The Magpies get one over on the Blue at Saint James’ Park.  It was a cold, miserable day in the north of England.  This is the time of year when the stereotypical “British Weather” occurs and Saturday was no exception.  You would have thought, coming into this match that the Blues would dominate proceedings and they did dominate most of the first half and should have taken the lead in the 13 minute.  They had earned a corner-kick that was taken by Juan Mata and John Terry was able to climb the highest to head the ball goal-ward, but his header rebounded off the bar.  Fernando Torres’ follow-up shot also hit the bar.  Blues’ defender Branislav Ivanovic was the first to the loose ball, but his shot was saved by Magpies keeper Tim Krul.  The home side did have a chance or two toward the end of the first half.  Moussa Sissoko had his 37^th minute shot saved by Blues’ keeper Petr Cech and in Mathieu Debuchy’s 45^th minute attempt went over the goal.  So the score was surprisingly deadlocked at zero at the break.  The Magpies seemed to come out of the locker room the more confident as the second half got underway.  They nearly scored in the 60^th minute when Cech had to get down quickly to save Sissoko’s right-footed shot on goal.  Blues’ boss Jose Mourinho had seen enough at this point and decided to try to inject some pace into his side by replacing Juan Mata with Willian and Torres with Samuel Eto’o.  Magpies’ boss Alan Pardew brought on Papiss Demba Cisse to replace Shola Ameobi.  It was the home side that benefited from the change and they tested Cech again in the 65^th minute.  Yoan Gouffran got lose in the Blues’ area and, after getting by Ivanovic, hit his shot toward the near post and the Blues’ keeper had to stretch to make the save.  But the Frenchman did score in the 68^th minute.  This time, the Magpies had earned a free-kick that Yohan Cabaye took.  Gouffran was able to get past Frank Lampard, who was supposed to be marking him, and head the ball into the goal past Cech.  A desperate Mourinho took Lampard off shortly afterward, replacing him with Andre Schurrle.  But they nearly conceded again in the 72^nd minute when Sissoko and Loic Remy linked up to get through the Blues’ defense again, but John Terry’s last second lunge prevented the goal.  The Blues had a chance to equalize in the 80^th minute when Willian’s shot was saved by Krul.  But this wasn’t going to be their day and in stoppage time, Remy scored the second goal to seal the win for the Magpies as he knocked home Vurnon Anita’s cutback pass.

Hull 1 – 0 Sunderland

The Blackcats are getting closer to the exit.  Well, so much for a Wear-side revival.  Saturday, the Blackcats suffered their eighth defeat of the season and looked really bad doing it.  Not that former boss Steve Bruce really cared.  The Hull manager was fired two seasons ago and he was looking to get one over on his former employers.  The match started out a bit cagy with neither side wanting to make any mistakes.  The home side had the first chance in the 17^th minute when Tom Huddlestone’s free kick was headed just off target by Curtis Davies.  The Tigers did take the lead in the 25^th minute.  Blackcats’ Carlos Cuellar, trying to head away from Tigers’ striker Yannick Sagbo, headed the ball into his own net.  Things went from bad to worse for Sunderland in the 44^th minute when Lee Cattermole was sent off for a “studs-up” challenge on Ahmed Elmohamady.  As if that wasn’t enough damage for boss Gus Poyet to have to manage, Andrea Dossena was also sent off right at the end of the half when he stomped on David Meyler in a fit of rage.  Poyet was beside himself with anger as the referee blew his whistle for halftime and was luck not to get thrown out himself when he angrily confronted the officials.  There wasn’t much more to write about for this match since the nine-men Sunderland spend most of the second half making sure they didn’t concede another goal.  The closest either side would come to scoring would be at the end of the match when Jake Livermore nearly made it two for the hosts with a right-footed shot from distance that bounced off the post.  There may still be time for Poyet to pull off a miracle, but if things keep going at this rate, it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.

Manchester City 7 – 0 Norwich

Citeh maul the Canaries at the Etihad Stadium and put Chris Hughton in more trouble.  The pre-match talk was of the dropping of England international keeper Joe Hart to the Citeh bench.  Costel Pantilimon took Hart’s place between the pipes for the home side, but he didn’t really have a lot to do.  Citeh haven’t been beaten at the Etihad this season and the Canaries, who have only won twice this season, never had a chance.  They were so intimidated by the occasion that they conceded the first goal in the 15^th minute.  Sergio Aguero’s shot bounced off defenders Michael Turner and Bradley Johnson and looped into the goal over keeper Ruddy.  The second goal came shortly afterward in the 20^th minute when David Silva was able to poke home a great back pass from Aguero.  Goal number three came in the 24^th minute when Matija Nastiasic, with no one marking him, was able to head home Samir Nasri’s corner kick.  The fourth goal happened in the 36^th minute when Yaya Toure chipped a pass for Aguero to touch back for Alvaro Negredo to tap home.  Norwich did have a shot on goal in the 38^th minute when Anthony Pilkington’s shot was saved by Pantilimon.  Try as he might to buck up his team’s spirit at half time, Hughton could only watch as things just kept getting worse in the second half.  In the 60^th minute, Citeh had earned a free kick at the edge of the Canaries penalty area.  Toure hit a wonderful curling shot that finished in the top left corner of the goal to make it 5-0.  Aguero got his goal in the 71^st minute when he volleyed home a loose ball from Sebastien Bassong’s bad clearance.  Not wanting to be left out of the fun, Edin Dzeko got his goal in the 85^th minute when he was able to take a pass from Jesus Navas and slot his shot home from close range.  The result sends Norwich to the bottom three and has started rumors about Hughton’s job.

Stoke 1 – 1 Southampton

A great goal from keeper Asmir Begovic isn’t enough to help the Potters get the win.  It was a great moment that happened after just 13 seconds into the match.  The wind was blowing in the Bosnian international’s favor and when he made an early save, his punt was grabbed by a gust of wind and carried far down into the opposite end.  When it landed, the ball bounced went over Saints’ keeper Artur Boruch’s head and into the goal.  It was the fourth fastest goal in BPL history and should have led to a win for the Potters.  But there’s a reason why the Saints are doing so well this season and they were able to dust themselves off and press for a result.  That result came for them in the 42^nd minute.  James Ward-Prowse hit a cross to the far post that Jay Rodriquez was able to head home for the equalizer.  That was pretty much it for this one.  Although Ward-Prowse hit a curling free-kick off the Stoke goal in the 54^th minute, that was as close as either team could come to scoring in this one.

West Bromwich Albion 2 – 0 Crystal Palace

The Baggies heap more misery on Palace.  The London side just doesn’t have what it takes to stay in the BPL.  They almost had a goal in the 11^th minute when Adlene Guedioura had his shot attempt saved by Baggies keeper Boaz Myhill.  But that’s as close as they would come and right at half time they went behind.  Stephane Sessegnon as able to make a fine pass to Saido Berahino whose left footed shot went past keeper Julian Speroni and into the goal.  Berahino nearly had another one before the break when he took a shot from just outside of the area, but Speroni was able to deal with it.  Palace had a chance to equalize in the 60^th minute when substitute Jason Puncheon’s shot toward the top right corner was saved by Myhill.  But they just couldn’t muster any attacks that could breach the Baggies defense.   In the 83^rd minute, Gareth McAuley secured the win for the home side when he headed home Chris Brunt’s corner kick.  So it looks like the newly promoted Palace will be heading back down at the end of the season.

West Ham 0 – 0 Aston Villa

It’s all even at Upton Park between the Hammers and the Villains.  The draw ended a run of three straight home defeats, but there is a feeling amongst Hammers’ fans that there is some sort of weird hex on their home ground.  They’ve gone 375 minutes without scoring a goal at home and have scored just eight goals in 10 league matches.  One reason for the lack of goals has been the absence of their number one striker Andy Carroll.  He is still injured and likely to be out for quite some time.  Villa have been doing a bit better and came the closest to scoring when Christian Benteke’s header bounced off the post.  The draw sees Villa and West Ham secure in the middle table within one point of each other.

Arsenal 2 – 0 Liverpool

Arsene Wenger’s boys go five points clear at the top of the table.  Brendon Rodgers has had the Reds doing quite well so far this season and Saturday was a chance for them to make a clear statement and take over the top position.  They should have had the lead in the ninth minute when Jordan Henderson’s shot missed off to the right of the goal.  Henderson had another attempt blocked in the 16^th minute and it looked like it would have been a matter of time before the visitors would score.  But the Gunners got themselves together and in the 19^th minute score the first goal.  Bacary Sagna’s cross fell to Santi Cazorla.  The Spaniard’s volley bounced off the post, but he was able to react first to the loose ball and poke it home past Reds’ keeper Simon Mignolet.  To their credit, Liverpool tried to strike back quickly.  They thought they had an opportunity in the 25^th minute.  Luis Suarez was fouled by defender Bacary Sagna.  The Uruguayan took the free kick quickly and found Daniel Sturridge in space.  But before the striker could shoot on goal, the referee brought the play back so that he could book Sagna for the foul.  The Gunners maintained their one goal advantage until the end of the first half and Rodgers decided to replace Aly Cissokho with Philliep Coutinho. The change did the Reds a bit of good as they started out positively.  They should have scored early in the second half when Suarez was able to get in behind the Arsenal defense, but he could only chip the ball across the goal and no one was there to meet it for goal.  But then they went behind by two goals in the 59^th minute.  Aaron Ramsey got the ball from Mesut Ozil some distance out from the Liverpool goal.  As Reds’ defender Kolo Toure backed away from the Welsh international, he hit a hard, dipping volley shot that went into the goal over Mignolet. Although Suarez and Sturridge came close to scoring in the later stages of the match, the Gunners had this won in impressive fashion.  I wonder if anyone remembers where the keys to the Arsenal trophy cabinet might be?

Everton 0 – 0 Tottenham

It’s a dull stalemate at Goodison Park as both the Toffees and Spurs miss out on a chance to go to second place in the BPL.  This match featured highlights from both keepers.  Everton keeper Tim Howard made a decent save in the opening minutes from Sandro’s shot from outside the penalty area.  Howard saved again in the 25^th minute when Lewis Holtby took a shot from just inside the area.  Everton midfielder Leon Osman had a chance in the 26^th minute but his shot went over the Spurs goal.  That was about as close as anyone would come to scoring, although Everton thought they had a penalty shout when Seamus Coleman looked like he was tripped by Jan Vertonghen in the Spurs penalty area.  The referee did not see any foul and let play continue.  There was a bit of concern for Spurs keeper Jugo Lloris in the 77^th minute when he collided with Everton striker Romelu Lukaku’s knee with his head.  There was a significant delay while the medical staff took care of the French international.  Spurs backup keeper Brad Friedel got ready to step in but Lloris was able to get up and continue and in the 87^th minute, made a great save from Gerard Deulofeu.

Cardiff 1 – 0 Swansea

Cardiff wins the first ever BPL version of the South Wales Derby.  There is a bit of off field drama coming into this match as Cardiff boss Malky Mackay hasn’t been getting along with owner Vincent Tan.  There had been some speculation that Mackay might be on his way out since one of his staff, Iain Moody and been fired several days previously.  But the win may have saved Mackay his job for the time being.  The match itself was a little slow and that could have been due to the rainy Welsh weather or due to the fact that neither team wanted to be remembered as the one who lost this first BPL meeting.  Swansea started out the better side and should have scored in the fifth minute.  Michu did a great job controlling Jonjo Shelvey’s cross, but then hit his shot way over the goal.  He had a better chance in the 10^th minute when his shot was saved by Cardiff keeper David Marshall.  Swansea enjoyed most of the possession in the first half and yet, Cardiff were able to comfortably defend anything thrown their way.  The second half started out with more of the same and just when it looked like a draw was all but assured, Cardiff got the break they needed.  In the 62^nd minute, they earned a corner kick that was taken by their captain Craig Bellamy.  Steven Caulker, formerly from Swansea, was able to jump higher than Swans defender Chico Flores and head the ball into the goal.  The goal seemed to suck the live out of Swansea and their day went from bad to worse right at the end of the match.  Swansea keeper Michel Vorm raced out of his own penalty area to challenge Cardiff striker Frazier Campbell for a loose ball.  When he knocked the striker down, the referee was left with little choice but to send the keeper off for the offense.  During the match, Swansea had used all of their substitutes, so Anger Rangel had to assume the role of goal keeper.  Cardiff did not score on him, but the victory ensures the fans that they can brag about winning the first BPL South Wales Derby.  Maybe that will help Mackay hold his job for a while.

Ten man Arsenal tighten their grip on the top spot of the BPL table.  It has been a rough week for Palace.  They let go of manager Ian Holloway after the 1-4 loss to Fulham with assistant Keith Millen appointed as caretaker manager.  Their league form has been absolutely awful with only one win so far this season.  And so it was really not such a good time to welcome the league leader to Selhurst Park on Saturday.  But Palace gave it their best and nearly scored in the 15^th minute with Barry Bannan’s header from a Jerome Thomas cross went just over the bar.  The Gunners were coming off a mid-week hiccup themselves as they had been beaten in the UEFA Champions’ League by Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.  They were still suffering the effects of that loss and with Palace’s fighting spirit, it was little wonder that the score was goalless at half time.  Incredibly, it was a defensive gaff that did Palace in.  Right as the second half got underway, the Gunners went on the attack and substitute Serge Gnabry was able to weave his way into the Palace penalty area, where he was tripped by Adlene Guedioura.  It was a needless penalty kick to give away as Gnabry didn’t really have anywhere to go.  Mikel Arteta scored the spot kick to put the Gunners into the lead.  Palace were given a lifeline in the 65^th minute when midfielder Marouane Chamakh was about to break forward toward the Arsenal goal.  He was brought down by Arteta and since the Spanish international was the last defender, the referee sent him off.  Palace tried to take advantage of being a man up on the Gunners and had a chance to equalize in the 72^nd minute.  Joel Ward took a brilliant shot from just outside the Gunners’ penalty area that keeper Wojciech Szczesny did well to tip over the bar.  Then from the resulting corner kick, Mile Jedinak hit a shot that was bound for the top left corner that Szczesny deflected away from the goal with one hand.  But that was as close as Palace would come to scoring and they conceded the second goal in the 87^th minute.  Aaron Ramsey was able to break through the defense and lob a cross over to Olivier Giroud to head home to secure the win.

