Stoke City 0-4 Chelsea
Stoke's long unbeaten home run was brought to a shuddering halt as Chelsea chalked up a much-needed victory - with a helping hand from Jonathan Walters.The Potters had not lost at the Britannia Stadium in the Barclays Premier League since February and have proved formidable opponents for the league's big guns, but this was their biggest home loss since returning to the top flight in 2008.It began to go wrong in injury time at the end of the first half when Walters headed into his own net, and remarkably the striker repeated the trick in the 62nd minute.Three minutes later Frank Lampard netted a penalty after Juan Mata went down and Eden Hazard rounded off the scoring with a long-range screamer 17 minutes from time.Walters was given the chance to at least score one goal at the right end when Stoke were awarded a 90th-minute penalty but in keeping with the rest of the striker's day he could only find the top of the bar.Chelsea boss Rafael Benitez made the decision to start Demba Ba for his first Premier League appearance for the club, with Fernando Torres dropping to the bench.Defender Gary Cahill was absent to be at the birth of his son so David Luiz dropped back into defence alongside Branislav Ivanovic, the culprit for both Swansea's goals in the midweek Capital One Cup defeat.Lampard started while captain John Terry was on the bench for the first time since sustaining knee ligament damage two months ago.Benitez was once again feeling the heat from the Chelsea fans following the Swansea result and defeat by QPR in their last league game, but they began positively and only a well-timed tackle from Ryan Shawcross prevented Ramires getting a shot away.The Stoke captain showed just why the Potters were so keen to tie him to a long-term deal with some assured play to steady the ship and soon it was the home side who were threatening.In the eighth minute a shot from Andy Wilkinson was blocked by Ramires and the ball fell to Kenwyne Jones on the right of the area. His shot beat Petr Cech but rolled just past the post.Chelsea were rattled and Cech was grateful to hang on to a header from Steven Nzonzi, who could not get enough power into his effort.The visitors were struggling to get out of their half but a break in the 25th minute provided them with a great chance as Ba found Lampard running into the area only for Asmir Begovic to stick out a leg and deny him.The Bosnian's reputation has soared this season and he was again the saviour for Stoke six minutes later as Ba outpaced Robert Huth but could not beat the keeper with the angle tightening, while Wilkinson's crunching tackle stopped Ramires from reaching the loose ball.Stoke by now were reduced to half-chances - a shot on the turn from Jones that was blocked by Luiz and a volley from Glenn Whelan that was straight at Cech.It looked like the teams would go into half-time all square but with injury time almost up Cesar Azpilicueta swung in a cross from the right.Mata was poised to convert but he was beaten to the ball by a diving Walters, who powered the ball past his own keeper.The striker attempted to make amends after the restart but, although he beat the Chelsea defence, the angle was too narrow to really trouble Cech.It was an open game and, after Begovic had produced another decent stop to push Ashley Cole's low drive round the post, Nzonzi tested Cech with a fine strike from 25 yards that the Chelsea keeper pushed over the bar.Shortly after, Stoke thought they had been given a penalty when Matthew Etherington fell under a challenge from Azpilicueta but referee Andre Marriner had in fact awarded a free-kick to Chelsea for offside.The killer goal arrived in the 62nd minute, and incredibly it was another own goal from Walters. This time Mata sent in a corner and the Stoke striker got his head to the ball just ahead of Lampard.The Potters were now staring at the end of their long unbeaten home run, and things got worse three minutes later when they conceded a penalty.Mata broke through and went to ground under pressure from both Huth and Shawcross, although it was the contact from Huth that seemed to prompt Marriner to point to the spot.Lampard smashed the penalty down the middle, and he should have added a fourth moments later but shot straight at Begovic from point-blank range.The visitors did manage another in the 73rd minute, though, and what a strike it was as Hazard let fly from 25 yards and the ball rocketed into the top corner.Two minutes before Torres had replaced Ba, while Terry was given a little over 10 minutes - and was greeted by his now customary reaction from the opposing fans.There was still time for the defender to give away a penalty for a foul on Walters, but there was no redemption for the striker.
