SA Footy

Sorry I went a bit awol for a while. I'll do my best to get back into the mainstream

So here's this weeks starting with Saturday 19th Sept

Results

West Ham 2 Liverpool 3
Arsenal 4 Wigan 0
Aston Villa 2 Portsmouth 0
Bolton 1 Stoke 1
Hull 0 Birmingham 1
Burnley 3 Sunderland 1

Round Up

Fernando Torres scored twice as Liverpool held off a brave fightback from West Ham to claim a deserved 3-2 victory at Upton Park and continue their revival in the Premier League title race.
Rafael Benitez's side, who lost two of their opening three games, are now third in the table after this run of three straight wins while the Hammers now find themselves down in 14th place.
Torres put the Reds in front in the 19th minute with a fine solo goal but debutant Alessandro Diamanti levelled from the penalty spot.
Dirk Kuyt restored Liverpool's lead in the 40th minute but Carlton Cole levelled a minute before the interval. Torres settled a pulsating game when he headed home from close range in the 75th minute.

Meanwhile a brace from summer signing Thomas Vermaelen set Arsenal on their way to a comfortable 4-0 victory against Wigan at the Emirates Stadium.
The former Ajax defender rose well at the near post to head past a static Chris Kirkland from Robin van Persie's corner in the 25th minute.
Vermaelen did even better shortly after the break when he played a fine one-two with Emmanuel Eboue before curling a stunning effort into the top left corner.
Arsenal all but sealed the win 10 minutes later when Eduardo's shot rattled back off the post and Gael Clichy ensured it fell back to the Croatian who fired it home, although it hit Eboue on the way in.
And they added a fourth in stoppage time when Cesc Fabregas slotted home Nicklas Bendtner's cross.

Bottom-placed Portsmouth's woes continued at Aston Villa as Martin O'Neill's side beat them 2-0.
James Milner's 34th-minute penalty set the hosts on their way. David James guessed the right way but Milner's spot-kick had sufficient pace and power to beat him following Nadir Belhadj's shove on Stiliyan Petrov.
Gabriel Agbonlahor doubled Villa's cushion two minutes before the break, getting the better of Tal Ben Haim before unleashing a brilliant finish into the top-left corner.

Bolton snatched a late draw against Stoke to pick up their first point at the Reebok Stadium this season.
Dave Kitson gave Stoke the lead in the 53rd minute when he turned Sam Ricketts before drilling a powerful effort into the far corner.
It looked as if the visitors were going to pick up a valuable three points but, two minutes from time, Ricketts was brought down by Danny Collins and Matt Taylor converted from the spot for the second week running.

Elsewhere, Birmingham picked up their first away points of the season with a 1-0 win at Hull.
The deadlock was finally broken 15 minutes from time when Garry O'Connor headed Keith Fahey's corner into the bottom right corner.

In Saturday's early kick-off, loan star David Nugent made a dramatic start to his Burnley career with two late goals to sink Sunderland 3-1 and keep his side's proud 100% home record intact.
Deadline-day signing Nugent rose to head home Wade Elliott's 67th-minute free-kick nine minutes after replacing Martin Paterson - then struck again in the 86th minute to seal the points.
Graham Alexander's 12th-minute penalty had put the home side in front before Andy Reid's cross set up Darren Bent to slot home the equaliser six minutes before half-time.

Table

Teams P GD PTS
1 Chelsea 5 9 15
2 Man Utd 5 8 12
----------------------
3 Liverpool 6 7 12
4 Man City 4 6 12
----------------------
5 Tottenham 5 5 12
6 Aston Villa 5 5 12
7 Arsenal 5 9 9
8 Sunderland 6 0 9
9 Burnley 6 -5 9
10 Stoke City 6 -2 8
11 Birmingham 6 -1 7
12 Fulham 4 -2 6
13 Wigan 6 -8 6
14 West Ham 5 -1 4
15 Blackburn 4 -1 4
16 Bolton 5 -2 4
17 Wolves 5 -4 4
------------------------
18 Hull City 6 -8 4
19 Everton 4 -6 3
20 Portsmouth 6 -9 0

