English Premier League
West Ham United came from a goal down to beat their London rivals Chelsea 3-1 at Upton Park much to the dismay of interim manager Rafael Benitez. The Blues scored early on 13 minutes when Victor Moses played in Fernando Torres who found Juan Mata with a good low cross to score. Chelsea threatened again from a break but Torres shot over after Ramires had done well to feed him. After Eden Hazard shot over, Jussi Jaaskelainen came to the Hammers’ rescue as he saved Mata’s effort after Moses had left 2 defenders for dead to cross. Petr Cech was booked for coming out of his box to punch an aerial ball but he redeemed himself when he saved Kevin Nolan’s effort from the resulting free kick.
West Ham went looking for the equalizer and got it after 63 minutes when Carlton Cole nodded in Matt Jarvis’ cross which looped over off Cesar Azpilicueta. Jaaskelainen then produced a double save, keeping out Hazard’s long range effort and denying Moses from close range. Mata hit the post from a free kick after which Cech produced a save to deny Jarvis. The pressure was on Chelsea as Ashley Cole headed off the line from a corner and they were behind 4 minutes before the end when Mohamed Diame scored after he was set up by Carlton Cole. It was all over when Ashley Cole gave away possession in injury time and despite Cech denying Matt Taylor, Modibo Maiga followed up to slot in the rebound. Jaaskelainen saved a late diving header from Torres but the result was already beyond Chelsea’s control.
Arsenal were shocked at the Emirates Stadium by Swansea City who ran out 2-0 winners thanks to a late brace from Michu. Wojciech Szczesny was called to action when he saved twice from Angel Rangel and Thomas Vermaelen had to make a timely intervention to prevent Nathan Dyer scoring after he had been sent clear from Rangel’s long ball headed on by Michu. Jonathan De Guzman hit a free kick just over before the Gunners finally created a chance. Lukas Podolski found Gervinho with a good cross but he headed wide.
Chico Flores lunged to toe the ball away from Olivier Giroud after the Frenchman had been played through. Gerhard Tremmel held on to Santi Carzola’s volley and Szczesny did well at the other end to deny Dwight Tiendalli. The Swans took the lead on 88 minutes when Michu slotted past the keeper after a neat one-two with Luke Moore. He then put the result beyond doubt in injury time when he capitalized on a clearance blunder to finish past a stranded Szczesny.
Liverpool continued their resurgence as they beat Southampton 1-0 at Anfield thanks to Daniel Agger’s header. Rickie Lambert tried his luck from distance early on and Jonjo Shelvey shot at Paulo Gazzaniga after Steven Gerrard had played him in. Pepe Reina’s long ball created a problem for the Saints’ defense but Maya Yoshida cleared the ball for a corned in time after Luis Suarez looked to make the most of the confusion. Shelvey was played in by Gerrard again and this time his shot hit the inside of the post and came back out. It looked as if the goal was avoiding the Reds as Suarez hit the woodwork from a free kick but Agger got the breakthrough when he headed in Glen Johnson’s cross. Lambert tested Reina from distance with a snapshot but the Spaniard was alert to make the save.
Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium by Everton as they gave away 2 valuable points given their dominance at home. Marouane Fellaini put the Toffees in front on 33 minutes after his initial effort was kept out by Joe Hart from Leighton Baines’ cross but the Belgian found the back of the net from his second effort. Tim Howard did well to save Carlos Tevez’s header from Samir Nasri’s cross and was again the hero when he denied Edin Dzeko after Gareth Barry did well to chest Nasri’s cross onto the strikers path. City were awarded a penalty from the resulting corner when Fellaini appeared to pull back Dzeko and Tevez made no mistake from the spot. Fellaini almost redeemed himself moments later but his header from Steven Pienaar’s cross was saved by Hart.
Tevez headed Pablo Zabaleta’s cross over and Howard pushed away a thunderous long range effort from Maicon. Everton had the last chance to win it but Hart was defiant as he kept out Nikica Jelavic’s free kick in injury time.
Manchester United won a 7 goal thriller at the Madejski Stadium as they beat Reading 4-3 with all 7 goals coming in the 1st half. The Royals were ahead after 8 minutes when Hal Robson-Kanu volleyed past Anders Lindegaard after Jonny Evans headed Job McAnuff’s cross into his path. United were level 5 minutes later when Anderson hammered the ball in at the near post after a give and go with Ashley Young. Jay Tabb fouled Evans in the box and Wayne Rooney converted the spot kick and United were in front. Their lead lasted only 3 minutes though as Adam Le Fondre headed in Nicky Shorey’s corner and they were in front in the same fashion when Sean Morrison headed in another corner.
