Week 10 of the English Premier League has yet to come to a close-West Bromwich Albion will enjoy a day at the seaside when facing Blackpool tomorrow-but the weekend brought little movement in the top half of the table. Chelsea remain top of the league with 25 points, but wins by Arsenal and Manchester United kept the second and third place teams five points behind. Manchester City are left clinging to their fourth place slot after a loss at Wolverhampton, but could find themselves pushed into fifth should West Brom win on Monday.
English Premier League Week Ten Weekend In Review: Chelsea Stay Top, Liverpool Climb Out Of Bottom
Chelsea found themselves down for the first time all season when Benjani headed El-Hadji Diouf's cross past Petr Cech. The Blackburn Rovers goal was well-deserved, as the home side had kept the Blues at bay until the goal, never needing to rely upon the long-ball they've been criticized for. Unfortunately for Rovers, Chelsea found the equalizer before the break, with Nicolas Anelka swiping a Didier Drogba pass in past Paul Robinson. The second half was fairly evenly matched, and the home side could be forgiven for thinking they'd be able to send Chelsea off with just a point. But the Blues found their winner through Branislov Ivanovic's header, although the majority of the credit should go to Yuri Zhirkov, who floated in a perfect cross for the Serbian. Blackburn are in the relegation zone after the 1-2 defeat.
Arsenal also needed almost the entire match to find the winner, thanks to an outstanding performance by Rob Green in the West Ham goal. The Gunners constantly threatened the West Ham defense, with Samir Nasri hitting the cross bar and Theo Walcott the post. It was Alex Song that finally found a way past Green, nodding in Gael Clichy's cross in the 88th minute. The 1-0 loss leaves West Ham at the bottom of the table with just six points.
Manchester United sit behind Arsenal on goal difference after beating Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford. The home side took the lead in the 31st minute through Nemanja Vidic, who headed in a Nani free kick. However, it was the second goal that set tongues a-wagging. Nani clearly handled the ball, prompting Spurs keeper Gomes to roll the ball out for a free kick. However, referee Mark Clattenburg hadn't blown the whistle for the handball, leaving Gomes in the wrong. Nani promptly took the ball and sent it into the empty net, sealing United's 2-0 victory. Spurs were left a touch displeased at the game's end.
Manchester City, however, hasn't scored from open play in their last two league matches. While the visitors opened the scoring at Molineux when Emmanuel Adebayor converted a penalty, the Wolves defense was able to close down City's attack-and even find goals of their own. Just minutes after the penalty, Nenad Milijas sent a 20-yard shot past Joe Hart, giving the Serbian his first Premier League goal of the season. Shortly after the break, David Edwards gave Wolves a 2-1 victory when Kolo Toure failed to clear Kevin Doyle's shot, allowing Edwards to sneak in and put the ball in the net.
Everton are now unbeaten in their last five matches after beating Stoke City 1-0 at Goodison Park. While Stoke thought they'd found the opener through a goal by Tuncay, referee Lee Probert ruled that the Turkish midfielder had fouled Leighton Baines in the process. Instead it was Yakubu scoring for Everton, driving a Tim Cahill rebound into the roof of the net and finally breaking his scoring drought.
A brace from Clint Dempsey found Fulham their first win since September 11, when they beat Wolves at home. The American scored a header off Carlos Salcido's cross before bagging his second with a right-footed strike from just outside the area. Wigan Athletic appeared tired, perhaps from their midweek Carling Cup victory over Swansea, giving the home side an easy 2-0 victory.
The Second City Derby between Aston Villa and Birmingham made two hours seem like two days, with Howard Webb mercifully blowing his whistle on the 0-0 draw before the five minutes of extra time had expired. Although Birmingham set out an excellent defensive display, the Blues weren't really threatened by an Aston Villa offense that's still missing-desperately-Gabriel Agbonlahor.
The Tyne-Wear derby was much more thrilling, with Newcastle lashing five goals past rivals Sunderland on the back of a Kevin Nolan hat-trick. The Black Cats looked utterly out of sorts at St. James Park and were certainly not helped by Titus Bramble's red card, given when he took down Andy Carroll in the area. Forced to play the second half with just ten men, the visitors could manage just one goal, a Darren Bent strike, giving Newcastle a 5-1 win.
The weekend wrapped up with yet another match that required last-minute heroics to find a win. This time it was Liverpool, winning their second straight off a strike from midfielder Maxi. The match marks Bolton's first defeat at home this season, and while the Trotters applied plenty of pressure to the Liverpool defense, the finishing just wasn't there, and they had to accept a 0-1 defeat.
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