Sun 20th Sep

Results

Man United 4 Man City 3
Chelsea 3 v Tottenham 0
Everton 3 Blackburn 0
Wolves 2 Fulham 1

Round Up

Michael Owen scored in the sixth added minute to earn Manchester United a memorable 4-3 victory over Manchester City in a thrilling derby clash at Old Trafford.
United had led three times, first through Wayne Rooney and twice through Darren Fletcher headers, but three times City pegged them back through Gareth Barry - set up by Carlos Tevez against his former side - and a stunning brace from Craig Bellamy.
But it was Owen who had the final say deep into added time, clipping the ball past Shay Given after being superbly picked out by Ryan Giggs.

But United still trail Chelsea at the top of the table after the Blues completed a comfortable 3-0 victory over London rivals Tottenham to make it six league wins out of six for Carlo Ancelotti.
But Chelsea have a new injury concern over Didier Drogba, who was stretchered off with seven minutes remaining.
Ashley Cole put the Blues on the way to victory with a first-half header and Michael Ballack made it two in the 57th minute shortly after Spurs' Robbie Keane was denied what appeared a clear penalty.
Drogba finished Spurs off with a third in the 62nd minute to make it six straight wins for the Blues.

Louis Saha scored twice as Everton recorded a handsome 3-0 victory over Blackburn at Goodison Park.
The French striker scored after 22 and 54 minutes to lead the Toffees charge towards a second home victory in four days.
Defender Joseph Yobo grabbed the third for the hosts, tapping home after the impressive Paul Robinson denied Saha a hat-trick goal.

Goals from Kevin Doyle - his first for the club - and David Edwards secured Wolves' first home Premier League victory of the season as they beat Fulham 2-1.
Doyle's 18th-minute header gave the hosts the lead and Edwards doubled the advantage just after half-time as he finished off a move he had started.
Danny Murphy's penalty midway through the second half gave a disappointing Fulham hope they barely deserved but they couldn't find an equaliser.

Table

Pos Team P Pts
1 Chelsea 6 18
2 Manchester United 6 15
-------------------------
3 Liverpool 6 12
4 Manchester City 5 12
-------------------------
5 Aston Villa 5 12
6 Tottenham Hotspur 6 12
7 Arsenal 5 9
8 Sunderland 6 9
9 Burnley 6 9
10 Stoke City 6 8
11 Birmingham City 6 7
12 Wolverhampton Wanderers 6 7
13 Everton 5 6
14 Fulham 5 6
15 Wigan Athletic 6 6
16 West Ham United 5 4
17 Bolton Wanderers 5 4
-------------------------------
18 Blackburn Rovers 5 4
19 Hull City 6 4
20 Portsmouth 6 0

Weekend 26th Sep

Sunderland 5 Wolves 2
Stoke 0 Man Utd 2
Wigan 3 Chelsea 1
Liverpool 6 Hull 1
Fulham 0 Arsenal 1
Tottenham 5 Burnley 0
Blackburn 2 Aston Villa 1
Portsmouth 0 Everton 1
Birmingham 1 Bolton 2

Carlo Ancelotti tasted defeat for the first time as Chelsea manager as Wigan finally brought the curtain down on a remarkable hoodoo.
The Latics had not beaten a 'big four' club in 34 games since their arrival in the Barclays Premier League but they ended that torrid record today with a stunning 3-1 victory over Ancelotti's side at the DW Stadium.
After centre-back Titus Bramble had given the Latics a 16th-minute lead to leave Chelsea trailing at the break, the visitors hit back two minutes after the restart as Didier Drogba scored his 100th goal for the club.
But a minute later Chelsea were reduced to 10 men when goalkeeper Petr Cech was shown the first red card of his Blues career in his 230th game for bringing down Hugo Rodallega.
Replacement Henrique Hilario's first touch of the ball was to pick it out of the net after being beaten by Rodallega from the spot, and with Paul Scharner adding a third late on, it ended Chelsea's 100% unbeaten start to the league campaign.

