Chelsea and Tottenham both maintained their 100 per cent starts to the new season on an afternoon when Liverpool came from behind to beat Bolton.

Champions Manchester United also hit back in the evening game to defeat Arsenal 2-1 at Old Trafford.

The Gunners controlled much of the first half and took the lead through an excellent long-range strike from Andrey Arshavin five minutes before the interval.

United improved in the second period and Wayne Rooney equalised from the penalty spot in the 59th minute after being brought down by Manuel Almunia.

Abou Diaby then headed a Ryan Giggs free-kick into his own net five minutes later to put United ahead, while the game ended with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger being sent off.

Chelsea were highly impressive as they chalked up a fourth successive league win via a 3-0 defeat of Burnley.

The Clarets will rue Martin Paterson’s profligacy in front of goal with the scoreline blank, as once Nicolas Anelka broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time there was no way back.

Michael Ballack stooped to double Chelsea’s lead after the break before Ashley Cole’s stunning angled drive capped another imperious display from Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

Tottenham left it late at White Hart Lane as Aaron Lennon’s last minute strike against Birmingham City secured a 2-1 victory.

Worryingly for Harry Redknapp, Ledley King and Luka Modric hobbled off injured before the latter’s replacement, Peter Crouch, scored his first Spurs goal with a looping second-half header.

Lee Bowyer restored parity via the scruffiest of efforts as Christian Benitez appeared to push Alan Hutton in the build-up to the goal, much to the ire of Redknapp, and the delight of a travelling Blues faithful.

It was, though, Spurs who had the last laugh as Lennon’s impressive drive won it at the death.

Rafa Benitez has experienced better weeks in his football career and he’ll be thankful for Steven Gerrard after his captain scored a thumping winner as Liverpool won 3-2 at ten-man Bolton.

Following Monday night’s defeat to Aston Villa, things got a whole lot worse for Liverpool just past the half-hour mark when Bolton striker Kevin Davies stabbed home after a scramble in the box.

Davies’ opener had come against the run of play so it came as little surprise when the in-form Glen Johnson restored parity before half-time when he cut inside on the edge of Bolton’s box, before firing a daisy cutter beyond Jussi Jaaskelainen.

It was, though, a frailty at the heart of Liverpool’s defence that was exposed again after half-time as Davies’ flick header from a set-piece fell invitingly for Tamir Cohen to ram home.

Sean Davis saw red for two bookable offences before Gerrard struck the bar and Fernando Torres levelled matters with a neat finish. The scene was set for Gerrard to emerge as a hero and he did just that with seven minutes remaining, via a searing drive from range.

Hull City and Wolves both went for three points in a bright game at Molineux but had to settle for one apiece after a 1-1 draw.

Stephen Hunt continued an encouraging start to his Hull career as his powerful run and cross from the left was headed in by Geovanni past Wolves goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.

Wolves struck back early in the second half when a free-kick from deep fell to Richard Stearman, who finished with aplomb for a centre-half.

Dave Kitson followed up his first ever Stoke goal in midweek, in the Carling Cup, with a debut league strike as his first-half effort was enough to give the Potters a 1-0 win at home to Sunderland following a scramble in the box.

Blackburn’s game with West Ham at Ewood Park ended in a disappointing stalemate as neither club did enough to take the spoils.

Sourced via skysports.com

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Chelsea and England captain John Terry is set to put pen to paper on a lucrative new contract that will see the player become the second highest paid player in the Premier League – according to a report in The Telegraph.

Manchester City winger Robinho will be the only player earning more than Terry when the deal is signed, the Brazilian already on £160,000 a week while Terry will move up to £150,000.

The contract ties the skipper to Stamford Bridge for a further five years, meaning he will have earned £39 million by the time he reaches his 34th birthday.

It is said that the 28-year-old’s new deal is a reward for resisting the monetary charms of Man City, the cash-rich Eastlands outfit having recently offered Terry a five-year deal worth £200,000 a week.

However, after talks with Roman Abramovich, the defender was reassured of the ambition at Chelsea and chose to remain with the Blues until the end of his career.

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Michael Owen will wear the number 7 shirt at Manchester United next season – taking over from the departed Cristiano Ronaldo.

Following Owen’s controversial move to United, coach Ferguson has no doubts that the former Liverpool forward is capable of filling the void left by the losses of Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.

He said: “Owen will bring us experience in the penalty box, and he’ll score goals, lots of goals, because that’s what he’s been good at for years.”

Ferguson also confirmed that, following the captures of Owen, Antonio Valencia and Gabriel Obertan, the club have completed their summer transfer business.

Many expected United to splash the cash following the £80 million received from Real Madrid for world player of the year Ronaldo, but Ferguson is refusing to pay over the odds in the inflated transfer market.

