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Manchester United maintained their 100 per cent start to the season, Manchester City were held by Fulham and it was a weekend to forget for Liverpool and Arsenal.
All three of the top flight newcomers won on the same day for the first time since 2007, while Everton and Sunderland picked up welcome successes.
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Aston Villa (1) 1 Newcastle (0) 1
Aston Villa got off to a flyer in their home game with Newcastle as they forged ahead early on through Gabriel Agbonlahor, as he got to Barry Bannon's cross in front of Fabio Coloccini before firing in from close range.
Newcastle improved after half-time and deservedly won a point when Leon Best beat Shay Given from close range at the second attempt after the Irishman had repelled his initial header.
Aston Villa Given, Hutton, Collins, Dunne, Warnock, Bannan (Albrighton 67), Petrov (Ireland 68), Delph, N'Zogbia, Bent (Delfouneso 85), Agbonlahor.
Subs Not Used: Guzan, Herd, Lowry, Gardner.
Booked: Collins.
Goals: Agbonlahor 13.
Newcastle Krul, Simpson, Steven Taylor, Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Obertan, Cabaye, Tiote, Gutierrez (Sammy Ameobi 85), Best (Shola Ameobi 69), Ba (Marveaux 80).
Subs Not Used: Elliot, Guthrie, Lovenkrands, Perch.
Booked: Best.
Goals: Best 57.
Att: 34, 248
Ref: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire).
Blackburn (1) 4 Arsenal (2) 3
One swallow doesn't make a summer but Steve Kean will no doubt feel Blackburn's 4-3 victory over Arsenal in what was a remarkable game at Ewood Park is a perfect riposte to those supporters who protested pre-match about his continued presence in the dugout.
Kean is not the only Premier League manager under pressure. Arsene Wenger faces a long evening of solitude as he contemplates the latest disaster, which included two own goals, in what has been a season he could not have envisaged even in his darkest moments.
For the best part of half an hour they looked back to their old selves as Gervinho's excellent first time finish from Alexander Song's cute through ball left Paul Robinson flat footed to give Arsenal a deserved lead. It looked to be a question of how many Arsenal would score but the home side dug deep and found a leveller when Yakubu Aiyegbeni marked his debut with a goal as he matched Gervinho's invention in using the outside of his boot smartly to register from Junior Hoillet's pass.
It was to be a day of debut goals as Mikel Arteta got off the mark for his new side before half-time courtesy of a searing finish into the top corner after Aaron Ramsey had pulled the ball back into his path. It was to be the highlight of Arsenal's afternoon as after the break they put in a defensive shift which was no less than shambolic.
Yakubu's second of the afternoon restored parity just four minutes after the interval as he prodded in Steven N'Zonzi's lashed cross, from what looked to be an offside position, after Arsenal had failed to clear a corner.
An Achilles heel of not being able to defend set-pieces then flared yet again as Blackburn forged ahead when Song diverted Ruben Rochina's nothing free-kick from the right flank past his own goalkeeper.
Anything Song can do Laurent Koscielny can match. With Wenger's side chasing a leveller Blackburn broke down the right with real menace with just over 20 minutes left to play. Martin Olsson's rampaging run culminated in his cross being converted by Koscielny in a comical fashion that will exasperate his manager to the point of despair.
Substitute Marouane Chamakh gave his side hope with an exquisite towering header from Robin van Persie's cross with five minutes left, but Blackburn were able to hang on despite intense pressure from an Arsenal side who squandered numerous chances late on.
Blackburn Robinson, Salgado (Petrovic 18), Samba, Dann, Givet, Hoilett, Lowe, Nzonzi, Rochina (Olsson 56), Formica (Vukcevic 65), Yakubu.
Subs Not Used: Bunn, Grella, Roberts, Hanley.
Booked: Dann, Olsson.
Goals: Yakubu 25, Song 50 og, Yakubu 59, Koscielny 68 og.
Arsenal Szczesny, Sagna (Djourou 53), Mertesacker, Koscielny, Andre Santos, Song (Chamakh 76), Arteta, Ramsey, Gervinho, van Persie, Arshavin (Walcott 64).