Manchester United are now the new leaders on goal difference, chalking up their seventh consecutive win in beating Stoke 2-0 at the Britannia Stadium.
City managed to hold United for just over an hour before Dimitar Berbatov scored his second of the season prior to John O'Shea wrapping up the points with his first league goal since April 2007.

Fernando Torres scored a stunning hat-trick to keep Liverpool hot on the heels of the front-running duo as the Reds crushed Hull 6-1 at Anfield.
The Spaniard has now scored five goals in his last two games, eight overall this season, and an astonishing 33 in 34 games in front of his own fans since his arrival on Merseyside.
After opening up with a left-footed strike in the 12th minute, the hosts were pegged back three minutes later by a left-foot volley from Geovanni.
But Torres added his second in the 28th minute before completing his fourth career hat-trick for Liverpool a minute after the break.
Steven Gerrard, Ryan Babel and Albert Riera then rubbed salt into the Tigers' wounds as the home side ran riot.
Torres, though, was outdone by Tottenham's Robbie Keane, who netted four goals in a 5-0 rout of Burnley at White Hart Lane.

Keane's first from the penalty spot in the 18th minute was his 50th league goal at home and, after Jermaine Jenas added the second, the Republic of Ireland star went wild in the second half with further goals after 74, 77 and 87 minutes.
The result also marked Gareth Bale's first victory in a Premier League match - at the 25th time of asking.

Robin van Persie struck a brilliant second-half winner as Arsenal beat Fulham 1-0 at Craven Cottage.
Andrew Johnson, Clint Dempsey and substitute Zoltan Gera had all tested young goalkeeper Vito Mannone.
However, it was Arsenal who got the crucial breakthrough on 51 minutes through a fine finish from Dutch striker van Persie.

It was a bad day for the 'second city' clubs as Birmingham and Aston Villa both suffered 2-1 defeats by Lancashire sides.
Villa had taken the lead against Blackburn at Ewood Park through Gabriel Agbonlahor, his fifth goal in five game.
But Christopher Samba equalised and, although Rovers were reduced to 10 men when Vince Grella was dismissed, David Dunn grabbed a late winner from the spot.

At St Andrews, goals from Tamir Cohen and Chung-Yong Lee - the second two minutes after Kevin Phillips had equalised late on - gave Bolton a 2-1 victory over Birmingham.

Portsmouth suffered their seventh successive defeat in the league as they lost 1-0 against Everton at Fratton Park.
In-form Louis Saha's seventh goal in as many games in all competitions this season just before the break was all that separated the sides.
Pompey, though, should have taken at least a point, only to spurn a hatful of chances, ensuring they have now made the worst start to a season by a top-flight club for 79 years.

Kenwyne Jones plundered a second-half double as Sunderland finally killed off a Wolves fightback with a 5-2 victory in a seven-goal thriller.

Teams P GD PTS
1 Man Utd 7 11 18
2 Chelsea 7 10 18
--------------------
3 Liverpool 7 12 15
4 Tottenham 7 7 15
--------------------
5 Arsenal 6 10 12
6 Man City 5 5 12
7 Aston Villa 6 4 12
8 Sunderland 7 3 12
9 Everton 6 -2 9
10 Wigan 7 -6 9
11 Burnley 7 -10 9
12 Stoke City 7 -4 8
13 Bolton 6 -1 7
14 Birmingham 7 -2 7
15 Blackburn 6 -3 7
16 Wolves 7 -6 7
17 Fulham 6 -4 6
-----------------------
18 West Ham 5 -1 4
19 Hull City 7 -13 4
20 Portsmouth 7 -10 0

Saturdays Results

Saturday, 3 October 2009
Bolton 2-2 Tottenham
Burnley 2-1 Birmingham
Hull 2-1 Wigan
Man. Utd. 2-2 Sunderland
Wolves 0-1 Portsmouth

Review

Anton Ferdinand's stoppage-time own goal rescued a 2-2 draw for Manchester United against Sunderland at Old Trafford.
It seemed the Black Cats were about to record their first win at the stadium since 1968 when they entered the time added on clinging to a lead provided by Kenwyne Jones' header after Darren Bent's opener had been cancelled out by Dimitar Berbatov's exquisite volley.
But once again United fought back and Ferdinand turned an off-target Patrice Evra shot into his own net to earn the champions a share of the spoils.

