Weekend in Review

Man U Taste Defeat

NOTE: FOR A FULL REVIEW ON ARSENAL AND NEWCASTLE'S INCREDIBLE 4-4 DRAW PLEASE SEE PREVIOUS POST

At one point on Saturday afternoon, there was celebration across the red side of Manchester, as Arsenal dropped points in dramatic fashion against Newcastle. But A 2-1 loss at Wolves ended the Red Devils'29 match unbeaten streak and quickly hushed those cheers.

United could have taken a stranglehold on the title race with a win, as they would have gone seven points clear of the Gunners. Instead they could only rue their missed opportunity as the race for silverware remains wide open.

It all started so well for the visitors.

Just three minutes in, Nani did well to hold the ball in the box, before quickly taking a touch and blasting a left-footed shot past Wayne Hennessey.

However, George Elokobi erased the lead in the 10th. His header from a set piece was placed perfectly into the corner, and sent the crowd at Molineux into delirium.

Kevin Doyle netted the winner in minute 40. He didn't know much about it, but the striker was more than happy to claim the goal after Nenad Milijas's free kick slammed off of his head and past van der Sar.

United pressed for the equalizer in the second half. But Mick McCarthy's side defended valiantly, and kept the Man U attack at bay.

The Red Devils had plenty of the ball throughout the second 45. But they were unable to break down a stingy Wanderers defense that saw them play at least eight men behind the ball in the second half. That has been a problem with Man U for much of the season. They go through long periods where they will have possession, but rarely look dangerous. I'd say a big reason for that is the lack of a creative presence in center midfield. Michael Carrick/Darron Gibson isn't exactly a combination that scares any defenses going forward (with the exception of Evans' fantastic distance shooting).

It's no secret that Man U have had trouble creating many chances at times. Against Wolves, they had their work cut out for them after going down, as McCarthy had his team congest the middle of the pitch with his defense. That forced right and left midfielders Nani and Giggs to either beat two or even three defenders in order to get into dangerous positions, or send a cross into the box with Wolves defenders always outnumbering the Man U attackers inside the 18.

The loss comes at a bad time for Man U, as they are headed for one of their toughest stretches of the season over the next month. The fixture list will be plenty busy with FA Cup and Champions League ties both looming. And they also face Man City this weekend in the league, while difficult trips to Stamford Bridge (Mar. 1) and Anfield (Mar. 6) are still to come.

Torres Quiet, Chelsea Lose

Chelsea's three-game win streak came to an end in a disappointing 1-0 loss to surging Liverpool.

Rau Miereles won it for the visitors, taking advantage of a hesitant Peter Cech, and slamming a left-footed strike into the corner from close range.

The match was largely a disappointment. There weren't a ton of chances as both sides struggled to find their chemistry offensively. Maxi Rodriguez should have put the visitors up, but missed embarrassingly with the goal at his mercy from 3-yards.

Meanwhile, Torres was quiet for the duration. He had a chance blocked by a sprawling Jamie Carragher in the first half, but had little time on the ball otherwise. Someone will have to explain to me why Carlo Ancelotti found it neccessary to start Nicolas Anelka, Didier Drogba, AND Torres in the first 11. Surely that's a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.

Meanwhile, Kenny Dalglish left Dirk Kuyt all on his own up front. Kuyt is much more of a workhorse than a scorer, and leaving him on an island was predictably a disaster. Fortunately, 'Pool defended fairly well and Miereles pounced on their biggest chance of the second half.

The loss was an absolutely crucial one for the Blues. They had a chance to close the gap on Man U and Arsenal with a win, but dropped the ball completely on Sunday.

Now they have to decide whether they are serious title contenders, or headed for a battle simply to retain their place in the top four as they are now even on points with Tottenham, and only six ahead of a Liverpool team that is hitting their stride.

A Wild Saturday

We had a historic comeback, a player score four goals in a match, a ton of late goals, and more than a hint of controversy in what was a fantastic weekend of premiership football.

One match to watch was a pulsating affair between Blackpool and Everton. I'm going to have to make a point to watch the Tangerines from now on. They are getting increasingly desperate as their tumble down the table continues, and that combined with Ian Holloway's gung ho style has been making for some crazy matches. They lost a wild one in a 3-2 defeat to Manchester United two weeks ago, and a 3-1 loss to West Ham earlier this week was also quite exciting. But they topped it all off with Saturday's spectacular 5-3 loss to Everton. Win or lose, Blackpool are a must-see for me every week.

