Toon Set To Go Third?

30 October 2011 14:09
Chelsea's defeat to Arsenal on Saturday paves the way for the Geordies to move to third in the table if they get a point (or more) at Stoke on Monday.

Man City 3 Wolves 1Everton 0 Man United 1Chelsea 3 Arsenal 5West Brom 0 Liverpool 2Norwich 3 Blackburn 3Sunderland 2 Aston Villa 2Swansea 3 Bolton 1Wigan 0 Fulham 2

On a goal crazy Saturday afternoon in the Premier League, Robin van Persie scored a hat-trick as Arsenal recorded an astonishing 5-3 victory at Chelsea, while 10-man Manchester City maintained their five-point lead after both they and Manchester United won.

In a London derby littered with defensive errors, Chelsea twice led through Frank Lampard and John Terry either side of Van Persie's first, but the Gunners scored four second-half goals - Andre Santos and Theo Walcott were also on the scoresheet - and finally triumphed despite having been pegged back to 3-3 by Juan Mata.

Manchester City endured a frustrating first half against Wolves but appeared to be cruising at 2-0 up through Edin Dzeko and Aleksandar Kolarov.

However, Vincent Kompany was then sent off for a foul on Kevin Doyle and Stephen Hunt scored from the spot.

Roberto Mancini's side had a couple of scares before Adam Johnson struck in injury time to secure a 3-1 victory.

Earlier, Javier Hernandez's close-range finish was just enough for Manchester United to claim a 1-0 victory at Everton.

The result was a bit tough on Everton, who saw Leighton Baines hit the bar, but kept United in touch with City at the top of the table.

Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez showed more signs of forging a potent strike partnership as Liverpool strolled to a 2-0 victory over West Brom - and former Reds manager Roy Hodgson - at The Hawthorns.

A Charlie Adam penalty and Carroll's third goal of the campaign confirmed Liverpool's superiority as they climbed into fifth spot in the table.

But it was the way that Carroll and Suarez gelled which would have given the most satisfaction to Reds boss Kenny Dalglish.

The bottom three clubs in the Premier League were all in action and Wigan ended the afternoon rock bottom after Clint Dempsey and Moussa Dembele gave Fulham a 2-0 win at the DW Stadium.

Wigan had come close to equalising, with Maynor Figueroa hitting the woodwork before Dembele ended the contest to make it seven defeats on the trot for the Latics.

Blackburn, who had begun the afternoon in 20th place, threw away a 3-1 lead at Norwich to draw 3-3.

Rovers took the lead just before the break through Junior Hoilett, Steve Morison's volley evened the scores for the Canaries but Yakubu and Chris Samba's diving header made it 3-1 to Steve Kean's side.

Bradley Johnson's deflected shot made it 3-2 before a Steven Nzonzi handball gave Norwich a penalty and Grant Holt made no mistake from the spot.

Bolton, the club with the worst defensive record, went down 3-1 at Swansea.

Joe Allen struck for the Swans after Wanderers' Ricardo Gardner had been sent off, then Scott Sinclair extended the lead from the spot.

Bolton were given a lifeline when Danny Graham sliced Chris Eagles' cross into his own net, but Graham then scored at the right end.

The Trotters have now conceded 27 times in 10 games.

Sunderland grabbed a late equaliser to draw 2-2 at home to Aston Villa.

Stiliyan Petrov drew first blood for Villa, curling home from the edge of the box in the 20th minute.

The Black Cats responded well with Connor Wickham scoring his first goal since his move from Ipswich, and after Richard Dunne thought he had grabbed a late winner, Stephane Sessegnon headed home Seb Larsson's free-kick.

 

Source: FOOTYMAD