Bottom club Portsmouth put recent troubles behind them to grab a first Premier League win after holding off Wolves 1-0 at Molineux.
Paul Hart's men - who had lost all of their seven league games before this afternoon, with reports of wages not being paid following Sulaiman al Fahim's protracted takeover - went ahead on 19 minutes through Hassan Yebda, on-loan from Benfica.
Aruna Dindane almost made it 2-0, but was denied by Wolves goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey before Pompey stopper David James produced a fine save from Andrew Keogh in first-half stoppage time.
Wolves felt they had a strong penalty claim just after the hour mark when Michael Kightly appeared to handle the ball, but referee Howard Webb was unconvinced.
Pompey dug in - with James producing a superb late save from Greg Halford - to record a morale-boosting victory, but they remain at the foot of the table.

High-flying Tottenham twice fought back to secure a 2-2 draw at Bolton.
Ricardo Gardner fired the Trotters into a fourth-minute lead after goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini had parried Chung-Yong Lee's shot.
Spurs, though, equalised against the run of play when Croatia international Niko Kranjcar (34) slotted home after Peter Crouch's knockdown to score his first goal since moving from Portsmouth.
Kevin Davies (69) headed the hosts back in front, but after Crouch had seen his shot come off keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen and hit the bar, defender Vedran Corluka (73) headed in a corner to earn Harry Redknapp's men a share of the points and take them back into the top three.

Hull moved out of the bottom three with a 2-1 win over Wigan at the KC Stadium.
After having a first-half penalty appeal for handball turned down, the Tigers - thrashed 6-1 at Liverpool last weekend - took the lead on the hour through a powerful header from Dutch striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.
Brazilian Giovanni (68) put the home side, who ended a run of three straight league defeats, in control when he swept in Kamil Zayatte's right-wing cross.
However, there was still time for substitute Scott Sinclair (87) to pull a goal back for Wigan.

Burnley maintained their 100% home record as they beat Birmingham 2-1 at Turf Moor.
The visitors should have been ahead at the break, but Lee Bowyer somehow missed the target when the ball arrived to him unmarked at the far post.
It proved costly as, on 53 minutes Burnley - who have beaten Manchester United, Everton and Sunderland at home on their first foray into the Premier League - went ahead when England hopeful Joe Hart allowed Steven Fletcher's shot to squirm into the net.
Before Birmingham, promoted last season along with the Clarets, had a chance to respond, Owen Coyle's side doubled their lead when Andre Bikey, a summer buy from Reading, played a one-two with David Nugent and slotted past Hart.
Sebastian Larsson (90) netted a late consolation for Birmingham with a well-taken free-kick.

Table

Teams P GD PTS
1 Man Utd 8 11 19
2 Chelsea 7 10 18
---------------------
3 Tottenham 8 7 16
4 Liverpool 7 12 15
---------------------
5 Man City 6 7 15
6 Sunderland 8 3 13
7 Arsenal 6 10 12
8 Aston Villa 6 4 12
9 Burnley 8 -9 12
10 Everton 6 -2 9
11 Wigan 8 -7 9
12 Bolton 7 -1 8
13 Stoke City 7 -4 8
14 Blackburn 6 -3 7
15 Birmingham 8 -3 7
16 Wolves 8 -7 7
17 Hull City 8 -12 7
----------------------
18 Fulham 6 -4 6
19 West Ham 6 -3 4
20 Portsmouth 8 -9 3

sunderland look the goods this season to improve on the last few. hope they can get to europe would be good to see some other team then the norm to make it, like fulham this season. God if sunderland make Europe wont that stick it up the toon

