Premiership Games
Saturday 4th February 2012
13:00	Arsenal	7-1	Blackburn
15:00	Norwich	2-0	Bolton
15:00	QPR	1-2	Wolves
15:00	Stoke	0-1	Sunderland
15:00	West Brom	1-2	Swansea
15:00	Wigan	1-1	Everton
17:30	Man City	3-0	Fulham	ESPN
Sunday 5th February 2012
13:30	Newcastle	2-1	Aston Villa	Sky1
16:00	Chelsea	3-3	Man Utd	Sky1
Monday 6th February 2012
20:00	Liverpool	0-0	Tottenham	Sky1

There are precious few managers who would regard a 3-3 draw away from home having trailed 3-0 with just over half an hour remaining as two points dropped.

Andre Villas-Boas' men looked home and hosed when Juan Mata's sumptuous volley and David Luiz's deflected header added to Jonny Evans' first-half own goal, but a pair of penalties were dispatched with aplomb by Wayne Rooney before Javier Hernandez beat Petr Cech to level.

Premiership table - 07:02:12
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Man City	24	12	0	0	37	6	6	3	3	26	13	44	57
2	Man Utd	24	9	1	2	35	14	8	3	1	24	10	35	55
3	Tottenham	24	9	2	1	24	10	6	3	3	20	15	19	50
4	Chelsea	24	7	2	3	27	19	5	5	2	17	10	15	43
5	Newcastle	24	7	3	2	18	12	5	3	4	18	19	5	42
6	Arsenal	24	8	2	2	24	9	4	2	6	22	25	12	40
7	Liverpool	24	4	8	0	14	8	6	1	5	14	13	7	39
8	Sunderland	24	5	4	3	19	11	4	2	6	14	13	9	33
9	Norwich	24	5	4	3	19	15	3	4	5	15	24	-5	32
10	Swansea	24	5	6	1	16	7	2	3	7	10	22	-3	30
11	Everton	24	4	3	5	12	13	4	3	5	12	14	-3	30
12	Stoke	24	4	4	4	15	14	4	2	6	8	22	-13	30
13	Aston Villa	24	3	4	5	14	16	3	6	3	15	17	-4	28
14	Fulham	24	5	4	3	22	18	1	5	6	7	17	-6	27
15	West Brom	24	2	2	8	9	16	5	3	4	15	18	-10	26
16	QPR	24	2	4	6	13	20	3	2	7	12	21	-16	21
17	Wolves	24	3	2	7	16	23	2	4	6	11	21	-17	21
18	Bolton	24	2	2	8	14	25	4	0	8	14	24	-21	20
19	Blackburn	24	3	0	9	16	24	1	6	5	18	30	-20	18
20	Wigan	24	1	5	6	11	22	2	2	8	10	27	-28	16

Despite United's stunning comeback, they slipped two points behind title rivals Manchester City, who moved clear after beating Fulham 3-0 in a snowstorm at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening, with Roberto Mancini's men taking the lead from the spot with Adam Johnson "anticipating contact" from Chris Baird.

With third-placed Tottenham holding top-four hopefuls Liverpool at Anfield on Monday evening to a 0-0 draw the battle for UEFA Champions League football favoured both Newcastle and Arsenal as they enjoyed victories.

The Gunners' result was the more eye-catching, with their 7-1 demolition of 10-man Blackburn secured by goal-machine Robin van Persie's treble, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's first Premier League goals and all-time top-scorer Thierry Henry's latest cameo.

Premiership Games
Saturday 11th February 2012
12:45	Man Utd	v	Liverpool	Sky1
15:00	Blackburn	v	QPR
15:00	Bolton	v	Wigan
15:00	Everton	v	Chelsea
15:00	Fulham	v	Stoke
15:00	Snderland	v	Arsenal
15:00	Swansea	v	Norwich
17:30	Tottenham	v	Newcastle	ESPN
Sunday 12th February 2012
13:30	Wolves	v	West Brom	Sky1
16:00	Aston Villa	v	Man City	Sky1

But Newcastle remain above Arsene Wenger's side in the standings after another impressively efficient success, as big-money January buy Papiss Cisse scored a memorable winner for the Magpies against Aston Villa on his debut and Senegal strike partner Demba Ba again demonstrated his ability in front of goal. 

Djibril Cisse saw red on his home debut for QPR after Bobby Zamora had opened his account and Wolves were able to take advantage to win and climb out of the bottom three.

Norwich and Swansea continue to impress in the Premier League after respective victories over Bolton and West Brom, Sunderland saw off 10-man Stoke, while Everton came from behind to draw with Wigan.






Robin van Persie bagged a hat-trick as ruthless Arsenal demolished 10-man Blackburn 7-1 at Emirates Stadium to record a first win in five Premier League outings.

