Here are the results of the following EPL Match-week 2:
Swansea City 3-0 West-Ham United
Rampant Swansea City made it two wins out of two in the fledgling Premier League season after promoted West Ham United gifted them two goals in a 3-0 victory on Saturday.Michael Laudrup's Welsh side went ahead on 20 minutes when Spanish full back Angel Rangel's cross deflected in off the body of new West Ham goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen after the Finn had dived over the ball.Hosts Swansea, who flourished in their first season in the top flight last term prompting Liverpool to swoop for manager Brendan Rodgers, also benefited from a goalkeeping error in last weekend's 5-0 opener at Queens Park Rangers when ex-West Ham stopper Robert Green blundered.The error for Swansea's second on Saturday came from a defender, James Collins's scuffed back pass in his second game since returning from Aston Villa allowing Spanish striker Michu to poke in his third goal in two games on the half hour.Forward Danny Graham knocked in the third after the break while West Ham debutant Matt Jarvis, signed from Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday, had their best chance with a volley which was well saved.
Manchester United 3-2 Fulham
Robin van Persie marked his first start for Manchester United with a sublime goal, but his side’s 3-2 victory over Fulham was marred by a nasty injury to Wayne Rooney on Saturday. Van Persie had little chance to contribute during a brief substitute appearance in United’s lacklustre defeat at Everton on Monday, but the striker took just 10 minutes to make his mark at Old Trafford with a brilliant volley to cancel out Damien Duff’s opener. Inspired by the £24 million Dutch forward, United went on to secure their first win of the season, but the result was overshadowed by Rooney’s injury late in the second half which left the England striker, who was stretchered off, with blood streaming from a deep gash in his thigh after he was caught by Hugo Rodallega.Fulham had stunned United when Irish winger Duff, who retired from international this week, fired home from just inside the penalty area in the third minute. But that brought a scintilating response from van Persie, who levelled with a blistering volley from Patrice Evra’s cross. Like van Persie, former Borussia Dortmund star Shinji Kagawa was making his first appearance at Old Trafford and he marked the occasion with his maiden United goal, tapping in when Mark Schwarzer parried Tom Cleverley’s pass into his path. United defender Rafael da Silva added a third goal four minutes before half-time with a header from Ashley Young’s cross. Nemanja Vidic’s 64th minute own goal gave Fulham a glimmer of hope, but it was Rooney’s injury that proved the last noteworthy action.
Norwich 1-1 QPR
Queens Park Rangers' manager Mark Hughes says that his team are good enough to make it through despite their struggle to score against Norwich today."We've invested well and are certainly in a better position than we were," said Hughes. "It was an important step to get off the mark with our first goal and our first point. It's something to build on. On occasions we lacked the right ball at the right time."That was as near as he came to admitting that his side were very much second best – a point not lost on Norwich City manager Chris Hughton, who stated simply: "We played really well and should have won."After kicking off with 5-0 defeats, both managers could consider this an improvement; but there was nothing to suggest that either club will experience anything other than 'difficult second season' syndrome.If defending was the obvious shortcoming a week earlier, this was a story of one team, Norwich, almost incapable of taking their chances, and another incapable of making them. The brightest spark was the former Leeds winger Robert Snodgrass on his home debut for Norwich, but QPR's army of new recruits appeared strangers to one another.Norwich introduced to the crowd Norway international Alexander Tettey, Hughton's seventh signing since himself replacing Paul Lambert in the Carrow Road dugout. The 26-year-old former Rennes midfielder arrived too late to face QPR, but Sébastien Bassong and Javier Garrido both featured.After blooding seven in last weekend's debacle, Hughes sent out no further new faces in his starting line-up, though 70 minutes in José Bosingwa became Rangers' eighth debutant.It took just 11 minutes, however, for Hughes' defence to be breached, as Anthony Pilkington enjoyed the freedom of their penalty area and Simeon Jackson headed home his cross. Eight minutes later referee Mark Clattenburg handed Rangers a quick route back into the game with the award of a penalty against Bassong for a challenge from behind on Djibril Cissé. The Frenchman's spot-kick was pushed against the post by John Ruddy, but Bobby Zamora fired the rebound home.Hughton thought the penalty "soft", Hughes' view was that it was a penalty "by the letter of the law – but I'm sure Chris will feel a bit aggrieved". Hughton was aggrieved too that Zamora was "at least three yards inside the box" when the penalty was taken. He was pleased, though, that his side "showed character to come back and be the better team".In the game's most compelling subtext, Clint Hill found Norwich striker Grant Holt a literal handful. The defender was fortunate to receive only a yellow card for wrestling his man to the ground just outside the area and after fouling him twice more he earned a lecture from Clattenburg. On possession, territory and chances, Norwich were well ahead and got steadily more so, but there was little to trouble goalkeeper Robert Green on his erstwhile home ground.Midway through the second half Jackson should have scored his second goal but failed to connect with Snodgrass's cross. Then Snodgrass went close with an excellent header and Russell Martin hit the crossbar.Rangers' only attacking plan seemed to be long balls hit up to Cissé, whose poor timing left him repeatedly offside and frustrated. The greater frustration may have been Norwich's in failing to convert their dominance into three points.