Bulldog wrote:sunderland look the goods this season to improve on the last few. hope they can get to europe would be good to see some other team then the norm to make it, like fulham this season. God if sunderland make Europe wont that stick it up the toon

Bollocks to Sunderland. The clarets are only 3 points outside the top four and whilst Pool have a game in hand it is away to Chavski.

johntheclaret wrote:

Bulldog wrote:sunderland look the goods this season to improve on the last few. hope they can get to europe would be good to see some other team then the norm to make it, like fulham this season. God if sunderland make Europe wont that stick it up the toon

Bollocks to Sunderland. The clarets are only 3 points outside the top four and whilst Pool have a game in hand it is away to Chavski.

Arsenal have 2 games in hand aswell although one of the make up games is starting in less then an hour we slotted 8 past the blacks last season i hope its close to the same again tonight!

Bollocks, b4st4rds score a scabby goal inside 4 minutes. come on Gunners

Arsenal 6 (yes read it and weep youyou bunch of no hopers) b4st4rds 2

Arsenal were awesome, thier football is just a joy to watch when they are on form. As for b4st4rds, they are nothing but a bunch of cloggers, who scored two raggy goals, one from a lucky header that wasn't even intended as a go at goal and the other from a big deflection. Arsenals goals were sublime and had Wenger not put on Bendtnar, who missed 3 great chances before finally making one stick, Arsenal could have won by many more.

I'll wait for the stats to come out, but Arsenals shots on target stat will be through the roof. Fabregas alone scored won, hit the bar once and had 4 other shots on target. In fact the scoreline flattered the b4st4rds who no sit 17th in the table having played one game less than Bunley, with a goal difference of -7 (clarets is -9) and 5 points worse off. And they still have to play Chavski and Liverpool away, and Utd at home.

Eat s$%t b4st4rds

Sundays action

Sunday 4th October
Arsenal 6 - 2 Blackburn
Everton 1 - 1 Stoke
West Ham 2 - 2 Fulham
Chelsea 2 - 0 Liverpool

Table

Pos Team P Pts
1 Chelsea 8 21
2 Manchester United 8 19
-------------------------
3 Tottenham Hotspur 8 16
4 Arsenal 7 15
-------------------------
5 Liverpool 8 15
6 Manchester City 6 15
7 Sunderland 8 13
8 Aston Villa 6 12
9 Burnley 8 12
10 Everton 7 10
11 Stoke City 8 9
12 Wigan Athletic 8 9
13 Bolton Wanderers 7 8
14 Birmingham City 8 7
15 Fulham 7 7
16 Blackburn Rovers 7 7
17 Wolverhampton Wanderers 8 7
---------------------------------
18 Hull City 8 7
19 West Ham United 7 5
20 Portsmouth 8 3

Round Up

Chelsea are back on top of the Premier League table after second-half goals from Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda - both set up by Didier Drogba - secured a 2-0 win over Liverpool.
Chelsea, who are now two points clear of Manchester United at the summit, were good value for their victory. Liverpool, meanwhile, have now lost three of their first eight games this season having been beaten only twice in the whole of last season. No side has won the Premier League after such a start.

Arsenal twice had to come from behind against Blackburn before finally powering to a 6-2 victory.
Cesc Fabregas was the star for the Gunners, assisting four goals and scoring one himself.
Steven Nzonzi had nodded Rovers ahead in the fourth minute before Thomas Vermaelen smashed home an equaliser.
David Dunn's deflected effort put the visitors back in front, but Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin saw Arsenal lead 3-2 at the break.
Captain Fabregas got the goal his performance deserved just before the hour, and then helped set up substitute Walcott on 75 minutes with Nicklas Bendtner cracking in a sixth late on.

