Source: www.espnstar.com
Everton picked up their second home win in four days this afternoon with a comprehensive Barclays Premier League victory over Blackburn.
Louis Saha scored after 22 and 54 minutes and then defender Joseph Yobo grabbed the third for the hosts, punishing poor defending at a corner after the impressive Paul Robinson had denied the France striker a hat-trick goal.
David Moyes' side had endured a slow start to the campaign, seemingly suffering a hangover from last season's FA Cup final defeat to Chelsea.
But the Toffees appear to be back on track after following Thursday's 4-0 Europa League rout of AEK Athens with another fine win and clean sheet at Goodison Park against a disappointing Rovers side who were looking to haul themselves out of the relegation zone.
While Moyes' worries look to be easing, Rovers boss Sam Allardyce must be seriously concerned now about his side, who have won just one league game all term and were feeble for much of this clash.
Everton made three changes from the side that beat AEK in midweek, with Dutch defender John Heitinga making his home debut.
Russia winger Diniyar Bilyaletdinov was out with a groin strain, while Jo and Dan Gosling dropped to the bench to allow Saha and Leon Osman into the starting line-up.
Blackburn gave Spanish defender Michel Salgado his full debut in an otherwise unchanged side from the one that achieved the club's first league win of the season against Wolves last time out.
This had been Everton's worse start to a league season since 2004, with only one win in their opening four games prior to this match.
Their intent to correct that unwanted statistic was evident from the outset. First Osman saw a shot on the turn deflected inches wide, and then Steven Pienaar's cross was headed onto the roof of the net by Saha.
But the game deteriorated into a scrappy affair with far too many stoppages and a general lack of ideas and invention.
Heitinga was booked by referee Lee Mason after a two-footed tackle that enraged the recipient David Dunn.
However, after 22 minutes, Everton were in front. Leighton Baines fired in a free-kick from the left and Saha arrived at the near post to turn the ball past Robinson.
Blackburn responded with a couple of headers from Christopher Samba and a twisting run and shot from Dunn which was held by Tim Howard.
Robinson saved well from Pienaar, and then watched a Marouane Fellaini drive fly wide after a quick Everton break.
Dunn was next into the book for a late tackle on Jack Rodwell.
Rovers sent on Ryan Nelsen for Gael Givet in the centre of defence at the break, with teenager David Hoilett replacing Morten Gamst Pedersen on the left after 50 minutes.
But it was Everton who extended their lead soon after. Fellaini's cross sailed in from the right and Saha got above Pascal Chimbonda with ease to send his header wide of Robinson's dive.
The former Tottenham goalkeeper t hen needed to save superbly to keep out an Osman drive, but Everton soon got their third.
Baines' corner from the right after 58 minutes hit Nelsen and fell invitingly for Yobo to fire in from a couple of yards out.
Allardyce opted to give Jason Roberts some support up front just after the hour, sending on Croatian striker Nicola Kalinic in place of Salgado.
There was some fight still left in the visitors, El-Hadji Diouf cautioned for a foul on Fellaini and Hoilett seeing a low drive blocked by Howard.
Howard was at last called into action to save from Dunn and Diouf, while Everton sent on Jo to replace Saha with 16 minutes left.
Next on was Tony Hibbert in place of Tim Cahill, with Heitinga moving into central midfield.
Teenager Gosling took over from Osman with nine minutes left, by which time Everton were well on their way to a comfortable three points.
Source: www.espnstar.com
Chelsea remained top of the Barclays Premier League after a demolition of London rivals Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.
Ashley Cole put the Blues on the way to a comfortable victory with a first-half header and Michael Ballack made it two in the 57th minute.
Didier Drogba finished Spurs off with a third in the 62nd minute to make it six straight wins for the Blues and leave them three points clear of Manchester United at the summit.
To make matters worse for Spurs they lost both Ledley King and Sebastien Bassong through injury to leave Harry Redknapp with a defensive crisis.
There was bad news for Chelasea, too, as Drogba exited seven minutes from time with a calf problem.
Chelsea almost went ahead in the seventh minute when an angled drive from Jose Bosingwa cannoned off the crossbar.
But the Blues had Petr Cech to thank in the 11th minute when Jermain Defoe sprinted clear of the Chelsea defence only to see the Chelsea keeper stick out a leg to deny him.
Tottenham were now enjoying the majority of the possession and Jermaine Jenas was inches wide with a 20-yard drive that had Cech beaten.
It was enough to encourage Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti off his seat and into the technical area.
