The busy Christmas period ended with an away win for Fulham, a home defeat for
Liverpool and draws for Arsenal and Man Utd.
Fulham's first away win of the season moved them out of the relegation zone for a day and hopefully gave them a positive tonic.
Chelsea 1-0 Bolton
| Premiership results |
|
Wednesday 29th December
|
|
19.45 |
Chelsea |
1-0 |
Bolton |
|
19.45 |
Wigan |
2-2 |
Arsenal |
|
20.00 |
Liverpool |
0-1 |
Wolves |
|
Tuesday 28th December
|
|
15.00 |
Man City |
4-0 |
Aston Villa |
|
15.00 |
Stoke |
0-2 |
Fulham |
|
15.00 |
Sunderland |
0-2 |
Blackpool |
|
15.00 |
Tottenham |
2-0 |
Newcastle |
|
15.00 |
West Brom |
1-3 |
Blackburn |
|
17.30 |
West Ham |
1-1 |
Everton |
|
20.00 |
Birmingham |
1-1 |
Man Utd |
|
Monday 27th December
|
|
20.00 |
Arsenal |
3-1 |
Chelsea |
|
Sunday 26th December
|
|
12.00 |
Fulham |
1-3 |
West Ham |
|
15.00 |
Blackburn |
0-2 |
Stoke |
|
15.00 |
Bolton |
2-0 |
West Brom |
|
15.00 |
Man Utd |
2-0 |
Sunderland |
|
15.00 |
Newcastle |
1-3 |
Man City |
|
15.00 |
Wolves |
1-2 |
Wigan |
|
17.30 |
Aston Villa |
1-2 |
Tottenham |
|
Top 4 |
Top 6 |
Top 10 |
Bottom Half |
Relegation |
|
Florent Malouda provided the only goal of the game for Chelsea as they beat Bolton and won their first game in seven.
The win puts Carlo Ancelotti's team just four points behind leaders Manchester United who still have two games in hand over their rivals.
But the champions will draw strength and confidence from this win which came as a result of Malouda tapping home Didier Drogba's low cross.
Bolton showed plenty of heart and will be disappointed to have lost and maybe should have had a penalty when John Terry handled in the box.
Wigan 2-2 Arsenal
Wigan held Arsenal to a 2-2 draw in the Premier League despite falling behind and going down to 10 men at the DW Stadium.
The Gunners came into the game on a high following their fantastic display against Chelsea but Ben Watson dispatched a penalty in the 18th minute after Charles N'Zogbia went down on the edge of the area following a challenge from Laurent Koscielny.
Arsene Wenger's men fought back though as Andrey Arshavin rifled in a fine volley before Nicklas Bendtner slotted home before half-time.
After the break the Latics suffered a further setback as N'Zogbia was given his marching orders by referee Lee Probert following a petulant and reckless head-butt on Jack Wilshere.
But they nicked a point as Sebastien Squillaci headed into his own net from a corner to end the game in a stalemate.
Liverpool 0-1 Wolves
Wolverhampton Wanderers claimed their first win at Anfield in 26 years as they outplayed a hapless Liverpool on Wednesday night to ease their relegation fears with a 1-0 triumph.
Mick McCarthy's side entered the Premier League fixture with his team propping up the division while ungratefully holding the worst away record throughout English football, but the Wanderers produced a spirited performance, combined with an end product, to leave Liverpool stunned.
The Reds showed all the ring-rust of a side who had not played in 18 days thanks to the cold snap, and they paid the ultimate price as Stephen Ward scored the winner on 56 minutes following some calamitous defending on the home side's part.
The result, Wolves' first away success since March, lifts them off the foot of the table while Liverpool, who suffered their eighth defeat of the season, remain 12th.
