Manchester United had their
defenders to thank at both
ends of the pitch for their
victory over Newcastle, while
Liverpool's dire start to the
season continued as they
were held by Stoke and
Tottenham's improvement
under Andre Villas-Boas
gathered pace with a win over
Aston Villa.
- AVB allays Friedel fears
- Premier League: Saturday
review
Sir Alex Ferguson was a happy
man as he watched
Manchester United take full
advantage of Newcastle's
generosity to win 3-0 at St
James' Park and climb into
second place in the Premier
League.
United were handed a flying
start as the Magpies'
makeshift defence crumbled
horrifically on two occasions
inside the opening 16 minutes
to allow first Jonny Evans and
then Patrice Evra to head
home.
Alan Pardew's men rallied in
determined fashion and might
have been back in the game
five minutes into the second
half, but Demba Ba's header
came back off the bar and
Papiss Cisse's follow-up was
clawed on to the post by
keeper David de Gea with the
home contingent claiming the
ball had crossed the line.
But Tom Cleverley's 71st-
minute strike from long range
ensured the visitors avenged
their 3-0 defeat at St James'
Park last season in fine style.
The bulk of a crowd of 52,203
trudged away knowing their
team had contributed to its
own downfall with the kind of
calamitous defending which has
plagued them for years, but
had, until today, become less
common since their return to
the top flight.
Brendan Rodgers is still
searching for his first league
victory at Anfield after
Liverpool were frustrated in a
0-0 draw with Stoke City.
Rodgers, who left £20 million
winger Stewart Downing out
of the squad having
questioned his commitment last
week, saw a physical Stoke
outfit stifle his side's intricate
approach work.
The Liverpool boss has now
only managed one Premier
League win - the 5-2 success
at Norwich - since taking over
at the Reds over the summer.
The resul also means that
Liverpool have still only won
two league games at Anfield in
2012.
Tottenham Hotspur built on
their triumph over Manchester
United by dismissing Aston Villa
2-0 at White Hart Lane. The
victory meant that Spurs'
France international
goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, in for
Brad Friedel, kept a clean
sheet on his Premier League
debut.
Defender Steven Caulker
broke the deadlock early in
the second period, ghosting in
to convert Gareth Bale's cross,
and Aaron Lennon made it two
shortly afterwards, cutting
inside and driving a shot into
the corner.
Aston Villa defender Joe
Bennett was stretchered off
late on with a serious-looking
leg injury, having made an
awkward landing.
Jose Fonte's last-gasp header
secured a 2-2 draw for
Southampton and spared
defensive partner Jos
Hooiveld's blushes against
Fulham.
Fonte nodded home a 90th-
minute leveller in a game in
which he had broken the
deadlock after four minutes.
Hooiveld scored an own goal in
Southampton's 6-1 humbling at
Arsenal and did so again on
the south coast when he
directed home a speculative
John Arne Riise drive in the
second half.
He then saw Kieran
Richardson's close-range strike
brush off him on its way in
two minutes from time,
although the goal was credited
to the Fulham man. However,
Fonte saved the Dutchman and
his side late on to earn
Southampton a fourth point of
the campaign.