Junior Stanislas came off the bench to save West Ham's blushes and secure a 2-2 draw two minutes into injury time against 10-man Fulham.
The Hammers had been cruising at the interval after Carlton Cole's header earned them a deserved lead and Fulham had South African midfielder Kagisho Digikao sent off on his full debut.
Fulham hit back immediately after the interval with a penalty from Danny Murphy before Zoltan Gera's 57th-minute volley put them ahead.
Stanislas' deflected strike denied the Cottagers victory, but the point was still enough to take them out of the drop zone. West Ham stay 19th.

Robert Huth's first goal for his new club saw Stoke claim a hard-earned 1-1 draw against Everton at Goodison Park.
Huth's header five minutes after the break gave Stoke reward for a spirited, competitive performance.
Everton extended their unbeaten run

yes i thought we were goin to win by more but will take 6-2

johntheclaret wrote:Arsenal 6 (yes read it and weep youyou bunch of no hopers) b4st4rds 2

Arsenal were awesome, thier football is just a joy to watch when they are on form. As for b4st4rds, they are nothing but a bunch of cloggers, who scored two raggy goals, one from a lucky header that wasn't even intended as a go at goal and the other from a big deflection. Arsenals goals were sublime and had Wenger not put on Bendtnar, who missed 3 great chances before finally making one stick, Arsenal could have won by many more.

I'll wait for the stats to come out, but Arsenals shots on target stat will be through the roof. Fabregas alone scored won, hit the bar once and had 4 other shots on target. In fact the scoreline flattered the b4st4rds who no sit 17th in the table having played one game less than Bunley, with a goal difference of -7 (clarets is -9) and 5 points worse off. And they still have to play Chavski and Liverpool away, and Utd at home.

Eat s$%t b4st4rds

I watched this game and as good as Arsenal were, I would be a little worried if I was a Arsenal fan, I know your not JTC, but there are a few on here. They seem to have regular lapses in defence. Blackburn could of ended up with four and their attack isn't the most potent going around.
I do love watching the Arsenal play with their suprmeme passing, but to be right up there, the defence has to get better!
I would love to know what the hell happened in the Birmingham dressing room at half time, their second half was deadset poo! Liam Ridgewell at LB

I think the problem is they have too many who want to get forward and attack
Vermaalen the centre back has scored 5 tiimes already this year and there have been 18 different players on the score sheet this season

This all out attack style leaves them short at the back eg b4st4rds 2nd goal

I guess they believe that if they concede a goal or two it won't matter because they will get 4 or 6 themselves. I'm sure their approach will be different when they play the top sides

hazza11 wrote:

johntheclaret wrote:Arsenal 6 (yes read it and weep youyou bunch of no hopers) b4st4rds 2

Arsenal were awesome, thier football is just a joy to watch when they are on form. As for b4st4rds, they are nothing but a bunch of cloggers, who scored two raggy goals, one from a lucky header that wasn't even intended as a go at goal and the other from a big deflection. Arsenals goals were sublime and had Wenger not put on Bendtnar, who missed 3 great chances before finally making one stick, Arsenal could have won by many more.

I'll wait for the stats to come out, but Arsenals shots on target stat will be through the roof. Fabregas alone scored won, hit the bar once and had 4 other shots on target. In fact the scoreline flattered the b4st4rds who no sit 17th in the table having played one game less than Bunley, with a goal difference of -7 (clarets is -9) and 5 points worse off. And they still have to play Chavski and Liverpool away, and Utd at home.

Eat s$%t b4st4rds

I watched this game and as good as Arsenal were, I would be a little worried if I was a Arsenal fan, I know your not JTC, but there are a few on here. They seem to have regular lapses in defence. Blackburn could of ended up with four and their attack isn't the most potent going around.
I do love watching the Arsenal play with their suprmeme passing, but to be right up there, the defence has to get better!
I would love to know what the hell happened in the Birmingham dressing room at half time, their second half was deadset poo! Liam Ridgewell at LB

and this is different from other teams. i.e. Liverpool??

Just to bring us up to date.