His presence almost had an immediate effect as Frank Lampard headed just wide from a cross by Nicolas Anelka in the 17th minute.
In the 22nd minute Anelka sent a powerful volley into the side netting after a cross from Florent Malouda had made its way across the six-yard box without attention from the Spurs defenders.
Chelsea felt they should have had a penalty in the 31st minute when Ballack collided with Vedran Corluka but referee Howard Webb rejected their appeals.
But his decision was of little consequence when Chelsea went ahead a minute later.
Drogba turned supplier with a superb cross into the middle of the Spurs penalty area and Cole got in front of Corluka to put a diving header into the net beyond former Chelsea keeper Carlo Cudicini.
The game had erupted into life at last and it was now a full-blooded derby with tackles flying in from both sides.
Drogba was the target for some rough stuff from the Spurs players as the temperature began to rise.
Chelsea won a free-kick in a central position some 25 yards out when Tom Huddlestone jumped into Ballack two minutes before the interval.
But Drogba hit the free-kick straight at Tottenham's defensive wall.
Chelsea should have gone two in front in the 46th minute but Lampard drove wide after Drogba had found him with a low cross.
In the build-up to Lampard's chance, Spurs defender King sustained a knock that forced his retirement from the action.
Alan Hutton replaced the stricken King with Corluka moving from right-back into the centre of defence alongside Bassong.
Spurs were furious in the 54th minute when Robbie Keane went down under a challenge from Ricardo Carvalho.
Referee Webb rejected Tottenham's appeals but TV replays appeared to show that the Chelsea defender had clipped the Spurs striker's heels.
The debate continued to rage on the pitch with Keane protesting to both Carvalho and Webb that is should have been a spot-kick.
Chelsea made Spurs pay moments later when Ballack made it 2-0.
Drogba's 57th-minute shot was well saved by Cudicini but Lampard followed up to roll the ball back into the six-yard box where Ballack was waiting to poke it home from point-blank range.
Chelsea were at their fluid best with a two-goal cushion and Bosingwa forced Cudicini into another save with a left-foot drive from 20-yards.
Not surprisingly the Blues went three in front in the 62nd minute when Drogba fired home from six yards for his fifth goal of the season.
Cudicini almost gifted Chelsea a fourth in the 73rd minute when he allowed a shot by substitute John Obi Mikel to creep under his body.
But the Italian keeper was alert enough to recover the ball before it could cross the goal line.
It got worse for Spurs when centre-half Bassong fell awkwardly on his shoulder and had to be carried off after lengthy treatment. He was replaced by Niko Kranjcar.
But Chelsea also lost striker Drogba with a calf injury in the 83rd minute which will give coach Ancelotti real cause for concern if he is out for any length of time.
2009 Season Kicks off!!
Hey all,
I know I've been very irregular with the latest updates from the world of the English Premiership but I promise you that this 2009 season is going to be different. You can all look forward to the latest updates and all the buzz from every premiership weekend
Man City 2 - 0 Aston Villa
Stoke 2 - 0 Bolton
Newcastle 1 - 2 Man Utd
Wigan 0 - 1 West Ham
Blackburn 0 - 0 Everton
Fulham 0 - 1 Hull
Tottenham 4 - 0 Middlesbrough
Source: www.espnstar.com
Robbie Keane's first goal since returning to Tottenham and a double from Aaron Lennon ensured there was no Carling Cup hangover for Harry Redknapp's men as they romped to a 4-0 victory over Middlesbrough.
Keane opened the scoring before Roman Pavlyuchenko and Lennon added to the scoreline before the break as Spurs moved closer to mid-table after starting the match two points above the Barclays Premier League relegation zone.
Lennon then added a fourth in the second half at White Hart Lane, building on his performance at Wembley on Sunday when he had the beating of Manchester United full-back Patrice Evra.
It was just the response Spurs boss Redknapp wanted after losing on penalties to United, a clash Keane was cup-tied for after playing three minutes earlier in the competition for Liverpool.
That was part of an unhappy six months at Anfield - but he helped erase those memories with the opener in the ninth minute.
Luka Modric's corner was flicked on by Michael Dawson and Keane stabbed home from close range.
It was his first goal at Spurs' home ground in nearly a year and it came in his third appearance since returning.
Redknapp had wanted a positive reply in contrast to last season, while Juande Ramos was boss, when Spurs won just three more league matches after going to Wembley.
Despite Keane settling the nerves, Spurs were still not in total control after the opener.
Tuncay Sanli thought he had equalised when he latched on to Stewart Downing's long pass and finished off, only for the assistant referee to halt his celebrations.
