Chelsea 3 -- 1 Norwich
Chelsea start the match with the attacking line of Malouda, Torres and Drogba and with Ivanovic partnering John Terry at the centre of defence. Paul Lambert started out with three central defenders to try and combat Chelseas' attacking options. Within the first couple of minutes Chelsea were showing how big the gap was between these two sides with Ramires going close from outside the box, only to see his shot saved by John Ruddy in the Norwich goal. Things were to get worse for the newly promoted side as Jose Bosingwa let fly from 25 yards out and his shot flew in to the far corner off the post. Only six minutes had elapsed and it looked as though Chelsea could put up a big score, but this wasn't to be. Norwich grew in to the game and started to take control. Chelseas defence again looked shaky as Norwich got in behind them on several occasions. Grant Holt had two great chances, first having been played through by Hoolahan, but he failed to get a touch on it. His second chance came as he spinned off John Terry to get free in the box only to see his downward header saver comfortably by Hillario in the Chelsea goal. Norwich were having good possession and playing good football aswell. In the second half, following a clearance by Bosingwa, Torres went in high on Barrett and caught him on the inner thigh and got a deserved yellow card. Norwich continued to probe and another good cross by Norton saw Ivanovic try to head clear, but Hillario had come out to the edge of the box and ran into him. This allowed the ball to fall to Grant Holt who managed to flick the ball over his head and in to the empty goal to level the scores A big mistake by the Chelsea keeper, but well deserved for Norwich. Chelsea tried to get at Norwich and Torres sent a ball in to the box in search of Didier Drogba. He was offside, but clashed with Ruddy in the Norwich goal and was knocked unconcious in mid air and fell horribly on his head. After a long delay he was stretchered off and was replaced by Nicolas Anelka. Juan Mata also came on for Florent Malouda to make his home debut. Up the other end Holt played a hopeful ball over the top and found Morrisson who should have got his shot in, but John Terry did well to get back and block it. Fernando Torres should of received his second yellow card of the afternoon following a deliberate trip on Bradly johnson, But the referee bottled it and only gave a free kick. By this stage Chelsea weren't playing as a team and their defence was all over the place, but Norwich failed to take their chances and were made to pay in the 82nd minute.Mata cleared the ball from a corner and Anelka was the fastest to react and he played Ramires in. He stroode in to the box, played the ball past the keeper and went down under the collision with John Ruddy. The referee had no option but to award the penalty to Chelsea and give a red card to John Ruddy. Declan Rudd came on in goal for Norwich and his first involvement was to pick the ball out of his net following Lampards penalty. Romelu Lukaku then came on for his debut in replacement for Torres and once or twice looked powerful and strong in possession. Following some poor defensive work by Norwich saw Mata latch on to a loose back pass to calmly slot home with his left foot to make it 3-1 at full time. Norwich will feel hard done by and Chelsea look short of championship material at the moment.
Liverpool 3 - 1 Bolton Wanderers
Both teams started lively and tried to progress on their current good form, but it was Liverpool who were to become the more dominant side and the first to score. Stuart Downing had two good chances early on, the second followed a great ball by Luis Suarez, but Jaaskelainen made a good save only for the ball to fall to Jordan Henderson who curled the ball left footed and in to the top corner to score his first Anfield goal. Bolton tried, but couldn't get at Liverpool as they would have wanted. They came closest in the first half from Martin Petrovs volley, but Reina saved comfortably. Adam and Kuyt were playing well together in midfield and following Adams pass to Suarez he chipped the ball just over and on to the top of the net. Liverpool continued to search for a second with Suarez involved heavily. A corner by Charlie Adam was met powerfully by Martin Skrtel and the reds were two up. Only a minute later the game was wrapped up by Adam with a strike from the edge of the box, following more good work by Dirk Kuyt. A mistake in injury time by Jamie Carragher saw Klasnic capitilise to gain a consilation goal for Bolton. Liverpool were far too good for Bolton on the day and things are looking good for King Kenny at this early stage of the season.