Subs Not Used: Fabianski, Gibbs, Benayoun, Coquelin.
Booked: Djourou.
Goals: Gervinho 10, Arteta 34, Chamakh 85.
Att: 22, 637
Ref: Andre Marriner (England).
Bolton (0) 1 Norwich (2) 2
Anthony Pilkington was on target for Norwich as they took the lead away to Bolton with a tap-in from close range after Steve Morison had turned the ball goalwards from a corner.
Set-pieces proved a problem for Bolton all afternoon as the Canaries doubled their advantage before half-time when Bradley Johnson planted a firm header beyond Jussi Jaaskelainen from a whipped in free-kick from the right.
Bolton's frustration over a miserable first half was exacerbated further when Ivan Klasnic saw red following an off-the-ball clash with Morison.
Owen Coyle's rally call at half-time clearly made some kind of impression as Martin Petrov dispatched from the penalty spot after David Ngog was upended by Leon Barnett but Norwich held on for the spoils
Bolton Jaaskelainen, Boyata, Cahill, Knight, Robinson, Sanli (Eagles 46), Pratley (Mark Davies 74), Reo-Coker, Petrov, Kevin Davies (Ngog 46), Klasnic.
Subs Not Used: Bogdan, Muamba, Kakuta, Wheater.
Sent Off: Klasnic (45).
Booked: Jaaskelainen, Reo-Coker, Robinson.
Goals: Petrov 64 pen.
Norwich Ruddy, Naughton, Russell Martin, Barnett, Tierney, Bennett, Fox, Bradley Johnson, Pilkington (Vaughan 77), Hoolahan (Crofts 87), Morison (Holt 76).
Subs Not Used: Rudd, Surman, Chris Martin, De Laet.
Booked: Holt.
Goals: Pilkington 37, Bradley Johnson 42.
Att: 21, 223
Ref: Howard Webb (England).
Everton (1) 3 Wigan (1) 1
Franco Di Santo's bright start to the season continued against as he gave Wigan a lead at Goodison Park with a stunning angled strike that beat Tim Howard all ends-up, albeit courtesy of a deflection off Tony Hibbert.
It was a lead they were unable to hold onto though as Phil Jagielka restored parity before the break after Tim Cahill's towering header from a corner had fell to him after coming off the crossbar.
The current gloom at Goodison Park was lifted at the death when new boy Apostolos Vellios came off the bench to brilliantly head in Tony Hibbert's devilish delivery from wide right, before fellow substitute Royston Drenthe slotted in confidently in the game's dying embers as Everton broke with purpose
Everton Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Coleman (Vellios 66), Fellaini, Rodwell, Bilyaletdinov (Drenthe 58), Osman, Cahill (Stracqualursi 83).
Subs Not Used: Mucha, Heitinga, Neville, Barkley.
Booked: Fellaini, Vellios.
Goals: Jagielka 33, Vellios 84, Drenthe 90.
Wigan Al Habsi, Van Aanholt, Caldwell, Lopez, Figueroa, Gomez (Jones 71), Watson, McCarthy, Moses, Di Santo, Rodallega (Maloney 90).
Subs Not Used: Pollitt, Thomas, Crusat, McArthur, Sammon.
Booked: Caldwell.
Goals: Di Santo 31.
Att: 31, 576
Ref: Peter Walton (Northamptonshire).
Swansea (2) 3 West Brom (0) 0
Given Swansea's last top flight goal was scored by Bob Latchford back in 1983 the tension inside the Liberty Stadium was understandably palpable when they were awarded an early penalty after West Brom defender Paul Scharner had rashly lunged in on Joe Allen. Scott Sinclair was the coolest man in the ground though as he was a model of composure in slotting confidently past Ben Foster.
The Swansea faithful had barely sat back down when Leroy Lita doubled their advantage as he headed home after Sinclair had nodded a corner in his direction.
There was to be no respite for the Baggies after the interval as Nathan Dyer made it three when he was played through by Lita's flick to finish through the legs of Foster.
Swansea Vorm, Rangel, Williams, Monk, Taylor (Bessone 85), Dyer (Routledge 71), Britton, Allen, Gower, Sinclair, Lita (Moore 71).