Aston Villa 0 – 2 Everton

Roberto Martinez’s boys grab another win at Villa Park.  Yep, that’s correct.  Everton have won five of their last six matches.  And it has all been done under the leadership of the guy who lead Wigan to relegation last season.  It’s probably a good bet that former manager David Moyes, who left over the summer for Manchester United, is not missed one bit by the Everton fans.  Martinez has his boys playing with a lot of flare this season and they nearly scored in the first minute when on-loan striker Romelu Lukaku fired Kevin Mirallas’s cross just wide of the goal.  But in the seventh minute, defender Seamus Coleman brought down Villa striker Christian Benteke in the Everton penalty area.  Benteke took the spot kick, but it was magnificently saved by USA international goal keeper Tim Howard.  It was the Everton keeper’s day as he made another save in the 23^rd minute from Benteke again.  This time he blocked the striker’s shot to the bottom right corner of the goal.  In the 30^th minute, fellow USA international keeper for Aston Villa, Brad Guzan, was able to make the save from Lukaku’s shot.  The first half ended scoreless as both keepers did their best to keep their respective goals empty.  When the second half got underway, the match looked like it would end in a deadlock until the 68^th minute when Everton defender Leighton Baines broke down the left wing and played a pass for Leon Osman.  Osman spotted Lukaku arriving at the top of the Villain’s penalty area and hit the striker with a great pass that he knocked home with his left foot.  The visitors though they had a penalty claim of their own a short time later when Lukaku was battling with Ron Vlaar in the Villain’s penalty area and the defender appeared to deflect the ball away with his hand.  The referee indicated that there was no intent and wave for play to continue.  Villa had their own chance in the 75^th minute when Gabriel Agnonlahor had his shot from outside the Everton penalty area saved by Howard.  But any hope for an equalizer for the home side was ended in the 80^th minute when Osman’s shot from a Gareth Barry cutback pass went into the goal past Guzan’s grasp.  If I were a Villa fan, I might be a bit concerned about my team’s home form of late.

Liverpool 4 – 1 West Bromwich Albion

The Reds get it done with class at Anfield.  I wonder if Luiz Suarez has earned a new nickname.  Most folks who do not like the Uruguayan striker call him “Nibbles” in reference to the times he has bitten opposing players.  But after Saturday, his nickname might be changed to “Magic”.  That is what he was as he grabbed a hat-trick against the Baggies.  He got his first goal in the 12^th minute when he danced into the Baggies area, danced around the defense, nutmegged Jonas Olsson and finished off the move with a great shot past keeper Boaz Myhill.  Just as the Kop started to settle down, he got number two in the 17^th minute.  He played a one-two with Aly Cissokho and headed home the first-time cross with a great header from 16 yards out from goal.  It took until the 30^th minute for the Baggies to attempt anything on goal and Jonas Olson’s header from Morgan Amalfitano’s cross was well wide of the goal.  The second half was more domination by the home side and Suarez got his third when he headed home Steven Gerrards free-kick cross in the 55^th minute.  The Baggies did manage to get a goal back in the 65^th minute when they were awarded a penalty kick for Cissokho’s foul on Billy Jones in the Liverpool penalty area.  But they were never really in this match and Daniel Sturridge, who was almost forgotten in the wake of his teammate’s great showing, scored from a great lob from outside the Baggies’ penalty into the top right corner of the goal.  So while most folks still think that this year’s league winner will be decided by one of the London clubs, one would be remiss if they didn’t consider that the Reds might have something to say about the destination of the BPL trophy in May.

Norwich 0 – 0 Cardiff

It’s a goalless draw between the Canaries and the Dragons.  Well, Canaries boss Chris Hughton is on trouble again.  They sit in the bottom three of the BPL and have just two wins so far this season.  It didn’t help them at all that the keeper for Cardiff, David Marshall, used to play for the Canaries and made several key stops from Jonny Howson, Gary Hooper, Nathan Redmond, and Leroy Fer.  There wasn’t much more to write about for this match, save for a bit of controversy at the end when the match was stopped for an injured Norwich player.  Cardiff kicked the ball out of bonds so that the player could receive treatment as is the usual custom in professional football.  When play was restarted, Norwich was given the throw-in.  The usual tradition is to kick the ball back to the opposing goal keeper so he can pick it up and punt it back into play.  However, Fer decided to kick the ball into the empty net.  Now there is no rule that states that Fer was obliged to kick the ball back to the goal keeper, but the referee did not allow the goal and made the home side retake the throw-in.  So the match ended goalless and Norwich find themselves in a relegation fight.

Southampton 2 – 0 Fulham

Fulham lose to the Saints at St. Mary’s stadium.  So many teams have taken the Saints lightly this season.  It seems like a dumb thing to do because they’ve made their best start to the top flight since they finished in second place in the 1983-84 season.  One of the things that boss Mauricio Pochettino has them doing so much better this season is improving their defending.  That was on display Saturday as the Cottagers didn’t get a single shot on goal in the first half.  As the match progressed, their boss Martin Jol could be seen getting angrier and angrier on the touch line.  He must have been livid with his team’s performance in the 20^th minute when Rickie Lambert headed home the first goal from a Jar Rodriguez corner kick.  The visitors nearly fell further behind a minute later when keeper Maarten Stekelenburg was forced to save Rodriguez’s shot headed for the bottom right corner of the goal.  They did fall further behind when Rodriguez headed home a Rickie Lambert corner kick in the 42^nd minute.  The second half wasn’t much better for the Cottagers as they were completely dominated by the Saints.  Rodriguez came close to getting a third goal in spectacular fashion when, in the 69^th minute, he met a James Ward-Prowse cross with a daring scissor-kick that missed just to the right of the goal.  So this win is a warning to the rest of the BPL, take the Saints lightly at your own peril.

Sunderland 2 – 1 Newcastle

Gus Poyet’s boys win the Tyne-Wear Derby.  You’ve got to hand it to the Blackcats’ new boss.  When he started at Wearside things were a real mess.  They were sitting at the bottom of the league with no hope whatsoever.  But he is determined to turn things around and a good time to start was when the Tyneside rivals come to town.  And they started wonderfully for the home side when they scored in the fifth minute.  Steven Fletcher headed home Adam Johnson’s corner kick, sending the fans at the Stadium of Light celebrating in wild ecstasy.  Fletcher had a chance in the 14^th minute to get a second goal for the Blackcats when he headed Andrea Dossena’s cross just wide of the goal.  The Magpies were not just going to give up without a fight and Yohan Cabaye nearly equalized in the 16^th minute.  His right-footed shot on goal was saved by Blackcats’ keepe Kieren Westwood.  They had another chance in the 38^th minute when Davide Santon was able to pick out Mathieu Debuchy with decent pass. Blackcats’ defender Sebastian Larsson was able to head away Debuchy’s cross while surrounded by Magpie opposition waiting to pounce on any mistake.  That was as close as the visitors would get in the first half and boss Alan Pardew decided to replace an ineffective Moussa Sissoko with Papiss Demba Cisse to start the second half.  They were able to level the score in the 57^th minute when Hatem Ben Arfa got on the end of a Cabaye pass and poked a low cross for Debuchy to drive home at the far post.  The Magpies started driving for the winner and nearly got it in the 63^rd minute when Ben Arfa was able to link up with Santon who put his shot just wide of the Blackcats’ goal.  Poyet decided to replace Adam Johnson with Fabio Borini in the 69^th minute to see if he could pick up the pace a bit for the home side.  Right as soon as he stepped on the pitch, Borini nearly scored.  He took a hard shot toward the bottom left corner of the goal that Magpies’ keeper Tim Krul did well to keep out of the net.  But while the Magpies had a chance or two at the other end, Borini won it in the 85^th minute.  USA International Jozy Altidore made a great pass into Borini’s path and he drove the shot right past a diving Krul.  The win lifts the Blackcats off the bottom of the table.  While there is a lot more to be done if Poyet is going to save this side from relegation, winning the Tyne-Wear Derby is a pretty good start.

Chelsea 2 – 1 Manchester City

Fernando Torres scores the winner at Stamford Bridge.  This match was known in some circles as the “Billion Dollar Derby”.  It was one of the most anticipated matches of the season that pitted Chelsea, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, against Manchester City, owned by Abu Dhabi billionare Sheikh Mansour.  By coincidence, it also featured two former managers of Spanish club Real Madrid.  Citeh boss Manuel Pellegrini managed Real Madrid from 2009 until he was succeeded by Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho in 2010.  The “Special One” was fired by the Spanish giants this past summer.  So there was a bit riding on this one.  The one thing that has been a concern for Pelligrini has been Citeh’s away form so far this season.  They have lost some key matches away from home and seem to have lost a bit of confidence in their travels.  Chelsea, on the other hand, just don’t lose at home when Mourinho is in charge and sure enough they took the lead in the 33^rd minute.  Torres was able to hit a cross over to midfielder Andre Schurrle who was able to poke it home past Citeh keeper Joe Hart for the goal.  The Blues had a chance to make it two toward the end of the half.  John Terry headed Frank Lampard’s corner kick just wide of the goal.  Although the visitors had a chance to level the score in first half stoppage time, the home side remained up a goal at the interval.  When the second half got underway, Citeh pressed hard for the equalizer.  They got what they were looking for in the 48^th minute when Sergio Aguero was sent through on goal by a Samir Nasri pass and the Argentine international hit his shot past Blues’ keeper Petr Cech.  The visitors seemed to get a bit of confidence from the goal and should have made it two in the 52^nd minute.  David Sliva hit a cross for Javi Garcia, but his header went right into Cech’s hands.  Silva had a go at goal himself in the 57^th minute when his shot went high and wide of the target.  In the 58^th minute, Torres had a headed attempt on the Citeh goal saved by Hart.  The back-and-forth continued and it looked like the match would end in a draw.  But right at the end, Hart couldn’t get to a Willian through ball and Torres was able to poke home the winner for the Blues.

Swansea 0 – 0 West Ham

It’s all even at the Liberty Stadium.  This is one of the things that a Sam Allardyce side does.  Emphasize defending, hold the opposition goalless and pick up a point for the draw.  Hammers keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen made two great saves, first from Chico Flores in the 16^th minute and then Wilfried Bony in the 70^th minute.  While some Hammers’ fans are not too happy with the result, the point does keep them in the middle of the table and away from any relegation fight.

Tottenham 1 – 0 Hull

A Roberto Soldado penalty kick gets the win for Spurs.  The kick was awarded after Hull defender Ahmed Elmohamady was penalized for handling the ball in the Hull penalty area.  It was really the only high light of an otherwise dull match.  But this was always going to be a low scoring match as it pitted the two lowest goal scoring sides in the top half of the BPL.  Most of the chances for each side were long range efforts that missed the target or were easily saved.  Hull boss Steve Bruce was just trying not to lose this match and so put a defensive side on the pitch.  Spurs boss Andreas Villas Boas, perhaps trying to find a way to get over consecutive losses in the BPL and the UEFA Europa League, also went defensive.  Their new star, Andros Townsend, did do some good but had a real scare toward the end of the match when he was knocked into the crowd and fell awkwardly on his head.  He was able to get back up and finish the match.  The win puts Spurs into fourth place in the table, but Villas Boas will want his boys to do a bit better.

Ten man Newcastle hold Liverpool to a draw at St. James’ Park.  Luiz Suarez and Daniel Sturridge combined to secure the point for the Reds as they had to come from behind twice in the match.  The Magpies were looking to avenge a 6-0 smack-down they received last season and they nearly got on the score sheet in the fifth minute when Yohan Cabaye had his long range shot blocked away by Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.  They finally did make the breakthrough in the 23^rd minute when Cabaye got hold of the ball in the midfield, took it forward with no opposition, then hit a dipping shot from 30 yards out that flew inside the far post past Mignolet’s grasp.  The Reds could’ve equalized two minutes later, but Mamadou Sakho’s header from a Suarez cross went just wide of the goal.  It looked like Newcastle would be going into the half with the lead.  But in the 41^st minute, Suarez had broken through on goal and when Newcastle defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa challenged the Uruguayan striker in the penalty area, Suarez immediately went to ground.  The referee awarded Liverpool the penalty kick, and since the Newcastle man was the last defender and was judged to have illegally prevented a scoring opportunity, he was sent off.  Steven Gerrard converted the spot kick to level the score and that’s how things stayed until the interval.  Liverpool were determined to try and make their extra man advantage count as the second half got underway.  They nearly took the lead in the 48^th minute when Glen Johnson was put through on goal be a neat Jordan Henderson pass.  Newcastle keeper Tim Krul was able to get down smartly and save Johnson’s shot to prevent the score.  But, weirdly enough, Liverpool went behind again in the 57^th minute when Cabaye’s free-kick was met by an unmarked Paul Dummett to poke home with his left foot into the center of the goal.  It looked like the home side would be able to hold on for the win as time and again, the visitors would make a break, and each time the home side would be more than equal to any challenge to their goal.  But in the 71^st minute Suarez was able to cut through the defense and into the penalty area.  He hit a great cut-back cross that Sturridge was able to head into the goal and level the score once again.  In the 74^th minute, Suarez had a chance to win the match when his shot rebounded off the bar after going over Krul’s reach.  As the match wound down to the end, it looked like the Reds would eventually find the breakthrough and nearly did in the 85^th minute had Daniel Sturridge not missed his shot off to the right after being put through by Gerrard.  But the ten-men Magpies were able to hold on for the draw.

Arsenal 4 – 1 Norwich

The Gunners secure their position at the top of the BPL table.  It’s still early in the season, but one could bet that at least one London team will have a say on where the BPL trophy ends up next May.  After Saturday, it looks like that team may be the Gunners.  They opened the scoring in the 18^th minute when Jack Wilshere was able to get on the end of an Olivier Giroud through-pass and poke the ball past keeper John Ruddy.  To their credit, the Canaries tried to fight back as the half wore on and nearly equalized at the end of the half when Robert Snodgrass’s shot from an Anthony Pilkington cross was blocked away by the Gunners’ defense.  Arsenal came out in the second half much stronger and in the 58^th minute, Mesut Ozil made it 2-0 when he headed home a Giroud cross into the bottom left corner of the goal.  Norwich did manage to get a goal back in the 10^th minute when Jonathan Howson’s shot from Martin Olsson’s cross from the left wing went into the far behind Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny.  It was Aaron Ramsey who was able to kill the match off in the 83^rd minute when he was able to cut through the Canaries’ defense and poke home from close range.  The Welsh midfielder assisted on the fourth goal in the 88^th minute when he was again able to cut through the Canaries defense and cut back a pass for Ozil to tap in.  While they are not the same Gunners that were so dominant ten years ago, they’re going to be hard to knock from the top of the league this season.