Blackburn Rovers 0 - 1 Everton
Brett Emerton captained Blackburn on his final appearance for the club, but this was to turn out to be a ridiculous game. The referee for the day Lee Mason had a shocker and it wouldn't come as a surprise if he wasn't given a premier league game next week. Blackburns David Dunne had a chance early on as he went by Phil Jagielka only to see his shot rebound off the post. Formica then made the most of a half challenge by Barkley in the box. It looked as if he ran in to his leg and then hit the ground. First poor decision by Mr. Mason as he gave Blackburn a penalty. Junior Hoilett struck the ball to Tim Howards left, but the American keeper got got down smartly to save. Everton had some chances too with Leighton Baines seeing his shot saved by Paul Robinson. Then Anichebe crossed to Fellaini only for him to blast over. The game continued to be open and Hoilett played in Formica who cleverly back heeled to David Goodwillie who struck his shot off the bar. With Blackburn pressing, Formica got on the ball following a mistake by Jagielka allowing Formica in to the box. Lee Mason then decided to give Blackburn another penalty for Formica falling? this time Formica himself took the penalty only to see it come back off the post. This had to seen as some form of karma as neither of the penalties were deserved. Then to round the day off Lee Mason awards Everton a penalty in injury time. It followed a long throw by Phil Neville which saw Samba head the ball clear over Fellaini. How the referee gave a penalty for this or indeed any of the other incindents is a mystery. Up Steps Mikel Arteta who scores and Everton win. Ridiculous refereeing which ruined the game.
Wigan 2 - 0 QPR
A match which most people believe involving the relegation elect. The latics need to be winning these games at home and today they were the better team and the deserved winners. QPR started well and following good work by Buzsaky to find Taarabt he struck the ball right footed off the post. Wigan also started brightly and they looked very sharp up front. Rodallega found Moses whose shot was saved by Paddy Kenny in the QPR goal. Wigan continued to impress as Rodallega found Di Santo who volleyed the ball right footed in to the top corner to give Wigan the lead. QPRs reply saw Taarabts free kick deflect off the wall and go off the post and wide. QPRs defence was poor and slow to the ball throughout the match and Wigan were able to capitilise on this frailty once again. Di Santo got his second as his strike from outside the area, although deflected, flew in to the top corner and Wigan were two up. Then a corner for QPR saw them have their best oppurtunity to score following a corner which saw their Brazilian defender Bruno Perone's header come back off the bar. A deserved win for Wigan and QPR need to tighten up their defence as, if Wigan can easily score two against you it doesn't bode well for things to come.
Swansea 0 - 0 Sunderland
This match, although without any goals, did have its chances. Once more Brendan Rogers side played nice football at home, probed and did create some good chances. Scott Sinclair went past Craig Gardner and shot well only to see the ball strike the post. Their record signing Danny Graham having the best of their openings. His best chance came from a cross and he found himself free six yards from goal, only to see his header go wide. Swansea need Graham to start scoring, especially at home for them to survive. They were caught a few times on the break and Sunderland did create their own chances, but they too failed to show the cutting edge needed in front of goal. Asamoah Gyan had the best of these chances, but his finishing let him down. A draw was probably the correct result and both sides will be happy enough, if not overjoyed.
Aston Villa 0 - 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolves were attempting to continue on their good start to the season and must have fancied their chances more when they realised how quiet and small the Villa Park crowd was ( just over 30,000 ). Villas Australian defender Chris Herd had a horrible clash early on with the post as he went up for a corner. He literally bounced off the post, but he was able to continue on. One of Villas best chances fell to Heskey following a good turn of foot by Agbonlahor, only for the big English striker to fail to hit the target. Herd had a chance to give Villa the lead, but his header was saved by Hennessy and when Bent headed over the game filtered down and out. Both sides settled for a draw and wolves should be the happier of the two. For the home team Villa just didn't create enough chances and their midfield needs to become more pro active in the search of goals and chances to entice back some of the crowd.
