Five Goals From Dimitar Berbatov Lead Manchester United To 7-1 Win, Top Of The Premier League

Christopher Samba’s goal may be enough to keep Manchester United in second for another week, though that will be little consolation for the Blackburn defender. His morose reaction to his 83rd minute goal told onlookers how important the tally was to him. Out of professional obligation, Samba converted that Josh Morris cross, towering over Jonny Evans to do so. The big center back’s scowl said he would have rather the match had already ended.

As a result, though, Manchester United is back to even on goal difference with Chelsea. Whereas United sat at +20 before the Samba header, the Blackburn defender’s goal dropped them back to Chelsea’s level. If the Blues win at Newcastle on Sunday, Chelsea will hold the tiebreaker advantage over Manchester United. They will stay in first place for at least one more week.

Sunderland lost both Michael Turner and Titus Bramble last week, leaving the Black Cats thin in central defense for the next month. The first test of whether Sunderland can cope came back negative, with Steve Bruce’s side giving up two goals later, losing 3-2 at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

With all five goals coming in the second half, the match became a surprisingly active affair. After a scoreless first half, the match appeared to be playing out as expected, but starting the the 50th minute, the contest exploded.

The biggest complaint West Ham’s last to Liverpool last week wasn’t the final score, 3-0 at Anfield. Most bemoaned the effort, with a struggling Reds side afforded three goals before intermission. It was an effort that amplified calls for Avram Grant’s job, but after today’s win at Upton Park, some of those complaints will be silenced.

After Valon Behrami send West Ham into halftime up 1-0, second half goals from Victor Obinna and Scott Parker built the Hammer lead to three. A penalty kick unconverted helped maintain the lead, and while Tom Cleverley would give Wigan a consolation goal, West Ham would post a convincing 3-1 win.

The good news for Fulham fans: Clint Dempsey has saved you again, though Saturday’s goal was as much right place, right time as distinct skill. Sliding home at the near (left) post after Zoltan Gera had headed a corner don, Dempsey cancelled out Sebastian Larsson’s first half score, bringing the Cottagers even at one.

And that’s the bad news. The score would stay 1-1, and almost predictably just result for these two sides. Unfortunately, that’s Fulham’s league-leading ninth draw of the season, a result that leaves the Cottagers in 17th place, their 15 points giving them only one point’s breathing room from 18th place Wigan.

A much needed win for West Bromwich Albion sees the Baggies snap a five match winless streak, winning 4-1 at Goodison Park over Everton, In a win aided by a 58th minute straight red shown Mikel Arteta, West Brom will renew questions of a Toffee team that sits 15th, two points above the drop.

That status was affirmed by two goals scored after Arteta’s dismissal, which will but accompanied by a three match suspension. The Spanish playmaker took exception to a challenge by Gonzalo Jara, stamping on the Chilean defender twice, earning the obligatory dismissal. After 58 minutes, Everton was down a goal and down a man in a match they were heavy favorites to win.

“Provided they can hold on” is the phrase I used at the end of the Micah Richards goal update, the kind of equivocation I don’t usually throw into a match update. But there was something about what was going on at the Britannia, with City’s inability to handle Kenwyne Jones. Their 82nd minute, go-ahead goal seemed more vulnerable than most late tallies.

On one hand, that equivocation proved prescient, though if I was thinking Jones would be the Potter hero, I was wrong. Instead, it was a deft back heal from Tuncay Sanli, sprinting left wing Matthew Etherington on the left side of City’s area, that created the goal. When Joe Hart could not close down the shot in time, Stoke had their equalizer.

A magical build-up from Bolton has saved a point for the Trotters, with Mark Davies recording his first Premier League goal late at the Reebok, earning a 2-2 draw with Blackpool. The goal brings Bolton back from two down thanks to two goals in the mach’s final 15 minutes.

Martin Petrov had the first, a beautiful strike in the 76th minute that brought the Trotters within one. It was a different kind of footballing beauty that created Bolton’s second.

In a hard fought match that has slowly seen Manchester city exert control, the Citizens have finally broken through at the Britannia. A late goal from Micah Richards, beating Asmir Begovic with a low shot to his far post, pulled City even in the 82nd minute.

The goal came moments after Kenwyne Jones looked to have put Stoke ahead only to have his shot saved off the line. At the other end, Richards was able to turn Robert Huth, creating space at the edge of the area for the defender to set off a right-footed rocket destined for the lower left hand corner.

It’s not over yet at the Reebok, particularly with Bolton having reestablished some momentum. After Blackpool had controlled most of the second half, Bolton got a grip on the match around the 70th minute, with their play paying off in their first goal in the 76th minute.

That’s when left wing Martin Patrov found himself with a bouncing ball in the middle of the arc. One of the more skilled strikers of the ball in the league, Petrov calmly made sure he stayed on top of the ball. As a result, the finish looked easy, with the Bulgarian finishing into the upper-left hand corner of Blackpool’s net.

It’s the type of lopsided result we have not seen ni the English Premier League since Chelsea’s first two results of the season, but with one man’s exploits overshadowing the blowout at Old Trafford, the talk of the weekend is less-likely to be Manhchester United than their five star, five goal striker, Dimitar Berbatov. With a put-back of his own shot in the 70th minute, Berbatov scored his fifth goal, putting United up 7-0.

