Defending champions Manchester United climbed three places in the table to fifth after they beat Arsenal 1-0 at Old Trafford.
English Premier League
United took the lead on 27 minutes through Robin Van Persie who guided a header into the far corner from a Wayne Rooney corner after Thomas Vermaelen had headed away Rooney’s dangerous cross. Rooney was left fuming on 39 minutes when he was brought down inside the box by Olivier Giroud with a clumsy tackle but his appeals for a penalty were denied quite incorrectly. United went into the break with ten men when Nemanja Vidic had to receive treatment after a nasty collision with De Gea which saw the Serbian defender knocked out for a moment. Mesut Ozil came close for the Gunners in the 2nd half when he rattled the side netting after controlling a cross from the right. Rooney had a chance to double the lead minutes later when he had done well to control and get away from his man but sent his effort wide with Wojciech Szczesny rooted to the spot. Chris Smalling had a great chance from a Van Persie free kick but could not make a decent connection with his head when unmarked. Bacary Sagna whipped in two wonderful crosses from the right but Jonny Evans did well to glance away the first while the second went agonisingly past the crowd where the slightest of touches would have beaten De Gea in goal. United hung on to grab all three points and this could be a vital point in the race for the title.
Liverpool ran riot at Anfield as they beat Fulham 4-0 with Luis Suarez scoring a brace. The Cottagers kept the Reds at bay for 23 minutes but it was an own goal that broke the deadlock. Daniel Sturridge won a free kick in a promising area and Steven Gerrard’s whipped delivery was headed into his own neat by Fernando Amorebieta under pressure from Suarez. It was 2-0 three minutes later when Gerrard’s corner was headed in by Martin Skrtel. The next goal came on 36 minutes when Gerrard found Jordan Henderson on the right and he released Suarez to finish past Maarten Stekelenburg in goal. Stekelenburg produced a couple of good saves to keep the score line as it was but was beaten again when Gerrard dispossessed Kieran Richardson to release Suarez and the Uruguayan made no mistake to make it four. The win leaves Liverpool two points behind leaders Arsenal and one point ahead of Southampton in third.
Eden Hazard converted a controversial injury time penalty to salvage a point for Chelsea as they drew 2-2 at Stamford Bridge against West Bromwich Albion. The Blues had their first proper chance with 30 minutes gone when they were awarded a free kick. Oscar took it and his dipping shot was tipped over the bar by Boaz Myhill. The hosts took the lead on the stroke of halftime when Samuel Eto’o exploited some poor defending by Liam Ridgewell. Myhill had saved Hazard’s low shot and the ball fell to Ridgewell whose reluctance to clear enabled Eto’o to sneak in from behind and slot the ball into the far corner. Shane Long came close to equalising on 56 minutes but his header from Morgan Amalfitano’s cross hit the post. Long however scored on the hour mark when he headed in at the near post after Petr Cech had done well to save Gareth McAuley’s header from a corner. The Baggies were in front 8 minutes later when Stephane Sessegnon’s low shot beat Cech easily after a swift break. Myhill made a good save to preserve the lead for his side as Chelsea pressed for the leveller. They won a penalty in the 5th minute of added time when Steven Reid was quite wrongly adjudged to have brought down Ramires and Hazard kept his cool to send Myhill the wrong way to preserve Chelsea’s unbeaten home record at home under manager Jose Mourinho in the Premier League.
Manchester City slumped to their fourth loss in the league when the lost 1-0 away at Sunderland. City created chances from the off but failed to make them count. The hosts had a chance to take the lead but Steven Fletcher headed wide Sebastian Larsson’s cross from the right. Phil Bardsley gave the Black Cats the lead on 21 minutes when he got past James Milner down the left and curled his effort past Costel Pantilimon in goal. City went on the offensive looking for the equaliser but were denied on many an occasion as Sunderland hung on for a famous win under new manager Gus Poyet.
Tim Krul made 14 saves as he helped Newcastle beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at White Hart Lane. Loic Remy gave the visitors the lead on 13 minutes and the hosts failed to equalise with the Dutch shot stopper in fine form.
Leandro Bacuna and Libor Kozak scored as Aston Villa beat Cardiff City 2-0 at Villa Park. Everton failed to score as they drew 0-0 away at Crystal Palace. Morgan Schneiderlin, Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana and Steven Davis scored as Southampton beat Hull City 4-1 at the St. Mary’s. Yannick Sagbo scored a consolation for the Tigers. Ravel Morrison’s early goal for West Ham United away at Norwich City was to no avail as the Hammers were beaten 3-1 by the Canaries thanks to goals by Gary Hooper, Robert Snodgrass and Leroy Fer. Swansea City came from two goals down to lead 3-2 at the Liberty Stadium but were denied all three points when Stoke City equalised to end the game 3-3. Jonathan Walters and Stephen Ireland had put the Potters in front in the 1st half. Wilfried Bony scored a brace and Nathan Dyer also scored as the Swans took the lead. Charlie Adam drew level in injury from the spot.
Spanish La Liga
Cesc Fabregas scored two while Neymar and Pedro also got on the score sheet as Barcelona beat Real Betis 4-1 away. Jorge Molina pulled one back for the hosts from the spot in injury time. The win was marred by a hamstring injury to Lionel Messi. Cristiano Ronaldo scored yet another hat trick as Real Madrid thrashed Real Sociedad 5-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu. Karim Benzema and Sami Khedira also scored for the Los Blancos while Antoine Griezmann scored a consolation for the visitors. Atletico Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw away at Villarreal.
German Bundesliga
Bayern Munich set a new record of 37 unbeaten games when they beat Augsburg 3-0 at the Allianz Arena. Jerome Boateng, Franck Ribery and Thomas Muller scored for the Bavarian giants. Borussia Dortmund were beaten 2-1 away at Wolfsburg despite Marco Reus giving them the lead. Ivica Olic and Ricardo Rodriguez scored for the hosts. Heung-Min Son scored a hat trick as Bayer Leverkusen beat Hamburg 5-3 at the Bayarena. Kevin-Prince Boateng scored a brace as Schalke beat Werder Bremen 3-1 at home while Borussia Monchengladbach beat Nurnberg 3-1 at home.
Italian Serie A
AS Roma were held to 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico by Sassuolo when the visitors equalised in 2nd half injury time. Reigning champions Juventus comfortably beat Napoli 3-0 with Fernando Llorente, Andrea Pirlo and Paul Pogba getting on the score sheet. Inter Milan beat Livorno 2-0 at home while Fiorentina beat Sampdoria 2-1 at home and AC Milan were held to a goalless draw away at Chievo Verona.
French Ligue 1
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a hat trick as league leaders Paris Saint-Germain beat Nice 3-1 at home. Radamel Falcao cancelled out Daniel Wass’s opener as Monaco were held to 1-1 draw at home by Evian Thonon Gaillard. Marseille beat Sochaux 2-1 at home while Nantes beat Bordeaux 3-0 away and Lille drew 0-0 away at Guingamp.
Dutch Eredivisie
Vitesse Arnhem 3-1 FC Utrecht
Feyenoord Rotterdam 2-2 AZ Alkmaar
NEC Nijmegen 0-3 Ajax Amsterdam
SC Heracles Almelo 0-3 FC Groningen
PEC Zwolle 1-1 Twente Enschede
NAC Breda 2-1 PSV Eindhoven
Scottish Premiership
Ross County 1-4 Celtic
Hibernian 0-2 Inverness Caledonian Thistle
Aberdeen 1-3 Heart of Midlothian
Motherwell 0-4 Dundee United
St Johnstone 3-1 Kilmarnock
