Premier League round-up 17-18 January

19 January 09 by Tom Mallows

United’s last gasp win over Bolton coupled with the fact that Liverpool don’t play till Monday meant the Red Devils went ahead in the Premier League title race for the first time this season.

Elsewhere Chelsea grabbed a last gasp win over Stoke to keep pace with the top two. Going into the last minute of the game Rory Delap’s 60th minute strike looked to have given the Potters a first away win of the season but a Juliano Belletti header and a 94th minute Frank Lampard effort gave Chelsea the points. Chelsea 2-1 Stoke.

Hull’s poor form continued as Arsenal came away with the win at the KC Stadium. Emmanuel Adebayor headed the Gunners into a first half lead before Daniel Cousin equalised for the Tigers on the hour. But late goals from Samir Nasri and Nicklas Bendtner gave the visitors the points. Hull 1-3 Arsenal.

Aston Villa tightened their grip on fourth place with a win over Sunderland at the Stadium Of Light. Danny Collins headed the hosts into the lead after just 11 minutes but Villa hit back through James Milner. Ashley Young then saw red for an over-the-top challenge but it didn’t seem to hinder Martin O’Neill’s men as they went on to grab the points with a Gareth Barry penalty. Sunderland 1-2 Aston Villa.

Man City put their multi-million pound transfer dealings to one side as they battled to a narrow victory over Wigan. Pablo Zabaletta scored the only goal of the game from the edge of the area on 53 minutes. Richard Dunne then saw red seconds after the goal after kicking out at Wigan striker Amir Zaki but City managed to hold on. Man City 1-0 Wigan.

Spurs moved out of the relegation zone with a draw at home to Portsmouth. David James had kept the visitors in the game with a string of good saves before David Nugent stunned the home crowd when he scored his first ever Premier League goal from 25 yards. Jermaine Defoe, on his second home debut for Spurs, marked the occasion with a sweetly struck shot on 70 minutes to secure a share of the spoils. Tottenham 1-1 Portsmouth.

New Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce piled the misery on his former employers Newcastle with a 3-0 win at Ewood Park. The visitors were having the better of the match before Rovers were awarded a controversial penalty on 61 minutes. Benni McCarthy duly converted the spot kick before a Jason Roberts brace confirmed the win. Nicky Butt saw red late on to round off a miserable day for the Magpies. Blackburn 3-0 Newcastle.

West Brom briefly moved off the bottom of the Premier League with a convincing win over fellow strugglers Middlesbrough. Chris Brunt gave the Baggies the lead with a deflected strike after just four minutes. Robert Koren doubled the advantage nine minutes into the second half before Boro’s Didier Digard saw red for a two footed lunge on Valero. Boro’s misery was compounded on 64 minutes when Koren latched onto Brunt’s superb through pass and grabbed his second of the game. West Brom 3-0 Middlesbrough.

West Ham beat Fulham 3-1 to move up to eighth place and end the Cottagers nine match unbeaten run. David di Michele, in for the want-away Craig Bellamy, gave the Hammers the lead after just seven minutes before a Paul Konchesky wonder strike levelled things 15 minutes later. But Konchesky turned from hero to villain when he brought down Carlton Cole to concede a penalty which Mark Noble duly converted. The points were sealed when Cole scored his fifth goal in as many games with 14 minutes left. West Ham 3-1 Fulham.

With the rest of the top six winning, the pressure is on Mersey rivals Liverpool and Everton when they square off at Anfield tonight before facing each other again in the FA Cup next Sunday. Will Everton scupper Liverpool’s title challenge? Get the latest football odds for the match here.