| Premiership table |
| Pos |
Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
GD |
Pts |
| 1 |
Man Utd |
18 |
9 |
1 |
0 |
27 |
6 |
1 |
7 |
0 |
12 |
11 |
22 |
38 |
| 2 |
Man City |
20 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
13 |
7 |
6 |
2 |
2 |
19 |
9 |
16 |
38 |
| 3 |
Arsenal |
19 |
6 |
0 |
3 |
22 |
11 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
17 |
11 |
17 |
36 |
| 4 |
Chelsea |
19 |
7 |
1 |
1 |
19 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
14 |
11 |
18 |
34 |
| 5 |
Tottenham |
19 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
16 |
9 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
13 |
14 |
6 |
33 |
| 6 |
Bolton |
20 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
21 |
12 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
11 |
14 |
6 |
29 |
| 7 |
Sunderland |
20 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
11 |
7 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
10 |
15 |
-1 |
27 |
| 8 |
Blackpool |
17 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
11 |
11 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
15 |
18 |
-3 |
25 |
| 9 |
Blackburn |
20 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
12 |
9 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
14 |
22 |
-5 |
25 |
| 10 |
Stoke |
19 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
12 |
12 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
11 |
12 |
-1 |
24 |
| 11 |
Everton |
19 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
10 |
12 |
2 |
6 |
2 |
11 |
10 |
-1 |
22 |
| 12 |
Liverpool |
18 |
5 |
2 |
2 |
15 |
7 |
1 |
2 |
6 |
6 |
16 |
-2 |
22 |
| 13 |
Newcastle |
19 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
20 |
14 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
8 |
17 |
-3 |
22 |
| 14 |
West Brom |
19 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
12 |
13 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
13 |
21 |
-9 |
22 |
| 15 |
Aston Villa |
19 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
15 |
12 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
5 |
22 |
-14 |
20 |
| 16 |
Wigan |
19 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
10 |
19 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
7 |
12 |
-14 |
20 |
| 17 |
Birmingham |
18 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
9 |
7 |
0 |
5 |
4 |
9 |
14 |
-3 |
19 |
| 18 |
Fulham |
19 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
11 |
14 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
8 |
9 |
-4 |
19 |
| 19 |
Wolves |
19 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
14 |
15 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
6 |
17 |
-12 |
18 |
| 20 |
West Ham |
20 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
16 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
8 |
17 |
-13 |
17 |
Man City 4-0 Aston Villa
Rampant Manchester City surged to the top of the Premier League - even if only for a few hours - with a crushing 4-0 victory over a deflated Aston Villa.
The controversial Mario Balotelli, starting in place of the rested Carlos Tevez who had to be content with a place on the bench, struck a hat-trick including two penalties to send City top of the pile.
Joleon Lescott also found the target in controversial circumstances to put the game beyond Villa who, in truth, were dead and buried before the half-hour mark.
For the remaining hour, Villa showed little appetite to get back into the contest as the pressure continues to mount on manager Gerard Houllier.
Stoke 0-2 Fulham
Chris Baird's first goals for Fulham saw the Cottagers beat Stoke 2-0 and climb out of the drop zone.
The full-back latched onto a loose ball on four minutes before unleashing a piledriver from 25 yards which went in off Asmir Begovic's right post.
Baird then doubled the advantage from a free-kick in a similar position six minutes later to put the Cottagers well in control.
The hosts dominated proceedings from that point and Danny Murphy headed a Ryan Shawcross header off the line just before the interval.
But the Cottagers held firm under intense pressure in the second period to post a first away league win of the season and ease the pressure on boss Mark Hughes
| Up-Coming Premiership games |
|
Saturday 1st January
|
| 12.45 |
West Brom |
v |
Man Utd |
| 15.00 |
Liverpool |
v |
Bolton |
| 15.00 |
Man City |
v |
Blackpool |
| 15.00 |
Stoke |
v |
Everton |
| 15.00 |
Sunderland |
v |
Blackburn |
| 15.00 |
Tottenham |
v |
Fulham |
| 15.00 |
West Ham |
v |
Wolves |
| 17.30 |
Birmingham |
v |
Arsenal |
|
Sunday 2nd January |
| 13.30 |
Chelsea |
v |
Aston Villa |
| 16.00 |
Wigan |
v |
Newcastle |
|
Top 4 |
Top 6 |
Top 10 |
Bottom Half |
Relegation |
|
Sunderland 0-2 Blackpool
DJ Campbell struck two second-half goals as Blackpool held out to earn a 2-0 away win against misfiring Sunderland in the Premier League.
The Tangerines had not played since 11th December following a number of postponements due to the bad weather, but they continued to show the fantastic resolve which has been a hallmark of their top-flight campaign so far.
Steve Bruce's Black Cats missed a hatful of chances as Darren Bent, Danny Welbeck and Asamoah Gyan could not find a way past Richard Kingson in the Blackpool goal.
Campbell punished Sunderland for their profligacy at the other end and Blackpool took the lead in the 50th minute when he volleyed home a cross in from the right.