Chelsea start the match with the attacking line of Malouda, Torres and Drogba and with Ivanovic partnering John Terry at the centre of defence. Paul Lambert started out with three central defenders to try and combat Chelseas' attacking options. Within the first couple of minutes Chelsea were showing how big the gap was between these two sides with Ramires going close from outside the box, only to see his shot saved by John Ruddy in the Norwich goal. Things were to get worse for the newly promoted side as Jose Bosingwa let fly from 25 yards out and his shot flew in to the far corner off the post. Only six minutes had elapsed and it looked as though Chelsea could put up a big score, but this wasn't to be. Norwich grew in to the game and started to take control. Chelseas defence again looked shaky as Norwich got in behind them on several occasions. Grant Holt had two great chances, first having been played through by Hoolahan, but he failed to get a touch on it. His second chance came as he spinned off John Terry to get free in the box only to see his downward header saver comfortably by Hillario in the Chelsea goal. Norwich were having good possession and playing good football aswell. In the second half, following a clearance by Bosingwa, Torres went in high on Barrett and caught him on the inner thigh and got a deserved yellow card. Norwich continued to probe and another good cross by Norton saw Ivanovic try to head clear, but Hillario had come out to the edge of the box and ran into him. This allowed the ball to fall to Grant Holt who managed to flick the ball over his head and in to the empty goal to level the scores A big mistake by the Chelsea keeper, but well deserved for Norwich. Chelsea tried to get at Norwich and Torres sent a ball in to the box in search of Didier Drogba. He was offside, but clashed with Ruddy in the Norwich goal and was knocked unconcious in mid air and fell horribly on his head. After a long delay he was stretchered off and was replaced by Nicolas Anelka. Juan Mata also came on for Florent Malouda to make his home debut. Up the other end Holt played a hopeful ball over the top and found Morrisson who should have got his shot in, but John Terry did well to get back and block it. Fernando Torres should of received his second yellow card of the afternoon following a deliberate trip on Bradly johnson, But the referee bottled it and only gave a free kick. By this stage Chelsea weren't playing as a team and their defence was all over the place, but Norwich failed to take their chances and were made to pay in the 82nd minute.Mata cleared the ball from a corner and Anelka was the fastest to react and he played Ramires in. He stroode in to the box, played the ball past the keeper and went down under the collision with John Ruddy. The referee had no option but to award the penalty to Chelsea and give a red card to John Ruddy. Declan Rudd came on in goal for Norwich and his first involvement was to pick the ball out of his net following Lampards penalty. Romelu Lukaku then came on for his debut in replacement for Torres and once or twice looked powerful and strong in possession. Following some poor defensive work by Norwich saw Mata latch on to a loose back pass to calmly slot home with his left foot to make it 3-1 at full time. Norwich will feel hard done by and Chelsea look short of championship material at the moment.
Liverpool 3 - 1 Bolton Wanderers
Both teams started lively and tried to progress on their current good form, but it was Liverpool who were to become the more dominant side and the first to score. Stuart Downing had two good chances early on, the second followed a great ball by Luis Suarez, but Jaaskelainen made a good save only for the ball to fall to Jordan Henderson who curled the ball left footed and in to the top corner to score his first Anfield goal. Bolton tried, but couldn't get at Liverpool as they would have wanted. They came closest in the first half from Martin Petrovs volley, but Reina saved comfortably. Adam and Kuyt were playing well together in midfield and following Adams pass to Suarez he chipped the ball just over and on to the top of the net. Liverpool continued to search for a second with Suarez involved heavily. A corner by Charlie Adam was met powerfully by Martin Skrtel and the reds were two up. Only a minute later the game was wrapped up by Adam with a strike from the edge of the box, following more good work by Dirk Kuyt. A mistake in injury time by Jamie Carragher saw Klasnic capitilise to gain a consilation goal for Bolton. Liverpool were far too good for Bolton on the day and things are looking good for King Kenny at this early stage of the season.
