Liverpool kept its position at the top of the English Premier League after a successful 3–1 victory at Blackburn on Saturday. Chelsea continues to trail by a point with Manchester United five points behind them with a game in hand.
Goals from Xabi Alonso, Yossi Benayoun, and Steven Gerrard kept Liverpool’s fine run of form intact; however for Rovers, it was their 10th game without a win, which increases the pressure on manager Paul Ince.
Liverpool used a lone striker—Dirk Kuyt—as new signing Robbie Keane was left on the bench. The formation seemed to stifle creativity and Kuyt was not a major figure in the game. Liverpool did look to release the wingers more with this formation, as Yossi Benayoun and Ryan Babel were part of the attacking set up.
Xabi Alonso had a spirited game with his driving midfield play and he scored by side-footing the ball past Paul Robinson in the 69th minute.
Benayoun then slipped past Sunderland defender Stephen Warnock and blasted a low shot past Robinson to make it two.
Roque Santa Cruz scored a header to give the home team a chance in the 86th, but then a bad clearance from Robinson gifted the ball to Albert Riera who set up Steven Gerrard to seal it.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez told the BBC after the game, “We have shown we can manage the pressure. When you have a game like this, you know you might have problems.
“But we were more clinical than other days and that is important with the Christmas program coming up.”
Wilson Palacios was later booked for a scissors-tackle from behind on Samir Nasri that ended the Frenchman’s match.
Arsenal was often second to the ball but the breakthrough was made when Cesc Fabregas threaded a ball down the middle to put Adebayor in to slot home early in the first half.
The second half showed a more structured and composed Gunners team that could have put the game out of reach. Both Denilson and Robin van Persie came close to scoring.
There was quite some unrest among the Arsenal supporters as Emmanuel Eboue, who has been out with an injury, came on as substitute and was out of sorts. The fans let him know it and after an hour of play he was taken off. BBC TV pundit Alan Shearer said, “It’s not the type of thing you like to see.”
Wenger said, “Eboue played for longer than I wanted him to. His concentration dropped a little bit and when the crowd got on his back that was difficult to see and accept.”
“He has to come off as he had lost a lot of confidence. He would have been even more unhappy had he stayed on, given the ball away, and cost us a goal.”
“I cannot really remember coming to a place like this and having so much of the game,” said Wigan manager Steve Bruce.
“We really took the game to Arsenal and the manner in which we did that absolutely delighted me.”
In his time at Sunderland, he had brought them up from the first division to the Premier league status they now enjoy. If they had managed to get a point out of the game it would have pulled them out of the relegation zone.
A fine performance from Marton Fulop in goal for Sunderland made sure his team was always in the game.
Ronaldo, who had this week won the much-coveted Ballon d’Or trophy for the best player in the world, did not enjoy a glorious day as he went off injured during the second half.
The visitors did not get their team behind the ball in the dying minutes and were perhaps looking to steal a quick goal, but it went the other way when Michael Carrick’s shot rebound fell to Vidic for him to take the game in the last moments.
Deco’s superb strike in the 21st minute made it a long way back for Bolton who just couldn’t leave their stamp on the game.
The win saw the Blues take the record for the longest series of away wins in the league with a total of 11, which has been held since 1960 by Tottenham Hotspur.
On Monday, Tottenham’s revival under new coach Harry Redknapp continued with a 2–0 away win over West Ham.
Goals from Xabi Alonso, Yossi Benayoun, and Steven Gerrard kept Liverpool’s fine run of form intact; however for Rovers, it was their 10th game without a win, which increases the pressure on manager Paul Ince.
Liverpool used a lone striker—Dirk Kuyt—as new signing Robbie Keane was left on the bench. The formation seemed to stifle creativity and Kuyt was not a major figure in the game. Liverpool did look to release the wingers more with this formation, as Yossi Benayoun and Ryan Babel were part of the attacking set up.
Xabi Alonso had a spirited game with his driving midfield play and he scored by side-footing the ball past Paul Robinson in the 69th minute.
Benayoun then slipped past Sunderland defender Stephen Warnock and blasted a low shot past Robinson to make it two.
Roque Santa Cruz scored a header to give the home team a chance in the 86th, but then a bad clearance from Robinson gifted the ball to Albert Riera who set up Steven Gerrard to seal it.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez told the BBC after the game, “We have shown we can manage the pressure. When you have a game like this, you know you might have problems.
“But we were more clinical than other days and that is important with the Christmas program coming up.”
Arsenal 1, Wigan 0
Wigan’s five-game unbeaten run came to end this week with Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor scoring the only goal of the game.
It was by no means a convincing display by the Gunners and Wigan could have taken the lead when Wilson Palacios’s goal bound shot took a deflection forcing a great save from Manuel Almunia.Wilson Palacios was later booked for a scissors-tackle from behind on Samir Nasri that ended the Frenchman’s match.
Arsenal was often second to the ball but the breakthrough was made when Cesc Fabregas threaded a ball down the middle to put Adebayor in to slot home early in the first half.
The second half showed a more structured and composed Gunners team that could have put the game out of reach. Both Denilson and Robin van Persie came close to scoring.
There was quite some unrest among the Arsenal supporters as Emmanuel Eboue, who has been out with an injury, came on as substitute and was out of sorts. The fans let him know it and after an hour of play he was taken off. BBC TV pundit Alan Shearer said, “It’s not the type of thing you like to see.”
Wenger said, “Eboue played for longer than I wanted him to. His concentration dropped a little bit and when the crowd got on his back that was difficult to see and accept.”
“He has to come off as he had lost a lot of confidence. He would have been even more unhappy had he stayed on, given the ball away, and cost us a goal.”
“I cannot really remember coming to a place like this and having so much of the game,” said Wigan manager Steve Bruce.
“We really took the game to Arsenal and the manner in which we did that absolutely delighted me.”
Manchester United 1, Sunderland 0
The North Easterners were set to get a point at Old Trafford but it wasn’t to be, as a last ditch effort from United saw their center back Nemanja Vidic push forward to score after Michael Carrick’s shot hit the post and came back into play.
There was no lack of spirit in the Sunderland team and there was no evidence that the sudden mid-week departure of manager Roy Keane was going to have a negative impact.In his time at Sunderland, he had brought them up from the first division to the Premier league status they now enjoy. If they had managed to get a point out of the game it would have pulled them out of the relegation zone.
A fine performance from Marton Fulop in goal for Sunderland made sure his team was always in the game.
Ronaldo, who had this week won the much-coveted Ballon d’Or trophy for the best player in the world, did not enjoy a glorious day as he went off injured during the second half.
The visitors did not get their team behind the ball in the dying minutes and were perhaps looking to steal a quick goal, but it went the other way when Michael Carrick’s shot rebound fell to Vidic for him to take the game in the last moments.
Bolton 0, Chelsea 2
Chelsea’s top goal scorer Nicolas Anelka faced his old team and made the difference, scoring the first of the two Chelsea goals.
Also, Michael Ballack set up Deco to spectacularly volley inside the near post to score his first goal since August.Deco’s superb strike in the 21st minute made it a long way back for Bolton who just couldn’t leave their stamp on the game.
The win saw the Blues take the record for the longest series of away wins in the league with a total of 11, which has been held since 1960 by Tottenham Hotspur.
On Monday, Tottenham’s revival under new coach Harry Redknapp continued with a 2–0 away win over West Ham.
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