Reading 3-2 West-Brom
Pavel Pogrebnyak completed the most stunning comeback of this Premier League season as Reading lifted themselves off the bottom of the table with three goals in the last eight minutes.While a bemused Steve Clarke admitted that he could offer no explanation for West Bromwich's collapse, his opposite number Brian McDermott celebrated the fighting spirit of his promoted team that could yet keep them up.'It was a great win for us,' said the Reading manager.'Any other team would have been out of it but I was proud of the way we stayed in the game. It was a great fillip for all of us.' Clarke admitted that he felt stunned. 'We're examining the wreckage of a really good performance that turned into a nightmare,' said the Albion manager.'I'm disappointed rather than angry because we had good control of the game and lost our shape and composure at the end.'We weren't complacent but football can be a strange game at times.' Until Reading launched their recovery, Albion had been comfortably in command of the game, with Romelu Lukaku giving a masterclass in the art of how to play the role of the lone front man.The £18million teenager, on loan from Chelsea, had looked a class apart from the rest of two evenly matched teams as he eased the visitors into a two-goal lead - and was denied two more by the woodwork. After Adam Federici had prevented James Morrison from claiming an opening Albion goal with a flying reflex save, the hard-working midfielder responded with a surging run from the left which set up Lukaku to score from close range.While Reading, with plenty of the ball, struggled to find a way through a packed Albion defence, Lukaku continued to show them how it should be done.First, he thumped a header against the inside of the post from Chris Brunt's cross and then shuddered the crossbar with a left-foot shot - with Federici helpless on both occasions.When the Belgian finally added his second in the 69th minute it was no more than he deserved, cutting inside Adrian Mariappa before beating Federici at his near post with a powerful daisy-cutter.A comfortable away win looked on the cards but, as some Reading fans headed for the exits, their team had other ideas.When Jimmy Kebe stooped to head in a low 82nd-minute cross from Garath McClear, the mood changed.And the spindly Mali winger was to match Lukaku in deciding the outcome. Kebe's burst into the area from Chris Gunter's knock-down three minutes from time resulted in Jonas Olsson lunging to bring him down. Referee Kevin Friend pointed to the spot and Adam le Fondre sent Albion goalkeeper Ben Foster the wrong way.A welcome point then became three as Alex Pearce headed down Ian Harte's free-kick and Pogrebnyak volleyed home from close range for his third goal in three games - before being booked for taking his shirt off. This was one occasion when the big Russian could surely have been forgiven.
Southampton 1-0 Aston Villa
In the week Lionel Messi's brilliance won him another Ballon D'Or, Aston Villa furthered their claims to the Barn Door, such is their current inability to hit one.After the stunning midweek Capital One Cup semi-final defeat by Bradford City that saw Villa spurn chance after chance, Christian Benteke was the chief culprit once more as they drew a Premier League blank yet again at Villa Park to make it just one goal from their last six home games.As they sank sadly into the bottom three, Villa were left to claim - with justification - that Jay Rodriguez was angling for contact that never actually came from Enda Stevens for the penalty that was converted by Rickie Lambert and proved to be Southampton's winning goal.'It was nowhere near a penalty but I am not going to get involved in calling the boy a cheat,' said beleaguered Villa manager Paul Lambert.'I can't fault my team for their second-half performance. It was relentless but we have been beaten by a penalty that wasn't.'I like Mark Halsey and he is an experienced referee but, at big moments in big games, they have got to get it right. He's guessed at that decision. He'll be embarrassed when he sees that on TV.'Even Southampton manager Nigel Adkins admitted there had been no contact but he sought to justify Rodriguez's fall.'The defender stuck a leg out and, if Jay hadn't gone down, there would have been contact,' he said.'We don't advocate diving at our club but we should have had seven or eight penalties this season so maybe what goes around comes around.'It all illustrated the modern moral maze that the game finds itself in with a player winning an unjust penalty given in good faith by a deceived referee and which a manager has sought to justify.In truth, had Southampton taken their chances before a late Villa rally that produced some woefully wayward finishing, the incident would have become a side issue rather than the game's decisive moment.Southampton, finding their feet as a team in the top flight even if Rodriguez was losing his, are developing a neat saving grace in beating the sides around them, having seen off Reading and Queens Park Rangers and now done the double over Villa.Villa began brightly enough before their miserable recent record assaulted their psyches again. Once settled, though, Southampton were patently the more composed and confident side, despite missing key figures in Jose Fonte and Adam Lallana.They particularly sought to exploit Lambert's fondness for his fullbacks to get forward by stealing possession and feeding the lively Jason Puncheon on Southampton's right.From Puncheon's cross, Rodriguez's glanced header was not far wide and, on the other flank, the highly promising Southampton left-back, Luke Shaw, drove forward before drilling a cross shot just wide.Thus did it come as no surprise when Southampton took the lead just past the half-hour - even if it was so controversial.The Southampton bench was berating Rodriguez for dallying and not taking a shot before the striker retrieved the situation then went down as Stevens swung a leg at him.Halsey - a replacement in the morning when Chris Foy pulled out through illness - pointed to the spot and Lambert's confident conversion was his 31st without failure in his Southampton career.Fifteen half-time minutes of respite resulted in Villa emerging with renewed intent to enthuse anew supporters who had jeered them off at the interval, weary of the ball being slung up to the totemic Benteke - exceptional in the air admittedly - by players without options.However, Andreas Weimann's good run was followed by a shot straight at Artur Boruc and, after the goalkeeper had also saved well from Stevens's drive, Benteke hooked the rebound wastefully over the bar from a few yards out.When the goal did not come, Villa's belief waned again and Southampton looked dangerous on the break again.The well-named Puncheon went close to delivering the knockout blow for the home side but his low shot from the edge of the penalty area hit a post.Villa's late assault saw Boruc save well from Benteke's downward header and Nathan Baker head a corner against the Southampton bar but goals eluded them to encourage Bradford City for that Capital One Cup semi-final second leg at Villa Park on Tuesday week.Villa should be more worried about the Premier League. Their last 38 games have yielded just 30 points - relegation form in anyone's book.