Steve Kean's struggling Rovers were simply taken apart by the Gunners and were not helped by Gael Givet's dismissal before half-time for a two-footed challenge on the home side's skipper, in a match which kicked off early due to travel disruption on the London Underground.

Emerging talent Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain opened his Premier League account with a brace, while Mikel Arteta and returning hero Thierry Henry were also on target, with Morten Gamst Pedersen's superb first-half free-kick scant consolation for the visitors.

Arsenal Szczesny, Koscielny (Sagna 68), Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Coquelin, Song (Benayoun 72), Rosicky, Arteta, Walcott, van Persie, Oxlade-Chamberlain (Henry 68).
Subs Not Used: Fabianski, Park, Ramsey, Arshavin.

Booked: Koscielny, Vermaelen.

Goals: van Persie 2, 38, Oxlade-Chamberlain 40, Arteta 51, Oxlade-Chamberlain 54, van Persie 62, Henry 90.

Blackburn Robinson, Lowe (Orr 36), Dann, Givet, Martin Olsson, Pedersen, Petrovic, Nzonzi, Hoilett, Dunn (Hanley 45), Modeste.
Subs Not Used: Bunn, Formica, Rochina, Goodwillie, Vukcevic.

Sent Off: Givet (43).

Booked: Modeste, Nzonzi, Martin Olsson.

Goals: Pedersen 31.

Att: 59, 643

Ref: Andre Marriner (W Midlands).



Norwich climbed into the top half of the Premier League table courtesy of a 2-0 home success which increases Bolton's relegation concerns as they slip back into the bottom three.

The Canaries broke the deadlock in the 70th minute when Andrew Surman volleyed home at the second attempt after his initial shot from Simeon Jackson's smart pull-back had been blocked.

And Paul Lambert's side made sure of the points with just five minutes to go as Adam Bogdan could only push out Russell Martin's shot for Anthony Pilkington to follow up and score.

Norwich Ruddy, Naughton, Whitbread (Bennett 40), Ayala (Martin 23), Drury, Fox, Pilkington, Surman, Hoolahan, Holt, Jackson (Morison 74).
Subs Not Used: Steer, Johnson, Crofts, Wilbraham.

Goals: Surman 70, Pilkington 85.

Bolton Bogdan, Mears, Wheater, Knight, Ricketts, Eagles (Sanli 73), Muamba (Kevin Davies 57), Reo-Coker, Petrov, Mark Davies, Ngog (Sordell 82).
Subs Not Used: Jaaskelainen, Klasnic, Pratley, Boyata.

Att: 26, 358

Ref: Lee Probert (Wiltshire).




QPR's new strike duo of Bobby Zamora and Cisse both made an impact on their home debut in the 2-1 defeat by Wolves, but for very differing reasons.

Zamora, brought in from Fulham on deadline day, opened the scoring in the 16th minute, only to see his forward partner dismissed 11 minutes before the interval.

Cisse reacted badly to being caught late by Roger Johnson, pushing the Wolves defender in the back before briefly grabbing him around the throat, to leave Mark Clattenburg with little option.

The visitors were back on level terms in the opening moments of the second half thanks to Matt Jarvis' measured finish from Kevin Doyle's clipped pass to the far post.

And the Republic of Ireland international then eased the growing pressure on manager Mick McCarthy as he slotted home in the 71st minute after good work from Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.

QPR Kenny, Young (Hall 65), Onuoha, Ferdinand, Taiwo, Taarabt, Derry (Traore 64), Barton, Wright-Phillips, Cisse, Zamora (Hulse 74).
Subs Not Used: Cerny, Hill, Mackie, Smith.

Sent Off: Cisse (34).

Goals: Zamora 16.

Wolverhampton Hennessey, Stearman (Doyle 46), Johnson, Bassong, Ward, Foley, Frimpong (Ebanks-Blake 24), Edwards, O'Hara (Milijas 87), Jarvis, Fletcher.
Subs Not Used: De Vries, Elokobi, Hunt, Berra.

Booked: Johnson, Fletcher, Bassong.

Goals: Jarvis 46, Doyle 71.

Att: 17, 351

Ref: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear).




James McClean defied the blizzard conditions at the Britannia Stadium as Sunderland overcame 10-man Stoke to continue their renaissance under Martin O'Neill.

The home side saw Robert Huth harshly dismissed on the stroke of half-time after catching David Meyler with a late sliding challenge on the treacherous surface, with Potters boss Tony Pulis furious with referee Martin Atkinson.

The Black Cats pressed home their advantage on the hour mark, with McClean slaloming into the area before slotting home under former Wearside keeper Thomas Sorensen.

Stoke Sorensen, Wilkinson (Shotton 85), Shawcross, Huth, Wilson, Pennant (Woodgate 45), Whelan, Delap, Walters, Jerome (Fuller 40), Crouch.
Subs Not Used: Begovic, Jones, Diao, Whitehead.