Chelsea 4 – 1 Cardiff

It’s another comfortable win for the Blues at Stamford Bridge.  There is one thing about teams managed by Jose Mourinho, they simply do not lose at home.  He went 38 matches unbeaten at Porto, 60 matches unbeaten during his first stint at Chelsea, and 38 when he was at Inter Milan.  He is currently on a 33 match home unbeaten record that includes 31 matches at Real Madrid and now three matches for his current tenure at Chelsea.  The match Saturday didn’t start that well for the Blues as they went behind in the 10^th minute when Cardiff striker Jordan Mutch took advantage of Blues defender David Luiz’s defensive mistake and chipped the loose ball into the goal over keeper Petr Cech.  Chelsea got the equalizer from a controversial moment in the 33^rd minute.  Cardiff keeper David Marshall had possession of the ball and was bouncing it with the intent to put it back into play.  FIFA laws state that the goal keeper is still in possession at that point and any attempt to challenge is not legal.  However, Samuel Eto’o stuck his leg out in an attempt to put Marshall under a bit of pressure.  When he was able to steal the ball, he rolled it over to Eden Hazard to poke home from close range.  That’s how the half ended and when the second half started, one could tell that both teams’ bosses were not too thrilled with how things were going.  Cardiff had a chance to regain the lead in the 60^th minute winger Kim Bo-Kyung’s shot missed just off to the right of the goal.  Shortly after that, Mourinho, who had been fussing at the fourth official for most of the match, was sent to the stands and was later charged with misconduct by the FA.  That seemed to be the kick in the pants the Blues needed.  In the 66^th minute, Oscar, Hazard and Eto’o combined to break the deadlock with the striker firing into the goal past the grasp of Marshall.  In the 78^th minute, Oscar secured the win when he was able to hit a long range shot from just outside the area.  Hazard added the exclamation mark in the 82^nd minute when he eluded the Cardiff defense and poked home a fine finish with his right foot.  The win puts the Blues into second place, two points behind Arsenal and it looks like the two London sides will have a say as to who wins the league this season.

Everton 2 – 1 Hull

Steven Pienaar gets the win for Everton.  The South African winger is still a hero for the Toffees despite being out injured since August 31.  They had lost the last remaining unbeaten streak last week to Manchester City and the fans didn’t want to lose the momentum they had gained so far this season.  Kevin Mirallas got them going in the eighth minute when he scored just inside of the post.  However, the goal was a bit controversial as it looked like Gareth Barry, running back from an offside position, interfered with Hull keeper Allan McGregor’s attempt to make the save.  Things went from bad to worse for the Tigers when they lost one of their talismen, Danny Graham, to injury in the 15^th minute.  But they nearly equalized in the 22^nd minute when Abdoulaye Faye’s header from Robbie Brady’s corner kick went just wide of the goal.  That got the visitors going and they did equalize in the 30^th minute when Yannick Sagbo was able to poke home Sone Aluko’s cross past Everton keeper Tim Howard.  Hull had a chance to take the lead deep into first half stoppage time when Aluko barely missed his header from a Faye corner kick just over the bar.  Everton boss Roberto Martinez knew a spark was needed and he brought on Pienaar for Loen Osman in the 56^th minute.  Within 30 seconds of coming into the match, he was able to get on the end of a Mirallas cross to score a wonderful goal with his left foot.  Everton had a chance to make it three in the 76^th minute when substitute Arouna Kone thumped his shot off the right post.  The result sees Hull’s four match unbeaten run come to an end.

Stoke 0 – 0 West Bromwich Albion

The Potters and the Baggies play to a draw.  Not too much to write about in this match.  One shouldn’t be surprised at this result.  The Potters have only scored four goals all season and the Baggies have one of the better goal differences so far at +1.  The only real incident in this match occurred in the 55^th minute when it looked like Charlie Adam tripped Youssouf Mulumbu in the Potters’ penalty area.  But any hopes for a penalty kick award from the referee were denied.  Although in the last minute of the match, Stephane Sessegnon had a chance to win it for the Baggies when he was able to weave his way into the Stoke area.  But alas, he sent his shot right straight into the keeper’s gut and that was that.

Swansea 4 – 0 Sunderland

The downward slide for the Blackcats continues.  So now Gus Poyet has the privilege of trying to salvage the hot mess that is Sunderland.  Or should we call this club “Blunder-land”?  It looks more and more like the Blackcats will be the first team to be relegated this season.   They still haven’t won a match this season and are badly leaking goals.  They sit at the bottom of the league with only one point from eight matches.  They started the first half well and nearly scored in the 12^th minute when Steven Fletcher’s shot missed just wide of the goal.  One could tell as the half progressed that Swans’ boss Michael Laudrup was not happy with his teams’ performance.  The half time talk must have been a right good kick in the pants, because the Swans came out much stronger in the second half.  In the 52^nd minute, Michu nearly scored for them when his hard shot missed just off to the left of the goal.  The first goal was a testament to just how bad things are for the Blackcats.  A 57^th minute Jonathan De Guzman corner kick was flicked on by Angel Rangel and bounced into the goal off Blackcats’ defender Phillip Bardsley.  It was two goals a minute later when De Guzman hit a lovely curling shot into the top right corner of the goal.  It went from bad to worse for the visitors when Craig Gardner conceded a penalty for a foul on Leon Britton.  Wilfried Bony converted the spot kick and Poyet looked like he was reconsidering his decision to take the Sunderland job.  The fourth goal came in the 80^th minute when Chico headed home a cross from a De Guzman free kick.  If I were Joze Altidore, I might be looking to move to another team in January.

West Ham 1 – 3 Manchester City

Citeh get their away form together as they burst the Hammers’ bubbles.  The Hammers must have still been hung over from their celebrating of their win over Spurs in the last round.  They were playing a Citeh side that, under boss Manuel Pellegrini, hadn’t done well away from home.  But on Saturday, the Pellegrini felt a lot better with his team’s performance as they eased to victory in East London.  By far the best player for Citeh this season has been Sergio Aguero and the Argentine striker opened the scoring in the 16^th minute.  Fernandinho played a long ball from the half line and West Ham defenders Winston Reid and James Tomkins couldn’t decide which of them would take responsibility for clearing it.  Aguero get hold of the loose ball and easily poke in the goal past keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.  He should have made it 2-0 in the 19^th minute when his shot went right to Jaaskelainen.  Citeh went on to dominate the first half and the Hammers had to thank Jaaskelainen for keeping them in the match as he made save after save from Aguero, Yaya Toure, and David Silva.  Whatever Hammers boss Sam Allardyce had to say to his boys at half time didn’t work as they fell behind 2-0 in the 50^th minute.  This time Aguero was able to out-jump Ricardo Vaz Te and head home a Silva cross past Jaaskelainen.  The Hammers were able to get a goal back in the 58^th minute when Vaz Te was able to hit a wonderful acrobatic volley from Ravel Morrison’s cross past Citeh keeper Joe Hart.  But that’s as close as the home side would get and they would concede another goal in the 80^th minute.  This time Aguero was the provider as he set up Silva to hit home into the top left corner of the goal.  The result puts Citeh into fourth place on the table and make for a really bad “Happy Birthday” present for Allardyce who turned 59 on Saturday.

Aston Villa 0 – 2 Tottenham

Spurs get back to winning ways as they beat the Villains at Villa Park.  Could there be an England legend in the making in Andros Townsend?  He was clearly the man of the match for the national side in their victories over Montenegro and Poland that booked their place in the World Cup Final in Brazil.  Spurs were looking for some spark to get them over their horrific loss in their last match.  They had gotten humiliated by their East London rivals, West Ham, and wanted to make amends on Sunday.  Villa had the first opportunity in the third minute when Gabriel Agbonlahor missed his shot over the bar.  Although Spurs took a while to get going, they finally did move the ball well and should have scored in the 17^th minute when Sandro’s right-footed shot was saved by Villain keeper Brad Guzan.  In the 31^st minute, Townsend broke the deadlock, although it was quite by accident.  He was attempting to cross from the right toward Lewis Holtby and Roberto Soldado.  But neither could get to the cross and Guzan, who was playing for the deflection had to watch as the ball bounced past him and into the goal.  Townsend was a bit subdued in his celebrations, but a Spurs fan tossed a flare from the stands and it hit the assistant referee in the back of the head.  There was a delay to take care of the official and the idiot fan was arrested.  After the delay, Villa nearly equalized when Andreas Weimann’s shot went just high and to the right of the goal.  But that was as close as Villa would come to scoring and Spurs went into the interval up 1-0.  As the match wore on, Villa boss Paul Lambert decided to bring on Christian Benteke to see what the Belgian winger could do.  He nearly leveled the score in the 63^rd minute when his header from a Leandro Bacuna cross went just over the bar.  He had another chance in the 68^th minute from a Fabian Delph cross.  This time, his header was saved by Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris.  But any hopes of a comeback were killed a minute later when Paulinho set loose Soldado and his shot went into the top left corner of the goal over Guzan’s reach.  The goal pretty much killed off the rest of the match and the result has Spurs back in the top five of the BPL.

Crystal Palace 1 – 4 Fulham

Dimitar Berbatov scores his first goal of the season as the Cottagers soundly defeat Crystal Palace.  This one has started out so well for Palace.  They scored first in the seventh minute when Adrian Mariappa headed home his first goal for his club from a Jason Puncheon cross.  But Fulham got themselves into gear and equalized in the 19^th minute.  Sascha Riether hit a cross over to Pajtim Kasami and the winger hit a super volley shot into the goal past Palace keeper Julian Speroni.  While both sides kept fighting for the advantage, it was Fulham who went ahead as the first half came to a close.  They were awarded a free-kick just outside of the Palace area.  Bryan Ruiz took the kick that blocked by the Palace wall and the rebound came over to Steve Sidwell who hit a volley shot in to the top left corner of the goal to make it 1-2 to the visitors.  Berbatov got his goal in the 50^th minute when he headed home Ruiz’s corner kick.  The coup-de-grace for the Cottagers came in the 55^th minute when Phillipe Senderos made a nice scissor-kick to put home another Ruiz corner kick.  They could have made it five in the 86^th minute when Kasami’s shot was saved by Speroni.  But it was a truly bad day for Palace and they now set second from bottom in the BPL table.  Could they be on their way back down to the Championship?

Citeh get back to winning ways and end Everton’s unbeaten run.  It has been a difficult week for Manuel Pellegrini and his boys.  Coming off their league defeat in the last round, they were handily beaten by Bayern Munich in their mid-week UEFA Champions’ League match.  So a bit of home cooking is just what was needed to get Citeh back on track.  England international keeper Joe Hart has been under a lot of pressure lately and he did himself no favors when he let Everton striker Romelu Lukaku’s shot get under him in the 16^th minute to start the scoring.  Everton were without central defender Gareth Barry, whose loan deal does not allow him to play against Manchester City, his parent club.  His current club missed his presence because Yaya Toure was able to start up the 17^th minute attack by driving straight through the Toffees’ defense and hit a great pass for Alvaro Negredo who poked home the equalizing goal.  That goal seemed to set a fire under the home side and the ramped the action as the first half wore on.  Sergio Aguero nearly scored in the 26^th minute when he received a through pass from David Silva.  The Argentine international’s shot missed just to the right of the goal.  Citeh did suffer a setback when Matija Nastasic had to replace an injured Vincent Kompany in the 34^th minute.  But they got over that hiccup and took the lead right at half time.  Silva found Aguero again with a precise through ball and this time, the striker’s shot found the back of the net.  The injury bug bit Citeh again in the 58^th minute when Gael Clichy replaced Aleksandar Kolarov.  But the home side were still dominating and were awarded a 68^th minute penalty kick when Seamus Coleman was judged to have fouled Pablo Zabaleta.  Aguero took the spot kick and although Everton keeper Tim Howard nearly saved it, the ball bounced off the USA international and into the goal.  Howard later denied two more Citeh chances, one from Negredo and one from substitute Samir Nasri in stoppage time.  But Everton never was able to trouble the Citeh defense and the hosts have returned to the winning path.

Cardiff 1 – 2 Newcastle

The Magpies get the away win thanks to a Loic Remy brace.  This was a match that Magpies’ boss Alan Pardew will look back on with a bit of relief.  There had been some tension amongst the Geordie faithful as their team had not been doing too well lately.  But this trip to Wales was a good one as the home side just didn’t have enough.  Cardiff did have a chance to get an early goal when Frazier Campbell got around Newcastle keeper Tim Krul, but slipped when he was about to take the shot.  That’s really about as close as the home side would come in the first half and they should have gone down a goal in the 18^th minute when Remy’s shot was saved by Cardiff keeper David Marshall.  But Remy made up for the miss in the 30^th minute.  Moussa Sissoko was able to drive through the Cardiff defense and pass to the striker whose right-footed shot from outside the area went past Marshall into the bottom left corner of the goal.  Newcastle doubled their lead in the 38^th minute when Yohan Cabaye was able to cut through and hit a pass for Papiss Cisse.  Cisse shot was blocked by Marshall, but Remy was on hand to poke home the rebound past defender Ben Turner’s attempted block.  Newcastle should have made it three in the 43^rd minute when Cabaye’s long-range free kick bounced off the right post.  Cardiff replaced Kim Bo-Kyung with Jordon Mutch as the second half got under way.  The adjustment paid off in the 58^th minute when Mutch was able to find Peter Odemwingie with a through pass and the striker was able to score.  But that’s as close as the home side would get.  Sissoko should have scored in the 63^rd minute when Remy put him in on goal, but the Marshall was able to get down and make the save.  But Newcastle head into the international break in a fairly comfortable position and Alan Pardew has silenced his critics for one more week.

Fulham 1 – 0 Stoke

Martin Jol gets to keep his job for a little while longer.  It was the Cottagers’ first win since opening day and the first home win since April 1^st.  At first, it looked bad for the home side as they were dominated early.  They got a bit of luck when defender Philippe Senderos wasn’t penalized for taking down Stephen Ireland in the Fulham area.  Stoke boss Mark Hughes was angrier when his side were denied another penalty a short time later when Jon Walters appeared to have been tripped by Fernando Amorebieta in the area.  The referee decided that the Potters’ striker was initially fouled outside of the area and the resulting free-kick was cleared away.  Fulham though they had a penalty shout of their own when striker Bryan Ruiz appeared to be tripped by Potters’ defender Marc Wilson, but the referee wasn’t interested.  The first real shot on goal was in the 60^th minute when Cottagers’ keeper David Stockdale saved from Marko Arnautovic.  The lone goal came in the 83^rd minute when Pajtim Kasami ‘s shot deflected into the path of substitute Darren Bent.  Jol bought the striker from Aston Villa, where he had fallen out of favor with the club.  Bent repaid Jol’s faith in him by poking home the winning goal.  The win lifts the Cottagers out of the bottom three and now Jol can relax a bit during the international break.