Again the play started with nani, though the winger player less a part in the seventh goal than he had in the previous three. The Portuguese’s part was merely bringing the ball into the attacking third, at which time he laid off to his right for Berbatov.

Manchester United has added another at Old Trafford, with Dimitar Berbatov cleaning-up a Rafael da Silva shot, scoring from four yards out for his fourth goal of the match. The tally makes it 6-0 United after 62 minutes, with Berbatov running his season goal total to a league-leading 10.

As with the two previous goals, Nani was at the center of the build-up. Despite Sam Allardyce bringing on Josh Morris to provide cover for Pascal Chimbonda, Nani was was still able break down the left side of Blackburn’s defense. The Portuguese weaved to the byline before cutting a ball back for the oncoming Rafael da Silva, the Brazilian’s shot being blocked by a sprawled Christopher Samba.

It was a near carbon copy of their first goal, a header from near-to-far post by Ian Evatt that tested Lee Chung-Yung at the Trotter post. Early in the second half, it was Luke Varney who headed-on the corner kick. Again, Lee could react fast enough.

This time it wasn’t a deflect ball that gave Lee trouble. Varney had headed the corner kick down into the six yard box, the bounce barely eluding Jussi Jaaskelainen’s outstretched left arm. That left Lee to try and save Blackpool’s second goal, which he initially seemed to do. His right footed kick sent the ball away from goal.

The play looked like the goal that back one minute earlier, but with teammate Dimitar Berbatov already having his hat-trick, Nani decided to put his own name on the scoresheet. Having shaken Pascal Chimbonda into the grond, Nani was given an easy left-footed finish for Manchester United’s fifth goal of the day.

While Manchester United has been good, this match brings back memories of a few week’s past, when an average Tottenham Hotspur was able to roll up a 4-0 lead on a poor Blackburn defense. This match has been much of the same. Manchester United has displayed some great build-up, particularly on the second and fourth goals, but other goals were too easy.

It may have been the best build-up to a goal we’ve seen this season, and at the end, Manchester United has a four goal lead, with their mercurial striker recording his second hat-trick of the season. Two minutes into the second half at Old Trafford, Dimitar Berbatov has tied for the league lead in goals with a right-footed finish into the middle of Paul Robinson’s net, making it 4-0, United.

The play started with Berbatov, at the edge of Blackburn’s attacking third, self as outlet man as United came out of their own end. A smart back-heel played the ball wide for Patrice Evra, who soon gave the ball back to Berbatov as the forward lumbered toward the center circle.

Phil Scharner’s 16th minute header seemed a powerful goal, blast through Tim Howard to give West Brom a 1-0 lead. Tim Cahill, the best header of a ball in the Premier League, reminded us just before half who’s the league’s most dangerous aerial threat, putting him a corner kick from 16 yards out, heading Everton to within one.

The goal brought some life to an Everton team that had been stunned by West Brom’s start, a start which had the home site down two after 26 minutes. The lead looked set to persist to intermission, but in the 42nd minute, Cahill send a powerful header into the left of goal, calmly rocketing in corner in from 16 yards out, to give Everton a new perspective at intermission.

It was built as a must-win match for West Ham - a home contest with a fellow relegation-battling club. And it makes sense. After all, if you can’t beat bad teams at home, then who can you beat? After 45 minutes at Upton Park, however, it looks like West Ham may not have to answer that hypothetical, going to halftime up 1-0 over Wigan.

The goal came in the 34th minute, the result of a play you’d draw up on a chalkboard. From near the right flank, 10 yards inside Wigan’s half, Scott Parker floated a ballt o Piquionne, who stood two yards inside Wigan’s penalty area. The striker headed the ball down from Valon Behrami, who ran onto a ball 10 yards out and beat Ali Al Habsi, giving West Ham a 1-0 lead.

Bolton has controlled the fist half at the Reebok, little consolation to Owen Coyle after a converted corner kick has Blackpool up as the match approaches halftime. For Ian Holloway, the goal comes from an unexpected source, with Ian Evatt recording his first ever Premier League tally.

The goal came in the 28th minute, when Blackpool had a corner kick to the left of goal. The ball was played short, with Evatt redirecting the ball toward the far post. Goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen got his left hand to it but only enough to redirect the shot from the middle of goal toward the far post. Unfortunately Lee Chung-Yong, who was guarding the far post, had reacted to the initial ball, moving toward the middle of goal. The deflection put the ball into the space previously occupied by Lee, giving Blackpool the lead.

In our summary of West Bromwich’s first goal, I really undersold the bend Chris Brunt put on the assisting corner. It was a textbook out-swinger that deserved it’s own write-up, but with only so much time to keep everybody up-to-date on the morning’s happenings, I have to pick and choose my battles. Now, Brunt - seemingly sympathetic to my conflict - has given me an indisputable reason to write about his left foot.

