Do Relegation Results Concern Us Anymore?

03 February 2013 14:08
Reading, QPR, Villa, Wigan and Southampton all picked up points on Saturday ... but are we concerned anymore? Fulham 0 - 1 Man Utd Reading 2 - 1 Sunderland Everton 3 - 3 A Villa Newcastle 3 - 2 Chelsea Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City Wigan  2 - 2 Southampton

Moussa Sissoko scored twice for Newcastle as they beat Chelsea 3-2 in a pulsating game at St James' Park.

Jonas Gutierrez opened the scoring for the Magpies after Tim Krul kept former team-mate Demba Ba at bay with some strong work in goal.

Ba was then forced to leave the field with blood pouring from his nose late in the first half when he was caught by Fabio Coloccini.

Frank Lampard equalised for the Blues after the break with a 25-yard swerving strike before Juan Mata added the second for Chelsea when Torres, on for Ba, touched the ball onto his left foot, allowing his Spanish team-mate to curl the ball past Krul.

Sissoko then scored his first goal for Newcastle to level things up before grabbing a late winner for Alan Pardew's side.

Manchester United's trip to Fulham saw the woodwork struck four times, the lights go out and Wayne Rooney grab the only goal of the game to send the Red Devils 10 points clear at the top of the table.

Bryan Ruiz hit the post for the hosts, while Rooney, Patrice Evra and a wayward header from Brede Hangeland cannoned back off the frame of the goal at the opposite end of the field.

An eventful encounter then saw the floodlights fail at Craven Cottage, forcing the players from the field shortly before half-time.

It looked as though that would be the major talking point in the game, but Rooney stepped up for United on 79 minutes - stroking the ball into the bottom corner after leading a counter-attack.

Marouane Fellaini scored a last-minute equaliser for Everton as struggling Aston Villa drew 3-3 at Goodison Park.

Villa striker Christian Benteke got the visitors off to a flying start when he beat defender Jonny Heitinga and fired the ball low past Toffees keeper Tim Howard in the second minute before Victor Anichebe levelled the score at 1-1 following some poor defending.

Seconds later, Paul Lambert's side were back in front though thanks to Gabriel Agbonlahor, who fired into the bottom corner to give Villa a 2-1 lead at the break.

Villa extended their lead when Benteke added his second after the break, again beating Heitinga, as he headed past Howard in a bid to seal a much-needed win.

Everton were not done, though, with Fellaini poking the ball home from Anichebe's lay-off before he levelled the score with a header at the near post in the 90th minute.

Reading beat Sunderland 2-1 at the Madejski Stadium to climb out of the relegation zone.

Jimmy Kebe gave Reading the lead when he fired the ball past Simon Mignolet before Pavel Pogrebnyak fouled John O'Shea to give Sunderland a penalty.

Craig Gardner stepped up to level the score at the break with a well-taken spot-kick before Kebe scored a late winner to give Reading a vital win and continue their strong run of form.

Wigan drew 2-2 against Southampton at the DW Stadium.

Rickie Lambert 's close range header cancelled out Gary Caldwell's effort, before Morgan Schneiderlin's late score looked to have snatched the points for the Saints.

However, Shaun Maloney popped up with a late equaliser for Wigan but it was not enough for them to climb out of the relegation zone.

Arsenal beat Stoke 1-0 at the Emirates when Lukas Podolski's low-free-kick was deflected by Geoff Cameron and past goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, who had single-handedly kept the Potters in the game with a series of quality saves.

Norwich goalkeeper Mark Bunn saved a penalty as big-spending QPR were held to a goalless draw at Loftus Road.

Adel Taarabt was denied by Bunn from the spot after the keeper gave away a spot-kick when he brought down Jamie Mackie.

The 0-0 draw was the fourth consecutive stalemate for Harry Redknapp's Rs, who remained at the foot of the table before the rest of the weekend's action began.

West Ham beat Swansea 1-0 at Upton Park thanks to Andy Carroll's second goal of the season, a header past Gerhard Tremmel.

 

Source: Newcastle United Mad

Source: FOOTYMAD