Manchester United gave Sir Alex
Ferguson the victory he would
have wanted above all on the day
he celebrated 25 years in charge
of the club, but it was not the
emphatic result some might have
expected as a Wes Brown own
goal proved the difference in a 1-0
win against Sunderland.
- Premier League gallery
- Dzeko: QPR best team we've
faced
- Palmer: Gunners find
ammunition
- Jolly: Chelsea grind out win
It may have been a day of
personal commendation for
Ferguson - who saw the North
Stand at Old Trafford renamed in
his honour - but that did not stop
him surprising once again with
his starting lineup, as Wayne
Rooney remained in a midfield
role and Anders Lindegaard
replaced David De Gea between
the sticks.
United enjoyed the majority of
the first-half possession but
struggled to make a real impact,
with Phil Jones forcing a decent
save from Keiren Westwood after
a speculative volley.
United then got a goal in
fortuitous circumstances just
before half-time, and it came
through one of their former
defenders. Having cleared the
danger for a corner, Brown found
himself nodding home from six
yards out, unable to head away
Nani's corner under pressure
from Danny Welbeck.
The second half did not see an
upturn in performance, however,
with Sunderland growing in
confidence as the match went on.
United were perhaps fortunate to
stay ahead with about 20 minutes
remaining, as Lee Mason's
decision to award a penalty
against Nemanja Vidic was
correctly overruled by his
assistant. Mason believed the
Serbian defender had been
responsible for a handball after a
cross was swung into the box,
but the linesman correctly
identified that Ji Dong-Won was
the culprit and the decision was
reversed.
The champions held on to claim
one of the more unconvincing
wins of Ferguson's landmark
reign, although few inside Old
Trafford were that worried as
they commemorated the
contribution of a club legend.
Manchester City maintained their
five-point lead at the top of the
table, though, as they won a
dramatic game 3-2 at QPR.
It was the first time this season
that City had gone behind in a
Premier League match, but
Roberto Mancini's side showed
impressive patience before Yaya
Toure sealed all three points late
on as City re-established their
five-point advantage at the top of
the table.
Jay Bothroyd gave QPR a
deserved lead, scoring his second
goal in as many games with a
powerful header from Joey
Barton's cross, but Edin Dzeko
outmuscled the Rangers defence
to level shortly before half-time.
David Silva put City ahead with a
classy finish after a delightful first
touch took him into space to fire
past Paddy Kenny, but QPR
refused to lie down and
Bothroyd's powerful header was
deflected past Joe Hart by a
ducking Heidar Helguson.
But Toure, who scored two goals
in City's Champions League win
over Villarreal in midweek,
secured all three points for the
leaders with 15 minutes
remaining, meeting Aleksandar
Kolarov's curled cross to head
City to victory.
Robin van Persie was once again
at the centre of matters as Arsenal
continued their renaissance with
an emphatic 3-0 victory over
West Brom at Emirates Stadium.
Van Persie was again the man of
the moment as he extended his
scoring record to 29 goals in 28
league games, although his
opener was one of the easier of
the lot. The Dutchman was
simply in the right place at the
right time to sweep home on 22
minutes, after Theo Walcott's
initial effort had been saved by
Ben Foster.
Shortly after Van Persie turned
provider to make it 2-0, cutting
back a well-measured ball for an
unmarked Thomas Vermaelen to
fire home shortly before half-
time.
Mikel Arteta was then on hand
with just over 15 minutes
remaining to clinch the points for
the home side, once again
collecting a pass from Van Persie
after good work by Tomas
Rosicky to curl a trademark right-
foot effort into the corner. Arsene
Wenger's men had further
opportunities to score but
ultimately settled for three goals
and three points as Roy
Hodgson's men saw their own
late mini-revival steadfastly
rebuffed by the resolute Arsenal
defence.
Liverpool were left frustrated at
Anfield as they were held to a 0-0
draw in an entertaining clash with
Swansea.
