English Premier League reports
Reuters - Sunday 05 October 2008, 17:47
LONDON - Brief reports of English Premier League games played on Sunday:
CHELSEA 2 ASTON VILLA 0
The corresponding fixture last season ended 4-4 but this time round Chelsea were a class apart.
Joe Cole put them ahead after combining well with Frank Lampard and Nicolas Anelka's tap-in virtually wrapped up the points before halftime.
Chelsea, who were missing several first team players, could have scored a hatful with Anelka denied by the crossbar.
EVERTON 2 NEWCASTLE UNITED 2
Two struggling sides met at Goodison Park and Newcastle's interim manager Joe Kinnear will have been encouraged by his first game in charge.
Mikel Arteta put Everton ahead with a penalty after a Nicky Butt foul in the box and Marouane Fellaini made it 2-0.
United got a lifeline just before halftime when Steven Taylor scored and Damien Duff struck immediately after the interval to level it up. Both sides had chances to take the points late on.
MANCHESTER CITY 2 LIVERPOOL 3
City appeared set to inflict a first league defeat of the season on Liverpool but were hit by a second-half comeback.
Goals by Stephen Ireland and Javier Garrido put City 2-0 up at halftime. Fernando Torres pulled one back after 55 minutes and struck again with a header after City's Pablo Zabaleta had been red-carded for a bad foul on Xabi Alonso.
Torres missed the chance to claim a hat-trick but had a hand in the stoppage-time winner when his shot fell to Dirk Kuyt who stole the points for Liverpool.
PORTSMOUTH 2 STOKE CITY 1
Giant striker Peter Crouch scored with an athletic overhead kick to put Portsmouth in front after 25 minutes.
Ricardo Fuller equalised for struggling Stoke three minutes into the second half but Pompey took the points when Jermain Defoe plundered his sixth league goal of the season.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 0 HULL CITY 1
Tottenham endured another desperately disappointing day at the office as they lost to a deadly Geovanni free kick.
The Brazilian's eighth-minute strike was enough to settle the points and condemn Spurs to equalling their worst start to a league campaign.
The home side applied constant pressure and hit the woodwork twice but could find no way through as promoted Hull hung on to climb to the heady heights of third in the table.
WEST HAM UNITED 1 BOLTON WANDERERS 3
West Ham lost a league match for the first time under new coach Gianfranco Zola, with goalkeeper Robert Green at fault twice as his side trailed 2-0 at the break to goals by Kevin Davies and Gary Cahill.
Carlton Cole headed West Ham a lifeline with 20 minutes remaining but a fierce, swerving free kick by Matthew Taylor secured Bolton's first away points of the season.
Played on Saturday
BLACKBURN ROVERS 0 MANCHESTER UNITED 2
United were all over their Lancashire rivals in a game played in constant rain and should have won by more.
They went ahead after 31 minutes when keeper Jason Brown, claiming he was fouled, failed to collect a deep cross and Wes Brown got his fourth goal in 12 seasons with a simple header.
After several near misses, United wrapped up the points in the 64th minute when Cristiano Ronaldo pulled back a low cross for Wayne Rooney to finish crisply.
SUNDERLAND 1 ARSENAL 1
All the action came in the last few minutes as Arsenal snatched an injury-time equaliser to match Sunderland's 86th-minute opener.
The home side packed their defence in search of a point but looked to have grabbed all three when Grant Leadbitter climbed off the bench in the 84th minute and quickly lashed in a 25 metre shot.
Arsenal, beaten 2-1 at home by Hull City last week, levelled in stoppage time with a rare headed goal by Cesc Fabregas from a corner.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION 1 FULHAM 0
West Brom continued their good start to the season with a deserved win over a struggling Fulham side.
Gianni Zuiverloon clipped a post with a header for West Brom early on but they took charge after the break and took the points with a close-range effort by Czech Roman Bednar.
WIGAN ATHLETIC 0 MIDDLESBROUGH 1
Boro secured their first away win in the league since December but left it late.
In a game of few chances and little action they won it a minute from time when Stewart Downing nodded the ball into the path of Jeremie Aliadiere who swept it home.
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