Sunday, 25 October 2009
Bolton 3-2 Everton
Liverpool 2-0 Man. Utd.
Man. City 2-2 Fulham
West Ham 2-2 Arsenal

Saturday, 24 October 2009
Birmingham 2-1 Sunderland
Burnley 1-3 Wigan
Chelsea 5-0 Blackburn
Hull 0-0 Portsmouth
Tottenham 0-1 Stoke
Wolves 1-1 Aston Villa

Monday, 19 October 2009
Fulham 2-0 Hull

Sunday, 18 October 2009
Blackburn <Censored by mod> Burnley
Wigan 1-1 Man. City

Saturday, 17 October 2009
Arsenal 3-1 Birmingham
Aston Villa 2-1 Chelsea
Everton 1-1 Wolves
Man. Utd. 2-1 Bolton
Portsmouth 1-2 Tottenham
Stoke 2-1 West Ham
Sunderland 1-0 Liverpool

Monday, 5 October 2009
Aston Villa 1-1 Man. City

Table

Teams P GD PTS
1 Chelsea 10 16 24
2 Man Utd 10 10 22
----------------------
3 Arsenal 9 16 19
4 Tottenham 10 7 19
----------------------
5 Liverpool 10 11 18
6 Man City 9 7 18
7 Aston Villa 9 5 17
---------------------
8 Sunderland 10 3 16
9 Stoke City 10 -2 15
10 Wigan 10 -5 13
11 Burnley 10 -12 12
12 Bolton 9 -1 11
13 Fulham 9 -2 11
14 Everton 9 -3 11
15 Birmingham 10 -4 10
16 Blackburn 9 -11 10
17 Wolves 10 -7 9
-------------------------
18 Hull City 10 -14 8
19 West Ham 9 -4 6
20 Portsmouth 10 -10 4

31st October

Results

Arsenal 3-0 Tottenham
Bolton 0-4 Chelsea
Burnley 2-0 Hull
Everton 1-1 Aston Villa
Fulham 3-1 Liverpool
Man. Utd. 2-0 Blackburn
Portsmouth 4-0 Wigan
Stoke 2-2 Wolves
Sunderland 2-2 West Ham

Round up

Under-pressure Rafael Benitez endured another day to forget as nine-man Liverpool crashed to a 3-1 defeat against Fulham.
Last week's win over Manchester United ended a run of five successive defeats but that became six from seven as goals from Bobby Zamora, Erik Nevland and Clint Dempsey earned Fulham the points.
Fernando Torres had equalised just before the break but he was substituted in the second half. Nevland restored Fulham's lead and Philipp Degen and Jamie Carragher both saw red within three minutes before Dempsey rubbed salt in the wound.

Chelsea remain two points clear at the top of the Premier League thanks to a second 4-0 win of the week over Bolton.
Carlo Ancelotti's side did not have things all their own way this afternoon but they took a decisive lead just before half-time through Frank Lampard's penalty after Jlloyd Samuel saw red for his challenge on Didier Drogba.
Deco netted the second on the hour mark and Zat Knight scored an own goal before Drogba completed the scoring in injury time.

Goals from Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney saw Manchester United overcome Blackburn 2-0 at Old Trafford.
Berbatov made the breakthrough with a neat volley in the 55th minute and Rooney sewed the points up two minutes from time.
United should have extended the scoreline but substitute Gabriel Obertan missed two sitters on his league debut.

Arsenal forward Robin van Persie struck twice to earn his side bragging rights in north London with a 3-0 victory over Tottenham in the early game.
Spurs have not won a league game against Arsenal since 1999, and they fell away after Van Persie opened the scoring at the Emirates Stadium and Cesc Fabregas added the second less than a minute later. Van Persie tapped in the third after the break.

Phil Brown is reportedly battling to hold on to his job at Hull but luck was certainly not on the Tigers' side as they went down 2-0 to Burnley.
Graham Alexander scored with a debatable penalty and Geovanni then saw a brilliant free-kick controversially chalked off before picking up two yellow cards in a matter of minutes.
Alexander struck from long range to make the points safe and and Brown's mood would not have been improved by fellow strugglers West Ham and Portsmouth both picking up points.