The United boss admitted that he had made a bid for Karim Benzema but was not prepared to meet Lyon’s asking price:

“Everywhere in England and Europe, the values of players have shot sky high, I don’t think any of the transfers you look at you are realistic.

“It’s an unusual summer I think, and very difficult to get value because of that.”

Instead, Ferguson is keen to give young players such as Danny Wellbeck and Frederico Macheda a chance to impress this season.

United’s new signings should make their debuts in Saturday’s game against a Malaysia XI in Kuala Lumpur.

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The English Premier League will continue in the 2009/2010 season without West Brom, Middlesbrough and Newcastle United.

Newcastle ended their hopes to survive the league with a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa.  Damian Duff found the back of the net in his own half with a poor attempt to defelct a shot off goal. This proved to be the final nail in the Newcastle coffin.

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The final standing in the English Premier League stands as follows:

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The final weekend of the English Premier League takes place on 24 May 2009. With Manchester United being crowned the champions with a game to spare the spotlight is put on the bottom teams and the fight of survival.

West Brom are already illuminated and the next two relegation sports are up for grabs.

Middlesbrough play an in form West Ham United-which way will the table turn. A draw is not enough and a loss will be the end of their English Premier League run. A win by Middlesbrough will put them 4th from the bottom in line with Hull City(if Hull loose their match to the current League Champions Manchester United)

Hull City will avoid relegation with a win against Manchester United  but a drew will not be good enough as Newcastle United will jump ahead if they beat Aston Villa which would put them ahead of Hull City and Sunderland.

Sunderland face Chelsea in a must win game. 3 Points to safely avoid relegation or a gmable on a drew and hope that the other teams dont win or draw.

All these teams have everything to play for and makes this weekends viewing that much more interesting.

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Newcastle United could play themselves out of a £140m takeover if they are demoted from the Premier League this weekend. A consortium made up of multi-millionaires from the United States and the Middle East wants to buy out the club’s unpopular owner, Mike Ashley, but only if Newcastle pull off a last-day escape from relegation.

The consortium has been taking advice from the football powerbroker Chris Nathaniel about a deal that would potentially make Newcastle the latest Premier League club to fall under foreign ownership. The men behind the takeover, including two NBA owners, have been putting together a potential deal for the last few months and are led to believe that Ashley is willing to sell even though he took the club off the market at the end of December.

The prospective buyers are waiting to see whether Newcastle can climb out of the relegation zone at Aston Villa on Sunday before deciding their best strategy. Newcastle’s valuation would plummet if they were to fall into the Championship but the businessmen involved in the proposed deal see little mileage in taking on a club that is not involved in the Premier League. As such, they will automatically turn their attentions elsewhere if the results go against Alan Shearer’s side and Newcastle’s 16-year spell in the highest tier of English football comes to an end.

If Newcastle escape the drop, Ashley will be given the opportunity to end his controversial and occasionally acrimonious two-year spell in control at St James’ Park, having initially put the club up for sale last September because of a series of protests and demonstrations following Kevin Keegan’s departure as manager.

Ashley, who bought the club for £134m and has spent another £100m on the club, was blamed at the time for not allowing Keegan to have control of the club’s transfer policy and claimed he was unable to continue watching the team due to fears for the safety of his family. “I’m now a dad who can’t take his kids to a football game because I am advised that we would be assaulted,” he said.

The asking price was initially set at around £400m but that has been shown up as unreasonable in the present economic climate. Ashley has returned to watching games, having been unable to find a buyer despite appointing a team of advisers to market the club’s availability as well as making his own trips to the Middle East to try to drum up interest. Freddy Shepherd, the club’s former owner, has reputedly been exploring the possibilities of putting together a consortium and there has also been interest from Nigeria and South Africa. However, Newcastle have found attracting new buyers almost as difficult as Shearer has found it to turn around the team’s fortunes on the pitch.

The club is in the third relegation spot going into the final weekend of the league season and Shearer has won only once since taking over from Joe Kinnear as interim manager at the start of April. The 1-0 home defeat by Fulham on Saturday leaves them one point behind 17th-placed Hull City, who face Manchester United at the KC Stadium on Sunday, meaning Newcastle will be relegated if they lose at Villa Park. Newcastle have appealed against the red card shown to Sébastien Bassong against Fulham and will learn today from the Football Association whether the defender will be available.

A victory, or even draw, might be good enough to save Shearer’s side but their chances of a dramatic late escape have also been undermined by Sir Alex Ferguson’s insistence that he is entitled to play a weakened side against Hull, resting key players such as Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo for the Champions League final against Barcelona at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome three days later.