Queens Park Rangers 0-0 Tottenham
On days like this, when the match is barren, the spectacle is dire and the cold is gnawing the bones, it can be difficult to remember that the Premier League is the greatest football competition in the civilised world. Yet the coaches always insist that we 'take the positives', even when they are so few and far between. And so, searching for the elusive silver lining, we can report that QPR defended diligently and in suffocating numbers, that Spurs passed the ball with meticulous care, and that, far from shunning each other, the two managers seemed to get on rather well.After that, we struggle to look on the bright side of life. Because, by any standards, it was turgid stuff. Harry Redknapp would speak of players who 'did their jobs', of making his team 'difficult to beat'. With commendable candour, he would reflect: 'That's all you can ask of players. You have to play the hand you've got. It's no good me saying we're going to rip Tottenham to pieces. We might have been taken apart.' With slightly less candour, he would also claim: 'That was a great point for us.' He knows, better than the rest of us, that a single point at home, even against a side like Spurs, is not the kind of dividend which will keep his QPR side up. So he applauded the effort and ignored the outcome. For his part, Andre Villas-Boas spoke of the difficulties his attackers had faced. In particular, he sympathised with Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon.'They made it very difficult for us,' he said. 'There wasn't a lot of space behind them. We found it hard to break them.' He did not mention his dissatisfaction at the slowness of thought, the bluntness of wit, the inability to translate overwhelming possession into tangible reward. But then, he did not have to. His team's football had spoken for itself. In truth, Spurs were disappointing.With all that ability, all those creative players, they scarcely fashioned a worthwhile chance.Indeed, the best they managed emerged as early as the fifth minute, when Jermain Defoe flashed a drive which was touched against a post by Julio Cesar, and Emmanuel Adebayor, allowed ample time and space, battered the rebound at the goalkeeper from 10 yards.At the time, it felt like a prelude to something dramatic; in fact, it proved a false promise. QPR simply dug their trenches and defended their positions. From time to time they would go through some counter-attacking motions, and in the 11th minute Shaun Wright-Phillips actually forced a drive which was deflected for a corner. But, by and large they simply lined up behind the ball, denied Spurs their essential space and placed survival at the top of their priorities. In fairness, they were exceedingly efficient. The defenders understood their roles, while in midfield the strength of Stephane Mbia was constantly influential.But a side of Tottenham's pretensions should have solved the problems with something to spare. Spurs could never get their collective heads around them.Injury to Sandro in the 25th minute brought Scott Parker into the midfield fray, but he contributed little but tidy persistence. At such times, lonely eyes turn to the likes of Bale and Lennon, but they turned in vain. And as the game rumbled on without issue, the Loftus Road crowd started to celebrate the prospect of a point. Small celebrations, it's true, but they have had precious little reason to celebrate even trifles in South West London this season.Such was the dreariness of the match that heads turned to the exchange between the managers at the end. Redknapp had been quoted as saying some vaguely uncomplimentary things about his successor at White Hart Lane. He denied it vigorously: 'I don't even know him. He seems like a nice man.'In any event, they pumped each other's hands, even shared a brief embrace.'I told him what a good job he was doing,' confided Redknapp.And everyone murmured: 'Ahhh!' It had at least distracted attention from the dreary fare their teams had provided. Villas-Boas took refuge in a shrug, while the QPR manager struck another optimistic note. 'Players might want to look at our last couple of results - against Chelsea and here today - and think, "Maybe there is a chance at QPR".' He looks on the bright side of life, does 'Arry. Yesterday, at Loftus Road, somebody had to.