Sent Off: Huth (45).

Sunderland Mignolet, Bardsley, O'Shea, Turner, Richardson, Larsson, Gardner, Meyler (Elmohamady 85), Colback, McClean, Sessegnon.
Subs Not Used: Westwood, Bridge, Campbell, Wickham, Ji, Kyrgiakos.

Booked: O'Shea.

Goals: McClean 60.

Att: 27, 717

Ref: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).




Swansea inflicted West Brom's eighth home defeat of the season, coming from behind to steal all three points in a flurry of goals at the snowy Hawthorns.

Marc Antoine Fortune fired the Baggies ahead early in the second half when he was left in acres of space at the far post from a corner and given the time to control before firing home.

But Brendan Rodgers' side responded immediately, with Gylfi Sigurdsson converting Neil Taylor's cross, before turning provider for Danny Graham to convert the winner.

West Brom Foster, Reid, McAuley, Olsson, Shorey, Morrison, Dorrans (Cox 71), Mulumbu (Scharner 64), Thomas (Tchoyi 72), Fortune, Odemwingie.
Subs Not Used: Fulop, Ridgewell, Andrews, Jones.

Booked: Morrison, Shorey.

Goals: Fortune 54.

Swansea Vorm, Rangel, Williams, Caulker, Taylor, Britton, Allen, Sigurdsson, Dyer (Routledge 88), Graham, Sinclair.
Subs Not Used: Tremmel, Monk, McEachran, Lita, Moore, Agustien.

Booked: Britton.

Goals: Sigurdsson 55, Graham 59.

Att: 24, 274

Ref: Jon Moss (W Yorkshire).



Substitute Victor Anichebe spared Tim Howard's blushes as Everton were forced to come from behind to take a point against rock-bottom Wigan, just days after their memorable midweek success at home to leaders Manchester City.

The Toffees fell behind in the 76th minute when Jean Beausejour's cross flicked off Phil Neville's boot and should have been a routine claim for the American, but he was inexplicably beaten by the spin and could only watch in horror as the ball ended up in the net.

But David Moyes' men were back on terms when Leighton Baines' corner was headed clear, with the full-back's second attempt headed home superbly by Anichebe.

Wigan Al Habsi, Stam (Jones 65), Boyce, Caldwell, Figueroa, Beausejour, McCarthy, McArthur, Gomez (Rodallega 64), Moses, Di Santo (Crusat 68).
Subs Not Used: Pollitt, Alcaraz, Watson, Diame.

Booked: McArthur, Figueroa.

Goals: Neville 76 og.

Everton Howard, Hibbert (Anichebe 81), Heitinga, Distin, Baines, Pienaar, Fellaini, Gibson, Donovan, Cahill (Neville 46), Stracqualursi (Jelavic 60).
Subs Not Used: Mucha, Drenthe, Gueye, Duffy.

Goals: Anichebe 83.

Ref: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire).




Manchester City restored their three-point advantage at the top of the Premier League table with a 3-0 victory over Fulham as Chris Baird endured an evening to forget against Adam Johnson in a snowstorm at the Etihad Stadium.

The Cottagers defender was penalised after City's winger tumbled over his trailing leg in the area early on, with Sergio Aguero despatching the penalty beyond Mark Schwarzer with aplomb.

And the Northern Ireland international's game went from bad to worse when he could only divert Johnson's attempted pull back into the danger area beyond his own goalkeeper in the 30th minute.

The conditions worsened markedly after the interval, with the groundstaff called upon to clear the lines on several occasions, before Aguero put a third goal on a plate for Edin Dzeko.

Man City Hart, Richards, Savic, Lescott, Kolarov, Nasri (Milner 54), Barry, Silva, Johnson (Pizarro 90), Aguero (De Jong 80), Dzeko.
Subs Not Used: Pantilimon, Zabaleta, Clichy, Rekik.

Booked: Kolarov.

Goals: Aguero 10 pen, Baird 30 og, Dzeko 72.

Fulham Schwarzer, Kelly, Hangeland, Senderos (John Arne Riise 73), Baird, Davies, Murphy, Etuhu (Ruiz 68), Duff, Dembele (Gecov 85), Dempsey.
Subs Not Used: Stockdale, Kasami, Hughes, Frei.

Booked: Senderos, Dembele, Baird.

Att: 46,963

Ref: Mike Dean (Wirral).





Papiss Demba Cisse announced his arrival in English football with a stunning debut goal as Newcastle United secured a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa to keep their challenge for a surprise top-four finish in the on track.

Senegal striker Cisse thumped a 71st-minute volley past former Magpies keeper Shay Given to win a pulsating Premier League encounter in which the visitors enjoyed the better of the first half, but could not make the most of their chances.