Subs Not Used: Tremmel, Dobbie, Richards, Lucas.
Booked: Lita.
Goals: Sinclair 14 pen, Lita 24, Dyer 49.
West Brom Foster, Reid, Olsson, Mulumbu (Dorrans 46), Shorey, Morrison, Dawson, Scharner (Cox 67), Thomas (Brunt 46), Long, Odemwingie.
Subs Not Used: Fulop, McAuley, Jones, Fortune.
Booked: Brunt, Odemwingie.
Att: 20, 341
Ref: Martin Atkinson (England).
Wolverhampton (0) 0 QPR (2) 3
QPR raced out of the blocks away to Wolves as they silenced Molineux with two goals within ten minutes. The opener will go down as Joey Barton's first in a QPR shirt but it's unlikely to be his best as a scuffed finish just about found the far corner from Shaun Wright-Phillips' equally mishit cross.
The second was decidedly better as Alejandro Faurlin dispatched from the edge of the box with a low drive after Wolves were guilty of some shoddy defending.
Gloss was put on a polished display in the final few minutes when DJ Campbell tapped home following a darting run and cross from Armand Traore.
Wolverhampton Hennessey, Stearman, Johnson, Berra, Elokobi (Vokes 46), Kightly (Guedioura 46), Henry, O'Hara, Jarvis (Hunt 73), Ward, Doyle.
Subs Not Used: De Vries, Hammill, Milijas, Foley.
Booked: Guedioura, Vokes.
QPR Kenny, Young, Gabbidon (Hall 83), Ferdinand, Traore, Barton, Derry, Faurlin, Wright-Phillips, Bothroyd (Campbell 73), Taarabt (Smith 75).
Subs Not Used: Murphy, Buzsaky, Connolly, Puncheon.
Booked: Bothroyd, Faurlin, Ferdinand.
Goals: Barton 8, Faurlin 10, Campbell 87.
Att: 24, 189
Ref: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire).
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Fulham (0) 2 Man City (1) 2
Manchester City were unable to preserve their own perfect start to the campaign as they suffered an uncharacteristic wobble at Fulham.
Roberto Mancini's side looked to be heading for another three points after Sergio Aguero added another two goals to his impressive tally. The Argentine is already looking like money well spent, with the target found eight times in just five outings.
His efforts were not enough at Craven Cottage, though, as Fulham staged a stirring fightback.
Bobby Zamora hauled the Cottagers back into the game 10 minutes into the second half and City started to rock. Danny Murphy then saw a speculative strike take a wicked deflection on 75 minutes, with his effort nesting in the bottom corner after leaving Joe Hart wrong-footed.
City remain second but Mancini has admitted that he needs more players if they are to compete on multiple fronts.
Fulham Schwarzer, Kelly, Baird, Hangeland, John Arne Riise, Duff (Kasami 61), Murphy, Sidwell, Dempsey, Zamora, Dembele (Ruiz 88).
Subs Not Used: Etheridge, Orlando Sa, Senderos, Gecov, Grygera.
Booked: Sidwell.
Goals: Zamora 55, Murphy 75.
Man City Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Barry, Toure Yaya, Nasri (Johnson 81), Aguero (Tevez 82), Silva (Zabaleta 69), Dzeko.
Subs Not Used: Pantilimon, Kolarov, Toure, Balotelli.
Booked: Barry.
Goals: Aguero 18, 46.
Att: 24, 750
Ref: Mark Clattenburg (England).
Man Utd (3) 3 Chelsea (0) 1
Manchester United and Chelsea provided four goals in an eagerly-anticipated clash at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils were in inspired mood once again as they cemented their standing at the top of the table. Chris Smalling was allowed to waltz in at the back post to nod them in front after just eight minutes, blowing the game wide open.
Both sides contributed to a thoroughly entertaining encounter thereafter, with Nani's spectacular strike eight minutes before half-time marking a particular high point.
The in-form Wayne Rooney then rolled in a third for the hosts shortly before the interval, leaving Chelsea to contemplate whether they were about to go the same was as Arsenal at the Theatre of Dreams.