While Ferguson is acutely aware it will open himself to allegations of favouring Hull, the United manager said last night he had to think selfishly. “I’ve got a fantastic squad. I could pick two teams and the team I will pick on Sunday will reflect that.” Ben Amos, the club’s fourth-choice goalkeeper, could be promoted to make his league debut.

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Michael Carrick struck an 87th-minute winner to sink Wigan 2-1 and move Manchester United to within a solitary point of retaining their Premier League title.

Carrick sealed another comeback win when he drove home John O’Shea’s pass from the edge of the box, leaving United a point away from completing a hat-trick of Premier League triumphs.

Only once during Sir Alex Ferguson’s 10 previous successes have United done it in front of their own fans. Now all they must do is avoid defeat against Arsenal to render a last-day trip to Hull, for the Red Devils at least, meaningless.

If Carrick was the match-winner, Carlos Tevez was again the hero, producing an impudent back-heel minutes after his introduction as a substitute to peg the Latics back.

Steve Bruce’s men gave their all after taking a deserved first-half lead through Hugo Rodallega. But the Wigan boss knows more than most, Manchester United are not beaten that easily.

Any pretensions United had of being in for an easy evening were blasted out of the window after only two minutes.

The Red Devils’ record against Wigan may have read eight wins from eight attempts, to an overall score of 23-3, and the Latics might still have been looking for their first league win against a top-four team, but Bruce was in no mood to let his old club saunter to their 18th league title.

Antonio Valencia, heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford as a summer replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo if he leaves for Real Madrid, also had a need to make an impression.

The Ecuador international certainly showed a pretty swift turn of pace to charge clear of Nemanja Vidic once he had nipped in front of O’Shea.

He did not have the finish to match, though, and, with Edwin van der Sar advancing, failed to find the target.

If that failure was bad, Wayne Rooney’s was even worse.

Set up by Dimitar Berbatov’s deft chip, the England star, selected ahead of Tevez, rose well enough but got his header all wrong despite being totally unmarked in the centre of the six-yard box.

Carrick went close shortly afterwards and it seemed only a matter of time before the visitors opened their account and strolled to their usual victory.

Wigan, though, have proved at various stages of this campaign they have some pretty decent players.

Rodallega is one, the Colombian who arrived in the north west as a virtual unknown but has a sharp eye for goal to go with his strength.

And, after outmuscling Vidic, who was so convinced he should have had a free-kick he was eventually told by referee Rob Styles he would be sent off unless he let it go, he eventually located the loose ball and drilled it low past Van der Sar.

Rodallega had other opportunities, too, but then again so did United, Rooney scooping one shot over after an intricate series of passes involving Paul Scholes, Berbatov and Ronaldo.

It was one of those nights for the world footballer of the year. Too much arm-waving, not enough end product, three of his trademark free-kicks belted into the Wigan wall.

At the start of the second half Ronaldo did manage to create a chance for himself, only to drag a shot badly wide.

With the momentum continuing to favour Wigan, Ferguson introduced Tevez just before the hour – the South American having been left out, proving whatever else his one-man demonstration at Old Trafford on Sunday achieved, it did not influence team selection.

Where Tevez can leave a genuine impression is on the field. And, just as on Sunday, his timing was perfect, diverting Carrick’s low shot into the net with a deliberate flick of his heel.

The glee on the Argentinian’s face was at odds with that of a man desperate to leave Old Trafford, the urgency of Ronaldo’s demands for him to get back for the restart at odds with the attitude of a man whose mind has already drifted elsewhere.

Mind you, Ferguson was not too impressed 10 minutes from time when Tevez rolled a neat pass to Ronaldo, who promptly blazed over as glory beckoned.

Yet three minutes later Carrick popped up with his winner to leave United on the brink of retaining their crown.

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18 Goals

Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

17 Goals

Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)

15 Goals

Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)

14 Goals

Robinho (Manchester City)

13 Goals 

Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

12 Golas 

Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa)

Kevin Davies (Bolton Wanderers)

Darren Bent (Tottenham Hotspur)

11 Goals

Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool)

Peter Crouch (Portsmouth)

10 Goals

Djibril Cisse (Sunderland)

Amr Zaki (Wigan Athletic)

Matthew Taylor (Bolton Wanderers)

Benni McCarthy (Blackburn Rovers)

Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal)

John Carew (Aston Villa)

9 Goals

Carlton Cole (West Ham United)

Stephen Ireland (Manchester City)

Ricardo Fuller (Stoke City)

Robin van Persie (Arsenal)

Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal)

Dimitar Berbatov (Manchester United) 

Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur)

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Liverpool’s 0-3 win at West Ham has moved them top of the Premier League on goal difference ahead of Manchester United’s derby clash with Manchester City on Sunday.

Liverpool barely broke sweat as they swept to a win against a Hammers side for whom the incentive of possible European football next season failed to raise them sufficiently.