Meanwhile, the Toffees were simply fantastic in the match. Louis Saha scored four, but check out the midfield play from Jack Rodwell, Maruoane Fellaini, and Mikael Arteta in the highlights, who pull the strings non-stop for 90-minutes. It's been a tough year for David Moyes' team, but they'll hope this one can spur them to a strong finish.

Man City had their way with faltering West Brom in a 3-0 rout. Carlos Tevez's scintillating play continued with a first half hat trick. This goal was the pick of the litter, and it's an absolutely beautiful piece of skill.

On the whole, Wigan's play has not been fun to watch this year. But they were fantastic in a 4-3 win over Blackburn at the DW Stadium.

And finally, Stoke City staged a late fight back to beat Sunderland 3-2 at the Brittania.

Mid week review: Liverpool Splash Cash, Chelsea Back, City Finished?

Liverpool Spending Spree

I was singing the praises of Liverpool on Sunday. They had just signed a budding superstar in Luis Suarez and finally had the financial backing to continue improving in the summer. However, I only briefly mentioned the situation with Fernando Torres. And Chelsea threw the transfer market for a loop Monday when they bought "El Niño" for a cool £50M (more on that later).

'Pool's reaction to the Torres sale was immediate, as they grossly overreacted by purchasing Andy Carroll from Newcastle for a shocking amount of ₤35M, making the promising but unproven striker the seventh most expensive player in football history.

So let me get this straight, the Reds in 24 hours somehow decided they were going to throw the bulk of the money from the Torres deal on a player that is yet to complete a full EPL season? Why overspend in January on a player that would probably be far cheaper in the summer? And most importantly, why not wait until the offseason to find the perfect fit for the team? It's a mystery to me.

It's hard to believe, but this type of irresponsible spending has been commonplace at Anfield for some time now.

I just don't get it. Liverpool aren't getting back in the race for a top four spot this season and Carroll can't even play for a month with an ankle injury. Buying him at that kind of price was not only a huge risk, but also a mistimed maneuver considering he won't even star until well past the halfway point.

The Suarez buy was a good one. But the reaction to the Torres sale was unbelievably over the top. Methinks that the braintrust over here in the U.S. need to learn a thing or two about the transfer market before they get themselves into the same mess that the last ownership group did (who were also Americans, ironically).

On the bright side, the Reds are starting to round into form. They've won three straight and capped it off with a 2-0 win today over Stoke City at Anfield.

Rau Miereles' run of good form continued when he opened up the scoring with a ferocious right footed strike after the ball fell to him inside the box.

Suarez made his debut for the club in the 63rd. And he quickly impressed with a beautiful flick to Dirk Kuyt inside the box that forced Begovic off his line to make a play on the ball.

Then he finished off the Potters in minute 79. A nice through pass from Kuyt saw him in behind the defense, he calmly touched the ball around the goalkeeper, and a backtracking Andy Wilkinson couldn't keep the ball out of the net.

So despite the poor decision on Carroll, things do seem to be looking up for Liverpool. They've taken wins from their last three games, and Suarez looked like he may well be ready to contribute immediately. Meanwhile, Miereles is finally giving them a reliable attacking midfielder. Plus the defense looks better, too.

If they can add a few more pieces over the summer and the Carroll buy pays some dividends, they could be right back in the Champions League in 2012. But surely they have dug too deep of a hole to reach that level this year.

Are Manchester City Done?

With Chelsea, Arsenal, and Man U all winning on Tuesday, Manchester City went to Birmingham hoping to keep pace with the three title contenders. Instead they left with a disappointing 2-2 draw that saw them blow two leads, and potentially end their title chances in the process.

It was a gorgeous City opener. Tevez' one-touch out wide to Silva, who did well to streak into the box and play the ball right back to the Argentinean, who exhibited a great bit of ball control to create space before placing a slow roller between the legs of a defender and into the corner.

But while the brilliance of Tevez and Silva was showing the best of City, their defending of set pieces continued to show off their worst.

In the 23rd minute, the Blues won a free kick from the left side, and City failed to properly deal with it as it caroomed off the knee of Nikola Zigic and into the net.