That’s because Brunt has doubled West Brom’s lead with a direct kick from 20 yards out, giving the Baggies a 2-0 lead over Everton at Goodison Park. The shot sent Tim Howard valiantly crashing into his left post for what was ultimately a near-unstoppable ball. Brunt got the ball up and over the wall, into the upper right hand corner, with enough of a bend to give the `keeper a moment of pause before committing. That moment allowed Brunt to squeeze the ball in between `keeper and post, giving Brom a shocking 2-0 lead in the 26th minute.

As if a second minute goal wasn’t demoralizing enough for Blackburn, Sam Allardyce’s club finds themselves down three after 28 minutes, with the third goal coming after an embarrassing lapse from Pascal Chimbonda. Before that, a beautiful display of passing and movement created United’s second before Dimitar Berbatov completed his brace.

First, Park Ji-Sung’s goal, which came in the 23rd minute. The movement started with Anderson carrying the ball just inside Blackburn’s half, playing a ball into the middle for Park, who dribbled toward the edge of the area. At 24 yards out, Park layed-off to Rooney in the arch, whose one touch played the ball back for Park, who’d continued his run. With a chop over the oncoming Paul Robinson, Park easily finished his third goal of the season, matching his goal total from last season.

Birmingham City have struck first at Craven Cottage, with strong work from Cameron Jerome to break through Fulham’s defense leading to a Sebastian Larsson goal. In the 21st minute at Craven Cottage, it was 1-0, Brum.

The goal came after 20 minutes of what you could call predictable play from Fulham-Birmingham City. Both teams were playing too direct, hoping for mistakes from their opponents – eschewing creativity in favor or opportunism. Birmingham City was the first to see the approach pay off.

A beautiful corner kick from Chris Brunt sharply swung out away from Tim Howard’s goal, onto the head of Phil Scharner and into the Everton net, putting West Bromwich Albion up 1-0 on the Toffees ni the 16th minute. Scharner ran onto the ball from just outside the six, putting a powerful header off Howard and in for the opening goal.

West Brom’s go-ahead goal comes against the run of play, with Everton having looked convincing through the match’s first quarter hour. Everton had put a number of shots toward Scott Carson and had forced the Baggies into a series of fouls.

Uncharacteristically, Manchester United has gotten off to a fast start, though Paul Robinson helped. The Blackburn goalkeeper seemed to stay down too long after going into a challenge with Anderson, possibly trying to draw a whistle. Once up the `keeper appeared fine, but he was still unable to go anything about Dimitar Berbatov’s goal, giving Manchester United a lead within 90 seconds.

In truth, Robinson may not have been able to do anything about the goal ever if he had gotten up immediately from Anderson’s challenge, but the whole affair does end up being a footnote to the goal. It happened as Manchester United send a ball through the right side of Blackburn’s line, with the energetic Brazilian bursting into the box to chase the ball down. Robinson came out to meet him, with both men sliding into the challenge. After the pair collided, Robinson stayed down, and once he bounced up and backpedalled into goal, if was apparent nothing was wrong with him.

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshire has his first Premier League goal, a stoppage time insurance tally at Villa Park that gave Arsenal a 4-2 win. The Gunners become the first away side to win at Aston Villa this season, handing Gerard Houllier his first ever loss at Villa Park and going top of the table, their 29 points one better than both Chelsea and Manchester United.

Wilshire’s goal came after Villa had opened up, chasing an equalizer. Arsenal calmly moved the ball through midfield from the center of the park, with Denilson finding Wilshire, who found Tomas Rosicky just inside the final third. Rosicky played to an oncoming Wilshire at the edge of the box, who played out left to Marouane Chamakh. At this point, the few defenders Villa had back were flat-footed, just trying to stay in front of the eventual shooter.

Ciaran Clark is on a hat-trick. The 21-year-old defender, forced into duty in midfield, has two second half goals, bringing Villa to within a goal after his 71st minute header left Arsenal witha 2-1 lead at Villa Park.

Fifteen minutes after Arsenal had re-built their two goal lead, Villa converted a corner kick, with Richard Dunner helping to offset his part in the Marouane Chamakh goal. The Villa central defender won the first ball, heading a ball toward goal from near 14 yards out. Clark was unmarked inside the six yard box and, with his back to goal, flicked the second ball onto the bottom of the bar, the rebound landing inside Arsenal’s goal.

Marouane Chamakh has killed any momentum Aston Villa hoped to garner from Ciaran Clark’s goal, though he had accomplices in Villa’s defense. Put through on goal in the 56th minute, the Arsenal strike poked a 12 yard shot beneath an oncoming Brad Freidel, restoring the Gunners’ lead to two only five minutes after Villa had cut it in half. Just over ten minutes into the second half, Arsenal led 3-1.

The goal continues a worrisome display by Aston Villa’s defense. The most glaring breakdown was Arsenal’s first goal, where Luke Young vacated his flank and allowed Andrei Arshavin a paved path to goal. But there have been a series of other, subtle problems, but it a lack of pressure through midfield, an inability to track Samir Nasri’s runs through their line, or trouble matching up with Marouane Chamakh. Andrei Arshavin’s passing has put Gunner attackers through on Freidel three or our times today, with the defense looking slow and disorganized each time.