An inspirational fightback gave Tottenham the North London bragging rights against Arsenal in Saturday's early kick-off, while Wayne Rooney returned in Manchester United's victory over nine-man Wigan.
Defending Premier League champions Chelsea's problems increased in a defeat at Birmingham, Bolton moved into the top four by impressively defeating Newcastle, while Liverpool piled the pressure on West Ham boss Avram Grant in the evening kick-off.
Wolves' relegation fears deepened in the wake of a defeat at Blackpool, and a controversial penalty helped Stoke to three points against West Brom at The Hawthorns.
| Premiership results |
|
Saturday 20th November
|
| 12.45 |
Arsenal |
2-3 |
Tottenham |
| 15.00 |
Birmingham |
1-0 |
Chelsea |
| 15.00 |
Blackpool |
2-1 |
Wolves |
| 15.00 |
Bolton |
5-1 |
Newcastle |
| 15.00 |
Man Utd |
2-0 |
Wigan |
| 15.00 |
West Brom |
0-3 |
Stoke |
| 17.30 |
Liverpool |
3-0 |
West Ham |
|
Sunday 21st November
|
| 13.30 |
Blackburn |
v |
Aston Villa |
| 16.00 |
Fulham |
v |
Man City |
Monday 22nd November
|
| 20.00 |
Sunderland |
v |
Everton |
|
Top 4 |
Top 6 |
Top 10 |
Bottom Half |
Relegation |
|
Saturday - 20th November 2010
Arsenal (2) 2 Tottenham (0) 3
Accusations of inexperience and naivety will again be directed at Arsenal after Arsene Wenger's young team threw away a two-goal lead and the chance to move to the top of the table in an incredible 3-2 defeat to capital neighbours Tottenham.
First-half goals from Samir Nasri and Marouane Chamakh at Emirates Stadium had exposed a ragged Tottenham, who had not won away against their North London rivals in the league since 1993.
But Spurs produced a miraculous second-half fightback as Gareth Bale, a Rafael van der Vaart penalty and a late Younes Kaboul header left Wenger facing the reality that his side had again failed to meet expectations when it matters.
Birmingham (1) 1 Chelsea (0) 0
Chelsea's problems increased as Carlo Ancelotti's defending champions lost for the third time in four matches following a 1-0 defeat to Birmingham at St Andrews.
| Premiership table |
| Pos |
Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
Pts |
| 1 |
Chelsea |
14 |
6 |
0 |
1 |
17 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
11 |
6 |
19 |
28 |
| 2 |
Man Utd |
14 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
17 |
5 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
11 |
10 |
13 |
28 |
| 3 |
Arsenal |
14 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
17 |
9 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
11 |
6 |
13 |
26 |
| 4 |
Bolton |
14 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
15 |
9 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
11 |
11 |
6 |
22 |
| 5 |
Man City |
13 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
5 |
5 |
22 |
| 6 |
Tottenham |
14 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
11 |
7 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
10 |
12 |
2 |
22 |
| 7 |
Sunderland |
13 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
7 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
2 |
8 |
10 |
2 |
19 |
| 8 |
Stoke |
14 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
11 |
8 |
2 |
0 |
5 |
7 |
10 |
0 |
19 |
| 9 |
Liverpool |
14 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
12 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
11 |
-1 |
19 |
| 10 |
Newcastle |
14 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
15 |
9 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
7 |
12 |
1 |
18 |
| 11 |
Blackpool |
14 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
11 |
11 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
-6 |
18 |
| 12 |
Aston Villa |
13 |
3 |
4 |
0 |
10 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
13 |
-3 |
17 |
| 13 |
Birmingham |
14 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
5 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
8 |
12 |
-2 |
16 |
| 14 |
West Brom |
14 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
9 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
8 |
16 |
-9 |
16 |
| 15 |
Everton |
13 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
9 |
8 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
1 |
15 |
| 16 |
Blackburn |
13 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
6 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
9 |
12 |
-3 |
15 |
| 17 |
Fulham |
13 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
8 |
6 |
0 |
5 |
2 |
5 |
7 |
0 |
14 |
| 18 |
Wigan |
14 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
15 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
8 |
-13 |
14 |
| 19 |
Wolves |
14 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
9 |
11 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
5 |
14 |
-11 |
9 |
| 20 |
West Ham |
14 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
11 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
14 |
-14 |
9 |
A trademark Lee Bowyer goal in the 17th minute gave Alex McLeish's side the points to move out of the relegation zone, with the veteran midfielder timing his run perfectly to meet Cameron Jerome's knockdown for a simple finish from close range.
Chelsea, who had centre-back Alex back in their team, threw everything they had at Birmingham, but they found home goalkeeper Ben Foster, fresh from his England start against France, in inspired form.
The future of Avram Grant as West Ham manager was plunged into deeper uncertainty following a horribly lifeless 3-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.
Glen Johnson, who was under pressure to perform on his return to fitness, a Dirk Kuyt penalty and a Maxi Rodriguez header ensured the game was as good as over by half-time.
The three points also eased the troubles of Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson after last weekend's defeat at Stoke, but the wider implications focused upon the position of Grant, whose side now sit five points from safety at the foot of the Premier League.