Aleksandar Kolarov's sweet left foot helped the visitors to a halftime lead. His curling shot from a free kick wrong-footed Ben Foster and sailed into the left corner.

Birmingham were certainly the stronger of the two teams in the second half. Their pressure paid off in the 71st when Patrick Viera pulled down Kevin Phillips in the box, and Craig Gardner was up to the task from the spot.

Another tough result for Roberto Mancini and company, and this may have been the final blow for a team that continues to lag behind the rest of the contenders.

It all looked so promising initially. The goal was a brilliant piece of play from Tevez and Silva and you'd think that they would be better at defend their lead(s) against the lowest scoring team in the premiership. Even though they're a side that makes defense a huge priority, City have lacked discipline in that area over the last month.

The defending, especially on set pieces, has been diabolical. And it really came to bite them today on the first goal. The marking was poor, and they inexplicably allowed the ball to bounce once before it deflected off of an opportunistic Vidic.

When City played for a scoreless draw at the Emirates in early January, I found it hard to take them seriously as true title contenders. For a team needing to rattle off a perfect month or so just to get back in the race, the players' failure to completely gel coupled with Mancini's conservative style have made it difficult for them to really put a scare into Man U. If you ask me, they're done with regards to the title chase.

Chelsea Surge

The Blues unquestionably have a ways to go in terms of getting back into the the title race. But they can at least be proud of getting three straight wins after things appeared ready to burst apart at the seams.

They scored a big result on Tuesday, winning a wild match 4-2 at Sunderland.

Chelsea fell behind on goals from Phil Bardsley and then gave up a shock equalizer to Kieran Richardson in the first half, but responded well on both occasions.

The game featured a host of chances for both sides.

Steve Bruce's team gave it a good go. But Chelsea showed they may be turning a corner by snatching control of the match and showing great flair and creativity. They were rewarded for it with goals from John Terry and Nicolas Anelka in the second half to clinch the three points.

Now we wait for the Fernando Torres debut in the much-discussed match against Liverpool.

The Torres transaction actually lost some of its luster amidst all the drama on Monday's transfer deadline. But the mere thought of him playing next to Drogba has me salivating. Both of them appear to be heading into their best form after struggling with consistency and fitness for much of this season.

Trouble in Blackpool?

It's hard not to root for the Tangerines. They insist on playing an attractive style and have been relatively successful in doing so. Meantime, they have one of the world's best interviews managing them in Ian Holloway. But while they were flirting with the half top of the table close to a month ago, they have been rapidly falling down the standings since.

It might end up being a similar story to Burnley last year. They started off well before falling apart in the second half of the year. Even if Blackpool do stay up, they will surely be in a battle next year with Charlie Adam likely out the door.

As for West Ham, they showed again that they do have the attacking quality to make some noise. Victor Obinna has been fantastic of late, scoring five times in his last two games. He scored twice in what was a completely wide-open match at Bloomfield Road on Wednesday (including one stunning strike to put Blackpool away). Enjoy the highlights.

News and Notes

There could be another injury crisis at Arsenal. Defensinve midfielder Alex Song (a player that the team boasts no reliable replacement for) and leading scorer Samir Nasri all picked up knocks this week. The Gunners have been quite strong on the road this season, but a visit to St. James' Park to face Newcastle this weekend will be a dangerous one without several key cogs in the lineup.

We'll be treated to a bonus edition of the "Superclásico" in April. Real Madrid and Barcelona both advanced to the finals of the Copa del Rey. The match will come just days after their final regular season meeting, and it should be fun to watch as always.

Weekend in Review: Thoughts and Opinion

Results

Arsenal 3-0 West Ham
Chelsea 2-0 Blackburn
Manchester City 4-3 Wolves
Manchester United 0-0 Tottenham
Fulham 1-1 Wigan
Stoke 2-0 Bolton
West Brom 3-2 Blackpool
Birmingham 1-1 Aston Villa
Liverpool 2-2 Everton
Sunderland 1-1 Newcastle

The Title Chase

Ten-man Manchester United escaped White Hart Lane with a draw on Sunday. But their 7-point lead atop the table didn't survive the weekend, as fellow title chasers Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City all notched three points.