Goals in quick succession from Guillermo Franco and Carlton Cole put the Hammers two up at Sunderland but an Andy Reid free-kick reduced the deficit to 2-1 at the break.
The visitors were also a man to the good after Kenwyne Jones saw red for pushing Herita Ilunga in the face but Kieran Richardson salvaged a point and the numbers were evened up when Radoslav Kovac was sent off late on.

Pompey, seeking only their second victory of the season and first at home, were convincing 4-0 winners against Wigan thanks to Aruna Dindane's hat-trick and one from Frederic Piquionne.

John Carew needed little over a minute to make his mark after coming on as a half-time substitute for Aston Villa at Everton.
Diniyar Bilyaletdinov put the Toffees ahead on the stroke of half-time but Carew netted a swift reply to earn Villa a 1-1 draw.
Both teams finished with 10 men after Bilyaletdinov and Carlos Cuellar saw red late on in separate incidents.

Wolves defender Jody Craddock scored twice as Mick McCarthy's side came from behind to draw 2-2 at in-form Stoke.
A George Elokobi own goal and Matthew Etherington's strike put the Potters two ahead at the break but a brace from Craddock at the start of the second half earned the visitors a point

Table

Teams P GD PTS
1 Chelsea 11 20 27
2 Man Utd 11 12 25
-----------------------
3 Arsenal 10 19 22
4 Tottenham 11 4 19
-----------------------
5 Liverpool 11 9 18
6 Man City 9 7 18
7 Aston Villa 10 5 18
-----------------------
8 Sunderland 11 3 17
9 Stoke City 11 -2 16
10 Burnley 11 -10 15
11 Fulham 10 0 14
12 Wigan 11 -9 13
13 Everton 10 -3 12
14 Bolton 10 -5 11
15 Birmingham 10 -4 10
16 Wolves 11 -7 10
17 Blackburn 10 -13 10
-------------------------
18 Hull City 11 -16 8
19 West Ham 10 -4 7
20 Portsmouth 11 -6 7

yep we have our catch up game in the next week or so so hopes we can win and be level with man yoo

updated Table:

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Chelsea 18 28 41
2 Manchester United 18 20 37
-----------------------
3 Arsenal 17 24 35
4 Aston Villa 18 15 35
-----------------------
5 Tottenham Hotspur 18 18 33
6 Manchester City 17 6 29
7 Birmingham City 18 1 28
-----------------------
8 Liverpool 18 9 27
9 Fulham 17 6 26
10 Sunderland 18 -3 21
11 Stoke City 17 -5 21
12 Wolverhampton Wanderers 18 -14 19
13 Blackburn Rovers 18 -15 19
14 Burnley 18 -16 19
15 Everton 17 -8 18
16 Wigan Athletic 17 -18 18
17 Hull City 18 -20 17
------------------------
18 Bolton Wanderers 16 -10 16
19 West Ham United 18 -9 15
20 Portsmouth 18 -9 14


The title race is now wide open with Ar5ena1 a chance to close the gap on Utd with their game in hand.
4th spot is still anyones down to probably Fulham, but will most likely be fought out between Villa, Spurs and Citeh. Liverpool are in terrible shape with no sign of that changing.
As for the relegation battle, Pompey are struggling and as JTC posted elsewhere, the side sitting bottom at Christmas has always been relegated. I think bolton will survive only because Hull are worse.
Wolves look like they're doing enough to stay up, While the clarets should also pull in enough points based on home form to stay up.

Pompey have had two good results in a row which could have been tricky, yes they lost to Chelsea in the end but really took it up to them and the Blues were saved by a penalty once again, then they knocked off Liverpool so they are a chance of staying up.

Burnley need to start jagging a few points away from home, do that and I will definitely back them for another season of EPL football due to their brilliant home form.

West Ham - I would love to see them go down.

im sure it was either west ham, or west brom that were bottom at christmas a few seasons ago and avioded relegation on the last day. think it was west brom so if your at the bottom on christmas day there is some chance of making it.