The away side then weathered a barrage of pressure and in the 90th minute Matt Phillips beat two men to cross for the striker who tapped in off the bar.
Tottenham 2-0 Newcastle
Tottenham produced an impressive performance with 10 men for the second time in three days to beat Newcastle 2-0 at White Hart Lane and go fourth in the Premier League.
The Magpies got their strategy right in the first half as they absorbed long periods of Spurs possession without looking in much trouble, while Andy Carroll posed some problems at the other end with his strength.
But they only went into the interval on level terms thanks to a magnificent save from Tim Krul, who got down acrobatically to his left to push a Roman Pavlyuchenko header against his post and then turned to see the ball roll across goal and strike the opposite upright.
Krul was eventually beaten 12 minutes into the second period, though, when Aaron Lennon fired a terrific shot into the far bottom corner after bursting into the area down the right.
Newcastle were given renewed hope moments later when Younes Kaboul was sent off for pushing his head towards Cheick Tiote, but Spurs remained firmly in control.
Any chance of a fightback then disappeared nine minutes from time as a trademark Tottenham break resulted in Gareth Bale driving in another fabulous finish.
West Brom 1-3 Blackburn
Nikola Kalinic bagged two goals and was sent off as Blackburn saw off West Brom 3-1 at The Hawthorns.
The Croatian put Rovers on their way, but saw his early effort cancelled out by Jerome Thomas.
He bagged a second after the break, though, and Mame Biram Diouf added a third to hand Steve Kean his first win as caretaker coach.
The visitors made the brighter start and their efforts paid off inside three minutes as Kalinic sprang the offside trap and raced in on goal to slide the ball past Scott Carson.
West Brom soon found their feet, though, and deservedly levelled on 17 minutes when Somen Tchoyi fed a clever ball across the six-yard box for Thomas to roll into an empty net.
Rovers restored their lead eight minutes into the second half when Ryan Nelsen nodded a Morten Gamst Pedersen corner back across goal for Kalinic to flick into the roof of the net.
On 62 minutes they were two clear, with another set-piece from Pedersen allowing El Hadji Diouf to float in a cross which was turned home from close range by his namesake Mame Biram Diouf.
Kalinic's afternoon then took a turn for the worse as he was shown a straight red for a wild lunge on Paul Scharner.
West Brom's misery was compounded three minutes from time when Gabriel Tamas was dismissed for hacking down Mame Biram Diouf as he looked to race clear on goal.
West Ham 1-1 Everton
West Ham United missed the chance to move out of the Premier League's relegation zone after being held to a 1-1 draw at home to Everton.
Tony Hibbert's own goal gave the hosts the lead before Seamus Coleman ensured the Toffees remain unbeaten away from home in the league since August.
The Hammers were in front in fortunate circumstances on 16 minutes when pressure from a set-piece resulted in Hibbert eventually diverting the ball into his own net.
James Tomkins' header was beaten out by Tim Howard and, after Radoslav Kovac had hooked the loose ball back towards danger, Hibbert's outstretched leg crucially deflected the ball beyond his own keeper.
But Everton levelled four minutes before half-time when Tim Cahill, who started in the role of striker, found Coleman unmarked at the far post for a confident side-foot finish.
The best chance of the second half arrived 20 minutes from time when Freddie Sears rolled the ball across the box to Carlton Cole, but the Hammers substitute failed to show the sharpness which had brought a brace against Fulham as he tamely side-footed wide.
Cahill then fired straight at Robert Green before the West Ham keeper produced a reaction save to keep out Marouane Fellaini's header as both teams were forced to settle for a deserved point.
Birmingham 1-1 Man Utd
Lee Bowyer rescued a valuable point for plucky Birmingham City as Manchester United reclaimed top spot in the Premier League with a 1-1 draw at St Andrews.
The Red Devils looked odds-on to claim just their second away win of the season when Dimitar Berbatov scored his 14th goal of the campaign to give Sir Alex Ferguson's title challengers the lead in the second half.
But veteran midfielder Bowyer, who scored the winner against Chelsea last month, beat both the offside decision and a contentious handball shout against Nikola Zigic to give Blues a much-needed point in their bid for survival.
The result lifted Alex McLeish's side out of the bottom three while United return to the top-flight summit with two games in hand, but only on goal difference ahead of noisy neighbours Manchester City.