Fernando Torres finally ended his goal drought inside the opening 60 seconds of the second half, but it was to be another day to forget for the Spaniard. He could, and should, have had a hat-trick, with one glaring miss after rounding David de Gea handing another crushing blow to his confidence.
Torres' misdemeanour arrived after Rooney had shanked a penalty well wide of the target, with his standing foot giving way as he struck the ball. In the end it did not matter as United secured a fifth straight win in the league.
Man Utd De Gea, Smalling (Valencia 62), Jones, Evans, Evra, Nani, Fletcher, Anderson (Carrick 62), Young, Rooney, Hernandez (Berbatov 79).
Subs Not Used: Lindegaard, Giggs, Park, Fabio Da Silva.
Booked: Valencia, Fletcher.
Goals: Smalling 8, Nani 37, Rooney 45.
Chelsea Cech, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Meireles (Mikel 79), Lampard (Anelka 46), Sturridge (Lukaku 68), Torres, Mata.
Subs No Used: Turnbull, Luiz, Romeu, Malouda.
Booked: Ramires, Terry, Cole.
Goals: Torres 46.
Att: 75, 455
Ref: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire).
Sunderland (3) 4 Stoke (0) 0
Sunderland will hope that their season is now up and running after claiming their first victory of the campaign in comprehensive style.
Stoke were put to the sword at the Stadium of Light, with the goal-hungry Black Cats netting four times without reply.
A rare effort from Titus Bramble put Sunderland on their way, before an own goal from Jonathan Woodgate had them two up inside 11 minutes.
Things got even worse for the Potters before the break, as Craig Gardner saw a shot loop over Asmir Begovic and all but end the game as a contest.
Sunderland took their foot off the gas after the interval, but were able to add a fourth shortly before the hour mark as Sebastian Larsson swept home a free-kick.
Sunderland Mignolet, O'Shea, Bramble, Brown, Richardson, Elmohamady, Gardner, Vaughan, Larsson (Colback 63), Sessegnon (Ji 81), Bendtner (Wickham 85).
Subs Not Used: Westwood, Turner, Cattermole, McClean.
Booked: Larsson.
Goals: Bramble 5, Woodgate og 11, Gardner 28, Larsson 58.
Stoke Begovic, Huth, Shawcross, Woodgate, Wilson, Jerome (Jones 61), Delap (Palacios 71), Whitehead, Etherington (Pennant 65), Walters, Crouch.
Subs Not Used: Sorensen, Whelan, Upson, Wilkinson.
Booked: Huth, Crouch.
Att: 32, 296
Ref: Kevin Friend (England).
Tottenham (1) 4 Liverpool (0) 0
Tottenham have recovered well from opening defeats to United and City to pick up back-to-back wins, and their latest success has sent out an ominous message to the rest of the division.
They put four past Liverpool at White Hart Lane, the side expected to be their closest challengers for a top-four finish this season.
The Reds did not help their own cause as Charlie Adam and Martin Skrtel both saw red, but Harry Redknapp's side ruthlessly saw off the nine men.
They led through Luka Modric's stunning opener by the time Liverpool saw their numbers reduced. Jermain Defoe then fired home shortly after Skrtel's dismissal and Emmanuel Adebayor displayed Lionel Messi-esque touch and poise to bag a second half brace and wrap up the points.
Tottenham Friedel, Walker, Kaboul, King (Bassong 83), Assou-Ekotto, Kranjcar (Van der Vaart 46), Parker, Modric, Bale, Adebayor, Defoe (Giovani 83).
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Pavlyuchenko, Corluka, Livermore.
Booked: Adebayor.
Goals: Modric 7, Defoe 66, Adebayor 68, 90.
Liverpool Reina, Skrtel, Carragher, Agger (Coates 27), Jose Enrique, Henderson, Lucas, Adam, Downing (Spearing 70), Suarez (Bellamy 70), Carroll.
Subs Not Used: Doni, Maxi, Kuyt, Robinson.
Sent Off: Adam (28), Skrtel (63).
Booked: Adam, Skrtel, Coates, Suarez.
Att: 36, 129
Ref: Mike Jones (Cheshire).