Aston Villa 1-3 Everton
David Moyes’s team are flying high, looking good and heading for their best start to a Premier League season in 19 years. But the last time they opened a campaign with three straight wins, they avoided relegation on the last day of the season.Villa’s alarming nosedive continues unchecked and fears of another battle at the bottom end of the table are gathering momentum. At the top end, Everton are sitting pretty but, more importantly, Moyes has assembled a squad which looks capable of sustaining a successful season.There is quality and flexibility and that is a tribute to a manager who does not have the spending power of most of his contemporaries.The wide gap between the two clubs was illustrated in the opening half as Everton ran up an unassailable three-goal lead.They have always held a solid back line but now they are quick, incisive and clinical in front of goal.Villa never looked like getting back into it even less after they had defender Ciaran Clark sent off early in the second half.The Midlands club have now picked up one win and 11 points from their last 18 League games and that spells relegation in any language.The fans’ euphoria which greeted the departure of former manager Alex McLeish has quickly evaporated and new boss Paul Lambert will be all too aware that two managers have already been sacrificed since Martin O’Neill went two years ago.It took Everton just two and a half minutes to prolong the mood of optimism which accompanied their victory against Manchester United on Monday and deepen Villa’s despair. A stunning strike from Steven Pienaar rounded off a neat build-up between Leon Osman and Steven Naismith and the South African’s 25-yarder screamed past Shay Given.The Villa keeper had no chance of saving that one but he handed Everton their second goal on a plate on the half-hour.Marouane Fellaini’s header from six yards was straight at Given but he fumbled it into the back of the net.There was a brutal efficiency about the visitors’ third when Leighton Baines’s delivery was dispatched into the net by a shot on the turn from Nikica Jelavic.Rapturous applause greeted Villa’s first shot at goal just before the interval a tame effort by Barry Bannan easily saved by Tim Howard.But that was replaced by a loud jeers from the home fans as Villa left the field at half-time. They were lucky only to be three goals adrift.It got gradually worse for Lambert’s men. Defender Clark was sent off in the 58th minute for denying Jelavic a clear scoring opportunity and the 10 men of Villa struggled to stem the one-way flow of traffic towards their goal.But from nowhere they grabbed a goal. Midfielder Karim El Ahmadi chanced his luck from 30 yards and Howard could only push it into the net.
Tottenham 1-1 WBA
James Morrison scored an injury-time equaliser to earn West Brom a 1-1 draw and spoil Andre Villas-Boas' first home game in charge of Tottenham.Tottenham were guilty of wasting a number of chances in both halves, but the tension inside White Hart Lane lifted with 16 minutes left when Benoit Assou-Ekotto smashed home a deflected half-volley to put the home side ahead.West Brom, revitalised after the introduction of Romelu Lukaku as a second-half substitute, kept plugging away and the hosts' defence crumbled in the 91st minute when Morrison swept home to steal a point for the Baggies. With all the uncertainty surrounding a number of his star players, and last week's defeat at Newcastle lingering in the back of his mind, Villas-Boas could have done with marking his White Hart Lane bow with a win, but it was not to be.The London side lacked the fluency displayed during the majority of last season under Harry Redknapp, although there were encouraging performances from Sandro, Gareth Bale and Jan Vertonghen, who thought he had marked his debut by scoring a 94th-minute winner only to see if ruled out for offside.Villas-Boas and his trio of new signings received a huge round of applause before kick-off, and the Portuguese's charges looked determined to deliver for their new boss.Bale was the architect of an early onslaught. The winger, playing in a wider role than he did under Redknapp, cut in off the left flank and fired a shot just wide.The Welshman then found Sandro in the box but the Brazilian went down under pressure before he could get a shot off.Bale spun his marker in the corner and sent a low ball across the box but Liam Ridgewell prevented Aaron Lennon steering home from close range.Lennon did get on the end of a Bale cross soon after but the England winger miscued a volley.Rafael van der Vaart was the next Spurs player to go close, steering a curled shot just wide after Lennon cut the ball back to the Dutchman.Tottenham's dominance on the game started to wane, leaving Villas-Boas to cut the look a worried figure on the edge of his technical area.West Brom still lacked a cutting edge going forward, however, with Vertonghen snuffing out any threat from the visitors.The Belgian had a chance to mark his Spurs debut with a goal after playing a clever one-two with Bale but he rifled a volley well over.Steven Reid fashioned West Brom's only chance of the first half a curling free-kick