Robin van Persie's deflected injury time free-kick secured a significant 3-2 victory for Manchester United against Manchester City on Sunday in a hugely entertaining derby at the Etihad Stadium.

Premiership Results/Fixtures
Saturday 8th December 2012
KO	Home		Away	Ref	TV
15:00	Arsenal	2-0	West Brom	M Jones
15:00	Aston Villa	0-0	Stoke	R East
15:00	Southampton	1-0	Reading	J Moss
15:00	Sunderland	1-3	Chelsea	M Halsey
15:00	Swansea	3-4	Norwich	H Webb
15:00	Wigan	2-2	QPR	P Dowd
Sunday 9th December 2012
13:30	Man City	2-3	Man Utd	M Atkinson	Sky1
15:00	Everton	2-1	Tottenham	K Friend
16:00	West Ham	2-3	Liverpool	L Probert	Sky1
Monday 10th December 2012
20:00	Fulham	v	Newcastle	L Mason	Sky1

City, the reigning Premier League champions, thought they had secured a dramatic draw thanks to Pablo Zabaleta's 86th-minute strike - but Van Persie stepped up in added time to swing in a 25-yard free-kick that clipped Samir Nasri's outstretched leg and nestled in the far corner to clinch all three points.

Everton moved into fourth place as they scored two late goals to snatch a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs looked to be leaving Goodison Park with all three points after Clint Dempsey's second-half strike, but goals from Steven Pienaar and Nikica Jelavic - both in added time - turned the game on its head.

Three former West Ham players scored to sink their old club as Liverpool came from behind to win 3-2 at Upton Park. Glen Johnson, Joe Cole and Jonjo Shelvey - all products of the Hammers' youth academy - were on target as the Reds secured back-to-back wins to climb into the top half of the table for the first time this season.



The last game in MatchDay 16 sets Fulham against Newcastle at Craven Cottage at 20.00 in the evening. Both teams enjoyed positive starts to the season but have experienced a serious collapse in form since then.

Fulham have not won in their last six games and on that form would be bottom of the League along with QPR. Newcastle had a welcome win in their last game which saved them from sinking below Fulham in the form table.

Both teams will obviously be desperate for points, could be fireworks by the River Thames.

Premiership table - after 9th Dec 2012
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Man Utd	16	6	0	1	19	9	7	0	2	21	14	17	39
2	Man City	16	6	2	1	21	9	3	4	0	9	5	16	33
3	Chelsea	16	4	3	1	14	7	4	2	2	14	10	11	29
4	Everton	16	4	4	0	14	9	2	4	2	13	11	7	26
5	Tottenham	16	4	2	2	13	10	4	0	4	16	15	4	26
6	West Brom	16	6	0	2	14	6	2	2	4	10	15	3	26
7	Arsenal	16	4	2	2	18	10	2	4	2	8	6	10	24
8	Swansea	16	3	4	2	16	14	3	1	3	10	7	5	23
9	Stoke	16	4	3	0	7	2	1	5	3	7	10	2	23
10	Liverpool	16	3	3	2	9	7	2	4	2	13	13	2	22
11	West Ham	16	4	3	2	16	10	2	1	4	5	10	1	22
12	Norwich	16	4	2	1	8	7	1	5	3	9	17	-7	22
13	Fulham	15	3	1	3	13	10	1	4	3	12	16	-1	17
14	Newcastle	15	4	1	3	10	9	0	4	3	7	12	-4	17
15	Southampton	16	3	3	3	14	12	1	0	6	8	20	-10	15
16	Aston Villa	16	2	4	2	8	8	1	2	5	4	15	-11	15
17	Wigan	16	2	3	4	13	17	2	0	5	4	13	-13	15
18	Sunderland	15	1	3	3	6	10	1	4	3	8	11	-7	13
19	Reading	15	1	4	2	12	14	0	2	6	7	14	-9	9
20	QPR	16	0	4	3	5	13	0	3	6	8	16	-16	7

The day started with a well needed win for Arsenal. Mikel Arteta scored two penalties as The Gunners returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory against West Brom.

Aston Villa are now two points above the relegation zone after they could only register a 0-0 home draw against Stoke, who lost Ryan Shotton to a second yellow card late on.

Southampton climbed out of the relegation zone after edging past Reading 1-0 at St Mary's Stadium. A tight contest was decided just after the hour and the win pulls Saints up to 15th.

Fernando Torres scored twice at Sunderland to end his nine-match goal drought and give Rafael Benitez his first Premier League win in charge of Chelsea. It was hoped Benitez's appointment would help Torres get back to his best and the Spain striker looked sharp in today's 3-1 win.

Norwich extended their unbeaten streak in all competitions to 10 matches after beating Swansea at the Liberty Stadium. Norwich had a 3-0 half-time lead, but Swansea hit back after the break but couldn't prevent Norwich winning 4-3.