Many figured a visit to White Hart Lane would be the time for Man U to lose their first match. And it certainly looked a possibility when Rafael was erroneously sent off with 20 minutes to go. But in the end it was another performance typical of United's season, as they withstood a few barrages from the opposition and did what they needed to do to get the result.

Surely the visitors would feel hard done-by the sending off of their Brazilian right back. Mike Dean showed him the red when he accidentally got tangled up with Assou-Ekotto.

Sir Alex Ferguson clearly instructed his side to get back and defend from their on out. He played Rooney in a much deeper position and removed Berbatov for the speedy Hernandez to hope and catch Spurs off guard on the counter.

Meanwhile, Harry Redknapp did the exact opposite by going for the jugular. His team needed full points desperately in order to keep pace with Man U. After the red card, his team pressed mercilessly, while he added a striker in Defoe for Palacios soon after the sending off.

In my opinion, both managers got what they wanted out of the tactical switch. But the visitors' diligence and discipline paid off, and they defended valiantly to hold off T'ham. Ferguson's squad has been completely different since getting Rio Ferdinand back to full strength. He and Vidic were simply fantastic in the back. Time and time again, Lennon and Bale would ask questions of them with crosses from the wing, often aiming for the head of Crouch, who once again showed that he is by no means a dominant aerial force despite his height.

On the one hand, United were tested greatly in North London and saw their gap atop the league narrowed. But on the other, they survived what was honestly a decent performance from Tottenham without conceding. The chasers have to be happy that the gap is closing, but Man U will stay confident as their unbeaten season continues.

The Man U-Tottenham match had the marquee billing. But the most exciting match of the weekend ended up being between two teams known more for their defensive styles of play. Manchester City and Wolves both went for it in a seven-goal thriller at Eastlands, with the favorites getting the 4-3 win.

City actually fell behind early, before battling back into the game throughout the first half. The equalizer from Kolo Toure just before half was essential. Otherwise it would have been a taste of their own medicine for Mancini's men, as Wolves surely would have re-organized at halftime and defended their lead with plenty of men behind the ball at all times.

Tevez made the difference in the second half. His first goal was simply world class. Check it out here, as he beats three defenders and gives his team the lead.

For a team that has lacked attacking flair, these types of performances from the Argentinean are an absolute must. When I watch City play their plodding, boring, defensive style, it seems that Tevez and Yaya Toure are the only two players getting into dangerous positions offensively. In Mancini's conservative style, City likes to play possession football when they can, but without taking too many chances. That means it often takes a moment of individual brilliance for them to create opportunities, which will usually come through the likes of those two.

I know that City are tied on points with United. But the Red Devils have two matches in hand against their rivals. If they can get through a busy January, I'll take them more seriously with regards to being title contenders.

Meanwhile, Arsenal and Chelsea kept up their pursuit of glory in less dramatic fashion.

Chelsea finally have some positives to take out of an EPL match. They won for just the second time in ten matches.

For the first time in a while, Chelsea looked confident in the back. Granted, it was not against the best of attacks in Blackburn, but the Blues have been giving up goals to teams regardless of their attacking prowess.

They also could have scored more if not for the bar denying Anelka and Ramires over the first 45 minutes. Much like City, we'll know more about these guys in a month's time. Four of the next five fixtures are away from Stamford Bridge. Among them are trips to much-improved Bolton, an Everton team that may be headed into their best form, and a trip to play 2011 Europa League hopeful Sunderland (who beat them 3-0 at the Bridge in Nov. to start the Chelsea downfall and are great at the Stadium of Light). The home match takes place against Liverpool, who also beat them earlier in the year.

Chelsea have the talent to beat those teams, especially with Lampard fit and the back four once again at full strength. But none of those fixtures will be a walkthrough, and they are only a loss or two away from potentially losing contact with Man U completely.

As for Arsenal, they cruised to a 3-0 win at Upton Park against a hapless West Ham side.

For me, the criticism after the Gunners' shocking loss to Ipswich Town in the Carling Cup was much ado about nothing. History tells us that league play and cup play are completely different animals.

The 1-1 draw with Leeds in the FA Cup that preceded the shock at Portman Road was also unimpressive. But let's remember that Arsene Wenger's side was fresh off of an extremely busy EPL schedule that included matches with Manchester City and Chelsea. He rested the likes of Van Persie, Walcott, Song, and Clichy for some of or both fixtures.