that easily cleared Brad Friedel's bar, and Ben Foster was called in to action for the first time in the 46th minute when he saved a weak shot from Defoe.Tottenham continued to dominate in the second period but still could not find the net.Van der Vaart picked out Bale with a peach of a cross-field pass but the Welshman volleyed well over.Foster then pulled off a terrific diving save to deny Assou-Ekotto from a 20-yard free-kick.Defoe then spurned a great chance to put Spurs ahead when he latched on to Jake Livermore's pass but his effort went wide.Villas-Boas turned to Emmanuel Adebayor for inspiration, the Togo marksman coming on for Van der Vaart just after the hour.Villas-Boas thought the #5million striker had won him a penalty when he tussled with Gareth McAuley but Mike Dean waved play on.Spurs thought they had finally broken the deadlock after 64 minutes when Defoe smashed home an Assou-Ekotto cross, but the linesman ruled the England striker had strayed offside.Lukaku came on for West Brom and almost made an immediate impact, shrugging off Vertonghen before drawing a good save from Brad Friedel.Lukaku's presence was causing Spurs all kinds of problems, but the mood inside White Hart Lane lifted in the 74th minute when the hosts took the lead.Gylfi Sigurdsson's corner was cleared in to the path of Assou-Ekotto and he smashed home a half-volley courtesy of a big deflection off McAuley.Lukaku took advantage of some lackadaisical defending to gain some space just outside the Spurs box but Vertonghen came to the rescue with an outstanding sliding tackle.West Brom piled on the pressure through Fortune and Lukaku towards the death.McAuley came agonisingly close to scoring in the final minute when he sent over a looping header that was cleared off the line by Assou-Ekotto.Then 30 seconds in to injury time West Brom equalised when Morrison swept home from close range shortly after William Gallas had cleared off the line.Vertonghen thought he had won the game with almost the last kick when he volleyed home but his effort was disallowed.
Southampton 0-2 Wigan Athletic
Franco Di Santo's classy finish put Wigan on course for victory at Southampton as the promoted side paid for their inability to find a way past Ali al-Habsi.The Argentina striker's second-half goal was followed up late on by an Arouna Koné effort as Wigan secured their first points of the season at St Mary's.Wigan's accomplished victory was also just what their manager, Roberto Martínez, was looking for after the midweek departure of Victor Moses to Chelsea. "It would be unfair to single out one player. I think the whole team took massive responsibility after losing Victor Moses," said Martínez."I am very, very satisfied because we knew how difficult it would be and I thought the first half an hour showed that. When you come to a newly-promoted side like Southampton with an incredible feeling and momentum from the last two seasons, we knew we would have to cope with that in the first half an hour."I don't think the Southampton players should be disappointed at all. I thought they put us in a position where we had to defend and needed Ali al-Habsi to be at his best."Southampton started their first home Premier League match in seven years strongly and the captain Adam Lallana saw an early long-range effort tipped on to the bar by al-Habsi.Jay Rodriguez and Danny Fox had efforts blocked as Saints continued to press, before the latter required treatment after receiving an ankle knock as his attempt was thwarted.Wigan looked rejuvenated when play resumed and Fonte had to react quickly to get his body in the way of an acrobatic Maynor Figueroa shot.The game, though, soon became scrappy as the rain began to hammer down and, aside from a Di Santo cross-shot going wide, the half ended without incident.Things began slowly after the restart but soon livened up as Wigan took a 51st-minute lead. Play had started at the other end as al-Habsi superbly saved a goalbound Rickie Lambert header, before Wigan broke the deadlock as Maloney played through Di Santo to hammer the ball into the top right-hand corner.Southampton were beginning to look devoid of ideas and losing possession with alarming regularity. Long shots were providing the home side's best chances and Lambert would have levelled in the 64th minute had his fierce 25-yard shot not been met by another fine al-Habsi save.Nigel Adkins, the Southampton manager, brought on James Ward-Prowse and Billy Sharp for the last 15 minutes as his side pushed for an equaliser, which they came close to as Jos Hooiveld saw a header loop on to the bar.Wigan ensured victory in the 89th minute after José Fonte was dispossessed by Koné, who ran the length of the pitch before slotting past Kelvin Davis while Southampton appealed in vain for a foul.For Adkins it was a harsh encounter with the realities of the top flight. "I think it just highlights how ruthless the Premier League is," he said. "Wigan haven't really had that many opportunities but they've gone and scored."There was a lot of positives to take from it in terms of the opportunities we did create, but ultimately we were looking for the three points today."
