[ENGLAND] On a weekend when everybody seemed to be hitting the woodwork, Liverpool lost its unbeaten record to a last-minute goal at Tottenham Hotspur, and also lost top spot on goal difference to Chelsea, 5-0 winner over Sunderland. Arsenal's bad week ended with a 2-1 defeat at Stoke City, while Manchester United barely held off Hull City in a seven-goal game at Old Trafford.
Liverpool led Tottenham for over an hour at White Hart Lane after Dirk Kuyt's ferocious early goal, and threatened to extend its lead in the second half when Steven Gerrard twice hit the crossbar. But with 20 minutes to go, Jamie Carragher headed a corner into his own net before Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko scored the winner from close range in stoppage time.
"We had a little but of luck today," conceded Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp, undefeated after three games in charge. Admitting that his tactical acumen had led to him advising Pavlyuchenko to "run about" prior to the striker's halftime introduction as a substitute, Redknapp added that Liverpool was "terrific, very difficult to play against." Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez turned that around by saying, "We lost it, they didn't win it. We know we had the game in our hands and we lost it."
Chelsea, meanwhile, scored five goals as it eased into fifth gear, taking top spot by passing its way repeatedly through the Sunderland defense. Nicolas Anelka scored a hat trick, and Chelsea's superior scoring prowess took it ahead of Liverpool on goal difference — the west London side has scored 27 and conceded just four in its first 11 games. "I'm pleased with this performance, not just because we scored five goals but because we played good football," said Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari. His Sunderland counterpart Roy Keane said that although he was unhappy with some of the referee's decisions, his side was "simply outclassed." But he was "pretty sure" that his players would "respond to it in a positive way next weekend." He also tipped Chelsea to win the title, as you do when you've lost 5-0 to a team.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted that his side had trouble coping with the aerial power of Premier League newcomer Stoke City, which scored two goals yet again thanks to long throw-ins from Rory Delap that caused enough uncertainty in the Arsenal defense for Ricardo Fuller and Seyi Olofinjana to convert, albeit somewhat messily in the latter's case, with the ball seeming to come off his chin as he lurched forwards. Gael Clichy pulled one back at the end, by which time Arsenal was down to nine men due to injuries and a red card for Robin van Persie after he mindlessly body-checked Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen.
"We had a lot of possession and we had a lot of the ball, but we did not create many chances because they were well organized," said Wenger. His captain William Gallas meanwhile labeled the team's current mistakes as "infuriating," and questioned whether the side was trying to play too much "beautiful" soccer. Which is certainly not a worry for Stoke.
The biggest compliment that Manchester United paid Hull City was when manager Alex Ferguson took out Brazilian midfielder Anderson for a defender, John O'Shea, with two minutes to go. He was not only running down the clock, but also trying to defend a slender 4-3 lead, with the visitors having come back from 4-1 down. Although United dominated offensively, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice for the second successive game, Hull refused to give up and looked capable of taking a point right up until the end.
"I feel a bit low," sulked Ferguson. "We should have won by 10 or 11 and we ended up scrambling for a victory. We might have been embarrassed at the end. Cristiano Ronaldo could have had five on his own and I don't know how many chances Dimitar Berbatov created." Hull manager Phil Brown wasn't much happier, lamenting his side's poor defending and saying, "We can take a lot of pride from the game but nothing else. That is disappointing when you consider we scored three times."
Everton again had American goalkeeper Tim Howard to thank for a key save that eventually helped it gain three points with a 1-0 win over Fulham. Howard made a superb stop from a Jimmy Bullard free kick, and Bobby Zamora's follow-up effort hit the post. Fulham's Zoltan Gera also hit Howard's crossbar before Louis Saha headed in the winner three minutes from time. Fulham's introduction of U.S. forward Clint Dempsey one minute later was too late to save the game.
Portsmouth also succumbed to a late winner at home to Wigan Athletic, with Emile Heskey going clear to make the score 2-1 in stoppage time. The home side hit the Wigan woodwork no less than five times. And Blackburn Rovers, playing with 10 men after Benni McCarthy was dismissed, equalized in the last minute at West Bromwich Albion through Keith Andrews. Blackburn's former D.C. United defender Ryan Nelsen almost scored a bizarre own goal when he cannoned a clearance against his own post.
A point at last for Gianfranco Zola and West Ham after four successive defeats, as the Hammers tied 1-1 at Middlesbrough. Hayden Mullins almost completely missed his first attempt to shoot in the first half, but made up for it by smacking his second attempt into the top corner off the underside of the crossbar. Egyptian striker Mido equalized with a free-kick seven minutes from time.
Manchester City continued to prove that having millions of dollars poured into your club will not necessarily bring you overnight success as it lost 2-0 to Bolton Wanderers in a game that Gallas might have appreciated for its almost complete lack of beauty. Substitute Ricardo Gardner scored from close range in the 77th minute, then provided the cross that Richard Dunne put into his own net a few minutes later. "They made it hard for us to play our normal game," said City manager Mark Hughes. Though given that City, in tenth, has fallen in six of its 11 games, the club's normal game seems to be losing.
HIGHLIGHT (VIDEO): The passing movement that leads to Chelsea's third and Anelka's second goal against Sunderland.