ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE,- Saturday’s action kicked off with a cracker of a match between two old foes as Liverpool hosted Manchester United at Anfield. Steven Gerrard marked his comeback with a goal but failed to see his team home as Javier Hernandez bagged an equaliser. On the other hand, United’s neighbours and title rivals Manchester City continued their good run by routing Aston Villa by 4 goals to 1 at the Etihad. Elsewhere in the League, Norwich City beat Swansea, while Bolton got themselves out of the relegation zone with a win on the road at Wigan. There was also another home win for Stoke City, while Blackburn did well to hold QPR to a draw on the road.
Liverpool 1-1 Manchester United
This match has never been short on excitement, although this year it turned out to be a little different with Manchester United fielding a surprisingly conservative side with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Nani, Anderson and Javier Hernandez all named on bench. After a goal-less first half, both sides were a little more enterprising in the second. Liverpool did dominate at home, and managed to get their noses in front courtesy of their talismanic captain Steven Gerrard, who found the back of the net with a free-kick from just outside the box. Sir Alex Ferguson then brought on three players- Nani, Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez as United began to see more of the ball. Their possession bore fruit in the 81st minute as Nani’s free-kick found Welbeck, who headed on the ball for an oncoming Hernandez, who in turn headed it home. The hosts though had a bevy of chances late in the game to get in front once more, but they failed to do so, partly due to some sharp goalkeeping by David De Gea and partly due to some shoddy finishing.
Manchester City 4-1 Aston Villa
City hosted Villa at the Etihad, looking for a victory to take them to the top of the table after United’s result earlier in the day and managed to bag all three points, with 4 different players finding the back of the net. With an eye on the Champions League match, Roberto Mancini decided to rest Samir Nasri, David Silva and Edin Dzeko and preferred to start with Mario Baotelli upfront. The Italian did not disappoint though and found the back of the net after 28 minutes. Andy Johnson then doubled the lead just 2 minutes after the restart after some woeful defending by Stephen Warnock as Vincent Kompany put the result beyond doubt after 52 minutes with City’s third. Villa did manage to peg the Citizens back after 65 minutes, with Warnock the scorer although City managed to restore their 3 goal lead 6 minutes later courtesy of James Milner.
Norwich City 3-1 Swansea
It was the clash of the two newly promoted teams and the Canaries emerged on top by beating Swansea at home. Anthony Pilkington broke the deadlock within a minute with Russell Martin doubling the hosts’ lead after 9 minutes. Swansea though gave themselves some hope of coming back by equalising through Danny Graham in the 12th minute, but they failed to find the back of the net as Pilkington put the result beyond doubt after 63 minutes. Norwich now climb to 9th in the table with 11 points in 8 games while Swansea fall to 11th with 8 points in as many games.
QPR 1-1 Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn broke their losing streak by battling for a draw against the Queen Park Rangers. Icelandic striker Heidar Helguson put the Hoops in front after 16 minutes and the hosts pushed on searching for a second. Rovers though managed to find an equaliser after 24 minutes as defender Chris Samba headed home from a corner. In the second half, QPR did create a few more chances, with a claim for penalty being turned down by referee Mark Clattenburg. Blackburn, though held on and managed to keep the score-line unchanged as they finished the match with a point. Steve Kean’s men, however, now find themselves at the bottom of the table with just 5 points from 8 games, while QPR are 10 places above them with 9 points.
Stoke City 2-0 Fulham
Tony Pulis’ men meanwhile continued their excellent start to the season by beating Martin Jol’s Fulham at home. After a goal-less first half, neither of the sides managed to break the deadlock for the majority of the second as well and the match seemed to be heading for a draw. However, Jonathan Walters put the hosts ahead in the 80th minute as Rory Delap’s 87th minute header put the match beyond Fulham’s reach. With the win, Stoke now find themselves in 7th place with 12 points from 8 games, while Fulham find themselves in 12th place, just 2 points above the relegation zone.
Wigan 1-3 Bolton
Owen Coyle’s Bolton beat Wigan away from home to move just above the relegation zone. Nigel Reo-Coker put the visitors in front after just 4 minutes only for Mohamed Diame to equalise after 40 minutes. However, Bolton regained their advantage just as the half was about to end courtesy of a goal from former Liverpool striker David N’Gog. The match though was still within Wigan’s reach, as the score remained 2-1 for the majority of the match, with Kevin Davies missing his penalty in the 73rd minute. Winger Chris Eagles though bagged Bolton’s third in stoppage time. As a result of their loss, Wigan now find themselves in 19th place, level on points with West Brom and Blackburn Rovers.
The most significant change in the table was right at the top as Manchester City moved 2 points clear of United at the summit. Liverpool remained in 5th place, but could find themselves dropping to 6th if Tottenham win tomorrow against Newcastle. The table seems to be taking shape, especially as far as the bottom half is concerned, with Blackburn, Wigan and West Brom all struggling in the league. However, with only 3 points separating the bottom 10 teams, anything could still happen with the majority of the season still to go. Super Sunday will see three matches being played, with West Brom taking on Wolves, Arsenal hosting Sunderland and Tottenham travelling to Newcastle.
Home » Hasil Internasional » English Premier League Saturday Result (15. Oct 2011)