Chelsea 2-0 Newcastle United
Chelsea Play-maker Eden Hazard was again the standout player as he orchestrated a comfortable 2-0 victory over Newcastle in their Barclays Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge.The Belgium international opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute before brilliantly laying on the second goal for Fernando Torres in first-half stoppage time.Chelsea were without injured skipper John Terry and left vice-captain Frank Lampard on the bench, but still had enough quality and experience to dominate against a good Magpies side.The victory saw the Blues maintain their perfect start to the new season and return to the top of the fledgling league table.The opening 15 minutes were uneventful, with John Obi Mikel firing high and wide and Hazard shooting straight at Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul.But the home side created the first real chance three minutes later.Torres controlled a cross-field pass from Raul Meireles before rolling a ball just inside the box to Ryan Bertrand, whose effort was not strong enough to test Krul.The European champions were ahead soon after, though, when Vurnon Anita - making his first Premier League start for Newcastle - brought down Torres just inside the area.With regular penalty-taker Lampard on the bench, Hazard - who earned spot-kicks for his side in each of their first two games this season stepped up and directed a low penalty past Krul.Branislav Ivanovic nearly doubled Chelsea's lead just after the half-hour mark when he out-jumped Davide Santon to meet Ashley Cole's deep cross but his header was too close to Krul, who managed to keep the Serbia captain's effort out.Hazard could have grabbed his second of the game five minutes later but he blazed over from the edge of the area as the hosts started to dominate possession.Torres was then showed a yellow card by referee Phil Dowd for diving after knocking the ball around Fabricio Coloccini with the whole of the Chelsea bench up in arms as it appeared the Newcastle captain caught Torres with his trailing leg.The visitors went close to equalising a minute before half-time when full-back Danny Simpson challenged David Luiz as he tried to carry the ball out of the box.The loose ball broke for Papiss Cisse, but his snap-shot - although hit with venom - was straight at Petr Cech, who held the ball well.There was still time before the interval for Chelsea to double their lead as the impressive Hazard back-heeled the ball perfectly into the path of Torres, who finished coolly into the top corner.Newcastle came out in the second half looking for an early goal to get themselves back into the game.First Hatem Ben Arfa wriggled free before shooting wide before Jonas Gutierrez followed suit moments later.Demba Ba then forced Cech into a smart save with his legs after breaking free inside the Chelsea penalty area.With the visitors starting to get a foothold in the game, Roberto Di Matteo introduced Ramires off the bench in place of Juan Mata to add more guile to the Chelsea midfield.But it was Newcastle substitute Ryan Taylor who almost orchestrated the third goal of the game.His deep free-kick was met by the head of Cisse but the Senegal striker could not keep his effort down and it comfortably cleared Cech's crossbar.With Newcastle pushing forward Chelsea were able to launch several counter-attacks and Bertrand almost scored a third with 10 minutes to go but his drilled effort was deflected past Krul's far post for a corner.Magpies boss Alan Pardew introduced Sylvain Marveaux for the final 15 minutes and his injection of pace added to Newcastle's potency in attack.His 84th-minute cross found its way to Ba who, after mis-kicking his first effort, forced a low save out of Cech from eight yards.With 90 minutes on the clock Luiz required treatment following a clash of heads with Ba as the two contested another Marveaux cross.Despite requiring a bandage after suffering a nasty cut, the Brazilian defender was untroubled for the five minutes of additional time as Chelsea saw out the remainder of the game without incident.
Note:
Sunderland Vs Reading match was suspended due to a problem” with the Stadium of Light’s newly-laid pitch.