Also, the motivation level couldn't have been too high for the Leeds match; and the awful performance against Ipswich is unlikely to be duplicated by a side with such quality. The match against West Ham showed that those performances in the cup were by no means a trend.

Meanwhile, Robin Van Persie is finally coming back into his own. And let's face it, the Dutchman hasn't been the same since tearing ligament in his ankle in an international friendly in November of 2009.

RVP wasn't the same in the World Cup, and looked out of sorts early this year before re-injuring his ankle. He's a player that takes forever to find his rhythm when out for an extended period of time. First he needed some minutes to find his match fitness, then a few starts to get his touch down, and only now are the goals starting to come.

He had two goals, an assist, and hit the post on the weekend, and looked like the complete forward that he can be when healthy. With Marouane Chamakh firing blanks lately, Van Persie re-capturing his scoring touch is a welcome sight for the Gunners.

Grant's Job Still in Doubt

The other big storyline at Upton Park was the job status of Avram Grant. Rumors swirled all week about his job, with the stories ranging from the board backing him to having already lined up a new manager such as Martin O'Neil.

The Hammers did little to help out their manager with a listless performance. The defense was not up to par, looking uninspired and allowing the Gunners far too much time on the ball.

On the opening goal, Walcott is allowed space on the right side, and then a dummy off of the low cross from Nasri froze two defenders, allowing Van Persie to slot in a goal that you'd be more likely to see on the training ground than in an actual game.

I thought the Wayne Brdige loan was a good one. But it didn't look good on Saturday. He was at fault on the second goal when he completely overran a low cross from RVP with Walcott ready to pounce behind him. Then he clattered into Walcott inside the box when the winger didn't appear to be in a threatening position.

I still think that Grant's bunch will stay up this season. But it seems quite unlikely that such a feat will come with him at the helm. With enough talent at his disposal to do much better, one has to think that the job will change hands over the next few weeks.

There is just too much attacking quality on the side for them to keep firing blanks. Carlton Cole has to find his form at some point, Frederic Piquionne is starting to score goals and should be back soon. Scott Parker is a solid playmaker in midfield;; and USA international Jonathan Spector has looked dangerous since moving from right back to central midfield (I would definitely keep an eye on his progress as a fan of the US, as Cherundolo or Lichaj will surely beat him out at right back, making this the only place he will get significant PT).

The defense is questionable, but as some point the goals have to start coming (West Ham have somehow only managed 23 goals this year). All they'll need is for a couple of those guys to get hot, and they should be able to progressively move their way up the table.

West Ham won't be able to feel safe at any point this year, but I see them getting out of the bottom three soon and keeping it that way.

The Transfer Window

We've still got a few more weeks of reading BS followed by a small bit of actual news as the transfer window rages. Commenting on these sorts of things really isn't worth much in my opinion. I can speculate about what I read, but often I'm dealing with hypotheticals based on rumors of transfers that are nowhere close to going through. So if any of the situations I'm commenting on end up being completely false, don't shoot the messenger!

For me, the biggest news of the day is the rumor that Aston Villa have made an £18M offer for Darren Bent (with other sources saying up to £24). That was followed by even more surprising news that Bent has handed in a transfer request in an effort to force the move.

This would be a huge transaction for both teams.

Firstly, it's a big move for Villa. That's huge money to spend on a striker, but I think it would be worth it. They have lacked a consistent goal-scoring force over the past two seasons. Agbonlahor has had some nice runs, but he has struggled with injuries and hasn't always looked his best. Carew is a highly overrated player for me, he's a big guy who doesn't work hard and hasn't made up for it with a great goal scoring record. Ashley Young will give you 7-10 goals a year, but he is a winger that is more of a threat as an assist guy.

There's one thing we know about Darren Bent: he can score goals. He's netted 36 times over a season and a half at Sunderland.

The move could be devastating for Sunderland. They have a real shot to make the Europa League with a team that I've always felt was vastly underrated. But the loss of Bent would leave them without a goalscorer they know they can count on down the stretch.

By the same token, the move would allow them to move Man U loanee Danny Welbeck up top (where he has been extremely effective) alongside Asamoah Gyan (7 goals in 19 EPL appearances). That would still be a decent strike partnership, but it's one that lacks experience.