Hull 0 – 0 Aston Villa

It was a dull draw between the Tigers and the Villains at the KC Stadium.  It figures that this match wouldn’t have much going on.  The international break is coming up and both sides are sitting comfortably in the middle of the BPL table.  Both sides were without their leading scorers.  Robbie Brady, for Hull, and Christian Benteke, for Villa, were both out injured.  So there wasn’t much to write about for this match.  The only real chances for goals were two long range efforts.  The first one came from Gabriel Agbonlahor from 18 yards out that missed the goal.  The next one came from Tom Huddlestone.  His 25-yard shot on goal was easily saved by Villain keeper Brad Guzan at the end of the first half.  So while Hull boss Steve Bruce and Villa boss Paul Lambert were disappointed in their respective side’s performance, each are content with a point going into the international break.

Liverpool 3 – 1 Crystal Palace

The Three Amigos, Daniel Sturridge, Luis Suarez, and Steven Gerrard all score in the first half as the Reds get an easy one at Anfield.  There was some initial speculation in the press about Suarez.  During the summer, he talked about leaving Liverpool.  There was also speculation that he and Sturridge would not be able to play together and that boss Brendan Rodgers would probably be better served to send the Uruguayan packing.  But most people forget about Gerrard’s leadership and how he always works to bring the team together.  But all the nonsense of team chemistry problems was answered last week at Sunderland and the exclamation point was written emphatically for the home fans on Saturday.  With legend Kenny Dalglish, brought back to the club as a non-executive advisor, in the crowd, the Reds were on top of Palace early and often.  They scored in the 14^th minute when Victor Moses made a great cross field run and passed over to Suarez.  The striker rolled the ball into the path of Jose Enrique and the Spanaird pushed hard for the by-line and made the cut-back pass for Suarez who managed to put the ball into the net despite being knocked over by Palace midfielder Jason Puncheon.  They had their second goal in the 17^th minute when Enrique’s long pass out from defense went over Suarez’s head and beyond the Palace defense to Sturridge’s feet.  The England striker was able to get though the defense and hit a tight angle shot past keeper Julian Speroni.  Gerrard scored a captain’s goal in the 38^th minute when Raheem Sterling earned a penalty kick after being fouled by Dean Moxey in the Palace penalty area.  Gerrard scored the spot kick for his 99^th goal for his team.  That was really all there was to this match although Palace was able to drag a goal back in the 76^th minute through Dwight Gayle’s header from Jose Campana’s free kick.  But it looks like the Reds will still have something to say about where the BPL trophy goes this season.

Norwich 1 – 3 Chelsea

Two late goals from Eden Hazard and Willian help the Blues back into the top three.  This should have been an easy match for Jose Mourinho and the Blues as they traveled to Carrow Road.  In fact, they scored the first goal in the fourth minute when Frank Lampard’s pass from his own half found Demba Ba in the Canaries’ penalty area and he laid the ball off for Oscar to strike first time into the bottom corner of the net.  The visitors nearly made it two in the 14^th minute when Ba’s shot from a Juan Mata pass was saved by keeper John Ruddy.  As has been the practice of Chelsea when Mourinho was in charge the first time, the Blues concentrated on dominating possession and were able to ease through the rest of the first half with their one goal lead.  It looked like Chelsea would be able to maintain their one goal lead for the win.  But in the 67^th minute, Canaries’ midfielder Martin Olsson’s deep cross caused a bit of chaos in the Blues defense and found Ricky van Wolfswinkel who headed the ball across to Anthony Pilkington who was able to out jump David Luiz and head past Petr Cech for the equalizer.  A draw would have been a good result for the Canaries.  But in the 85^th minute they had a glimmer of hope for the win when they earned a corner kick.  But the Blues were able to clear the ball away to Oscar who hit a cross-field pass that reached Hazard and the Belgian forward’s shot went under Ruddy into the goal.  Willian locked up the win for the Blues in the 86^th minute when his curling shot went into the top left corner of the goal.  So the win puts the Blues back on track in their quest for silverware.

Southampton 2 – 0 Swansea

The Saints keep on marching as they beat the Swans at home at St Mary’s Stadium.  It was their third BPL victory in a row and the result has them in fourth place.  Yeah, that’s right.  They’re above Manchester City and Manchester United.  Boss Mauricio Pochettino has the Saints playing well and has stressed tight defending this season.  The strategy has paid off as the Saints have conceded only two goals so far this season.  Swansea, on the other hand, are not doing so well.  They’ve only won once in their last four matches and find themselves sliding down the table.  One key to their bad form may be the fact that they have lost all four times they’ve conceded the opening goal this season.  They conceded in the 19^th minute when Adam Lallana got onto a quick Steven Davis pass and hit a curling shot into the top corner of the goal.  To their credit, Swansea nearly equalized in the 24^th minute when Michu’s header was saved by Saints’ keeper Artur Boruc. The Polish international also had to stop efforts from Jonjo Shelvey, NAME Bony, and a low shot from Nathan Dyer.  The second half saw more attacking by Swansea as Shelvey, Dyer, and Bony all had their efforts denied as Southampton seemed to struggle a bit to hold their one goal lead.  Pocettino replaced Paplo Osvaldo with James Ward-Prowse in the 58^th minute and the change worked for the Saints as they were able to slow down the Swans’ attacks.  The Saints thought they had their second goal in the 76^th minute when the referee judged that Dyer and last touched the ball and awarded the home side a corner kick.  Replays showed that the referee had gotten that call wrong, but even though Victor Wanyama headed home the resulting corner kick, the referee decided that Dejan Lovren had committed a foul and disallowed the goal.  But the Saints did get their second goal in the 82^nd minute when Jay Rodriguez got hold of a loose ball and slotted it into the bottom right corner.

Tottenham 0 – 3 West Ham

The Hammers humiliate Spurs at White Hart Lane.  It was the first victory for the Hammers at White Hart Lane since 1999.  They clearly had the early initiative and nearly had the early goal in the 11^th minute when Kevin Nolan narrowly missed his header from a Stewart Downing cross.  They missed another chance in the 28^th minute when Downing hit another cross.  This time Mohamed Diame’s header went over the bar.  Although Spurs did manage an attack or two, they really didn’t trouble Hammers’ keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen much in the first half.  Spurs did start the second half quickly and nearly scored in the 46^th minute when Jermain Defoe, making his first start of the season, had his shot saved by Jaaskelainen.  Defoe had another opportunity in the 52^nd minute when Paulinho found him with a though ball.  But Jaaskelainen was equal to Defoe’s shot and kept the score at zero.  That second half opening exchange got the Hammers going and they earned a corner kick in the 65^th minute.  Stewart Downing took the corner kick and Kevin Nolan accidently headed Winston Reid’s goal bound header off the goal line, but the New Zealand international bundled the ball home for the first goal.  The second goal came in the 72^nd minute when Nolan was able to drive through the Spurs defense and make a nice through pass for Ricardo Vaz Te.  Although Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris made the initial save, Vaz Te get to the rebound first and poked it into the goal.  With the home fans getting more and more upset, Spurs boss Andres Villas Boaz tried to fix things by replacing Christian Eriksen with Roberto Soldado in the 73^rd minute.  But the change didn’t work and the Hammers completed the beat down in the 79^th minute when Ravel Morrison was able to grab a loose ball in the midfield and ease past Michael Dawson and lift an easy shot over Lloris.  After that goal, most of the Spurs fans had seen enough and left in droves.  Just think, this was done without injured Andy Carroll.  Imagine the score had he been available?

West Bromwich Albion 1 – 1 Arsenal

Jack Wilshere’s second half goal saves a point for the Gunners and keeps them atop of the BPL.  The Baggies are for real this season.  They humiliated Manchester United at Old Trafford last week and were looking to do the same to Arsenal at home at the Hawthorns on Sunday.  They nearly scored in the first minute when Youssuf Mulumbu tried his luck from 35 yards out from goal, missing just off to the left.  They had another chance in the 15^th minute when Saido Berahino’s shot deflected off Mathieu Flamini’s leg and had to be saved by Gunners’ keeper Wojciech Szczesny.  Arsenal finally got going in the 24^th minute when Jack Wilshere narrowly missed his shot from outside the area.  They were lucky not to have conceded a penalty a short time later when Stephane Sessegnon looked like he was illegally impeded as he went through the Arsenal penalty area.  The Baggies’ pressure finally paid off in the 41^st minute.  Morgan Amalfitano’s corner kick was initially cleared, but Mulumbu was able to get the loose ball and fed it straight back to Amalfitano who crossed it for Yacob to head home for the first goal.  Arsenal started the second half by trying to pick up the pace a bit, but former Gunner Nicolas Anelka muffed a clear chance to score on his former club from Barahino’s cross.  Arsenal had the chance to equalize a bit alter when Olivier Giroud hit a pass for Wilshire to hit home, but the England midfielder’s shot was not near on target.  But Wilshere would make up for the gaff in the 63^rd minute.  Giroud made a fine pass over to substitute Tomas Rosicky whose one touch pass set up Wilshere to hit an emphatic 20 yard shot that deflected off Jonas Olsson and into the net.  That goal was good enough for Arsene Wenger’s boys to hold their lead at the top of the table.  There were a couple more chances for the Gunner’s to get the win, but they’ll be happy going into the international break in first place.

John Terry’s header saves a draw for Chelsea at White Hart Lane.  This match was about the Student versus the Teacher.  Spurs Andres Villas Boas had learned his trade under the tutelage of Jose Mourinho when both were at FC Porto in the Portuguese top league.  This particular derby match is one of the more contested in the history of the FA and there was plenty of tension at the start.  The two managers shared a cordial handshake in the beginning.  The Spurs fans expressed their hatred for Mourinho as they began singing for him to sit down.  The home side dominated the early part of the match and took the lead in the 19^th minute.  It was a fine move that was started by Christian Eriksen when he played a nice pass across the Blues’ penalty area to Roberto Soldado who then poked a nifty pass to Gylfi Sigurdsson.  Sigurdsson was able to get past Terry and poke home the goal past Petr Cech’s grasp to send the White Hart Lane crowd into joyous singing.  They spent the rest of the half taunting Mourino by changing “You’re not special anymore”.  Spurs could have made it two right at the break when Paulino’s shot bounced off the goal post.  The half ended a really mediocre Chelsea display and Mourinho knew it.  Whatever he did or said during the break worked.  The first adjustment was to finally give Juan Mata a chance.  He came on for a really ineffective Jon Obi Mikel and the change instantly got the Blues moving in a positive direction.  They nearly equalized in the 47^th minute, but Oscar just couldn’t get to Fernando Torres’ square-ball.  A couple of minutes later, Torres forced a fine save from Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris, but then got himself booked in the 50^th minute for mental mistake.  The referee had awarded a free kick to Spurs for a foul by Torres on Jan Vertonghen.  Torres, who was convinced the Spurs defender had taken a dive, grabbed Vertonghen by the face and dug his nails into the Belgian’s skin.  Vertonghen had a brain cramp himself in the 64^th minute when he committed a really dangerous tackle on Ramires in the Spurs defending third of the field.  He was lucky to have only gotten a yellow card for the challenge.  Juan Mata took the resulting free kick and found an unmarked Terry at the back post.  The former England captain headed over Lloris and into the net to level the scores, much to the delight of the visiting supporters.  But then in the 80^th minute, Vertonghen and Torres clashed again.  This time, the referee ruled that Torres had caught Vertonghen in the face with his elbow and gave the Spaniard a second yellow card.  With the Blues down to ten men, Spurs picked up the pace and Sigurdsson and later Jermain Defoe nearly snatched the win.  Defoe’s shot right at the end had to be blocked by Frank Lampard to preserve the draw.

Aston Villa 3 – 2 Manchester City

The Villains strike back twice and grab the upset win over Citeh.  Citeh boss Manuel Pellegrini is a bit baffled after this match.  After all, they were supposed to go to the top of the league this week.  They had achieved an impressive win last week in the Manchester Derby and this trip to Villa Park was to be, literally, a walk in the park.  Villa were without their main striker Christian Benteke who was out due to injury.  This was a chance for Citeh to put their stamp on the league and start their quest to reclaim the BPL trophy.  They did dominate the first half and should have taken the early lead when Aleksandar Kolarov’s cross was put just wide of goal by former Villain James Milner.  Edin Dzeko had another chance in the eighth minute when Samir Nasri put him through on goal.  Villa’s USA international keeper Brad Guzan made a fine save from Dzeko’s shot to keep the net empty.  It took Citeh until first half stoppage time to finally break the deadlock.  Yaya Toure took the initiative and the Ivorian’s shot was deflected past Guzan for the opening goal right at the end of the half.  Citeh should have gotten number two as the second half got underway.  Kolarov’s shot went just wide of the post and Alvaro Negredo nearly took advantage of some slack Villain defending.   But then the home side got a lucky break when Leandro Bacuna’s though pass was put home by Karim El Ahmadi to make the score 1-1.  Replays suggested that El Ahmadi may have been offside, but the referee ignored any pleas by the Citeh defenders.  They retook the lead in the 56^th minute when Dzeko headed home Nasri’s corner kick.  That should have been enough for the visitors to see out the match, but in the 72^nd minute, Matija Nastasic fouled Andreas Weimann just outside of the visitors’ penalty area.  Leandro Bacuna took the free-kick and hit a curling shot into the upper left corner that CIteh keeper Joe Hart could only watch go by him.  The Villains got the winner in the 74^th minute when Weimann was able to get on the end of a long punt from Guzan and get past central defender Vincent Kompany to be one-on-one with Hart.  The Austrian was able to get past the England international and roll the ball into the empty net.  It was then up to Guzan as he was able to save from substitute Stevan Jovetic and later see an injury time corner headed wide by Kolarov.

Fulham 1 –2 Cardiff

Cottagers’ boss Marin Jol could be the next manager fired.  There’s a hot mess at Craven Cottage at the moment.  Owner Shaid Khan is trying to get things cleaned up and one of the first changes has been to take down the Michael Jackson statue.  There are lots of Fulham fans who want the next bit to be removed to be Jol.  Although they did beat Everton in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday, they haven’t had a home BPL win since April 1^st.  One could sense that there was going to be trouble for Fulham when Scott Parker went off injured in the seventh minute, to be replaced by Giorgos Karagounis.  Things went from bad to worse for the home side in the 12^th minute when an unmarked Steven Caulker headed home Peter Whittingham’s corner kick to put the visitors into the lead.  The Welsh side could have made it two in the 26^th minute when Ben Turner’s header was saved by Cottagers’ keeper David Stockdale.  A short time later, Caulker thought he had scored the second, but the referee disallowed it for a push on Stockdale.  Jol made one more change as the first half wore on when in the 41^st minute Bryan Ruiz came on Alex Kacaniklic.  The move worked as Ruiz was able to get on the end of a Pajtim Kasami pass and curl a shot into the top corner to level the score in the 44^th minute.  As the second half got underway, it was the visitors who worked to take back the initiative.  They brought on Jordan Mutch to replace Bo-Kyung Kim in the 55^th minute and he made a great through pass for Frasier Campbell who scuffed the shot on goal.  It was Mutch though who won it for Cardiff when he won a clearing ball in stoppage time and hit a brilliant strike from 25 yards into the top corner of the goal.  It was their first top-flight away win since November 1961 and it looks like the newly promoted side might make a good run at staying up.  Fulham look like they may be one of the relegation candidates.  It’s still early yet, so we shall see.