Kenny Dalglish's side had an
impressive 17 shots on goal in the
first half, but the wastefulness that
cost them against Norwich in
their previous game seemed to
have returned to haunt them as
they managed to get just two of
those efforts on target.
Swansea had opportunities of
their own in the second half but
Liverpool dominated the final few
minutes of proceedings as they
searched desperately for a winner
- with Dirk Kuyt seeing a headed
goal ruled out for offside and Luis
Suarez proving wasteful from a
promising free-kick.
Chelsea had a rare moment of
inspiration from Branislav
Ivanovic to thank as they clung
on to claim an underwhelming
1-0 victory against Blackburn
Rovers.
With the anti-Steve Kean protests
continuing despite the club's ban
on any demonstrations against
the manager - a move one
enterprising fan got around by
attaching a banner to a plane and
flying it over the ground - the two
teams played out a drab affair,
with Frank Lampard getting the
only goal of the game as he was
on hand to nod home after
Ivanovic's pinpoint cross with the
outside of his right-boot.
Daniel Sturridge and Grant Hanley
were both guilty of wasting a
number of good opportunities to
get on the scoresheet for their
respective sides, while Petr Cech
had to push through the pain
barrier after suffering a painful-
looking nose injury after a clash
with Ashley Cole in the opening
stages.
But the Blues ultimately closed out
the contest to give Andre Villas-
Boas some much needed respite
- while only increasing the ill-
feeling towards his embattled
opposite number.
In the day's early kick-off, a John
Heitinga own goal and a
wonderful long-range effort from
Ryan Taylor were enough for
Newcastle United to move
temporarily into second in the
table after beating Everton 2-1 at
St James Park.
Jack Rodwell got a goal back for
the visiting Toffees just before
half-time, but it was not enough
for David Moyes' side despite a
frantic final few minutes. It took
just 12 minutes for the buoyant
Magpies to move ahead. Heitinga
was the culprit after a
breathtakingly slack piece of
defending, as he lazily prodded
Danny Simpson's low cross
inside the near post with Tim
Howard left stranded.
Everton had their chances to
equalise - Rodwell had a smart
header well saved by Tim Krul,
before denying Leon Osman
from Royston Drenthe's cross
seconds later. Saha then leathered
a shot well over the bar after
breaking the offside trap, before
Taylor punished the visitors for
their profligacy.
It was a goal worthy of winning
any game, the former Wigan
defender setting up perfectly
before hitting a right-footed half
volley up and over the despairing
Howard, before seeing it dip in off
the underside of the crossbar.
Perhaps sparked by the blow,
Everton halved the deficit before
half-time - Rodwell nipping in
ahead of Danny Simpson to head
home from a corner - but they
were unable to get an equaliser in
the second half as the 50,671 in
attendance were able to celebrate
a home win.
It was not all smiles for Alan
Pardew, however, as both Yohan
Cabaye and Sylvain Marveaux
were forced off with injuries
during the game. Manchester
United's victory later in the day
meant Newcastle dropped to
third.
Aston Villa were forced to sweat
as the were on the right end of a
3-2 victory against a spirited
Norwich City, with Gabriel
Agbonlahor and Darren Bent
running riot for the hosts at Villa
Park.
Anthony Pilkington scored a
beautiful free-kick from just
outside the box to open the
scoring for the Canaries, before
Bent did what he does best to
prod home after Agbonlahor's
surging run and cross.
Shortly after half-time,
Agbonlahor was then on hand to
put Alex McLeish's side ahead,
taking advantage of a catastrophic
back-pass from Leon Barnett to
round John Ruddy and put the
ball home. Bent made it 3-1 on 62
minutes.
Norwich eventually got back into
the game as Grant Holt's deep
cross found Steve Morison rising
highest at the far post to nod
home, but the Canaries were
unable to get the equaliser they
needed as Alex McLeish's men
picked up their third win of the
year.