Cisse, who was introduced as an early replacement for the injured Leon Best, saw international team-mate Demba Ba fire the home side into a 30th-minute lead but, after Darren Bent had twice been denied by keeper Tim Krul, Robbie Keane levelled deep into first-half stoppage time.

However, Alan Pardew's men improved after the break and, to the delight of a crowd of 48,569, managed to see out time to bank another three points.

The result leaves Newcastle within a point of the top four following Chelsea's draw later in the day.

Newcastle Krul, Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Santon, Ryan Taylor (Obertan 33), Guthrie, Perch, Gutierrez, Ba (Shola Ameobi 90), Best (Cisse 14).
Subs Not Used: Elliot, Ben Arfa, Gosling, Ferguson.

Booked: Simpson.

Goals: Ba 30, Cisse 71.

Aston Villa Given, Hutton, Cuellar, Dunne, Warnock, Ireland (Bannan 46), Petrov, Clark (Gardner 84), N'Zogbia (Heskey 66), Keane, Bent.
Subs Not Used: Guzan, Weimann, Lichaj, Baker.

Booked: Dunne, Bent.

Goals: Keane 45.

Att: 48, 569

Ref: Mark Halsey (Lancashire).




Substitute Javier Hernandez earned Manchester United the most remarkable point of this season's title race to date as Sir Alex Ferguson's side came back from three goals down to draw 3-3 at Chelsea.

After what was a largely ordinary first 45 minutes that saw Chelsea command an advantage courtesy of Jonny Evans' unfortunate own goal, what followed it has rarely been matched in Premier League history in terms of unadulterated entertainment.

Just seconds had elapsed when Juan Mata scored a goal of the season contender with an angled volley that threatened to rip the netting out of David De Gea's goal, before Rio Ferdinand joined Evans in putting through his own goal when he deflected in David Luiz's header from a set-piece.

Cometh the hour cometh the man for Manchester United as Wayne Rooney twice kept his nerve from the penalty spot after first Patrice Evra and then more contentiously Danny Welbeck were adjudged to have been fouled in the area.

The home side were shell shocked and none more so than six minutes from time when Hernandez nodded in from close range Ryan Giggs' cross after Petr Cech had parried Rooney's snapshot.

De Gea, who had hardly covered himself in glory up to the final moments, pulled off two sensational fingertip stops at the death to deny first Mata and then debutant Gary Cahill from range.

Chelsea Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Bosingwa, Essien, Meireles, Malouda, Sturridge (Romeu 70), Torres, Mata.
Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Lukaku, Ferreira, Hutchinson, Bertrand, Piazon.

Booked: Torres, Ivanovic.

Goals: Evans 36 og, Mata 46, Luiz 50.

Man Utd De Gea, Rafael Da Silva (Scholes 63), Evans, Ferdinand, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Giggs, Young (Hernandez 53), Rooney, Welbeck (Park 86).
Subs Not Used: Amos, Berbatov, Fabio Da Silva, Pogba.

Booked: Evra.

Goals: Rooney 58 pen, 69 pen, Hernandez 84.

Att: 41, 668

Ref: Howard Webb (S Yorkshire).





Liverpool were held to yet another draw at Anfield as battling Spurs dented their hopes of a top-four finish.

After a tight first half, the game improved after the break, with Martin Kelly forcing Brad Friedel into a fine save on the hour mark with a long range effort.

Luis Suarez came on as a 66th minute substitute to rapturous applause before Gareth Bale was played one-on-one with Pepe Reina but shot straight at the keeper.

Andy Carroll and Suarez also missed chances late on as Spurs held on for a draw to close the gap on leaders Manchester City to seven points, while Liverpool remain in seventh, four points off the UEFA Champions League positions.

Not even Suarez's long-awaited return from suspension could not inspire the Reds.

The Uruguay international, having served an eight-match suspension for racially abusing Manchester United's Patrice Evra, had not played since Boxing Day.

And although he gave his side another dimension when he appeared as a second-half substitute, he could not end six weeks' of frustration with a decisive intervention, missing a golden chance from close range late in the game.

Liverpool Reina, Kelly, Skrtel, Agger, Johnson, Adam, Spearing, Kuyt (Suarez 66), Gerrard, Bellamy (Downing 73), Carroll.
Subs Not Used: Doni, Aurelio, Henderson, Coates, Carragher.

Booked: Suarez, Skrtel.

Tottenham Friedel, Walker, Dawson, King, Assou-Ekotto, Parker, Livermore, Kranjcar (Rose 87), Modric, Bale, Adebayor (Saha 71).
Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Nelsen, Khumalo, Luongo, Lancaster.

Booked: Parker, Bale.

Att: 44,461

Ref: Michael Oliver (Northumberland).

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