Steven Gerrard rounded Hammers keeper Robert Green to score in the second minute and netted another from the rebound after Green had saved his penalty.

Substitute Ryan Babel tapped in a third towards the end as Liverpool continue their dogged pursuit of the champions.

West Brom’s seemingly-doomed battle against relegation was prolonged with a 3-1 win against Wigan that hauls Tony Mowbray’s team level with Newcastle and Middlesbrough at the foot of the table on 31 points.

Marc-Antoine Fortune headed past Wigan keeper Chris Kirkland who limped off shortly afterwards to be replaced by Richard Kingson.

Colombian Hugo Rodallega then opened his Wigan account with a deflected 25-yard free-kick to level matters.

Kingson’s smart save denied Jonathan Greening but despite blocking Chris Brunt’s penalty, the Ghanaian keeper was unable to prevent the Baggies midfielder scoring from the rebound before Fortune made sure of the points with his second in the 73rd minute.

Hull City’s alarming freefall continued apace as they slumped to a 1-2 defeat against Stoke at the KC Stadium.

Ricardo Fuller’s ninth goal of the season for Stoke, four minutes before half-time, sent ripples of relegation-fear around the KC Stadium.

Geovanni was sent on for Hull but the margin of victory was doubled when a Liam Lawrence shot flew past Boaz Myhill. Andy Dawson bagged a late consolation but Hull remain in deep trouble.

Blackburn Rovers 2-0 win over Portsmouth eased their relegation fears but deepened Pompey’s own concerns with Paul Hart’s side stuck on 38 points.

Morten Gamst Pedersen stabbed home his first goal of the season for Rovers from close range and Benni McCarthy converted a second-half penalty after Hermann Hreidarsson had handled.

John Utaka blew any hopes of a late Pompey comeback by blasting wide a penalty in the 87th minute after Keith Andrews was harshly judged to have handled.

A lively encounter at Craven Cottage saw Fulham maintain their fine home form with a 3-1 win against Aston Villa.

Danny Murphy’s penalty gave Fulham a 6th minute lead but Villa responded with an equaliser from Ashley Young seven minutes later.

Diomansy Kamara’s second goal of the campaign put Fulham back in front straight after the break and he added another with a backheel that puts Fulham up to seventh and in the Europa League places.

Spurs travelled to Goodison Park harbouring hopes of a Europa League place and left with a point after a goalless draw that will do little to aid their chances.

Tim Howard broke Everton’s club record with his 16th clean sheet of the season and Dan Gosling was a struck post away from winning the points for the Toffees at the other end as the young midfielder saw his effort bounce off Heurelho Gomes’ upright.

Another goalless draw saw Sunderland dominate Bolton at the Reebok but Mark Davies almost snatched the points for the Trotters when he blasted over with five minutes remaining.

Marton Fulop’s astonishing last-minute save from a Gary Cahill header earned Sunderland the point but means Ricky Sbragia’s side are still involved in the relegation scrap.

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LONDON – Manchester United held its three-point margin atop the Premier League by beating neighbor Manchester City 2-0 on Sunday while Chelsea romped to a 4-1 victory at Arsenal.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 18th league goal of the season with a free kick at Old Trafford and Carlos Tevez added the second with a shot from the edge of the area in the 45th to put United within four points of a third Premier League title in a row and 11th in 17 seasons under manager Alex Ferguson.

The victory maintained Man United’s lead with a game in hand despite Liverpool’s 3-0 win at West Ham on Saturday, and Ferguson’s stars can move closer to the title by winning at Wigan on Wednesday.

The two blemishes on United’s performance, however, were the behavior of the two scorers.

Ronaldo was angry at being taken off despite another standout performance and sat on the bench shaking his head. Tevez was reported earlier Sunday to have said he was frustrated United had not turned his loan move from West Ham and was resigned to leaving the club at the end of the season.

After scoring, the Argentina striker cupped his ears to milk the applause from the United fans who want him to stay.

Asked about Tevez’ future, Ferguson told a TV reporter: “I’m not going into that at all, OK?”

While Man United moved closer to the title, Chelsea underlined why it will challenge next season with a 4-1 victory at Arsenal.

After Alex and Nicolas Anelka gave Chelsea a 2-0 halftime lead, an own goal by Kolo Tour in the 49th virtually put the game out of reach. Although Arsenal’s Nicklas Bendtner scored, Florent Malouda added a fourth in the 86th minute.

Chelsea is three points behind Liverpool as it tries to maintain its record of finishing in the top two in five seasons.

In contrast, Arsenal is guaranteed to finish fourth for the third season in four with no top-two finish during that time. That followed an eight-season spell when the Gunners were never out of the top two, winning three titles.

bostonherald.com

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