A second-half strike from James McCarthy denied QPR their first win of the season as Wigan fought back to draw 2-2 at the DW Stadium. The draw keeps Harry Redknapp's Rangers rooted to the foot of the table and they are now the only team in Premier League history to not win a game in their opening 16 contests.






An injury-time winner by Robin van Persie sent Manchester United six points clear at the top of the Premier League after a stormy derby win against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Wayne Rooney's two first-half goals put the leaders in control against the reigning champions - but Yaya Toure and Pablo Zabaleta put City level as the game entered its closing moments. Play media

Van Persie hen demonstrated his worth with his 14th goal of the season as his free-kick deflected off Samir Nasri and beyond a stretching Joe Hart. Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany (K Toure 21), Nastasic, Clichy, Silva, Y Toure (Dzeko 84), Barry, Nasri, Aguero, Balotelli (Tevez 52).
Subs not used: Pantilimon, Maicon, Lescott, Javi Garcia.

Booked: Nasri, Y Toure, Tevez.

Goals: Y Toure 60, Zabaleta 86.

Man Utd: De Gea, Da Silva, Ferdinand, Evans (Smalling 58), Evra, Valencia (Jones 84), Carrick, Cleverley (Welbeck 87), Young, Rooney, van Persie.
Subs not used: Johnstone, Giggs, Hernandez, Scholes.

Booked: Ferdinand, Rooney, Jones.

Goals: Rooney 16, 29, Van Persie 90.

Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).



Two goals in stoppage time produced a dramatic late turnaround at Goodison Park as Everton beat Tottenham to move into fourth spot in the Premier League.

Spurs appeared to be on their way to victory courtesy of Clint Dempsey's deflected 76th-minute strike. Steven Pienaar header in against his former club to equalise after 90 minutes and then Nikica Jelavic turned in a close-range shot for Everton's winner.

Everton extended their unbeaten run at Goodison Park to 12 games with a late rally which saw them leapfrog their opponents into the Champions League places on goal difference.

Everton: Howard, Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Mirallas (Naismith 46), Gibson, Osman (Vellios 81), Pienaar, Fellaini, Jelavic.
Subs not used: Mucha, Heitinga, Oviedo, Hitzlsperger, Barkley

Goals: Pienaar 90, Jelavic 90

Booked: Baines, Osman

Tottenham: Lloris, Walker, Gallas, Caulker, Vertonghen, Lennon (Huddlestone 71), Dempsey, Dembele (Sigurdsson 77), Sandro, Adebayor, Defoe.
Subs not used: Friedel Naughton, Falque, Livermore, Townsend.

Goal: Dempsey 76

Booked: Vertonghen, Defoe

Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)

Attendance: 36,494



Liverpool scored two goals in three second-half minutes as they fought back from 2-1 down to beat West Ham thanks to a late James Collins own goal.

The Reds took an early lead through a spectacular Glen Johnson strike. Mark Noble equalised from the spot after Joe Allen handled and Steven Gerrard headed into his own net to put the Hammers ahead at half-time. But Joe Cole made it 2-2 with an angled drive before Jordan Henderson's cross span in off Collins at the near post.

Eight days ago, West Ham turned round a half-time deficit to beat Chelsea but this time it was Sam Allardyce's side who were on the wrong end of a stirring second-half comeback. This was the first time in nine attempts this season that Liverpool have won a league game immediately after a Europa League tie.

West Ham: Jaaskelainen, Demel (McCartney 46), Collins, Reid, O'Brien, Taylor (Maiga 86), Diame (Tomkins 73), Nolan, Noble, Jarvis, Cole.
Subs not used: Spiegel, Spence, O'Neil, Moncur.

Booked: Taylor.

Goal: Noble 36 (pen), Gerrard og 43.

Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Jose Enrique (Cole 27), Allen (Coates 86), Lucas (Henderson 71), Gerrard, Sterling, Shelvey, Downing.
Subs not used: Jones, Carragher, Fernandez Saez, Morgan.

Booked: Gerrard, Shelvey.

Goals: Johnson 11, Cole 76, Collins og 79.

Att: 35,005.

Ref: Lee Probert (Wiltshire)




Historically renowned for being strong at home, Fulham have already lost three times at the Cottage this term and it should have been four when they grabbed a late draw having been outplayed by Everton.

Throw in their away results and it's now no win in seven for Martin Jol's men, who have also failed to score in their last three.

The Magpies have not had the best of runs of late but their win drought was ended against Wigan on Monday night, a result which must have raised confidence in the camp.

Alan Pardew rested plenty of his star men for Thursday's Europa League trip to Bordeaux, prioritising this fixture as he seeks a first away win of the season.