The score read 3-2 in favor of Reading after just 23 minutes but Rooney got his second on the half hour mark when he tucked in Patrice Evra’s low cross after the Frenchman had been sent clear on the flank by a brilliant flick by Young. United were ahead again just 4 minutes later when Michael Carrick’s long pass was clipped by Rooney to Robin Van Persie and the Dutchman made no mistake as he finished past Adam Federici. United were denied their 5th goal before the break when Van Persie’s shot crossed the line but was officiated otherwise.
RVP missed a great chance in the 2nd half after he robbed Federici but shot wide much to the shock of everyone. Morrison came close twice to rescue Reading but his header was tipped over by Lindegaard and he headed wide from the resulting corner.
In other results Tottenham Hotspur beat Fulham 3-0 at Craven Cottage thanks to a Jermain Defoe brace following Sandro’s opener. Queens Park Rangers drew 1-1 at home against Aston Villa with Jamie Mackie’s leveler cancelling out Brett Holman’s early goal for the Villains. West Bromwich Albion were beaten 1-0 at home by Stoke City with Dean Whitehead getting on the score sheet.
Norwich City beat Sunderland 2-1 at Carrow Road thanks to goals from Sebastien Bassong and Anthony Pilkington while Craig Gardner pulled one back for the Black Cats. Newcastle United thrashed Wigan Athletic 3-0 at home with Demba Ba scoring a brace and Gael Bigirimana capping the performance with a superb curling goal.
Spanish La Liga
Barcelona continued their march with a 5-1 win over Athletic Bilbao and top the table with 40 points after 14 games and are 6 points clear of Atletico Madrid who were beaten 2-0 by Real Madrid. Real Madrid are 3rd with 29 points while Real Betis and Malaga complete the top 5 with 25 and 22 points respectively.
German Bundesliga
Bayern Munich are on top after 15 games with 38 points followed by Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund with 30 points and 27 points respectively. Schalke are 4th with 25 points and Eintracht Frankfurt are in 5th place with 24 points.
Bayern drew 1-1 at home against Dortmund while Leverkusen beat Nurnberg 1-0 at home. Schalke drew 1-1 at home against Borussia Monchengladbach while Fortuna Dusseldorf thrashed Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 at home.
Italian Serie A
Juventus lead the pack after 15 games with 35 points and are 2 points clear of Napoli in 2nd place. Inter Milan are 3rd with 31 points while Fiorentina and Lazio make up the top 5 with 29 points each. AS Roman and AC Milan are 6th and 7th with 26 points and 21 points respectively.
Juventus beat Torino 3-0 in the Turin derby while Napoli thrashed Pescara 5-1 at home. Inter beat Palermo 1-0 with Fiorentina drawing 2-2 at home against Sampdoria. Lazio beat Parma 2-1 at home while AS Roma beat Siena 3-1 away. AC Milan got an all important 3-1 win away at Catania.
French Ligue 1
Lyon are on top after 15 games with 31 points followed by Marseille on 29 points. St Etienne are 3rd with 26 points while Paris Saint-Germain dropped to 4th.
Lyon beat reigning champions Montpellier 1-0 at home while Marseille beat Brest 2-1 away. St Etienne drew a blank away at Ajaccio with PSG losing 2-1 away at Nice.
UEFA Champions League
Group A
PSG and Porto progress to the knockout stages with Dynamo Kiev getting the UEFA Cup spot.
Group B
Schalke and Arsenal progress with Olympiakos settling for the 2nd Tier of European football.
Group C
Malaga and AC Milan qualify with Zenit St Petersburg getting the UEFA Cup place.
Group D
Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid qualify with Ajax beating Manchester City to the UEFA Cup place.
Group E
Juventus and Shakhtar Donetsk progress at the expense of Chelsea who become the first holders to go out from the group stage. The Londoners now have to settle for a place in the UEFA Cup.
Group F
Bayern Munich and Valencia qualify with BATE Borisov getting the UEFA Cup spot.
Group G
Barcelona progress along with Celtic while Benfica remain stunned, having to settle for a place in the UEFA Cup.
Group H
Manchester United are joined by Galatasaray in the last 16 while CFR Cluj have to settle for a place in the UEFA Cup despite beating United 1-0 at Old Trafford.
