and territory at Upton Park, particularly after halftime, but West Ham were denied a goal to captain Kevin Nolan in the fourth minute because of a dubious offside decision.
City remain the only unbeaten team in the league but manager Roberto Mancini will be disappointed with a point against a team that was promoted to the top flight last season.
Everton overtook Tottenham and jumped into fourth position with a 2-2 draw at Fulham. However, the Toffees were unlucky not to claim all three points.
Steve Sidwell grabbed a 90th-minute denying the visitors a comeback win inspired by Marouane Fellaini.
Sidwell’s close-range finish from Dimitar Berbatov’s scuffed shot earned Fulham a scarcely deserved point at Craven Cottage.
Everton fell behind for the fifth straight league match when goalkeeper Tim Howard pushed a seventh-minute free kick from Bryan Ruiz onto the post and into his own net, but recovered well to dominate the game.
Fellaini equalised in the 55th from Kevin Mirallas’ cut-back, and the Belgium midfielder put Everton ahead 17 minutes later, chesting down a long ball and shooting past goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.
Wigan winner
Tottenham meanwhile slipped down the table to fifth after suffering a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Wigan.
Ben Watson scored his first English Premier League goal since December 2011 to upset the home Tottenham fans and new manager Andre Villas-Boas.
The midfielder scored in the 56th minute when he turned in a Shaun Maloney ball from close range to break the deadlock for the visitors. Tottenham enjoyed the bulk of the possession for much of the second half but could not find an equaliser.
Wigan goalie Ali Al-Habsi celebrates Ben Watson’s goal against Tottenham [Reuters] |
The result gave Wigan just their third victory over Spurs in 16 meetings, and moved Roberto Martinez’s side to 12th in the standings.
Norwich extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to three matches beating Stoke 1-0 thanks to Bradley Johnson’s first-half header.
The midfielder sealed Norwich’s second straight home win by glancing in a free kick by Robert Snodgrass in the 44th minute, lifting his resurgent team above Stoke to 14th place in the standings.
Gabriel Agbonlahor scored his first goal of the season for Aston Villa to give them a 1-0 win over former manager Martin O’Neill and his struggling Sunderland side.
Agbonlahor struck from close range in the 57th minute to set up Villa’s second league win. Matt Lowton’s cross from the right was deflected by Christian Benteke into the box, where Agbonlahor pounced.
Sunderland failed to threaten Villa, not putting a meaningful shot on target until six minutes from time. O’Neill’s men have won only one of their last 17 league matches.