Anfield fans chanted, 'you're getting sacked in the morning' at West Ham's boss and it remains to be seen whether the patience of co-chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold will remain after a winless run in the league was stretched to eight matches.
Blackpool (2) 2 Wolverhampton (0) 1
Mick McCarthy said before Wolves' trip to Blackpool that his side were not yet facing 'must-win' matches, but a 2-1 defeat at Bloomfield Road will only add to relegation fears among the Midlanders.
|
Up-Coming Premiership games |
|
Saturday 27th November
|
| 12.45 |
Aston Villa |
v |
Arsenal |
| 15.00 |
Bolton |
v |
Blackpool |
| 15.00 |
Everton |
v |
West Brom |
| 15.00 |
Fulham |
v |
Birmingham |
| 15.00 |
Man Utd |
v |
Blackburn |
| 15.00 |
Stoke |
v |
Man City |
| 15.00 |
West Ham |
v |
Wigan |
| 15.00 |
Wolves |
v |
Sunderland |
|
Sunday 28th November
|
| 13.30 |
Newcastle |
v |
Chelsea |
| 16.00 |
Tottenham |
v |
Liverpool |
|
Top 4 |
Top 6 |
Top 10 |
Bottom Half |
Relegation |
|
Luke Varney brought the game to life in sensational style in the third minute with a wonderful, 30-yard half-volley that Wolves goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann could only watch.
Varney was also influential in the second goal in the 44th minute when his head beat Hahnemann to a corner to allow Marlon Harewood to bundle the ball over the goalline before Wolves' defence could clear.
Kevin Doyle's first league goal of the season set up a tense conclusion, but Wolves could not find an equaliser.
Bolton (2) 5 Newcastle (0) 1
Owen Coyle's Bolton continued their remarkable form as they moved into the top four with a 5-1 win over Newcastle at the Reebok Stadium.
Kevin Davies demonstrated all of his experience to calmly put Bolton in front with an 18th minute penalty after Newcastle's Kevin Nolan had handled inside the 18-yard area.
And having given away the spot-kick, Chris Hughton's away side were again their own worst enemies six minutes before half-time when Chung-Yong Lee capitalised on hesitant defending from Danny Simpson to slot past Tim Krul.
Bolton were organised and full of intent, and five minutes after half-time Coyle's team were three goals in front when in-form Johan Elmander darted around Krul to roll into an empty net after collecting Davies' clever pass.
Newcastle rescued some hope just two minutes later when man-of-the-moment Carroll, who had taken Davies' place in the England squad against France, finished with confidence when one-on-one with Jussi Jaaskelainen.
But any hopes of a Newcastle comeback were quashed when Elmander added his eighth goal of the season in the 72nd minute, before Fabricio Coloccini's vicious elbow on the Swede with just less than a quarter-of-an-hour remaining earned a red card.
Newcastle's day ended on a dark note as Bolton were handed a second penalty when Jose Enrique was adjudged to have fouled Davies, with replays suggesting the full-back got the ball, and the striker made no mistake from the spot.
Man Utd (1) 2 Wigan (0) 0
Manchester United moved level on points with league leaders Chelsea as nine-man Wigan were defeated 2-0 on an afternoon when Wayne Rooney returned to first-team football.
With all attention on Rooney among United's substitutes, the unlikely source of Patrice Evra opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time with a back-post header from Ji-Sung Park's perfect cross.
Rooney entered the match to a standing ovation in the 56th minute and three minutes later Wigan's task became all the more difficult when Antolin Alcaraz was shown a second yellow card for a foolish challenge on Darren Fletcher.
If Alcaraz's tackle lacked thought, the two-footed lunge of Hugo Rodallega on Rafael da Silva in the 61st minute was brainless to earn a straight red card and leave Wigan with an insurmountable mountain to climb.
Rooney went close to grabbing all the headlines with a header in the 71st minute, but it was fellow substitute Javier Hernandez who made it 2-0 six minutes later when nodding into the back of the net.
West Brom (0) 0 Stoke (0) 3
After a horribly uneventful first half in an eventual 3-0 win, Stoke controversially took the lead through Matthew Etherington's 55th minute penalty after Kenwyne Jones had won the award from referee Chris Foy with a somewhat theatrical fall in a challenge with West Brom keeper Scott Carson.
There was less debate about Stoke's second penalty as Simon Cox's clumsy challenge on Dean Whitehead in the 85th minute handed substitute Jon Walters the task of converting from the spot.
Walters, who entered the match in the 79th minute, even had time to add his second and his team's third on the brink of the full-time whistle.
Liverpool (3) 3 West Ham (0) 0
The future of Avram Grant as West Ham manager was plunged into deeper uncertainty following a horribly lifeless 3-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.
Glen Johnson, who was under pressure to perform on his return to fitness, a Dirk Kuyt penalty and a Maxi Rodriguez header ensured the game was as good as over by half-time.
The three points also eased the troubles of Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson after last weekend's defeat at Stoke, but the wider implications focused upon the position of Grant, whose side now sit five points from safety at the foot of the Premier League.
Anfield fans chanted, 'you're getting sacked in the morning' at West Ham's boss and it remains to be seen whether the patience of co-chairmen David Sullivan and David Gold will remain after a winless run in the league was stretched to eight matches.