Pavlyuchenko rubbed salt into the wound by adding the second in the 14th minute, finishing off Modric's cross from six yards out after the Croatia playmaker turned Robert Huth.
If Tuncay thought he was unfortunate to have his goal disallowed, he must have thought he had run out of luck when he drilled a shot that was blocked by Dawson's backside as the defender bravely slid in.
Keane should have extended the lead 10 minutes before the break when Modric weighted a pass through and Brad Jones had to rush out to block the finish - then the Spurs skipper for the night helped set up the third.
Almost the whole of the Spurs team had a hand in the goal as they strung together pass after pass, but it was Keane who threaded the ball through Huth's legs to give Lennon a clear run on goal.
Lennon followed up his Wembley performance with a cool finish, with Boro boss Gareth Southgate turning to his dugout in disgust at the ease in which the hosts had scored.
Huth's mistakes for two of the three first-half goals meant he was hauled off at half-time and replaced by Andrew Taylor.
It was a disastrous 45 minutes rather than the solid performance Southgate wanted after beating Liverpool at the weekend, a first victory in 15 attempts.
It could have been different had Downing, who Spurs made a bid for during the January transfer window, put away an early chance to open the scoring.
Seizing on Jonathan Woodgate's poor clearance, Downing fired an angled shot that Heurelho Gomes had to parry away, with Benoit Assou-Ekotto beating Tuncay to the rebound.
But after Spurs put away their chances, Boro were playing for pride and looking to avoid the psychological damage of a heavy defeat.
Spurs went in search of a fourth goal after the break and asked for a penalty when Keane was bundled over by Emanuel Pogatetz.
Tuncay's looping effort struck Gomes' far post in the second half - and Boro needed that to go in if there was any hope of a comeback.
Lennon added the fourth with 11 minutes remaining, chipping home after Keane slipped him through.
Source: www.espnstar.com
Dimitar Berbatov fired Manchester United seven points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League, scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory at lowly Newcastle.
The Bulgarian clinched the points with a 56th-minute strike, but United had to come from behind to re-establish their advantage over Chelsea and Liverpool with a game in hand.
There was jubilation on Tyneside when, with just nine minutes gone, Peter Lovenkrands ended Edwin Van der Sar's record of not having conceded a league goal since November 8 after the keeper failed to cling on to Jonas Gutierrez's shot.
But it took the visitors just 11 minutes to restore parity through Wayne Rooney, and Berbatov ensured United's run of successive league wins stretched to 11 after Park Ji-Sung pounced on an error by Ryan Taylor.
As Sir Alex Ferguson's bandwagon rumbled on ominously, opposite number Chris Hughton was at least able to console himself with a spirited performance in front of an appreciative crowd of 51,636, although that will count for little if it is not transformed into points over the coming weeks.
Such have been the contrasting fortunes of the two clubs this season since they drew 1-1 at Old Trafford during the opening round of fixtures in August, that the talk before kick-off was not of if United would win, but by how many.
But with just nine minutes gone, it was Newcastle who took the lead against all odds as Van der Sar's run without conceding a Premier League goal came to an end in ignominious circumstances.
The Dutchman failed to hold Jonas' shot as it leapt up off the sodden turf and Lovenkrands stabbed the rebound home before casting an anxious glance at referee Steve Bennett's assistant and only then beginning his celebrations.
St James' Park erupted as fans who had arrived fearing a repeat of Liverpool's 5-1 demolition job at the end of December - United won on Tyneside by the same scoreline last season - dared to believe their side could emerge with something to show for their efforts.
It might have been 2-0 within four minutes when Obafemi Martins fired inches wide under pressure from Rio Ferdinand, with the Nigerian also forcing a good 31st-minute block from the England defender after Van der Sar had failed to deal with a Ryan Taylor corner.
However, by that point, United had made the most of their greater share of the possession to get themselves back on level terms in fine style.
Rooney, back in the side after recovering from a virus, turned superbly past Fabricio Coloccini on to John O'Shea's pass and blasted a left-foot shot past Steve Harper with the help of a deflection off Steven Taylor, although the defender's contribution was largely irrelevant.
United continued to enjoy the greater share of the ball and defender Nemanja Vidic header over with the goal at his mercy after the home defence had failed to deal with a 39th-minute Michael Carrick corner.
But the Magpies continued to threaten with Martins and Jonas causing problems.
Mr Bennett had to deal with an ugly incident in injury time when Steven Taylor caught Cristiano Ronaldo with a flailing arm and then careered into Carrick on the sideline, sparking a furious response from skipper Ferdinand.
