Well, as it’s the only league in Europe that’s actually playing today, forgetting about a thing called a winter break in most leagues, we 18 goals from 8 matches, no draws and pretty much no change at the top of the table with Manchester United, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City winning their matches. Lets Go –
West Bromwich Albion 1 – 2 Manchester United
Wayne Rooney finally scored for Manchester United and Javier Hernandez finished the job, sandwiching a brilliant James Morrison goal that leveled things for a while. West Brom were the better side at the Hawthorns this afternoon and even missed a spot kick (Peter Odimwingie), but it wasn’t enough to stop United getting their (only second this season) away win and stay on top of the Premier League.
Liverpool 2 – 1 Bolton
Joe Cole scored his first league for Liverpool in injury time and Fernando Torres equalized early in the second half, one of Liverpool’s better 45 minutes in a long time, beating Kevin Davies’ opening goal, keeping Roy Hodgson (so it seems) as the Liverpool manager for another week as the Reds climbed to 9th after the win.
Manchester City 1 – 0 Blackpool
Adam Johnson’s 33rd minute goal was enough to keep Manchester City on the heels of Manchester United with 41 points but two games more than the red devils. Carlos Tevez missed a penalty kick and two incredible chances in a game that became much more difficult than it should have been for City.
Stoke City 2 – 0 Everton
Kenwyne Jones opened the scoring for Stoke and Ricardo Fuller helped Phil Jageilka score a freak own goal as Everton squandered plenty of good opportunities in another disappointing loss during their very… disappointing 2010-2011 campaign. Stoke broke their home losing streak and climbed to 8th in the Premiership.
Sunderland 3 – 0 Blackburn
The Black Cats front trio each struck once as Sunderland gave Steve Bruce a very happy 50th birthday, beating 11th place Blackburn 3-0 with Steve Kean probably feeling early pressure after the new owners say they want the team to be challenging for European qualification. Welbeck, Bent (8th goal of the season) and Gyan proved otherwise as Sunderland climbed to sixth in the table.
Tottenham 3 – 0 Fulham
Mark Hughes has more pressure to deal with now, as the Cottagers went down to a Gareth Bale header, his 7th league goal of the season. Spurs are now 4th, 2 points ahead of Chelsea who play tomorrow while Fulham remained at 18th with only 19 points in a very tight bottom half of the Premier League.
West Ham 2 – 0 Wolves
Avram Grant and West Ham finally are above the relegation zone. Extending their merry x-mas, West Ham beat giddy Wolves 2-0, enjoying a Zubar own goal and Fred Sears first goal for his home club since his 2008 debut. West Ham are now 15th with 20 points but have one or two games more than most of the teams beneath them in the table.
Birmingham 0 – 3 Arsenal
Robin Van Persie opened 2011 in the best way possible, opening the scoring for Arsenal in their 3-0 win at St Andrews against struggling Birmingham (19th, 19 points), his first goal of the season. Samir Nasri added his 9th goal of the season and Roger Johnson scored a second half own goal in a win that the gunners gravely needed to keep up with the two Manchester clubs. Arsenal are now third with 39 points and a game more than league leaders Manchester United (41).