Results - Week One

Liverpool vs Tottenham
Two teams who have high aspirations fought this game out and Tottenham made

the better start to the game with Dzogaev making a great run down the wing

and crossing but Adebayor missed his chance. Dzogaev was a constant threat

in the first half and gave Cissokho a horrible time, and he contributed to

the goal Tottenham scored when he dropped slightly deeper and found Bale

with a simple pass who scored the opener for Spurs which they deserved.

Liverpool responded well in the second half and had a couple of chances,

Gerrard sending a free kick against the crossbar and Vargas sending in a

cross which Carroll should have scored from. Liverpool made changes and

brought on Schurrle and Cabaye which changed the game. Schurrle managed to

break free of the Spurs defense and cut inside to leave Carroll with a tap

in to equalise. But, Tottenham had the last chance of the game when Hazard

was fouled by Montolivo. He stepped up to take the free kick himself and it

was going it but Pepe Reina superbly saved it to get Liverpool a hard

fought point.

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The expert opinion (by Mark Lawrenson)
Tottenham have more creativity in midfield and made some great

opportunities. Hazard was well dealt with and had a quiet game today, but

Bale and Dzogaev gave the Liverpool full backs a torrid time. Liverpool

just about hung in there and the substitutions changed the game and got

them back into it, and were a real threat from set pieces.

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How the votes were spread:
1-4-3

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Liverpool 1-1 Tottenham
Carroll 76; Bale 38

Norwich went out knowing this would be a difficult game but put in a strong

display in the early parts of the game. A cross from Pilkington flicked off

Douglas and went out for an early corner. It was a pinpoint delivery and

Holt was unmarked to open the scoring and send the fans at Carrow Road into

jubilation. They held onto their lead well and dominated the possession in

the first half, and Newcastle didn't create much until the end of the half

when Arteta played a long ball through which freed Cisse of the offside

trap as he slotted past John Ruddy to bring the Magpies back into it on the

stroke of half time. Newcastle were dominating the second half and created

chance after chance which was wasted. Debuchy played a cross in which was

deflected out to Sigurdsson, who went for the spectacular but Ruddy was

equal to it. Frimpong came on to try and stifle the Newcastle attacks but

it played into Newcastle's hands as Holt was then left isolated and they

could get even more men forward. They won a late free kick on the far side

when Tierney shackled Ben Arfa. Varela played the ball to an unmarked

Sandro who sent in a high ball. Collocini outjumped Howson in the air and

powered a late header past Ruddy to win it. It was harsh on the Canaries

who had played well throughout.

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The expert opinion (by Andy Townsend)
Newcastle were well deserved winners after a shaky start. They had a

stronger midfield and were able to dominate the play there. Norwich tried

to dominate the midfield but couldn't as Newcastle had the better players

and in Cisse had a man who could put the chances away. The Norwich team

should have made some sort of plan to deal with Cisse.

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How the votes were spread:
2-2-5

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Norwich 1-2 Newcastle
Holt 12; Cisse 42, Coloccini 90

Manchester United were in action and this was one of those kinds of games

they ought to be winning if they were serious about winning the title,

while Stoke were trying to prove they could mix it up with some of the

other teams in the top eight. However, United immediately made a great

start with Rooney getting on the end of a Valencia cross and heading home

an opener. Stoke then got back into the game when Crouch beat Ferdinand in

the air and silenced the United fans by scoring against the run of play.

United responded well however, and Scholes ran the show and threaded great

balls through. Nani got on the end of one and cut inside to shoot but

Begovic was equal to it. United couldn't make the breakthrough to take the

lead until the second half when Kagawa played a nice one two with Carrick

and sidefooted home a fantastic goal to give them the lead. Stoke responded

by attacking, and the substitute Seedorf chipped the ball over the defense

and De Gea failed to deal with it under pressure from Walters but Vidic was

on hand to clear at the last moment. Stoke had a late corner which

Etherington delivered but De Gea made up for his earlier error with a great

save from a Shawcross header. He had some quick thinking and smashed the

ball out to Kagawa who was standing on the halfway line as he broke quickly

on the counter attack and was left with a one on one with Begovic, hitting

his shot in off the post to secure the points for Manchester United.