Hull 1 – 0 West Ham

Robert Brady’s penalty kick is good enough for the win for the Tigers.  West Ham should have an early gift when Hull defender Liam Rosenior sent a weak back pass back to his keeper Allan McGregor.  McGregor was able to clear away any danger though.  This was another match where the Hammers really missed injured striker Andy Carroll.  They just don’t have much punch to their attack because Modibo Miaga and Mladen Petric just can’t seem to make up for not having the England international in the side.  The deciding moment of the match happened in the 12^th minute.  The Tigers’ winger Ahmed Elmohamady hit a cross into the Hammers’ penalty area and defender Joey O’Brien fouled Robbie Brady while trying to head clear.  The referee awarded the Tigers the spot kick which Brady calmly put away.  The Hammers had a chance to level the score in the 23^rd minute when they earned a corner kick.  Matt Jarvis took the kick which eventually went to James Tomkins.  His header was blocked off the line by Elmohamady from his chest.  But that’s as close as the Hammers would come in the first half.  They nearly went further behind when keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen was forced to make an excellent save from Sone Aluko.  The second half didn’t get much better for the visitors as they nearly conceded again in the 47^th minute.  They were saved by the offside flag after Aluko got the ball into the Hammers’ net.  Tigers’ striker Danny Graham should have scored in the 62^nd minute from Brady’s free kick.  But alas, his shot ballooned over the goal.  Graham nearly had an assist when he played in Jake Livermore on goal in the 67^th minute.  His shot bounced off the post.  Hammers’ boss Sam Allardyce just could find a way to get his side’s attack going.  Not even bringing on Ricardo Vaz Te or Stewart Downing would do anything to help.  They thought they had a penalty shout for themselves in the 75^th minute when it looked like Tigers’ defender Liam Rosenior handled in his own penalty area.  But the referee ignored the Hammers’ pleas.  That was about all there was to this match.  Tigers’ boss Steve Bruce is proud of the progress of his newly promoted side and it looks like they may be good enough to stay up.

Southampton 2 – 0 Crystal Palace

The Saints get two second half goals to secure the win over Palace.  I’ll tell you what, watch out for Southampton this season.  It may be early days yet for the league, but the Saints are sitting ahead of the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United (can you believe that?).  Saints’ boss Mauricio Pochettino has done a wonderful job since taking over late last season.  There’s even a whisper or two about Southampton playing European football next season.  Now it’s WAY too soon to be thinking about that, but the Saints were clearly much better than newly promoted Crystal Palace on Saturday.  As far as the match went, there wasn’t a whole lot to write about for the first half.  The only highlight was 28^th minute booking for former Arsenal player Marouane Chamakh.  The Palace striker made a theatrical dive in the Saints’ penalty area when he went in on the goal and he was booked for that really awful acting job.  The Saints get themselves going in the second half and grabbed the first goal in the 46^th minute when Pablo Osvaldo grabbed a loose ball from Palace defender Mile Jedinak.  He was able to get around Kagiso Dikgacoi’s challeng and rifle his shot in past keeper Julian Speroni.  The second goal came two minutes later when the Saints were awarded a free kick for Dikgacoi’s foul on Osvaldo.  Rickie Lambert took the kick and hit a bender that Speroni could only watch go in past him.  The Saints thought they had a third toward the end of the match when substitute Jay Rodriguez found the net, but he was ruled offside.   So this is their third win of the season and they look really hard to beat.  Who dat think they’re gonna beat the Saints?

Swansea 1 – 2 Arsenal

Could this be the Gunners’ year?  The start of this year’s campaign has been one of the most chaotic in quite a while.  First, you have all the preseason shuffling with three of the four top finishers from last season replacing their managers.  Then you have the chaotic start of the Manchester clubs and the indifferent start of Chelsea.  Who would have thought that Arsene Wenger, celebrating his 17^th year in charge of the Gunners, would have even the remotest chance at winning the BPL this year?  Well Saturday was their ninth in a row from all competitions since that shock opening loss to Aston Villa.  A lot of folks credit Mesut Ozil who seems to have fit in well with his new club.  Saturday, however, Aaron Ramsey was the engine for the Gunners at the Liberty Stadium.  The first half was a bit dull, with not much to write about.  Ozil nearly scored right at the halftime interval when he was found unmarked by fellow German Serge Gnabry.  But Ozil’s shot went wide of the goal and both sides finished the half with no shots on goal.  In the 50^th minute, Gnabry nearly got Arsenal into the lead but fired his shot directly at Swans’ keeper Michel Vorm.  The German teenager did get the goal he was hoping for in the 58^th minute when Ramsey took a pass from Olivier Giroud and teed up Gnabry so that he could become Arsenal’s second youngest BPL goal scorer.  Ramsey also had a hand in what should have been a goal from Ozil in the 58^th minute.  He put Ozil in on Vorm, but the Swans’ keeper was able to make the save.  In the 62^nd minute Ramsey scored himself when Giroud put the Welsh international through on goal and he was able to get the ball past Vorm’s reach.  Although Swansea managed to pull a goal back in the 81^st minute, it was too little too late.  There was a penalty shout in stoppage time when Gunners’ defender Bacary Sagna’s clearing kick appeared to strike Mathieu Flamini in the arm, but nothing was awarded.  So the Gunners sit at the top of the league with a two point cushion.

Stoke 0 – 1 Norwich

The Canaries get back to winning ways at the Britannia Stadium.  It was their second win of the season and their first away win.  It’s a relief to boss Chris Hughton as it lifts his side out of the bottom three.  The match itself was a bit scrappy with the Canaries finally taking advantage of some really sloppy play from the Potters.  Jonny Howson grabbed a loose ball in the 34^th minute from Anthony Pilkington and hit a long shot into the net past keeper Asmir Begovic.  Stoke thought they had a second half penalty call when it looked like Canaries’ defender Leroy Fer was holding Kenwyne Jones.  But that would be as close as the home side would ever get to the goal as they’re now one place below their opponents in 15^th place in the BPL table.

Sunderland 1 – 3 Liverpool

Luis Suarez gets a brace to lift the Reds back into contention for the BPL trophy.                Yep, he’s back.  After completing his 10-match ban and making amends for whining about a transfer during the summer, the Uruguayan international was the man of the match on Sunday.  To be fair, the Blackcats are a club that’s in chaos at the moment.  Having fired former boss Paolo Di Canio a week ago, and sitting at the foot of the table, one couldn’t be blamed for betting that they will be the first club relegated this season.  Sunderland did give Liverpool a fight early on and had several attempts on goal.  Those included a shot from USA international Jozy Altidore that was blocked by central defender Martin Skrtel and a Sebastian Larsson free-kick that hit the bar.  But it was striker Daniel Sturridge who opened the scoring when he scored from Steven Gerrard’s corner kick.  Replays of the goal suggested that the ball had gone in off the strikers’ right arm.  Liverpool’s second goal was a warning to the opposition of the potential strike force the Reds now possess.  Gerrard was able to pick out Sturridge’s through run.  Sturridge was able to easily get past Blackcats’ defender Carlos Cuellar and hit a cross for Suarez to head home inside the far post.  That’s the punch they have now and should have opponents worried.  The one thing that Reds’ boss Brendan Rodgers will need to work on is his side’s tendency to suffer lapses in concentration.  One happened in the 52^nd minute when Sung-Yeung Ki was able to waltz through the middle of the Reds’ defense to shoot on goal.  Although keeper Simon Mignolet was able to make the save, the rebound landed at Emanuele Giaccherini’s feet and he tucked the ball into the goal to halve the deficit for the home side.  Altidor should have equalized in the 62 minute when he forced a fine save from Mignolet.  But try as they might Sunderland just couldn’t score and in the 88^th minute, Sturridge and Suarez combined again to put the match away.  Suarez sent Sturridge on his way with a great through pass and Sturridge returned the favor with a cross which Suarez tapped in to launch his side into second place in the BPL table.

Everton 3 – 2 Newcastle

Wait a second here.  Everton are still undefeated?  They sit in fourth place in the BPL table?  They’re eight places above Manchester United, the club who took their beloved manager from Goodison Park?  And they’re doing all of this with Roberto Martinez, the man who couldn’t save Wigan from relegation last season?  You’ve got to be kidding me!  Well, it’s all true.  They were clearly the better team on Monday and started the match in fine fashion.  They scored in the fifth minute when Romelu Lukaku scored from Kevin Mirallas’ fine pass into the Newcastle area.  Lukaku was the provider for the second goal as he fed Ross Barkley through the middle and he was able to get past the Newcastle defenders to score his first goal in front of his home fans.  The one great change that Martinez has been able to make to the Toffees this season so far has been to pass the ball in fine fashion as was shown in the first two goals.  But the third goal was “old fashion route one stuff” as USA keeper Tim Howard’s punt went right straight to Lukaku.  The loanee from Chelsea was able to drive through the Newcastle defense again, easily get around keeper Tim Krul, before rolling the ball into an open net from close range.  Lukaku thought he had his hat-trick right before the end of the half, but the goal was not allowed due to offside.  Newcastle tried to make a fight-back in the second half and they got a goal back in the 50^th minute from Yohan Cabaye.  They got a second in the 88^th minute from Loic Remy, but it just wasn’t their day.  Stop laughing Toffee fans.  Y’all are just as surprised with what Martinez has done and what Moyes hasn’t as everyone else.

USA Goalkeeper Brad Guzan’s heroics help the Villains grab the win at Carrow Road.  It was Villains’ boss Paul Lambert’s third victory over his old club since he left two seasons ago.  It also ended their run of three league defeats.  They nearly opened the scoring in the first minute when Christian Benteke made a brilliant cutback pass in the Canaries’ area for Andreas Weimann to shoot.  But the Austrian’s effort was straight at keeper John Ruddy.  Weimann had another chance in the third minute when he hit a curling shot over Ruddy’s grasp.  The shot rebounded off the post and Benteke looked to poke home the rebound, but he was flagged for offside.  But it was the Canaries who should have scored first in the sixth minute when Villains’ defender Ciaran Clark was penalized for a hand-ball in his team’s penalty area.  Robert Snodgrass took the spot kick, but it was saved brilliantly by Guzan to keep the scores at zero.  They missed another chance in the 12^th minute when Snodgrass crossed for Ricky van Wolfswinkel, but his shot was well over the cross-bar.  The Belgian international would have another chance in the 23rd minute when he headed Snodgrass’ free kick well wide of the goal.  Two minutes later, he was found with a great pass from Russell Martin, but his shot was also wide of goal.  Those misses would come back to bite the Canaries in the 30^th minute.  Libor Kozak, who had just come on for an injured Benteke, was found with a great pass from Jonathan Howson.  Ruddy was able to block the shot, but Gabriel Agbonlahor got hold of the rebound and hit a precise cross for Kozak to head home and put the Villains into the lead.  Both sides looked like they had lost a step in the second half as the only real chance of note at first was a 52^nd minute Weimann bender that was wide of the goal.  Afterward it was the home side that pressed hard for the equalizer and Van Wolfswinkel had a sure goal denied by Guzan as the Villain keeper tipped the ball around the goal.  The best save of the day came in the 87^th minute when Canaries’ striker Gary Hooper though he had a sure goal from Javier Garrido’s cross.  Hooper knocked the ball on from the cross, and Guzan did his best “Super Man” impersonation, flew across the goal, and tipped the ball over the bar.  That was the best that the home side could muster and their fans let them have it at the final whistle as they booed their side off.

Liverpool 0-1 Southampton

The Saints grab a victory at Anfield to end the Reds’ undefeated run.  There was one question I was wondering while watching this match.  Could Saints’ fans be chanting “Who Dat!” toward the home supporters?  Not likely, but most of the Anfield faithful were more upset with the referee than they were with their team’s performance on Saturday.  It was the last match of striker Luis Suarez’s ban and the Reds really needed his creativity.  Philippe Coutinho, who was the author of so much of the Reds’ success without Suarez, is expected to be out for the next five weeks after being taken off last week due to a shoulder injury.  The Saints were the last team to beat the Reds when they won 3-1 at St. Mary’s last March.  It was Steven Gerrard though who nearly scored first when his 20^th minute shot was palmed away by Saint’s keeper Artur Boruc.  Liverpool fans were incensed at the referee in the 32^nd minute when Daniel Sturridge appeared to have been fouled by Dejen Lovren in the Saints’ penalty area.  The referee wasn’t interested in any penalty kick claims and waved for play to continue.  Sturridge nearly scored anyway in the 35^th minute when his shot just barely missed the goal.  A minute later, Victor Moses nearly scored for the Reds when his shot was tipped away by keeper Boruc.  So it was still deadlocked at zeros as the second half got underway and Reds’ boss Brendan Rodgers decided to bring on youngster Raheem Sterling for Iago Aspas to try to inject some speed into the side.  But it was the visitors who scored in the 54^th minute.  Lovren beat defender Daniel Agger to Adam Lallana’s corner-kick and headed the ball past Gerrard on the goalline.  The home fans were really angry about this because they felt that Lovren shouldn’t have even been in the match due to the 32^nd minute incident that was ignored by the referee.  The Saints nearly got their second in the 67^th minute when Luke Shaw’s shot was saved by Reds’ keeper Simon Mignolet.  Mignolet was then able to get back to his feet and stop Steven Davis from knocking the rebound home.  The Reds’ had a chance to grab the equalizer in stoppage time when Sterling hit a square ball for Jordan Henderson.  But the object of the Reds’ fury, Lovren, was on hand to cut out the pass and clear away the ball as the referee ended the match.