Fulham can welcome back captain Brede Hangeland to face Newcastle. The Norway international has been suspended for the past three matches after being sent off against Sunderland and is likely to return in defence, while Alex Kacaniklic is back after a hamstring injury.

Bryan Ruiz (hamstring) faces a further month on the sidelines, while right-back Sascha Riether has to overcome a minor knee sprain to feature at Craven Cottage.

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew could have several of his big guns back from injury.

Pardew, who made nine changes for the Europa League defeat in Bordeaux, was expecting full-back David Santon (groin), midfielders Cheick Tiote, Hatem Ben Arfa (both hamstring) and Gabriel Obertan (toe) and striker Demba Ba (also hamstring) to train on Friday, while Jonas Gutierrez (knee) is in line to resume on Sunday. That would leave Steven Taylor (hamstring) and Yohan Cabaye (groin surgery) on the long-term casualty list.

Last season: Fulham 5 Newcastle 2, Newcastle 2 Fulham 1

Last five league matches: Fulham D L L D L; Newcastle L L L L W

Top scorers (all competitions): Dimitar Berbatov (Fulham) 5; Demba Ba (Newcastle) 10

Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire) - 9g - 33y - 0r




Mikel Arteta scored a penalty in each half as Arsenal got back on track with a 2-0 success over West Brom at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal went ahead in contentious circumstances on 26 minutes when Arteta scored from the penalty spot after Santi Cazorla had gone down theatrically under a challenge from Steven Reid.

Arteta converted another penalty on 64 minutes, but there was again dispute from the Baggies, who felt Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had fouled Goran Popov in the build-up before the Arsenal winger was brought down in the box by Chris Brunt.

Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Arteta, Wilshere, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Coquelin 77), Cazorla (Podolski 87), Giroud, Gervinho (Rosicky 81)
Subs not used: Martinez, Squillaci, Jenkinson, Ramsey

Booked: Mertesacker, Giroud

Goals: Arteta 26 (pen), 64 (pen)

West Brom: Myhill, Reid, Olsson, Ridgewell (Popov 6), McAuley, Morrison, Brunt, Mulumbu, Gera (Rosenberg 75), Long, Odemwingie (Lukaku 62),
Subs not used: Daniels, Tamas, Dorrans, Fortune

Booked: Olsson, Brunt, Reid

Referee: Mike Jones

Attendance: 60,083



Darren Bent made a rare appearance for Aston Villa in a 0-0 draw at home with Stoke, who had Ryan Shotton sent off late on for a second bookable offence.

England striker Bent was unable to make a difference after coming on as a second-half substitute before Shotton was harshly sent off in the final minute.

The home side dominated possession and chances but just could not find a breakthrough, with powerhouse Christian Benteke denied on numerous occasions and Brett Holman also unable to beat Asmir Begovic.

Aston Villa: Guzan, Lowton, Baker, Clark, Lichaj, Herd, Holman (Ireland 65), Westwood, Bannan (Delph 77), Benteke, Agbonlahor (Bent 65).
Subs not used: Given, Al Ahmadi, Weimann, Williams.

Stoke: Begovic, Shotton, Huth, Shawcross, Cameron, Walters, Whitehead, N'Zonzi, Whelan, Etherington (Jerome 67), Jones (Crouch 74).
Subs not used: Sorensen, Palacios, Upson, Kightly, Wilkinson.

Yellow cards: Shotton

Red Card: Shotton

Referee: Roger East



Southampton won the battle of the two promoted clubs to climb out of the relegation zone following a 1-0 home success over Reading.

Goals have been in plentiful supply at St Mary's this season, but it was the 61st minute before the breakthrough arrived when Jason Puncheon collected Nathaniel Clyne's low pass into the box and finished confidently past Adam Federici.

Southampton: Kelvin Davis, Clyne, Fonte, Yoshida, Shaw, Puncheon, Cork, Schneiderlin, Lallana (Ramirez 40), Rodriguez (Do Prado 78), Lambert.
Subs Not Used: Boruc, Hooiveld, Steven Davis, Ward-Prowse, Mayuka.

Scorer: Puncheon 61.

Reading: Federici, Cummings, Mariappa, Morrison (Pearce 65), Shorey, Robson-Kanu (McCleary 77), Leigertwood,Tabb (Hunt 69), McAnuff, Roberts, Le Fondre.
Subs Not Used: Taylor, Guthrie, Harte, Samuel.

Att: 29,331

Referee: Jon Moss (W Yorkshire).



Benitez claimed his first three points since replacing Roberto Di Matteo as Chelsea boss following a 3-1 win at Sunderland which heaps more pressure on his counterpart Martin O'Neill.