Sunderland 3-0 West ham United
A wonder goal by Sebastian Larsson set up a comfortable victory for Sunderland as they dragged themselves further clear of the Barclays Premier League relegation zone.But West Ham manager Sam Allardyce was furious about his team’s display and condemned the comedy of errors which led to Sunderland’s second goal. ‘Just look at it, it was pathetic, wasn’t it?’ said Allardyce.‘We have a free-kick and we let the opposition score. Our goalkeeper [Jussi Jaaskelainen] gets us out of jail in the first place by making a really good save, and then we mess up the clearance and they score.‘It probably sums us up today. We didn’t defend correctly, we didn’t have the appetite for defending correctly and nullifying the opposition’s strengths, and we never passed the ball as well as we know we can.’Now Allardyce is hoping to acquire more reinforcements after watching two of his three recent signings fail to improve the club’s away form.Brazilian forward Wellington Paulista did not receive international clearance in time, but former England international Joe Cole played the full game and Marouane Chamakh, recruited until the end of the season from Arsenal, came off the bench.But neither were able to lift West Ham from an insipid performance only a week after their outstanding display in the 2-2 FA Cup draw with Manchester United.The defeat extends the Hammers’ miserable run to only one point from their last five away games and their defeat on Wearside came at a cost, with defender James Collins suffering a hamstring injury that may sideline him for a month.Allardyce plans to ask West Ham owners David Sullivan and David Gold for permission to enter the transfer market again to shore up his defence.‘The defensive side of our team is weak and short of numbers now, so I’m going to ask to try to strengthen that side of things in the next few days,’ said Allardyce.‘Away from home is a concern. While we have picked up two wins and a couple of draws, our performances are getting worse, not better. We haven’t scored enough goals away from home, and even when we got an easy chance we couldn’t score it again today. But everything about the way we played today was a concern to me, not just being unable to score goals.‘It was an all-round performance that makes life extremely difficult for me to accept based on how good we played just seven days ago against Manchester United. The level of difference between that game and this one is just staggering. We were absolutely brilliant in all departments last week, but this week we were poor in all departments.’Sweden international Larsson’s stunning effort in the 12th minute helped Martin O’Neill’s strugglers equal their biggest win of the season. Adam Johnson’s right-wing cross was easily picked off by Alou Diarra, but he could only head it to Larsson 25 yards out and the Swede smashed an unstopp-able left-foot shot high past Jaaskelainen to open the scoring.The game was effectively over when Johnson scored from close range two minutes into the second half. Young defender Dan Potts attempted to control the ball on his chest when it came to him from Jaaskelainen’s parried save but succeeded only in allowing Steven Fletcher to nip in and find Johnson at the far post.James McClean wrapped up the win 16 minutes from time after Stephane Sessegnon had left defenders trailing in his wake not for the first time.‘The win was important for us,’ said O’Neill. ‘I think anybody in the bottom half of the table still has to be anxiously looking over their shoulder.’O’Neill also confirmed that Senegal international defender Kader Mangane is heading for Wearside in the hope of clinching a loan deal until the end of the seasonBy the time referee Neil Swarbrick blew the final whistle, West Ham looked shellshocked after their fifth successive away game without scoring. And they will be grateful for some respite from their league problems when they go to Old Trafford for Wednesday’s third-round replay against United.
Everton 0-0 Swansea City
On the day the world's best coach visited Goodison Park, an Everton team who guarantee goals virtually every time they play and visitors renowned for their exciting football failed to score a single goal.Spain manager Vicente del Bosque picked up FIFA's Coach of the Year award last week and was watching Swansea's Spaniards - Michu, Angel Rangel, Pablo Hernandez and Chico Flores - before heading south for today's match between Arsenal and Manchester City in London.Everton had 16 chances that on a different day might have led to a handful of goals. A lack of finesse and some powerfully committed defending thwarted them.Swansea had one great opportunity, a Michu chip in the first half, but it was tipped on to the bar by Tim Howard.Yet a clean sheet and a point in the same week as a famous Capital One Cup semi-final first leg victory at Chelsea left manager Michael Laudrup delighted.'To come here and get a point at Everton in such a difficult away game after playing away at Chelsea is great,' he said.'We didn't have the ball as much as we're used to but to have two clean sheets as well says a lot about us and the spirit within our group.'This was the first time in20 games in all competitions that Everton have failed to score and manager David Moyes admitted to feeling 'frustrated' by a final score that means his side have lost ground on the top four.'We needed to play a bit better, pass a bit quicker and be a bit cleverer in the final third,' said Moyes.'We had three or four chances but I can't say anyone missed a real sitter - we just couldn't get the ball over the line.'Apart from that chip [from Michu], they didn't trouble us too much, but take nothing away from them after their hard week.'Marouane Fellaini's 20- yard shot was held in the first minute by Michel Vorm, who then blocked an effort from Nikica Jelavic.Victor Anichebe had the next effort on target, heading on goal after Fellaini's knock-on from Phil Jagielka's cross.Vorm got a hand to it and Swansea captain Ashley Williams hoofed off the line.Michu met a pass from Nathan Dyer and his chip was heading into the net before a back-pedalling Howard got his hand to it.Everton's two other best efforts were a close-range Leon Osman header and Phil Jagielka's header over from five yards after a Leighton Baines corner. Everton also had a penalty shout denied for Williams' challenge on Jelavic.