Newcastle 2-3 Hull

The Tigers fight back for the win at St James’ Park.  It was such a disappointing day for the Geordie fans after their side had made such a great start.  Loic Remy scored the opening goal for Newcastle in the 10^th minute when he headed home Papiss Cisse’s cross.  But alas, the Magpies’ defensive woes popped up again in the 25^th minute when Sone Aluko was able to get onto defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa’s loose clearance and pass over to Robbie Brady.  Brady was able to hit home a left footed shot to bring the Tigers back level.  Newcastle were able to get back into the lead at the end of the half when Remy poked home a loose ball in the Tigers’ penalty area.  But as the second half got started, it was the Tigers who carried the initiative and they equalized again in the 47^th minute.  An unmarked Ahmed Elmohamady was brilliantly picked out by a free kick from Brady that he was able to head into the goal.  Hatem Ben Arfa tried to get Newcastle back into the lead in the 64^th minute.  But Cisse, who hasn’t scored in 11 matches, wasn’t able to get on the end of Ben Arfa’s free-kick.  The winner came in the 76^th minute when substitute George Boyd was able to make a great run down the left side and hit a cross that Aluko volleyed home in brilliant fashion.  Remy might have equalized in stoppage time, but his close-range shot was wide of goal.

West Bromwich Albion 3-0 Sunderland

Paolo Di Canio is the first manager to be fired.  OK is it me, or does Di Canio remind one of a certain villain from the 1930’s?  The now former manager of the Black Cats looked like an absolute fool on Saturday as his team sank to the bottom the BPL table.  It was a former player of his, Stephane Sessegnon, who started the Baggies’ beat-down.  His goal in the 20^th minute capped off the pressure that the home side had been placing from the start of the match.  Scott Sinclair got the pass from Morgan Amalfitano and when his shot was saved by keeper Keiren Westwood, Sessegnon was the first to the rebound and poked the ball home.  That’s how things stayed for much of the match as the Black Cats just couldn’t get any attack of quality going.  Not even the substitution of USA international Jozy Altidore in the 58^th minute had any effect.  Altidore did have an effort on goal blocked by defender Gareth McAuley in the 65^th minute to give the visiting supporters a bit of hope.  Things got worse for the Black Cats in the 72^nd minute when Steven Fletcher hurt his shoulder on a volley attempt that went over the goal.  The medical staff spent a lot of time working on him, but alas he couldn’t continue and since Di Canio had used all three allotted substitutions, Sunderland had to finish the match with 10 players.  That’s when the rest of the roof caved in as keeper Westwood flubbed a Amalfitano cross into the path of Liam Ridgewell who scored to make it 2-0 in the 75^th minute.  In the 88^th minute, Sessegnon was substituted for Saido Berahino.  As the new Baggies’ hero came off, he received thunderous applause from both sets of fans.  When play resumed, the Sunderland fans voiced their displeasure toward Di Canio.  It got even louder when Amalfitano scored the third goal for the Baggies in stoppage time.  After the final whistle blew, Di Canio did one of the most idiotic things I’ve ever seen in my years of watching football.  Most managers, after being humiliated like his side were, would be immediately off the pitch and into the film room to figure out what needs to be done to recover.  Di Canio, decided to go over to the stands where the visiting Black Cat fans were seated and wave to them and give them a “chin-up” signal.  That gesture incensed the supporters even more and since they were already angry that Di Canio had gotten rid of one of their favorite players in Sessegnon, shouted even louder for his removal.  I guess the board was listening, because on Sunday, he was summarily fired.  Good luck to the next manager because Mr. Di Canio has left a really hot mess to be cleaned up.

West Ham 2-3 Everton

Leighton Baines scores two glorious free kicks and Romelu Lukaku gets his first goal as the Toffees burst the Hammers’ bubbles.  It hasn’t been an easy time for Sam Allardyce and the Hammers.  Without Andy Carroll, Joe Cole, and Stewart Downing who are all injured, they’ve struggled to score this season.  They nearly went behind in the sixth minute when keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen had to save from both Kevin Mirallas and Steven Naismith.  But the home side did finally end their goal drought in the 31^st minute when a shot from Ravel Morrison deflected off an unlucky Phil Jagielka and into the goal past keeper Tim Howard.  That was the score as the first half came to an end.  Lukaku came on as the second half started in place of Nikica Jelavic and nearly helped Everton equalize when he hit a delicate pass for Mirallas.  But the cross was cleared away by the defense.  It was back-and-forth for both sides as each side would press hard as they knew that the next goal would be decisive.  It was the Toffees who got the equalizer in the 61^st minute.  James Collins was booked for fouling Ross Barkley and the resulting free kick was wonderfully placed into the upper left hand corner by Baines.  Everton had a chance to get another goal in the 67^th minute when Mirallas was brought down by Mark Noble.  Noble was booked for the challenge and James Collins did well to clear away the resulting free kick.  West Ham retook the lead in the 75^th minute when Nolan was tripped in the Everton penalty area by James McCarthy.  Noble took the spot kick was able to get it past keeper Howard’s reach for the goal.  But in the 80^th minute he went from Hammers’ hero to goat when he was sent off for fouling Barkley again.  The referee thought the offense was bookable and it was his second booking.  Baines took the resulting free kick and this time placed the ball into the right corner of the goal to level the scores again.  The winner came in the 85^th minute when Lukaku headed home Mirallas’ cross.  Lukaku nearly had a second in stoppage time when his shot was blocked by Winston Reid.  So the result sees the Toffees as the only undefeated side in the BPL this season.  I guess that’s not a bad start for boss Roberto Martinez.

Chelsea 2-0 Fulham

It’s an easy win for the Blues at Stamford Bridge.  It had been a rough week for Chelsea since they had lost to Everton in their last league match and lost their Champions’ League match on Wednesday.  But they were up against a Fulham side that were on a bit of a slide themselves.  The Cottagers had never won at the Bridge in the last 34 years and boss Martin Jol knew that he was always going to have a tough time breaking Jose Mourinho’s 63 unbeaten match streak in charge of the Blues.  But the Cottagers did apply a bit of early pressure and nearly scored in the 13^th minute when Darren Bent’s shot was saved by keeper Petr Cech.  The first half was quite slow and boring and a camera shot on Blues owner Roman Abramovich made one wonder if Mourinho might be in a bit of trouble already.  But it wasn’t like Fulham really had any sort of opposition to offer and Mourinho knew that this match was the deep breath that his side needed to take to get their trophy campaign back on track.  So it was no surprise that it took until the 52^nd minute for the Blues to score.  First Andre Schurrle, then Samuel Eto’o shot on the Cottagers’ goal.  Keeper David Stockdale was able to block both shots, but when the Fulham defense failed to effectively clear the ball away, Oscar was able to poke the ball home.  The one thing that we all remember from the first installment of the “Special One” in charge of Chelsea is the fact that a one goal margin at Stamford Bridge is usually enough for the win.  It looked like that was going to be the case until the 83^rd minute.  Frank Lampard, who had come in as a substitute, hit a corner-kick that was knocked on by John Terry for Jon Obi Mikel to slot home for his first ever goal for the Blues.  So the win for Chelsea sees them tied for third place with Manchester City and Liverpool.  Nowhere but up now eh, Mr. Mourinho?

Arsenal 3 – 1 Stoke

Mesut Ozil’s great work eases the Gunners over the Potters and to the top of the BPL table.  Yeah Arsenal got beat on the first day and it happened at home.  But they’re flying high now, thanks to their last day transfer acquisition.  There is even some talk about ending the trophy drought this season by winning the BPL.  Now that might be a bit early, but Arsene Wenger is happy with the display so far from his boys.  They scored early in the 5^th minute when they were awarded a free kick in the attacking third from Charlie Adam’s foul on Jack Wilshire.  Ozil took the free-kick that Potters’ keeper Asmir Begovic was barely able to knock away.  Aaron Ramsey was first to the loose ball and poked it by Begovic for the opening goal.  Stoke were able to equalize in the 26^th minute when USA defender Geoff Cameron poked home the ball after it was rebounded off the post by Marko Arnautovic’s shot on goal.  Undaunted, the Gunners quickly recovered and they earned a corner-kick in the 35^th minute when Potters’ striker Jonathan Walters had to block an Ozil free-kick.  Ozil took the corner-kick and Per Mertesacker bundled it home to put the Gunners back into the lead.  The Potters’ did make another attempt to get the score back level in the 63^rd minute when Marc Wilson took a shot attempt.  But Gunners’ keeper Wojciech Szczesny was more than equal to the shot and pushed it aside.  The home side made sure of the three points in the 72^nd minute when Ozil’s free-kick was headed over keeper Begovic and into the net by Bacary Sagna.  That was all there was to this match and when Mikel Arteta come on for Ozil, the German international received a standing ovation.  One wonders if Ozil could take his place alongside the likes of Thierry Henry, Liam Brady, or Dennis Bergkamp in Arsenal folklore.

Crystal Palace 0 – 2 Swansea City

Miguel Michu’s early goal helps the Swans cruise past Palace.  Things are going well for the Swans now as they gave Valencia a whooping in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, then beat the Eagles on Sunday.  This was a match that Eagles’ boss Ian Holloway will want to quickly forget as he had to watch from the executive box while he served his two-match touchline ban.  This one was over in the second minute when Jonjo Shelvey passed over to Michu.  The Spaniard then scored the goal through keeper Julian Speroni’s legs.  The visitors nearly had a second in the fourth minute after Chico took advantage of some bad defending by the Eagles, but his shot rebounded off the post.  The first real attack Palace would muster in the first half was a tame effort in the 37^th minute when Swans’ keeper Michel Vorm easily dealt with Adlene Guedioura’s long shot attempt.  They thought they had a good chance at the end of the half when Adrian Mariappa’s cross looked set to be headed home by Cameron Jerome.  But Angel Rangel made a fine defensive clearance to maintain the Swans’ lead as the referee blew for halftime.  Things got worse for Palace when center back Damien Delaney, who had limped off at the interval, had to be replaced by Jose Campana.  That meant that captain Mile Jedinak had to move into the defense and improvise the formation for Palace.  Two minutes into the second half, Swansea had their second as Alvaro Vazquez was able to get through the makeshift Palace defense and through onto goal.  Although Speroni was able to make the initial save, Nathan Dyer was able to slot home the rebound.  That was about all there was to this one, although Shelvey nearly made it three in stoppage time when his bending shot went over the goal.

Cardiff City 0 – 1 Tottenham

Paulinho’s stoppage time winner lifts Spurs to second place in the BPL table.  It was the Brazilian’s first BPL goal and it ended a match that the Welsh side felt they should have gotten something out of.  The man of the match was clearly their keeper David Marshall as he made crucial saves from Roberto Soldado, Christian Eriksen, Paulinho, and Gylfi Sigurdson.  It was also a match that the home side felt a bit cheated due to a couple of controversial referee decisions that didn’t go their way.  The first one was when it looked like Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris appeared to handle the ball outside his penalty area when Frazier Campbell tried to get around him.  The replay suggested that it was a really tight call although the referee seemed to be properly positioned to make the call.  The second hurt more when Cardiff thought they had gone into the lead in the 44^th minute, but the goal was disallowed when the referee judged that Aron Gunnarsson was judged to have interfered with keeper Lloris.  Cardiff did have another chance to score in the 80^th minute when Peter Odemwingie was able to get in behind the Spurs’ defense and cross for Gunnarsson, but his shot went over the goal.  The winner came when Erik Lamela was able to get into the Cardiff area and square a pass for Paulinho to poke home from close range.  Anyone knows that matches like these are what you need to win to contend for the Premiership.  Could this be the year for Spurs?

Yoan Gouffran’s second half strike is good enough for the win for the Magpies.  There was a lot of yelling and screaming by Geordie fans coming into this match. They had started the season so badly when they got spanked by Manchester City and later drew against West Ham.  But after beating Fulham in their last match and winning on Saturday, the pressure may have eased a bit from Magpies’ boss Alan Pardew.  Villa, on the other hand, have really lost their way since their amazing opening day win over Arsenal.  Saturday’s defeat is their third in a row.  The problem the Villains seem to be having is in their defending and it happened again in the 18^th minute when Karim El Ahmadi lost the ball to Loic Remy.  Remy was then able to elude Matthew Lowton and hit a cut-back pass for Papiss Cisse.  Cisse then poked the ball over to Hatem Ben Arfa and the French midfielder slotted the ball home for the opening goal.  Villa were able to respond in the 38^th minute Christian Benteke’s shot on goal was blocked by Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.  As the first half wore down, both Ciaran Clark and Andreas Weimann had opportunities to equalize, but each shot on goal was shot wide of the net.  As the second half got underway, Antonio Luna had a great chance to equalize, but decided to hit a centering pass that was cleared by Davide Santon.  USA goalkeeper Brad Guzan had to make a save from Ben Arfa in the 60^th minute and Villa boss Paul Lambert had seen enough.  He took off an ineffective El Ahmadi and replaced him with Libor Kozak.  The change injected a bit of life into the Villa midfield and they got a good attack going when Magpies’ defender Fabricio Coloccini was forced to clear a Lowton cross away for a corner kick.  Ashley Westwood took the kick that was headed home by Benteke for the equalizer.  But just when Villa thought their bad luck had gone away, Guzan fumbled a Ben Arfa shot right to Gouffran’s feet that was poked home for the winning goal.  With that result, one can’t help wondering if Villa are going to struggle with relegation again this season.

Fulham 1 – 1 West Bromwich Albion

Gareth McAuley’s stoppage time goal rescues a point for the Baggies.  It was the first goal of the season for the Baggies and it was needed to cancel out Steve Sidwell’s 22^nd minute half-volley shot from Alex Kacaniklic’s corner kick.  There wasn’t a whole lot to this match and Fulham thought they were on the way to ending their five match home winless streak when Sidwell scored.  Dimitar Berbatov thought he had gotten a second goal for the home side when he found the net in the 32^nd minute.  But the goal was disallowed for offside and the replay showed that the striker was clearly in violation.  Chris Brunt tried to get the visitors going in the 38^th minute when he lined up to takethe free kick after Scott Parker fouled Youssouf Mulumbu.  But the midfielder’s shot went well wide of the Fulham goal.  And so it went for the Baggies.  They seemed doomed to defeat as not even Nicolas Anelka could get a goal for them as David Stockdale blocked his 74^th minute strike on goal after Victor Anichebe got him in on a good run on goal.  The miracle for the Baggies came from Brunt’s corner kick when McAuley managed to out jump everyone in the area and head the ball into the net for the equalizer.