Chelsea took the lead on 11 minutes following a slick break as Victor Moses released Eden Hazard down the left-hand side and the Belgian's cross was met perfectly by Torres' outstretched boot.

The Spaniard, fresh from his brace against Nordsjaelland in midweek, scored the second at the end of the first half when confidently dispatching a penalty after Sebastian Larsson's needless challenge on Ramires.

Torres almost completed his hat-trick four minutes after the interval when his shot struck the crossbar following a mistake by Phil Bardsley, but team-mate Juan Mata was on hand to convert the rebound.

Sunderland pulled a goal back on 66 minutes when Adam Johnson's swerving left-footed effort from the left side of the penalty area completely deceived Chelsea keeper Petr Cech.

Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley (Colback 66), Cuellar, O'Shea, Rose, Johnson, Gardner, Larsson (Saha 81), McClean, Sessegnon, Wickham.
Subs not used: Westwood, Campbell, Kilgallon, Vaughan, Bramble.

Booked: Gardner.

Goal: Johnson 66.

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Cole, Ramires, Romeu (Oscar 20), Mata, Moses (Bertrand 61), Hazard (Lampard 79), Torres.
Subs not used: Turnbull, Ferreira, Marin, Azpilicueta.

Booked: Ivanovic, Ramires, Mata.

Goals: Torres 11, 45, Mata 49.

Att: 39,272.

Ref: Mark Halsey (Lancashire).



Norwich extended their unbeaten run to 10 games in all competitions after hanging on for a thrilling 4-3 win over Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.

The Canaries were three goals to the good by half-time and took the lead on 16 minutes when Steven Whittaker exchanged passes with Robert Snodgrass before continuing his run into the box and firing a low shot past Gerhard Tremmel.

The Swansea keeper was again beaten at his near post five minutes before half-time when Sebastien Bassong continued his recent good run of form by heading home Grant Holt's deep cross.

Holt got in on the act a minute before the break when Snodgrass' perfect delivery was met by the striker, who had been left unmarked to head beyond Tremmel.

Swansea gave themselves hope of a comeback six minutes into the second half when top scorer Michu swept home left-footed from Ben Davies' low cross.

The hosts then scored a second just before the hour mark as Norwich failed to clear a cross and Jonathan de Guzman's controlled volley beat Mark Bunn at the near post.

But Swansea's fightback was killed off 13 minutes from time when Snodgrass got the goal his performance merited as he curled a free-kick over the wall and inside the post before Michu scored a late consolation.

Swansea: Tremmel, Rangel, Chico, Williams, Davies, Dyer, Routledge, de Guzman, Ki, Michu, Graham (Shechter 68).
Subs Not Used: Cornell, Bartley, Monk, Moore, Tiendalli, Agustien.

Booked: Williams,Rangel.

Goals: Michu 51, de Guzman 59, Michu 90.

Norwich: Bunn,Martin,Bassong,Whittaker (Barnett 90), Garrido, Johnson, Snodgrass, Howson, Pilkington, Hoolahan, Holt (Morison 82).
Subs Not Used: Rudd, Jackson, Fox, Elliott Bennett, Tierney.

Booked: Martin.

Goals: Whittaker 16, Bassong 40, Holt 44, Snodgrass 77.

Att: 20,294

Ref: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire).



Redknapp was denied a first win as Queens Park Rangers manager as James McCarthy scored twice in Wigan's 2-2 draw at the DW Stadium.

QPR had started brightly, but fell behind on 19 minutes when the ball dropped to McCarthy on the edge of the box and his volley took a nick off Jamie Mackie on its way past Robert Green.

But QPR were level just seven minutes later when Adel Taarabt's corner from the left was met with a powerful header by Ryan Nelsen.

The visitors completed the turnaround on 71 minutes when Wigan were sloppy in possession and Shaun Wright-Phillips teed up substitute Djibril Cisse to side-foot beyond Ali Al Habsi.

The lead lasted just three minutes, however, as Wigan, who had earlier struck the bar through Jordi Gomez, drew level when McCarthy controlled Jean Beausejour's cross before flicking the ball past Green.

Wigan: Al Habsi, Boyce, Lopez, Jones (Maloney 76), Stam, McCarthy, McArthur, Beausejour, Gomez, Di Santo (Boselli 85), Kone.
Subs Not Used: Pollitt, McManaman, Fyvie, Golobart, Redmond.

Goals: McCarthy 19,74.

QPR: Green, Bosingwa (Da Silva 84), Nelsen, Hill, Traore, Diakite (Granero 77), Derry, Mbia, Wright-Phillips, Mackie, Taarabt (Cisse 58).
Subs Not Used: Murphy, Ferdinand, Hoilett, Faurlin.

Booked: Taarabt.

Goals: Nelsen 26,Cisse 71.

Att: 17,163

Ref: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire).

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