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The expert opinion (by Lee Dixon)
Stoke were set up well by Marky today and the only issue was that they put

far too much emphasis on the threat of Wayne Rooney which left Kagawa with

a lot of room, Scholes also was allowed to dictate the game. Stoke did have

some joy though when Ashley Young or Chris Brunt got the ball who didn't

waste a pass, but in the end United's quality shone through despite them

maybe lacking a bit tactically.

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How the votes were spread:
2-1-6

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Stoke City 1-3 Man United
Crouch 20; Rooney 4, Kagawa 66, 85

These two teams are expected to be fighting relegation this season and it

was West Ham which made the better start to the game. Jonas Gutierrez made

a great run past Rangel and played a pass into Piquionne who miscued his

shot horribly and gave Reading a huge let off. However, five minutes later

West Ham opened the scoring when Sturridge picked up the ball well out of

the area and went on a mazy run, evading Gallas and smashing his shot into

the roof of the net. Nolan doubled the lead to stick the knife in Reading

fan's hearts when he lashed home a long range freekick after a bad

challenge from Martin Kelly. West Ham were dominating the game and Reading

needed to get forward and did so a bit more in the second half and on the

stroke of the hour mark Huddlestone played a ball forward to Hunt who kept

the ball well under pressure from Wheater and found Drogba who hit a shot

into the roof of the net to get Reading back into it. West Ham couldn't

keep the ball and Drogba got his second goal just three minutes later, this

time a superb header from a Jimmy Kebe cross. Reading were constantly

attacking and Huddlestone and Henderson were dominating the midfield but

West Ham had the best chance with Jack Collison finding Piquionne on the

break but he got a great save out of Federici. Reading had the final chance

of the game though, and Henderson broke forward to receive a pass from

Harte and hit a low drive past Robinson who should have saved it.

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The expert opinion (by Gary Neville)
It was a fantastic comeback by Reading to secure three points which could

prove to be crucial come the end of the season. West Ham were a bit weak in

midfield and could have done with someone stronger alongside Nolan, and

need to provide a bit more direction to their side tactically. Reading have

a lot of quality in attack and the signing of Didier Drogba could be a

crucial one to help them get the goals to stay up. A note to both teams

that they will need to improve defensively as this game was full of

mistakes both ways.

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How the votes were spread:
2-1-7

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West Ham 2-3 Reading
Sturridge 25, Nolan 34;Drogba 59, 62 Henderson 90+3

This was the big game this weekend and the two teams are both hoping to win

the title in their first season. Chelsea came out and made the first chance

with Torres having a header saved by Lloris. The two teams were relatively

even and Podolski opened the scoring when he outpaced Ivanovic and got on

the inside to blast a powerful shot past Cech. However, they couldn't hold

onto their lead for long as Mata went down under a Vermaelen tackle, the

Arsenal man arguing it was a dive. But Lampard but plenty of power into his

strike and sweetly scored the equaliser. Chelsea were the better side in

the second half and created chances, Cole making a run forward and sending

in a cross which was blocked seemingly by a hand, no penalty was given

though and John Terry's having a header hit the crossbar. Arsenal had a

couple of chances of their own but Van Persie was off his best form today,

mis-hitting a shot from the edge of the area and heading wide from four

yards out. Chelsea had the final chance of the game when Essien drove

forward and played a long ball over the top to Mata who half volleyed into

the back of the net to send the Chelsea fans into jubilation, only to

realise that the linesman had flagged for offside in what was a very

controversial game.

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The expert opinion (by Alan Shearer)
This game could have gone either way and both teams can take heart from

this display. Chelsea offered more tactically but Torres and Higuain don't

really fit together well. They should get a proper winger, and also Mata is

better deployed in a central role behind the striker. Arsenal could do with

a bit more creativity in midfield and should look to improve on Kieron

Gibbs.

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How the votes were spread:
4-2-3

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Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea
Podolski 14; Lampard 32

These two teams fought in what was a scrappy game. Neither team really

could get much time in possession as not many chances were created in the

early parts of the game. Wayne Routledge got forward and beat Warnock,

trying to find Odemwingie but Dunne blasted clear. Aquilani played a nice

through ball to Bent who tried to take his shot first time and got it away.