Norwich 0-0 Newcastle
Fabricio Coloccini did not let his emotions affect his display as he helped Newcastle to their first clean sheet away from home in the Premier League this season.The United captain wants to follow his wife back to his native Argentina, where his former club San Lorenzo are prepared to offer him a job.Yesterday Coloccini was taunted by supporters in a section of Carrow Road known as 'the snake-pit'.'He wants to go home,' they chanted. 'He misses his mum.'The humour was an attempt to hit the long-haired defender where it hurts. Yet he let his feet do the talking - and almost snatched a winner 10 minutes from time.Coloccini's spectacular volley fizzed over the bar almost before keeper Mark Bunn had time to react.But it was at the back that Coloccini looked calmest, defying his emotions after his wife returned to home, reportedly due to an illness.'I thought he played well,' said manager Alan Pardew. 'Out of the central defenders he looked the calmest and most assured.'We'll speak this week and try to resolve the situation, and we'll keep that in-house. But of course I'm hopeful of keeping him.'But Newcastle continue to slide down the table even though Pardew spoke as if he had stopped the rot.'This was definitely a step forward for us,' he said.'It was a real solid performance and we looked a little like the old Newcastle.'Norwich manager Chris Hughton rued squandered chances. He said: 'I was pleased with the clean sheet and we were confident at the back, but less so offensively. We lacked quality and composure in the final third and our set-pieces let us down, too. We have to make sure we steer clear of trouble.'It was a dismal first half. Newcastle's Gabriel Obertan and Papiss Cisse saw shots saved by Bunn, while Wes Hoolahan wasted a good chance and Tim Krul stopped a soft header from Robert Snodgrass.There was brief excitement in the second half when Norwich captain Russell Martin's half-volley hit a post and Anthony Pilkington's powerful shot was well saved by Krul. Substitute Grant Holt also caused chaos in the Newcastle area with a header at the end.
Fulham 1-1 Wigan
Somewhere in the pile of mediocrity that misrepresented itself as a game in what is purported to be the top football league in the world were a couple of scoring gems and a world-class save that just about made it all worthwhile.Giorgos Karagounis got the first for Fulham in the 22nd minute, a 20-yard shot that went in off a post, before Franco di Santo equalised in the 71st minute.But Wigan then lost defender Ivan Ramis to a knee injury that could keep him out for the rest of the season.And if Roberto Martinez described Mark Schwarzer's 55th-minute stop to deny Shaun Maloney as 'save of the season', he could still point to a last-ditch goalline clearance from Maynor Figueroa as a priceless point-saver.The Aussie keeper flung himself across his goal to push the Scot's fierce shot on to the bar and over for a corner, but defender Figueroa's clearance from Bryan Ruiz's effort matched it.Fulham were well worth their advantage when Karagounis strode on to a pass from Sascha Riether and crashed a right-foot shot past Ali Al Habsi.And with Dimitar Berbatov orchestrating in the final third, all the home team had to do was build on their first-half efforts. But they came up against a more determined Wigan side after the break.'I thought we showed great character and were probably better value for more than one goal,' said Martinez.'I was very pleased with the performance. When they scored against the run of play, it would have been all too easy to accept their momentum, but we defended really well.'Martin Jol said: 'We just couldn't get that second vital goal. Last year one goal was enough for us in a lot of matches - but not this season.' Martinez's satisfaction was tainted by the late injury to Ramis after damaging his knee.He said: 'The early signs are that he has torn cruciate ligaments. 'He will have a scan but I fear the worst. If it is as bad as it looks, then we could lose him for the rest of the season.'
