Chelsea continued their unbeaten
start to the English Premier League season with a 2-1 win against north London
rivals Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Goals from Spanish duo Fernando Torres and Juan Mata earned the
Blues a fifth win in six league matches while handing Arsene Wenger's men their
first League defeat this term.
Torres put Chelsea ahead in the 20th minute hooking the ball past
Mannone in the Arsenal goal after some sloppy defending by the home side.
But
the Gunners were back on level terms three minutes before the break when
Gervinho guided the ball past Petr Cech after latching on to Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain's cross.
Mata's decisive goal came eight minutes into the second half -- his
free-kick deflecting off Laurent Koscielny before finding the bottom corner of
the net.
Chelsea now have 16 points and remain top of the league while
Arsenal slip to seventh on nine points.
The win was a satisfying end to another turbulent week for John
Terry.
The Chelsea captain announced his retirement
from international football
on Sunday, before being handed a four-match ban and a
£220,000 ($356,000) by the English Football Association (FA) on Thursday for
racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand during a match in
October 2011.
A court cleared Terry of
the same offense in July, but the FA requires a lower burden of
proof. Terry is currently considering whether to appeal the ban.
Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur recorded their first win at Old
Trafford in 23 years as Andre Villas Boas's side beat Manchester United 3-2.
Defender Jan Vertonghen put Spurs ahead in the second minute before
Garath Bale doubled the lead half an-hour later.
Nani halved the deficit six minutes after the break only for Clint
Dempsey to restore the two-goal cushion two minutes later.
But United responded immediately as Shinji Kagawa made it 3-2,
which, despite the home side's effort was how the score stayed.
Alex Ferguson's men are now third with 12 points, level with
Manchester City who had Edin Dzeko to thank for their 2-1 win against Fulham at
Craven Cottage.
Mladen Petric blasted home a penalty to put the Cottagers ahead in
the 10th minute after Pablo Zabaleta had brought down John Arne Riise.
Sergio Aguero equalized for City two minutes before halftime with
Dzeko scoring the winner in the 87th minute, moments after coming on for Francisco
Javi Garcia.
Everton continued their promising start to the season with a 3-1
over Southampton at Goodison Park.
A goal from Leon Osman (25th minute) and a quickfire brace from
Nikica Jelavic (32nd and 38th minute) earned three points for David Moyes' team
after Gaston Ramirez had given Southampton the lead in the sixth minute.
Everton remain three points behind leaders Chelsea.
Merseyside rivals, Liverpool posted their first league win under
new manager Brendan Rodgers with a 5-2 thrashing of Norwich City.
Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick as the Reds ran riot at Carrow Road
with Nuri Sahin and Steven Gerrard also getting on the scoresheet. Steve
Morison and Grant Holt made the scoreline look a bit more respectable with two
second-half goals.
Liverpool rise to 14th, Norwich slip to 18th in the table.
Two goals from Peter Crouch saw Stoke City beat Swansea City 2-0 at
the Britannia Stadium -- a win which lifts Tony Pulis's side to 12th.
Demba Ba also scored twice to rescue a point for Newcastle in a 2-2
draw at Reading, while Steven Fletcher scored the only goal as Sunderland beat
Wigan 1-0 at the Stadium of Light.
Cnn.com, September 29,
2012
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