It's also worth mentioning that Steve Bruce dropped a record amount for the transfer of Gyan early in the season. Selling Bent at the reported prices would actually see them turn a profit for the transfer kitty this summer despite splashing so much cash on the Ghanaian. But losing Bent in January rather than the summer could see their fortunes change drastically over the rest of this season.

Tottenham continue to make noise in the transfer window. News of a possible David Beckham transfer has faded, and the focus has switched over to Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar. The Toffees clearly don't have the money to match the South African's salary demands, leaving Chelsea and Tottenham to battle for his services right now. Everton probably won't get anywhere close to what Pienaar is worth, but they'll want to at least get something, and thus they have accepted bids from both clubs.

Pienaar would be a nice addition for Chelsea. But I'm keeping an eye on their pursuit of 21-year old Chilean winger Alexi Sanchez. The Udinese winger showed during the World Cup that he is a young player with the world at his feet. He needs to work on his goal scoring ability, but he's got great speed and technique on the ball.

Sanchez reminds me of a younger Nani; a player that needs to learn to mix the flash with increased consistency on the pitch. The price won't be cheap, but I really think we're talking about a kid that could be one of the top wingers in the EPL several years from now.

In Case you Missed it...

Has anyone noticed the run Barcelona has been on? Amazingly, one of the greatest runs of form I can remember is falling below the radar. The Catalan side is thoroughly dominating opponents by scoring 3 or more times and typically holding a clean sheet.

Just check out their results. Since winning 8-0 over Almeria in November, they have outscored their opponents 47-4. In the meantime, Lionel Messi has somehow scored 28 goals in 23 matches. Those guys are truly on a run to remember. Even if your an EPL guy like me, they are worth watching every week with the way they're playing.

There was an incredible match at the Hawthorne's on Saturday. West Brom beat Blackpool by a score of 3-2 in a thriller that could have easily been 6-5! Check out the highlights and enjoy.

Weekend in Review: Match Reports

Manchester City 4-3 Wolves

12'- Milijas
40'- Toure
49'- Tevez
66'- Tevez
68'- Doyle (PK)
86'- Zubar

Man City responded from an early deficit, and then held off a late Wolves comeback to momentarily move to the top of the table.

The visitors took a surprise lead just 12 minutes in through Milijas. A fortuitous deflection from a corner set him up with the goal at his mercy, and he made no mistake from 5-yards away.

City equalized with a similar goal five minutes before halftime. Vincent Kompany's flick fell to the feet of Toure, whose driven shot was too powerful for David Jones, and the ball came off of him and into the net.

Then they took the lead just moments after the opening of the second half. A moment of sheer brilliance from Carlos Tevez saw him skip past the challenge of three defenders before slotting home the finish.

The home side were firing on all cylinders. And they notched a third in the 54th. A fine run from debutant Edin Dzeko turned a defender, and his subsequent through ball to Toure left him in behind the defense, and his left-footed strike beat Hennessey.

Zubar nearly brought Wolves back into it with yet another set piece chance. But his powerful header from a Jarvis corner dipped onto the crossbar.

The result appeared to be done and dusted when a beautiful cross from Zabaleta somehow found the head of the diminutive Tevez, who finished well into the top corner.

Needing three goals in 25 minutes, Mick McCarthy's side appeared beaten. But they made sure not to go down without a fight.

In the 68th, a clumsy and unnecessary challenge from Lescott on Kevin Doyle resulted in a penalty kick for Wanderers. The Irish International took the spot kick and finished well.

In the 83rd, a poor giveaway from Christophe Berra resulted in another one-on-one chance for Toure. But Hennessey did well to cut off the angle and save.

Soon after, Zubar made for a grandstand finish when he won another header from a corner, and the ball crossed the line and was ruled a goal by the linesman before De Jong could clear.

Wolves pressed furiously over the final minutes. But the biggest chance fell to Milner, whom Hart played behind the defense with a brilliant punt. But Hennessey did well once again.

Tottenham 0-0 Manchester United

73'- Rafael (RED CARD)

Ten-man Manchester United survived a late onslaught from Tottenham to escape White Hart Lane with a scoreless draw.

In an extremely entertaining match, the two teams traded punches but were unable to find the net over the first 70 minutes. But then referee Mike Dean turned the match on his head. He incorrectly showed a second yellow card to Rafael for what appeared to be incidental contact. Sir Alex Ferguson had his team get back and defend from there on out, and his side defended valiantly to hold on for a point.

