Sunday, October 28, 2012

Premier League wrap: Manchester clubs close gap on Chelsea as QPR and ... - NEWS.com.au



Fernando Torres


Tough battle ... Rio Ferdinand and Fernando Torres rise to the occasion. Source: AFP




Manchester United breath life back into the Barclays Premier League title race while life at the other end of the table is looking decidedly uncomfortable for Reading and QPR.



Here's your one-stop shop reviewing the weekend action, packed with comprehensive video highlights, plus analysis from each match.





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Chelsea 2 Manchester United 3


It was a game layered with controversy. Manchester United may have won, but it is not a result that should hurt Chelsea too much, or a result that should ascend United into a wonderful run of momentum.


After a brilliant start from United, Chelsea's fightback was incredible, and if it hadn't have been for the two red cards awarded to Ivanovic and Torres, it would have been hard not to back them to go on and win the game.


Torres's sending off was riddled with controversy, as was Hernandez's winning goal, in which the striker appeared to be offside upon prodding the ball home from Rafael's strike. Unfortunately, that second half of incidents will probably deflect from what was a truly wonderful game.


Chelsea have finally lost their unbeaten record, but they're far too good a side to let this result set them back.





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Everton 2 Liverpool 2


Honours were even after an entertaining affair, but this game will be remembered for the disallowed goal by Luis Suarez deep into injury-time.


Liverpool stunned the home side by racing into a 2-0 lead, with Suarez playing a big part in both goals. Everton showed great fighting spirit as Leon Osman pulled a goal back after a mistake by Brad Jones.


The home side then with their tails grabbed an equaliser through Steve Naismith after some pedestrian defending from the visitors.


Both sides had chances in the second half to score, but it was Liverpool who thought they had won it when Suarez prodded home Sebastian Coates's downward header in the closing seconds.


The Uruguayan wheeled away to celebrate, but his celebrations were cut short by a late and poor call from the referee's assistant.





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Manchester City 1 Swansea City 0


Manchester City looked a team bereft of self-belief but, despite their European problems, they are still picking up the points domestically.


Playing badly and winning is one of the oldest tricks needed for winning the title.


Roberto Mancini needs David Silva back to full fitness as soon as possible. When opponents are well organised, the likes of Yaya Toure, Gareth Barry and Samir Nasri are finding they do not have the intricacy to pick the lock.


The loss of Michel Vorm for up to six weeks with a groin injury is going to be a major problem for Swansea.





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Southampton 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2


Slow out of the blocks, Southampton had the impetus to attack placed on them by a Spurs side set up initially to frustrate then to attack on the counter.


It's clear to see that the saints' main weakness lies in a defence marshalled by a poor Jose Fonte - the player who laughably stepped over the ball instead of clearing it for what turned out to be Clint Dempsey's winner.


The second-half was certainly brighter for the hosts. Adam Lallana, Daniel Fox and Morgan Schneiderlin formed an impressive midfield combination.


As for Tottenham, their first-half game-plan was executed to perfection. However, the second-half showed their frailties, particularly in the form of a manager - Andre Villas-Boas - that has come under severe criticism.





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Arsenal 1 Queens Park Rangers 0


Fit-again Jack Wilshere proved he is absolutely vital for Arsenal. The midfielder was making his first appearance for his club since May 2011 but he was the best player on the pitch for his 67-minute outing.


There is obviously paper-thin confidence in the Arsenal squad. After a week which has involved the defeats by Norwich City and Schalke, several players have clearly been rattled and looked nervous wrecks.


The fact his players can be so easily put off their game and lose focus will be a worry for Arsene Wenger.


The finishing on show from both teams at Emirates Stadium was abysmal. Santi Cazorla, Olivier Giroud and Jamie Mackie were especially guilty of missing good chances.





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Newcastle United 2 West Bromwich Albion 1


Teams can look back at certain moments during a season and know that was the moment their fortunes took a miraculous turn for the better, and the winner for Newcastle could very well be one of those.


Papiss Cisse's goal in stoppage time was huge in terms of so many aspects of Newcastle's season. With minutes to go, Newcastle were hanging on at St James' Park.


West Brom were dominant and it looked like they would take the win, but then Sammy Ameobi's unleashes his effort which deflects off the back of Cisse and past Ben Foster.





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Aston Villa 1 Norwich City 1


Before kick-off, many had predicted that this clash at Villa Park could feature two of the teams headed for the nPower Championship next season. Upon this evidence, they may not be wrong.


In what was one of more nervy, scrappy and abysmal affairs of the season so far, both Villa and Norwich looked incredibly poor at times, in a game that only livened up when Joe Bennett received his marching orders.


Christian Benteke's well-taken opening goal had given Villa the lead, but the Midlands club have had grave difficulty keeping leads this season, and when they were reduced to 10 men, it seemed inevitable they would do so again.


Norwich deserved credit for battling to a draw, but a season of struggle surely lies ahead for them, and with Villa making their worst start to a season in 43 years, troubled times look in store for the Villa Park faithful as well.





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Reading 3 Fulham 3


A sleepy first half was permeated by a fantastic goal from Mikele Leigertwood, but that was just the beginning of the madness.


It was a goal that deserved to win any game, but was almost forgotten by the end.


Reading threw away points from a winning position for the fourth time this season, but they cannot dwell on this after salvaging a point despite being behind twice in the last 20 minutes.





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Stoke City 0 Sunderland 0


Both Tony Pulis and Martin O'Neill are still looking for the elusive key to unlock Premier League teams and turn draws into wins.


The latest hard-fought draw means both Stoke and Sunderland have recorded just one Premier League win and six draws this campaign to sit in the wrong half of the table.


This game had few chances until late on as the well-organised and hard-working sides cancelled each other out.





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Wigan Athletic 2 West Ham United 1


The contrast between the two sides may be something of a cliché but it was more than evident at the DW Stadium.


The Hammers' plan was to find the head and/or chest of Andy Carroll from most situations and play football from the knockdowns.


It has been working very well this season but Wigan's formation - almost unique in the Premier League - appeared to prove a problem for Sam Allardyce's side.



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