Hull 1 – 1 Cardiff

The Tigers and the Bluebirds share the spoils at the KC Stadium.  It was the result that could be expected from both newly promoted sides from the Championship.  Both sides would rue missed chances throughout the match.  Danny Graham had a chance to put Hull into the lead in the sixth minute, but he knocked his shot over the goal.  The home side dominated most of the first half possession, but James Chester nearly gave away a penalty kick in the 16^th minute for his challenge on Kim Bo-kyung.  Luckily the referee waved away any penalty claim.  It took until the 30^th minute for Cardiff to get anything of significance on goal.  Peter Whittingham Was able to find Gary Medel’s run toward the Tigers’ goal, but the Chilean’s first touch was a bit heavy and keeper Allan McGregor was able to make the save.  The first goal finally came in the 39^th minute when Curtis Davies headed the Tigers into the lead from Tom Huddlestone’s cross.  Cardiff nearly equalized in the 50^th minute when Jake Livermore did well to block Aron Gunnarsson’s shot on the Tigers’ goal.  The Bluebirds did level the score in the 59^th minute when Don Cowie was able to hit a great pass that Whittingham poked home with his left foot.  They should have taken the lead in the 62^nd minute when Gunnarsson missed his header to the right of goal.  So with the score deadlocked, neither side was able to make any critical breakthrough.  Graham’s stoppage time header went right to Cardiff keeper Joe Lewis and that was that.  Both coaches afterward felt that was a fair result.  Let’s see if both sides will be able to maintain this level of play.

Stoke 0 – 0 Manchester City

The Potters hold Citeh to a goalless draw at the Britannia Stadium.  From the look of things in this match, Citeh boss Manuel Pellegrini is still trying to find some sort of spark to get his side going.  He made several changes coming into this match as he started Stevan Jovetic and Alvaro Negredo in place of Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko.  He also started Javi Garcia in place of Joleon Lesscot.  They should had an early goal from Aleksandar Kolarov, but his second minute shot was nowhere near the goal.  Potters’ boss Mark Hughes was looking forward to playing against his former employers.  He had made some major changes in the style the Potters would play and even had the fans singing about their passing.  They had their own chance to score in the 13^th minute when Charlie Adam’s brilliant cross was headed just wide of the goal by Jonathan Walters.  They had another chance in the 32^nd minute when Kenwyne Jones’ shot was parried away from the goal by Citeh keeper Joe Hart.  The second half saw the Potters’ continue their domination.  Though they dominated most of the play, they just couldn’t score.  First Jonathan Walters missed his chance in the 49^th minute when he misconnected on Geoff Cameron’s cross.  Next was Francisco Javi Garcia’s gift to the home side when the defender failed to take care of the ball.  Lucky for Citeh, Pablo Zabaleta was able to clear it away from danger.  Citeh had a chance to steal the victory in stoppage time, but Negredo flubbed his shot.  So the frustration continues for Pellegrini.

Sunderland 1 – 3 Arsenal

Aaron Ramsey gets a brace in Mesut Ozil’s Arsenal debut.  This was a match that Black Cats’ boss Paolo Di Canio is probably still angry about.  It was supposed to be all about former Real Madrid star Ozil and his new role in Arsene Wenger’s formation.  The German international was the key in the first goal when he got on the end of Carl Jenkinson’s long pass in the 10^th minute and with a deft touch was able to find Olivier Giroud’s run into the area.  Giroud was able to poke the goal home with his left and it looked like the start of Arsenal domination.  But the one good thing Di Canio has been able to instill into the Black Cats is a never quit attitude.  They nearly equalized in the 13^th minute when defender Modibo Diakite hit the bar with his header of Charis Mavrias’ corner kick.  Sunderland keeper Lee Westwood did his part to keep his side in the game during the first half as he twice denied Theo Walcott to keep his side in the match.  They got their chance to level the score in the second half when, in the 47^th minute, Gunners’ defender Laurent Koscielny brought down Craig Gardner in the box.  Gardner scored the spot kick to lift the home side.  They thought they had taken the lead in the 59^th minute when Steven Fletcher got the ball into the net.  The goal was ruled out for offside and Gardner’s 61^st minute free-kick bounced off the post.  The Gunners took the lead back in the 67^th minute when Ramsey volleyed home Jenkinson’s cross from the right.  The Black Cats thought they had equalized again two minutes later when USA International Jozy Altidore wrestled away from Bacary Sagna’s grip on his shirt and managed to roll the ball into the goal.  But the referee disallowed the goal and brought the ball back for a free kick and a booking for Sagna.  Di Canio was ranting by this time and his mood got worse Ozil and Giroud linked up to create Ramsey’s opportunity to score his second in the 75^th minute.  Di Canio vented his frustrations to the fourth official and shortly afterward was banned from the touchline for the rest of the match.  Not much else happened as the Gunners coasted to the win.  Di Canio is sure to receive some punishment from the FA again.

Tottenham 2 – 0 Norwich

Gylfi Sigurdsson’s brace helps Spurs to the win at White Hart Lane.  And so, the Post-Bale era has begun.  The Welsh winger is gone to Spain and the question for boss Andre Villas-Boas was how would the team cope without him.  “Just fine, thanks” appeared to be the answer Saturday as they got over their painful North London Derby loss to Arsenal from last week.  They seem to have found a new talisman in Christian Eriksen as he showed time again a great turn of pace and great vision.  It didn’t take too long for the home side to open up the Canaries defense as Eriksen wriggled through in the 11^th minute and hit a shot on goal that keeper John Ruddy parried into the path of Roberto Soldado.  Alas Soldado’s strike bounced off the post and Javier Garrido was able to clear for the Canaries.  Eriksen was the orchestrator again when his 25^th minute corner kick fell to Soldado’s feet again.  This time, the Spaniard’s shot was blocked by Sebastien Bassong.  Spurs finally got their goal in the 27^th minute when Eriksen took Danny Rose’s pass and fed Sigurdsson who slotted home past Ruddy.  Rose had a chance to score in the 31^st but his shot went just wide right of the goal.  Spurs nearly gave up the lead in the 34^th minute when Ricky van Wolfswinkel took advantage of some slack defending to get in on goal.  Fortunately Rose was able to block the shot and the hosts finished the half with the lead.  The second goal came in the 48^th minute when Erikson picked up a loose ball in the midfield, fed Paulinho whose shot rebounded off Ruddy’s hands and onto Sigurdsson’s left foot which he calmly poked home.  That goal pretty much ended any opposition from the Canaries and although Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris had a brain cramp in the 84^th minute when he was booked for handling outside of his area, it was an easy win for the home side.

Everton 1 – 0 Chelsea

Roberto Martinez’s Toffees get the win at home over “The Special One”.  This one was supposed to be an easy win for Chelsea as they were on the path to obtaining the BPL Championship under the direction of the legendary Jose Mourinho.  Surely a team coached by the man who couldn’t keep Wigan from getting relegated wouldn’t be able to put together any sort of opposition, right?  I mean, after all when Mourinho was in charge back in 2004, the wins were easy.  Well, someone forgot to tell the Toffees about the Mourinho Legacy because they fought very well in this scrappy match on Saturday.  It was Samuel Eto’o’s debut match for Chelsea and the striker had the chance to score in the fifth minute from Ramires’ cross. But his header missed off to the right of the goal on what should have been an easy finish for the Cameroonian international.  He had another chance in the 17^th minute but totally mishit his shot.  The Blues were almost gifted a goal in the 28^th minute when Toffees’ keeper Tim Howard made an awful pass out of his own penalty area.  The ball landed at Andre Schurrle’s feet and he squared for Eto’o.  Gareth Barry rescued his goal keeper when he was able to block Eto’o’s effort on goal and the score remained 0-0.  In the 30^th minute, Howard made up for his earlier gaff by pulling off an amazing save from Ramires shot from close range.  It looked like the match would go into the half time interval deadlocked when, in stoppage time, Leon Osman hit a cross to the far post that Nikica Jelavic stretched for with all he had and managed to head across for Steven Naismith to head home.  Although the Blues came out from the break with more aggression, the Toffees had an answer for everything that was thrown at them.  Right from the start, Ramires played in Schurrle, but his effort went into the side netting.  In the 65^th minute, Ramires missed another chance when his effort from a Branislav Ivanovic cross missed the goal.  As the match wound down toward the end, Chelsea seemed to get more and more frustrated.  David Luiz was booked in the 82^nd minute when he grabbed Kevin Mirallas at the half like when the Everton forward looked like getting on the end of a Sylvain Distin clearance with a possible one-on-one chance on keeper Petr Cech.  Leighton Baines almost made it two goals to the good when his free-kick bounced off the bar.  The last Chelsea effort came from substitute Fernando Torres as he made a weak attempt on goal that missed off to the right.  So the final whistle condemned Mourinho to only 7 points in four matches.  Maybe he isn’t so special anymore.

Southampton 0 – 0 West Ham

Hammers Keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen saves a point for the Hammers at rain-soaked St. Mary’s Stadium.  There wasn’t going to be any bubble-blowing in the South of England on Sunday.  The rain had been going all weekend and continued to be factor throughout the match.  The Saints however seemed to thrive in the conditions.  They had a chance to take the lead in the 10^th minute of the match when Jay Rodriguez hit a cut back pass for Pablo Osvaldo.  But the Italian’s shot was blocked smartly by the West Ham keeper and he was able to get quickly back to his feet to block the rebound shot from Rickie Lambert.  The Hammers thought they had scored in the 30^th minute when Matthew Jarvis got through one-on-one with Saints’ keeper Artur Boruc.  Jarvis was able to get the ball into the net past Boruc, but the goal was disallowed for offside.  That was pretty much the extent of the attacking in the first half.  The second half saw the home side increase their pressure on the Hammers’ goal, but Jaaskelainen was equal to every challenge that came his way.  The best chance came when Morgan Schneiderlin tried to hit a volley shot on goal and the Hammers’ keeper was able to beat it away around the post.  A bit later, he also was able to get his finger tips to a Lambert curling shot.  So it ended with a point for each side.

Swansea 2 – 2 Liverpool

It’s a Monday thriller at Liberty Stadium.  And the main character Monday was former Red Jonjo Shelvey.  Shelvey had left Liverpool for the South Wales club over the summer and was looking to get a bit of revenge on his former employers.  Liverpool were always going to be tough to beat as boss Brendan Rodgers seems to have his boys on a tear.  They have yet to lose this season and have done all this without their Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez.  Suarez has two more matches to serve from his ban from last season, so the burden of the Reds’ attack has fallen onto Daniel Sturridge and now Victor Moses.   Shelvey opened the scoring for Swans in the 2^nd minute when he was able to get ahold of Jordan Henderson’s clearance, dance past Mamadou Sakho and shoot at goal.  Although Reds’ keeper Simon Mignolet was able to get the block in, Shelvey poked home the rebound.  No sooner had the Swans’ fans started singing their praises for their new hero, he gaffed up an incredible brain cramp.  He played an absolutely blind back pass that Sturridge gladly gobbled up and slammed home the equalizer.  Things went from bad to worse for Shelvey and the Swans in the 35^th minute when he hit another loose pass that Moses pounced on.  The new Liverpool signing then glided through the Swans defense and his right foot put his side into the lead.  Half time couldn’t come soon enough for Shelvey and Swansea and boss Michael Laudrup knew he had to find a way to get his new guy to get focused back on playing football.  Whatever was said at the interval didn’t seem to take right away as in the 55^th minute, Shelvy and former teammate Lucas Leiva squared up to each other.  Shelvey was lucky to receive only a booking and that seemed to calm the midfielder down a bit.  He reclaimed his hero status in the 63^rd minute when he was able to head a cleared ball forward into Michu’s path and the Spanish striker was able to hit the equalizer underneath Mignolet.  Swansea almost grabbed the victory toward the end of the match when substitute Jonathan de Guzman’s shot was tipped away by Mignolet.  But the match finished as a draw and Liverpool, undefeated in their first four matches, maintain their perch on top of the BPL table.  I’ll bet Mr. Paisley is pleased with what’s gone on so far.

Alvaro Negredo and Yaya Toure score to get Citeh back to winning ways.  Manuel Pellegrini’s boys were trying to shake off their loss from last week.  Luckily they were hosting the Tigers at home and they just don’t lose at the Etihad Stadium.  It didn’t start out to well for Citeh as Tigers’ striker Sone Aluko nearly put the visitors into the lead in the seventh minute.  Danny Graham did get the ball into the net for Hull in the 10^th minute, but the goal was disallowed for offside.  The home side nearly scored in the 12^th minute when Joleon Lescott’s header from a David Silva cross was parried away from goal by keeper Allan McGregor.  The rest of the first half was a bit scrappy from that point forward.  Pellegrini decided to take off Edin Dzeko and replae him with Negredo to change the pace a bit.  Negredo nearly scored two minutes into the second half when his header missed to the right of the goal.  The breakthrough finally happened in the 65^th minute.  Pablo Zabaleta made a great run through the Hull defence and whipped in a great cross that Negredo leapt high to head past keeper McGregor.  Hull kept pressing until the end though and Citeh keeper Joe Hart made amends for his performance last week.  He was able to convincingly clear a Tom Huddlestone free-kick and knock clear an Ahmed Elmohamady cross to keep his side in the lead.  Toure ensured the win in the final minute when he hit a wonderful curling free-kick into the goal.

Cardiff 0-0 Everton

Marouane Fellaini plays his last match for the Toffees.  Still no win for Roberto Martinez.  His side remains undefeated this season since he took over this summer, but they’re not winning either.  Neither side really came close to scoring in this match on Saturday.  Everton thought they had a penalty shout late in the first half when Leighton Baines looked like he was fouled in the area.  But the referee ignored any appeals for a penalty kick.  Cardiff, still flying high since their shock victory over Manchester City last Sunday, sit comfortably in the middle of the table.  They did have a chance to grab the win late in the second half, but Craig Bellamy failed to control Kim Bo-Kyung’s through ball and failed to get his shot on goal.  And so Fellaini is off to play for his ex-boss.

Newcastle 1-0 Fulham

Hatem Ben Arfa’s goal gets the Magpies their first victory.  It was their first goal after over 400 minutes and it insured that the home side would head off to the international break in the middle of the BPL table and send the Cottagers down to fourth from bottom.  Fabricio Coloccini had a chance to get an early goal in the fifth minute when he headed Sylvain Marveaux’s corner kick into teammate Papiss Cisse.  In the 21^st minute, Davide Santon had his shot on goal blocked by Cottagers’ defender and former teammate Aaron Hughes.  Cottagers’ keeper David Stockdale did well to block a shot from Mathieu Debuchy in the 22^nd minute.  Stockdale was called on again in the 32^nd minute when Cisse was able to get around defender Brede Hangaland and shoot on goal.  So Fulham managed to hang on for the rest of the half to keep the score at zeros.  The second half saw Ben Arfa take more of a lead for the Magpies.  Twelve minutes into the second half, Ben Arfa nearly scored when his shot was blocked by Steve Sidwell.  He tried another shot in the 62^nd minute that was deflected on its way to goal by Bryan Ruiz and had to be clawed away by Stockdale.  Fulham had a chance to poach a goal in the 65^th minute when they were awarded a free kick for a foul committed by Newcastle substitute Yohan Cabaye.  Ruiz took the kick and Magpies’ keeper Tim Krul was able to deflect the ball away from goal.  As the match wound down to the end, more and more of the Geordie fans were getting nervous about whether their side would ever score.  Things got better for the St. George’s Park faithful when Ben Arfa was able to poke home Loic Remy’s cross in the 85^th minute.  The Magpies had a couple more chances in stoppage time to score again, but they got a much needed win.