It left Ben Foster well beaten but it hit the post and went out for a goal

kick. The first half finished with another Aston Villa chance with Petrov

finding Agbonlahor who was shackled by Winston Reid. The second half picked

up as the second half left off. N'Zogbia showed a bit of skill and passed

to Ireland who lost possession to a great Marquez challenge. He quickly

found Giovani Dos Santos who crossed for Wondolowski but the striker's run

was mistimed and he was flagged offside. Substitutes were then brought on

for both teams, with Pienaar and Saha coming on as both teams tried to find

a late winner, and it was Saha who came closest to breaking the deadlock

for Villa as he got on the end of Petrov's long ball but Ben Foster saved

to preserve a point for West Brom.

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The expert opinion (by Steve Claridge)
This was a scrappy West Midlands derby game and neither team really

deserved to win. Both sides put in equally good performances and defended

well. West Brom could do with a bit more of a presence in midfield, if

McEachran is getting forward then Marquez doesn't really have the legs to

cope.

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How the votes were spread:
0-5-2

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West Brom 0-0 Aston Villa

These two teams were hoping to show that they deserved a place in this

league as they were expected to be involved in the relegation battle.

Swansea made the better start as Rodwell stole the ball from Lallana and

played a simple ball to Britton, who hit a ball wide to Dyer and the cross

found Rodriguez who used his height to get a header on goal but Davis spilt

it to give Joe Cole a tap in. Swansea continued to dominate and on the

stroke of half time they doubled their lead when Dyer, who had an excellent

half switched the play to Hoilett and he played in a through ball.

Rodriguez beat King for pace and slid home a deserved second. Southampton

needed to improve in the second half and there were hopes of a comeback by

the Saints when Malouda crossed and Jones beat Ashley Williams in the air

to pull one back. Southampton had another chance when Maxi charged past

Taylor and played in a cross, this time Williams just got back to clear.

Southampton continued to attack but were undone on the break when Joe Cole

managed to find some space on the edge of the area and finished off a quick

counter attack with a lovely strike into the top corner. Swansea weren't

finished though and ten minutes later Scott Dann got forward for a corner

and powered home a header to make sure of the points for Swansea and give

them the win.

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The expert opinion (by Gareth Southgate)
Swansea were able to dominate the centre of the park and with Davis busy

trying to deal with Joe Cole, it left a lot of space for the rest of the

Swansea midfield who completely dominated the game. They had soem good

talent going forward with Hoilett and Dyer showing some skill. Southampton

need to improve their team otherwise they will be relegated, tactically

they weren't too bad but Swansea were above them.

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How the votes were spread:
1-1-7

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Southampton 1-4 Swansea
Jones 52; Cole 27, 60 Rodriguez 45+2, Dann 70

These two teams were hoping for a strong league position and fought a good

game today. Everton had the best of the early chances and Jelavic had an

early chance where he beat Hangeland for pace latching onto a through ball

from Downing but dragged his shot wide. It was a sighter of what was to

come though, as Jelavic opened the scoring soon after just before the half

an hour mark. Lennon provided a pinpoint cross which Cahill headed against

the bar but Jelavic showed poacher's instincts to blast home a goal from

two yards out. The lead lasted just seven minutes though, when a great run

from midfield by Danny Murphy ended up with a goal, he played a neat one

two with Ruiz and avoided Diame's challenge to equalise. The second half

had good spells for both teams, Everton had chances when Downing sent a

cross in which hit the crossbar and Cahill headed wide from four yards.

Fulham had Berbatov leading the line which he did to good effect and he showed plenty of flair. A great first touch on one occasion got Jagielka out of the way but Michele Vorm made an outstanding save to keep the scores level. Everton had the last chance of the game though, and substitute Donavan found Sinclair but he was greedy and should have passed, instead shooting from a difficult angle. It was on target but Schwarzer managed to tip it round the post to preserve the draw.

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The expert opinion (by Martin Keown)
This was a tight game and both managers can be pleased with their team's

performances. Jelavic had a good game and used his pace to good effect, but

Fulham in general were strong tactically and dominated the midfield. Both

teams should be proud as either could go forward and be a surprise package

this season.

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How the votes were spread:
3-2-3

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Everton 1-1 Fulham
Jelavic 28; Murphy 35