Premier League round-up: Big Four snatch victories
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| Roque Santa Cruz 86 | Xabi Alonso 69 | |||||||
| Yossi Benayoun 79 | ||||||||
| Steven Gerrard 90 |
Liverpool kept their noses in front of Chelsea at the top of Premier League table after a hard-fought 3-1 win at Blackburn.
Liverpool had been held to two frustrating 0-0 draws in their previous Premier League matches and they were again frustrated for long periods before they came out as winners at Ewood Park.
Midfielder Xabi Alonso finally broke the deadlock on 69 minutes as the Spaniard placed his shot under André Ooijer and beat goalkeeper Paul Robinson.
Superb solo work by Yossi Benayoun provided the decisive second 10 minutes later to give Liverpool a two-goal cushion.
Roque Santa Cruz provided a late scare for the Reds by heading in at the far post with four minutes to go, but Steven Gerrard sealed the win in stoppage time to heap more pressure on Blackburn boss Paul Ince.
Liverpool now have 37 points, one ahead of Chelsea and six in front of third-placed Manchester United.
Chelsea cruised to a 2-0 win at Bolton to record their eighth straight away victory in the Premier League.
Nicolas Anelka, who moved to Stamford Bridge from Bolton for £15 million in January, took just nine minutes to put the Blues in front as he headed home his 15th goal of the season.
Deco then made it 2-0 in the 21st minute with a sublime scissor kick from 15 yards, although Chelsea were helped by a series of mistakes from the Bolton defence in the build-up to the goal.
The Trotters bombarded the Chelsea backline in the second half and felt they should have had a penalty for a John Terry handball, but Chelsea survived to hold on for all three points.
The 11th consecutive away victory allowed Chelsea to surpass the record of 10 set by Bill Nicholson's Tottenham side in 1960.
Emmanuel Adebayor netted the only goal in a 1-0 home victory over Wigan to keep Arsenal's faint title hopes alive.
Adebayor had not scored since October but he broke the deadlock in the 16th minute, smashing home past Chris Kirkland after sloppy defending from the visitors.
The Gunners were twice denied by the woodwork as Adebayor hit the post with a low effort in the first half before Denilson rattled the upright in the second period.
But the talking point of the match was Emmanuel Eboue's performance, which Arsène Wenger's described as a 'danger' to his own side.
The Ivorian came on as a 32nd-minute substitute for the injured Samir Nasri but had to be hauled off by Wenger before the final whistle after a nightmare showing.
Eboue had been booed and his substitution was greeted with huge cheers.
Nemanja Vidić was the hero at Old Trafford as Manchester United snatched a dramatic 1-0 win against Sunderland.
Sunderland, in their first match since the departure of manager Roy Keane, kept United at bay for 90 minutes with a brave defensive performance.
And the home side looked like having to settle with a point until Vidić rescued the day with his late, late winner.
The Serbian defender tapped home a close-range winner in injury time after Michael Carrick's deflected shot had hit the post.
Elsewhere in Premier League on Saturday:
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Technorati tags:Soccer news Football news Premier League Liverpool Manchester United Chelsea Arsenal
Liverpool had been held to two frustrating 0-0 draws in their previous Premier League matches and they were again frustrated for long periods before they came out as winners at Ewood Park.
Midfielder Xabi Alonso finally broke the deadlock on 69 minutes as the Spaniard placed his shot under André Ooijer and beat goalkeeper Paul Robinson.
Superb solo work by Yossi Benayoun provided the decisive second 10 minutes later to give Liverpool a two-goal cushion.
Roque Santa Cruz provided a late scare for the Reds by heading in at the far post with four minutes to go, but Steven Gerrard sealed the win in stoppage time to heap more pressure on Blackburn boss Paul Ince.
Liverpool now have 37 points, one ahead of Chelsea and six in front of third-placed Manchester United.
| 0 - 2 |
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| Nicolas Anelka 9 | ||||||||
| Deco 21 |
Chelsea cruised to a 2-0 win at Bolton to record their eighth straight away victory in the Premier League.
Nicolas Anelka, who moved to Stamford Bridge from Bolton for £15 million in January, took just nine minutes to put the Blues in front as he headed home his 15th goal of the season.
Deco then made it 2-0 in the 21st minute with a sublime scissor kick from 15 yards, although Chelsea were helped by a series of mistakes from the Bolton defence in the build-up to the goal.
The Trotters bombarded the Chelsea backline in the second half and felt they should have had a penalty for a John Terry handball, but Chelsea survived to hold on for all three points.
The 11th consecutive away victory allowed Chelsea to surpass the record of 10 set by Bill Nicholson's Tottenham side in 1960.
| 1 - 0 |
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| Emmanuel Adebayor 16 |
Emmanuel Adebayor netted the only goal in a 1-0 home victory over Wigan to keep Arsenal's faint title hopes alive.
Adebayor had not scored since October but he broke the deadlock in the 16th minute, smashing home past Chris Kirkland after sloppy defending from the visitors.
The Gunners were twice denied by the woodwork as Adebayor hit the post with a low effort in the first half before Denilson rattled the upright in the second period.
But the talking point of the match was Emmanuel Eboue's performance, which Arsène Wenger's described as a 'danger' to his own side.
The Ivorian came on as a 32nd-minute substitute for the injured Samir Nasri but had to be hauled off by Wenger before the final whistle after a nightmare showing.
Eboue had been booed and his substitution was greeted with huge cheers.
| 1 - 0 |
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| Nemanja Vidić 90 |
Nemanja Vidić was the hero at Old Trafford as Manchester United snatched a dramatic 1-0 win against Sunderland.
Sunderland, in their first match since the departure of manager Roy Keane, kept United at bay for 90 minutes with a brave defensive performance.
And the home side looked like having to settle with a point until Vidić rescued the day with his late, late winner.
The Serbian defender tapped home a close-range winner in injury time after Michael Carrick's deflected shot had hit the post.
Elsewhere in Premier League on Saturday:
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Related links:
Also see:
- Premier League round-up: Liverpool back on top despite draw
- Premier League round-up: United and Arsenal win derbies
- Ronaldo was close of joining Arsenal
- William Gallas seeks Arsenal exit
- Sunderland confirm Roy Keane departure
Technorati tags:Soccer news Football news Premier League Liverpool Manchester United Chelsea Arsenal
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