The visitors started strong with two chances for Rooney within the first 20 minutes. First he missed wide left just two minutes in. Heurelho Gomes saved his long range effort later with Man U on the counter.

Spurs struck back in the ninth minute when a fine low cross from Hutton was met by a volley from Crouch, who missed wide from a great position.

Rooney had a third chance in the 23rd after a cheeky lay-off from Berbatov allowed him to one-touch a shot from distance, but Gomes somehow got a hand to the dipping strike to deflect it wide for a corner.

Van der Vart would have the final chance of the half, but his glancing header hit side-netting.

The second half would be played at a blistering pace. But actual goal-scoring opportunities were few and far between. The big moment came in the 73rd after Dean's mistake resulted in Rafael being sent off.

The Red Devils dropped back and defended the rest of the way. They did so brilliantly, with Vidic and Ferdinand handling the aerial threat in Crouch, and stifling the pace of substitute Jermaine Defoe up front.

Van der Vaart had Spurs' best chance. Darren Fletcher didn't deal well with an Aaron Lennon corner kick, and the ball rolled to the onrushing Dutchman, but his curling strike sailed just over the top corner.

Arsenal 3-0 West Ham

14' Van Persie
40'- Walcott
77'- Var Persie (PK)

Arsenal kept the pressure up at the head of the table in a convincing 3-0 win at Upton Park.

The game took place amidst a media storm regarding Avram Grant's job security. And the Hammers did little to cure his anxiety, getting off to a slow start.

Arsenal started off on the front foot, and got on the board 13 minutes in when Theo Walcott broke down the right side, he crossed low into the box and a clever dummy from Nasri froze the defense as the ball fell to Robin Van Persie, whose right footed strike beat Robert Green.

Walcott should have made it 2-0 in the 19th minute. A fine long ball from Fabregas played him behind the defense, and he tried to take the bouncing ball out of the air on his left foot from close range, but his attempt was sub-standard and rolled harmlessly to Green.

Some sloppy defending allowed West Ham two cracks at goal later on. Johan Djourou's back pass to keeper Szczesny was intercepted by Carlton Cole, but the onrushing Pole saved the one-on-one opportunity. Still the Hammers got the ball back quickly, and Zavon Hines' powerful strike from close-range sailed just over the cross bar.

Van Persie and Walcott combined for the second goal of the match just before half. Van Persie was played through down the left wing and he did well to control and send a pass back across the grain, resulting in Wayne Bridge overrunning the ball, while Walcott was well placed behind him to fire a strike into the upper-netting.

Cole squandered another nice opportunity just before the half, heading a well-placed cross from Freddy Sears off of Djourou's shoulder and out for a corner.

Arsenal cruised for much of the second half and didn't break much of a a sweat.

Bridge was at fault again in the second half, barging into Walcott inside the area for a penalty. Van Persie placed the spot kick low to the right corner for a 3-0 lead.

Chelsea 2-0 Blackburn

57'- Ivanovic
76'- Anelka

Things were far different for Chelsea when these sides last met. On Oct. 30, the Blues won at Ewood Park to go five points atop the table. Yesterday's victory over Blackburn drew them within five points of table-topping Man U.

The hosts had their chances in the first 45 minutes. But things were looking dire once again for Ancelotti's bunch as they went to dressing room scoreless.

Ramires hit the bar from a corner just three minutes in, beating Hoilett to the ball and launching a one-time strike from the far post.

It was Anelka's turn to hit the bar moments from halftime. He met a teasing low cross from Drogba with a powerful strike and CFC were once again unlucky.

Chelsea turned it back around in the second half with a pair of goals from set pieces.

A scramble in front of the net saw the ball come to Ivanovic at the far post. And he controlled nicely and finished for his fifth goal of the season.

Ivanovic won the ball out of the air on another corner with 15 minutes left. His powerful header slammed downwards onto the foot of Anelka inside the 6, who finished with composure.

It wasn't a pretty match at Stamford Bridge. But it's something to build on for Chelsea, who had 11 attempts on target to just 2 for Rovers. The defending was better than in past weeks, and the gap could have been wider if they had a little more luck in the first half.