Blackburn Rovers 0 - 1 Everton
Brett Emerton captained Blackburn on his final appearance for the club, but this was to turn out to be a ridiculous game. The referee for the day Lee Mason had a shocker and it wouldn't come as a surprise if he wasn't given a premier league game next week. Blackburns David Dunne had a chance early on as he went by Phil Jagielka only to see his shot rebound off the post. Formica then made the most of a half challenge by Barkley in the box. It looked as if he ran in to his leg and then hit the ground. First poor decision by Mr. Mason as he gave Blackburn a penalty. Junior Hoilett struck the ball to Tim Howards left, but the American keeper got got down smartly to save. Everton had some chances too with Leighton Baines seeing his shot saved by Paul Robinson. Then Anichebe crossed to Fellaini only for him to blast over. The game continued to be open and Hoilett played in Formica who cleverly back heeled to David Goodwillie who struck his shot off the bar. With Blackburn pressing, Formica got on the ball following a mistake by Jagielka allowing Formica in to the box. Lee Mason then decided to give Blackburn another penalty for Formica falling? this time Formica himself took the penalty only to see it come back off the post. This had to seen as some form of karma as neither of the penalties were deserved. Then to round the day off Lee Mason awards Everton a penalty in injury time. It followed a long throw by Phil Neville which saw Samba head the ball clear over Fellaini. How the referee gave a penalty for this or indeed any of the other incindents is a mystery. Up Steps Mikel Arteta who scores and Everton win. Ridiculous refereeing which ruined the game.
Wigan 2 - 0 QPR
A match which most people believe involving the relegation elect. The latics need to be winning these games at home and today they were the better team and the deserved winners. QPR started well and following good work by Buzsaky to find Taarabt he struck the ball right footed off the post. Wigan also started brightly and they looked very sharp up front. Rodallega found Moses whose shot was saved by Paddy Kenny in the QPR goal. Wigan continued to impress as Rodallega found Di Santo who volleyed the ball right footed in to the top corner to give Wigan the lead. QPRs reply saw Taarabts free kick deflect off the wall and go off the post and wide. QPRs defence was poor and slow to the ball throughout the match and Wigan were able to capitilise on this frailty once again. Di Santo got his second as his strike from outside the area, although deflected, flew in to the top corner and Wigan were two up. Then a corner for QPR saw them have their best oppurtunity to score following a corner which saw their Brazilian defender Bruno Perone's header come back off the bar. A deserved win for Wigan and QPR need to tighten up their defence as, if Wigan can easily score two against you it doesn't bode well for things to come.
Swansea 0 - 0 Sunderland
This match, although without any goals, did have its chances. Once more Brendan Rogers side played nice football at home, probed and did create some good chances. Scott Sinclair went past Craig Gardner and shot well only to see the ball strike the post. Their record signing Danny Graham having the best of their openings. His best chance came from a cross and he found himself free six yards from goal, only to see his header go wide. Swansea need Graham to start scoring, especially at home for them to survive. They were caught a few times on the break and Sunderland did create their own chances, but they too failed to show the cutting edge needed in front of goal. Asamoah Gyan had the best of these chances, but his finishing let him down. A draw was probably the correct result and both sides will be happy enough, if not overjoyed.
Aston Villa 0 - 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolves were attempting to continue on their good start to the season and must have fancied their chances more when they realised how quiet and small the Villa Park crowd was ( just over 30,000 ). Villas Australian defender Chris Herd had a horrible clash early on with the post as he went up for a corner. He literally bounced off the post, but he was able to continue on. One of Villas best chances fell to Heskey following a good turn of foot by Agbonlahor, only for the big English striker to fail to hit the target. Herd had a chance to give Villa the lead, but his header was saved by Hennessy and when Bent headed over the game filtered down and out. Both sides settled for a draw and wolves should be the happier of the two. For the home team Villa just didn't create enough chances and their midfield needs to become more pro active in the search of goals and chances to entice back some of the crowd.
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