After consulting his assistant, the referee booked Taylor, and Ferdinand followed him as he continued his protests following the half-time whistle.
A feisty affair continued in the same vein after the break with Vidic accusing Martins of catching him with an elbow as the pair jumped for a high ball.
Van de Sar had to race from his line to prevent Lovenkrands from latching on to a 52nd-minute through-ball, but when the second goal did arrive, it did so predictably at the other end.
Ryan Taylor slipped as he attempted to chest a deep ball back to Harper and Park got there first to square for Berbatov, who calmly slotted it into the empty net.
Newcastle were visibly deflated by the reverse as United once again assumed control, and they might have increased their lead as they powered their way towards the final whistle.
Harper had to save from Ronaldo and Berbatov in quick succession as time ran down, and then dived bravely at the Portugal international's feet after he had slipped away from Steven Taylor.
But Newcastle made one last push and it was Van der Sar who finished the busier of the two keepers as he kept out first Lovenkrands and then Martins, although without any great difficulty.
Source: www.espnstar.com
Aston Villa's charge to the Champions League was starting to grind to a halt after Elano and Shaun Wright-Phillips combined to give inconsistent Manchester City a 2-0 victory at Eastlands.
The Brazilian's first-half penalty - the first time he has scored in the Premier League since August - would probably have been enough anyway but man-of-the-match Wright-Phillips made certain of the points two minutes from time.
It means Villa have now gone six games without a win. And while three of those were cup ties, with Arsenal breathing down their necks just three points adrift, fourth place is looking anything but certain.
Ever since his ill-advised TV interview earlier in the season in which he questioned why Mark Hughes kept leaving him out, Elano has maintained an uneasy public truce with his manager.
There are plenty who suggest the Brazilian remains a disruptive influence behind the scenes and there have certainly been times when he has appeared something short of a consummate team man.
Yet, should Hughes somehow find the formula for getting consistent performances from the former Shakhtar Donetsk man, City could really start a surge up the table.
After all, Elano was one of the main reasons why the Blues found themselves in the Champions League slots last December, an honour that now belongs to their latest opponents.
With Robinho and Craig Bellamy both missing through injury, Hughes was able to offer Elano the kind of free role behind a lone frontman - in this case Felipe Caicedo - that he craves.
The response, if not exactly energetic, was certainly enthusiastic and it was his pass to Shaun Wright-Phillips that brought the hosts their penalty in the first place.
Wright-Phillips had found himself in a similar position moments earlier, when Stephen Ireland was the provider.
Amazingly, with just Brad Friedel to beat, the England international slipped his shot wide.
Wright-Phillips did not get that far on the second occasion. Having been caught the wrong side of his man, James Milner attempted the tackle and succeeded only in tripping his opponent.
Brad Friedel almost made amends with a flying dive to his right. Unfortunately for Villa, Elano's spot-kick was just too good.
Hughes was convinced City should have had a second spot-kick when Caicedo went down under Carlos Cuellar's challenge but referee Chris Foy did not quite see it the same way.
Unlike Elano, Wright-Phillips' commitment has never been questioned and the England international was City's star performer, keeping the Villa defence on their toes with a succession of mazy runs on his return from a three-match ban.
Yet it also had to be said it was a pale imitation of the Villa side who have impressed so many this season.
Their poor run of form seemed to have drained Martin O'Neill's men of confidence.
The response to a tepid first-half performance was for O'Neill to introduce John Carew for Curtis Davies, a substitution that triggered a number of positional changes, including Gabriel Agbonlahor taking up a wider position.
It suggested an aerial bombardment, but instead it brought more width, which Ashley Young relished.
After seizing the initiative without managing to put Shay Given under any pressure, Agbonlahor finally created a chance for Villa with a superb pass to Gareth Barry, whose first-time volley would have crept in if Given had not got down by his post to bundle it away.
The visitors' offensive forced City to play on the counter-attack. Crucially though, it gave them space to exploit.
Ched Evans' magnificent first touch was a chested lay-off to Wayne Bridge's shot which Elano struck sweetly, only for Brad Friedel to make a superb save.
On this evidence, it was perfectly simple to work out why Sven-Goran Eriksson paid #8million for Elano - and why Hughes felt he needed to splash out slightly less to get Given from Newcastle.
The Republic of Ireland international produced another blinding stop to deny Young.
It was the last chance Villa created. And to rub salt into their wounds, Wright-Phillips capitalised on Ireland's pass at the end to seal the win for City.
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