There were a number of intense matches this weekend and some rather unexpected upsets which may have scuppered many accumulator bets.
West Brom thought they were home a dry for a while when they visited the Emirates with goals coming from Odemwingie (50), Jara (52) and Thomas (73) putting them 3-0 up with 20 minutes left on the clock.
A late spell for Arsenal however and a fantastic brace from Nasri gave the home fans some hope and nearly something to cheer about with a flurry of last minute chances. But it wasn’t to be and West Brom just about held on to cause the upset of the weekend. My man of the match despite being on the losing team is Nasri as he was the rough diamond that shone throughout the game.
Bolton are highly regarded by the ‘big four’ (these days it’s more like the big seven) as being a tough team to face on the fixture list. Zat Knight was the first to remind the red devils of this when he turned in Petrov’s cross in the 6th minute.
It took Manu until the 23rd minute to find a response which came in the form of a brilliant individual goal for Nani who ran from his own half, out-dribbling 4 defenders before firing a blistering long range effort from outside the box.
The rest of the first half saw some more chances for both, and the scoreboard remained unchanged until Petrov pulled a nice turn in the box before shooting home with his less-favoured right foot to give Bolton a 2-1 lead in the 67th minute.
Alex Ferguson wanted a quick response and felt it was time to take ineffective Rooney off and put Michael Owen on in his stead. Michael repaid the manager with his 200th club goal which came from his very first touch after being on the pitch for just 3 minutes. The touch itself was a perfect backwards header and I’m marking it as a favourite for goal of the month. It also earns him man of the match from me for that one touch of brilliance.
It seems that Fergie made the right call when swapping his two beloved England strikers, but with the full time whistle calling it a draw Bolton have got to be happy coming away from Old Trafford with a point.
Liverpool have been struggling to find form so far this season; this should have been a fixture for them to kick start their campaign, but Sunderland had other ideas.
The first goal of the match will be a big talking point in the tabloids. An 8th minute Sunderland free kick in their defensive third was passed back to the keeper to be taken, but it was deemed that this act itself was the free kick. Liverpool pounced on the live ball while everyone else was complaining and Dirk Kuyt slotted the ball neatly in to give Liverpool the lead.
Sunderland equalised just 5 minutes later when a clumsy handball gave them a penalty which Darren Bent stepped up to pound into the net.
It was Bent again who rose highest just after half time to head home his second of the match and give Sunderland a slender 2-1 lead. Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was the ever-reliable saviour of the home fans when he headed Torres’ floating cross in and salvaged a point for his team. The final score was 2-2 and my man of the match is Darren Bent.
Another ‘derby’ without any real rivalry was played in the midlands between Aston Villa and Wolves. Brad Friedel made a series of world-class saves early on to keep his team going and it paid off when Stuart Downing converted Ashley Young’s fizzed cross through the box.
The home fans had to wait a long time for their team to equalise and it came under quite strange circumstances when Jarvis’ cross managed to creep past absolutely everyone, including the keeper!
Everyone was set to accept a good 1-1 draw when Emile Heskey rose like a donkey on a trampoline to head his team into an 88th minute 2-1 lead. Villa held on and took all the points with the narrowest of victories. Man of the match: Albrighton for his continuous bright thinking and clever through balls.
Newcastle welcomed Stoke to St James Park and the scoreboards stayed dusty until nearly half time when some pushing in the box gave the home team a penalty for Nolan to convert.
Kenwin Jones equalised for Stoke in the 67th minute when he caught the Newcastle defence sleeping to knock in a straight forward header from a standard free kick.
Perch sank the home fans’ hearts when he bizarrely lunged at the ball as it was crossed in from a corner to blast in an unstoppable header. If only it had been at the other end. Newcastle 1, Stoke 2. My man of the match is Kenwin Jones.
West Ham was the next team this week to cause an upset when local rivals Tottenham Hotspurs visited Upton Park. The match was all one-way traffic really and West Ham dominated in chances and possession. There was only one goal in the game and it came from Piquionne with a determined header drilled in from a corner. My man of the match is Robert Green for his two fantastic diving saves from pretty much Spurs’ only two shots.
Blackpool took on Blackburn and despite one own goal in the 20th minute by Blackpool the whole game seemed to be in the last 10 minutes. The own goal in question was another strange one as turned it in with the sort of placement you would expect from an opposing striker.
Blackpool did equalise in the 85th minute when substitute Matt Phillips showed great individual skill to slot home and bring it to 1-1.
Brett Emerton gave Blackburn all three points with the last touch of the match putting them 2-1 up. It was his first goal in 2 years and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Man of the match: Brett Emerton.
Two games ended 0-0 this weekend and they were Fulham vs Everton and Birmingham vs Wigan.
Everton should have walked away victors after a lack-lustre Fulham performance gave the Toffees most of the chances and possession. It was Schwarzer who kept them alive with brilliant save after brilliant save and it definitely gets him man of the match from me.
Birmingham and Wigan both looked limited in attack and a 0-0 draw seems a good representation of the play. The home team will feel that they might have been able to take all the points if Rodallega had been sent off for what seemed like a red card offence.
After this weekend’s results Chelsea are still out in front with Man U up to second closely followed by Aresnal and Man City. Everton prop up the table with Wigan and West Ham also in dangerous territory.