Manchester United delivered
another lesson in the art of clinical
finishing to one of their perceived
title rivals on Sunday, beating
Chelsea 3-1 to move clear at the
top of the table.
- Palmer: Spurs spring back to life
- Dalglish keeps quiet over
refereeing
- Mancini laments 'stupid' goals
- Premier League Gallery
However, the result could have
been rather different for the Blues
had Fernando Torres not
produced one of the Premier
League's most inexplicable misses
with seven minutes remaining.
Wayne Rooney had spoken of a
three-way Premier League title
race prior to kick-off, with Chelsea
rubbing shoulders alongside the
two Manchester clubs. However,
Sunday's league table already
displays a five-point deficit
between the Londoners and the
champions, after they were
beaten by goals from Chris
Smalling, Nani and Wayne
Rooney, who also missed a
penalty.
Torres, who was easily Chelsea's
most threatening player,
threatened a revival when scoring
early in the second half, but then
the former Liverpool man
produced a moment that drew
instant comparisons with a
famous miss by another ex-Red
Ronny Rosenthal. Having
brilliantly rounded United keeper
David De Gea, Torres then clipped
the ball wide with his left foot with
the entire goal at his mercy.
Tottenham Hotspur landed an
early blow in the battle for a top-
four place by thumping nine-man
Liverpool 4-0 at White Hart Lane.
The hosts made a storming start
to the match, and took a
deserved lead on seven minutes
when Luka Modric hammered in
from 25 yards. Liverpool were
beginning to grow into the game
when Charlie Adam was shown a
second yellow on 28 minutes -
catching Scott Parker high on the
leg with his studs - just seconds
after new signing Sebastian
Coates was thrust into the action
following an injury to Daniel
Agger.
The visitors were reduced to nine
men on 61 minutes, with Martin
Skrtel cautioned for the second
time following a crude challenge
on Gareth Bale, and on 65
minutes Jermain Defoe made the
points safe for Spurs, drilling a
low shot past Pepe Reina.
Emmanuel Adebayor netted a
goal on his home debut less than
two minutes later, tapping in
from close range after Reina
spilled Defoe's shot, and the Togo
international completed the rout in
injury time, finishing calmly after
collecting Benoit Assou-Ekotto's
cross.
Manchester City failed to maintain
their 100% Premier League record
this season after they let a two-
goal lead slip to draw 2-2 at
Fulham. In their first post-
Champions League fixture, City
faded badly as goals from Bobby
Zamora and Danny Murphy
cancelled out Sergio Aguero's
brace.
Only the full backs were changed
from the City side that drew with
Napoli, meaning David Silva and
Aguero were free to continue
their blossoming partnership. It
took only 18 minutes for them to
combine successfully, Silva
instrumental as Aguero slid the
ball home in trademark fashion.
Aguero netted his second goal
directly after the break - a fine
effort from 25 yards - and City
looked to be in complete control.
Fulham were not beaten, though,
and they halved the deficit with 35
minutes left to play as Zamora
benefited from Moussa Dembele's
good work. Zamora then created
the space for Murphy to equalise
15 minutes from time - albeit
thanks to a wicked deflection
from Vincent Kompany.
Also on Sunday, Sunderland
recorded their first victory of the
campaign, dishing out a first-half
battering to Stoke in an eventual
4-0 win. The Potters had
averaged two points per game
from their opening four fixtures,
but Sunderland were out of sight
at half-time at the Stadium of
Light.
Titus Bramble broke the deadlock
after five minutes thanks to a
poor piece of goalkeeping from
Asmir Begovic, who let the ball
go through his legs. The lead was
then doubled after 11 minutes as
Jonathan Woodgate headed softly
past his own keeper.
Nicklas Bendtner was enjoying a
particularly good performance for
the Black Cats, who were three
goals to the good by half-time
when Craig Gardner's shot found
the net via a Ryan Shawcross
deflection. Sebastian Larsson
added to Stoke's misery on the
hour with a sublime free-kick for
the fourth.
October 05, 2009, 04:36:58 AM