Norwich 1-0 Southampton

Nathan Redmond gets the Canaries going at home.  This was a win that the home side needed after suffering an away defeat to Hull in the last round.  They nearly got on the score sheet early in the first half when Bradley Johnson’s 10^th minute strike went just wide of the goal.  In the 15^th minute, they were awarded a free-kick when Saints’ defender Daniel Fox fouled Robert Snodgrass.  Snodgrass cross from the free-kick fell to Leroy Fer, whose shot was parried away from goal by Saints’ keeper Artur Boruc.  Southampton thought they had a penalty claim in the 19^th minute when Adam Lallana’s shot on the Canaries’ goal appeared to be handled by Johnson.  The replay seemed to back up the claim, but the referee wasn’t interested.  The Canaries had their own penalty shout in the 30^th minute when a goal-bound header by Ricky van Wolfswinkel appeared to hit Calum Chambers in the hand.  But again the referee refused to make any call.  When the match restarted after half time, the Saints’ nearly broke the deadlock when Pablo Osvaldo’s shot was deflected away by a cool save from Canaries’ keeper John Ruddy.  The lone goal of the match finally came in the 68^th minute.  England under-21 international Nathan Redmond was able to take a pass from Fer and cut through the Saint’s defense and hit a low drive past keeper Boruc’s reach.  Norwich were able to make the lead stand up and had another penalty kick denied in stoppage time when Snodgrass went down in the Saints’ area under pressure from Jose Fonte.

West Ham 0-1 Stoke

Jermaine Pennant bursts the Hammers’ clean sheet bubble.  The Hammers’ hadn’t allowed a goal to be scored against them so far this season.  That changed Saturday as Pennant’s late second half free-kick ensured Stoke boss Mark Hughes his second win in charge of the Potters.  The defeat was the Hammers’ first loss since February and it had been coming for a while.  Although boss Sam Allardyce had work with his boys to defend at their best, they’ve been missing their scoring punch without injured striker Andy Carroll.  The match itself was quite dull as both sides seemed more interested in not losing the match instead of trying to win it.  The best chance of the first half came when West Ham striker Modibo Miaga’s header went just wide of the goal.  The second half was just as dull as the first half had been.  Stoke substitute Glenn Whelan won a free-kick just outside the Hammers’ penalty area in the 76^th minute.  Pennant, who had come on earlier for Matthew Etherington took the free-kick and hit a curling shot that whipped over the wall and into the corner of the Hammers’ net past keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen’s fingertips.  The goal got the home side to try to move with more intensity, but alas they just couldn’t muster any sort of quality attempt.  Could it be that Mark Hughes may have found a side he can finally push to bigger and better things?

Crystal Palace 3-1 Sunderland

The Eagles get their first BPL win.  It got boss Ian Holloway off the hook for the moment after his side got knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Championship side Bristol City.  They got the early goal in the ninth minute when Danny Gabbidon poked a loose ball from a Jose Campana corner kick that the Sunderland defense failed to clear.  The Blackcats had a chance to equalize in the 19^th minute when midfielder Ji Dong-won had a chance to put home Ondrej Celustka’s cross.  The South Korean international seemed to be caught in to minds as whether to head or kick the ball and ended up doing neither.  Instead he completely missed the ball and looked really foolish in front of goal.  As halftime approached, local boy Jason Puncheon nearly had a second goal for Palace has he grabbed a loose ball at the halfway line and drove through the Sunderland defense.  His shot went just wide of the post.  Puncheon was in involved the 41^st minute when he sent a through ball to Mile Jedinak.  But the skipper’s shot bent just wide of the goal.  Sunderland boss Paolo Di Canio, still looking for his first victory for the season, decided to Ji off at halftime and replace him with Steven Fletcher.  They got the equalizer in the 64^th minute when Fletcher headed Jack Colback’s cross back across the goal and past keeper Julian Speroni.  Then disaster struck for the visitors in the 77^th minute when Palace was awarded a penalty kick after defender John O’Shea was penalized for a foul on Dwight Gayle.  The referee judged the foul to be a professional foul and sent off the Ireland international.  Gayle scored the spot kick and it was all downhill for the Blackcats.  Di Canio tried to marshal his team’s defenders and urge them not to give up a third goal.  But alas substitute Stuart O’Keefe’s left-footed curler sealed the win and left the Blackcats without a win for the season.  Could Mr. Di Canio be back in trouble?

West Bromwich Albion 0-2 Swansea

Ben Davies and Pablo Hernandez get the Swans their first win of the season.  Michael Laudrup’s side needed something to get them off the foot of the BPL table after losing to Manchester United and Tottenham.  West Brom, on the other hand, are in chaos.  Nicholas Anelka, who had left the team after his friend and agent Eric Manasse had died, was part of a three-man attack that had some initial early pressure.  But the Baggies just don’t have any effectiveness in front of goal.  They had a free-kick in the 17^th minute that unmarked James Morrison headed way wide of the goal.  They paid the price in the 22^nd minute when Davies brilliantly volleyed home Hernandez’s cross from the right wing.  Anelka did manage to get in on goal in the 31^st minute and should have leveled the score when he only had Swans’ keeper Michel Vorm to beat, but he poke his shot wide.  West Brom never really did much for the rest of the match and Hernandez made the win save for the Swans in the 83^rd minute when he poked home a good pass from Michu.  It wasn’t but a couple of days later when Baggies’ boss Steve Clarke’s problems got worse as Peter Odemwingie decided to get into his car and drove off to Cardiff to play for the Welsh side.

Arsenal 1-0 Tottenham

Olivier Giroud gives the Gunners the win in the North London derby.  Some of the Gunner faithful are a bit upset with their boss Arsene Wenger.  But winning over Spurs has made most of feel a lot better.  The win moves the Gunners up to fourth in the BPL table and they have a new star in Giroud.  The goal came in the 23^rd minute when Giroud poked home a Theo Walcott pass across the Spurs goal area.  Walcott nearly scored himself a short time later, but keeper Hugo Lloris was able to make a great save at the edge of the penalty area to deny the England international.  There was a bit of worry for Arsenal when midfielder Jack Wilshere had to be taken off just before half time, but Wenger later said it was due to illness rather than injury.  Spurs haven’t won at Arsenal since 1993 (yeah, back to Highbury days) and didn’t look like they have much attacking punch since Gareth Bale left the club for Real Madrid.  Although boss Andres Villas-Boas has spent quite a bit of money on new players, they just haven’t jelled yet.  They thought they had a penalty kick claim when Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny appeared to have fouled Roberto Soldado in the area.  But it just wasn’t Spurs day.  Not even the introduction of Jermaine Defoe midway through the second half helped.  He had a deflected shot on goal saved by Gunners’ keeper Wojciech Szczesny and that’s the closest Spurs would come.

It’s another win on Wednesday for Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge.  The match had been rescheduled from August 31^st due to Chelsea’s UEFA Super Cup match against Bayern Munich on August 30^th.  Villa thought they were going to get another London win after their great display at the Emirates Stadium on opening day.  But the one lesson to be learned about playing a Mourinho-lead Chelsea side is to never, ever make an early mistake at Stamford Bridge.  And Villa did just that in the sixth minute.  Eden Hazard took a chance shot on goal that keeper Brad Guzan parried off of defender Antonio Luna.  The rebound ended up in the back of the net to put the Blues into the early lead.  Villa still thought they had half a chance in this match as they had also gone behind last week to an early goal.  They had to withstand more Blues pressure throughout the first half as Demba Ba kept getting in behind the Villa defense.  Ba nearly made it two goals for the Blues right at the stroke of halftime. His shot was right at Guzan and the USA international keeper gratefully cradled the ball and started one last Villa counterattack.  The ball came over to Gabriel Agbonlahor who was able to get past Branislav Ivanovic and hit a cut-back pass for Christian Benteke.  Benteke’s left-footed shot went past keeper Petr Cech and into the goal for the equalizer just as the halftime whistle blew.  The second half saw the Blues doing their usual grinding style.  Mourinho decided to replace Juan Mata and Ba with Andre Schurrle and Romelu Lukaku.  There was a bit of controversy in the 70^th minute when Ivanovic challenged Benteke for a header and swung his arm wildly and caught the Belgian striker in the head.  The Chelsea defender was booked for the incident, which angered Villa boss Paul Lambert, who thought Ivanovic should have been sent off.  Ivanovic scored the winner two minutes later when he out jumped the Villa defense and headed home Frank Lampard’s free kick.  If Lambert was angry about going behind to a goal scored by a player he thought shouldn’t have even been on the pitch, at the end of the match he was absolutely ranting with anger when John Terry appeared to hit a Fabian Delph cross with his hand in the Blues penalty area.  But alas, that is how things tend to go for the Blues when “The Special One” is in charge.

Fulham 1 – 3 Arsenal

The Gunners dominate a rain-soaked London Derby.  Last week saw quite a bit of panic amongst the Arsenal supporters after their team lost at home.  The team looked slow and listless.  There didn’t seem to be much spirit or punch and the fans were angry that boss Arsene Wenger hadn’t made any significant moves in the transfer market.  But the rainstorm in London seemed to wash away all the Gunners problems and they nearly opened the scoring in the 10^th minute when Theo Walcott managed to beat the Cottagers’ offside trap and meet Aaron Ramsey’s through pass in towards the goal.  His shot was
saved by substitute keeper David Stockdale, who was starting in place of injured Maarten Stekelenburg.  The first goal did come a short time later when Ramsey’s shot hit Olivier Giroud and the rebound went to the striker’s feet.  The French international was able to gather the loose ball and poke it underneath Stockdale to put Arsenal into the lead.  The home side had a chance to equalize in the 16^th minute as first Damien Duff and Adel Taarabt both had their shots saved by Gunners’ keeper Wojciech Szczesny.  They had another chance in the 38^th minute when defender John Arne Riise delivered a dangerous cross into the Arsenal penalty area that was cleared by Giroud.  But that would be the closest the Cottagers would come to equalizing.  In the 40^th minute, the Gunners picked the Cottagers’ defense apart when Santi Cazorla was able to drive through the middle and find Walcott’s goal bound run.  The England international’s shot was parried by Stockdale, but the rebound landed at Lukas Podolski’s feet and his first-time shot found the back of the net to make it 2-0 to Arsenal.  Fulham had a chance to get a goal back early in the second half as Taarabt had his 46^th minute shot saved by Szczesny.  Fulham boss Martin Jol brought on Darren Bent and Alex Kacaniklic on for Duff and Taarabt in an effort to make something positive happen for his side, but they just didn’t have an answer for the hard driving pace of the Gunners on Saturday.  They got taken apart again in the 67^th minute when Giroud knocked a long ball into Walcott’s path.  Walcott then cut through the center of the Cottagers’ defense and fed Cazorla who hit a pass back to the on-running Podolski who was able to drill his left-footed shot past Stockdale’s grasp.  Fulham did get a goal back in the 76^th minute when Bent turned in a loose ball from a Dimitar Berbatov shot, but they were handily beaten by Arsenal.  Maybe this result will ease the tension among the Gunner fans.

Everton 0 – 0 West Bromwich Albion

Boss Roberto Martinez still waits for his first win in charge of Everton.  The Toffees have not scored yet this season and that doesn’t look good for Martinez.  Midfielder Marouane Felllaini came the closest to getting a goal as his shot bounced off the post late in the match.  Everton are looking a little more settled under their new manager, but they just don’t have a killer goal scoring touch so far this season.  West Brom didn’t look too much better as they were missing striker Nicolas Anelka, who is out on indefinite compassionate leave.  The Baggies best chance fell to James Morrison, who had his effort saved by Toffees’ keeper Tim Howard.  Their best player on the day was their own keeper Ben Foster.  He made several key saves, including a saves from Steven Pienaar, Kevin Mirallas, and Seamus Coleman.  But tragedy struck in the 77^th minute for the Baggies when Foster injured his foot and had to be substituted.  So a goalless draw and apprehension is the result for both sides.

Hull 1 – 0 Norwich

The Tigers get their first BPL win.  The one thing that Tigers’ boss Steve Bruce has been worried about since his side got promoted into the BPL has been the lack of goal scoring.  Last season, despite finishing second in the Championship, Hull scored five fewer goals than relegated side Peterborough.  So it was no surprise that the visiting Canaries started out as the better side and Leroy Fer nearly headed them into the lead as he narrowly missed to the left of goal.  The next chance for the Canaries came in the 10^th minute when Tigers’ keeper Allan McGregor had to parry away Nathan Redmond’s shot on goal.  With the Canaries dominating so much of the match, it surprised everyone at the KC Stadium when Hull was awarded a penalty in the 20^th minute.  It happened when Norwich defender Michael Turner was judged to have fouled Hull striker Yannick Sagbo as they both contested a cross from Ahmed Elmohamady.  Robbie Brady scored the spot kick to give Hull their first goal since joining the BPL.  The celebrations by the home crowd were short lived as six minutes later, Sagbo was sent off for head-butting Russell Martin in an off-the-ball clash.  You would have thought that Chris Hughton’s side would have been able to boss the match and move on to the win.  But they just had no answers as the Tigers bunkered down their defense to hold on for the rest of the first half.  The second half was pretty much the same.  The closest the Canaries would come to scoring would be in the 66^th minute when Ricky van Wolfswinkel’s header was touched away by McGregor.  So the same plucky defense that helped Hull get into the BPL helped them to their first win.

Newcastle 0 – 0 West Ham

A goalless draw for the Magpies at St James’s Park as pressure mounts on boss Alan Pardew.  This one was a bit dull as the only real chance was at the very end when substitute Sammy Ameobi’s cross hit the bar and bounced to the feat of Yoan Gouffran.  Gouffran managed to hit what should have been a certain goal over the bar.  West Ham were clearly missing injured striker Andy Carroll and spent most of the match defending Hatem Ben Arfa who did the lion’s share of the attacking.  But the Hammers thought they had grabbed the match at the end when Modibo Maiga tapped in a rebound from a Ravel Morrison shot that was blocked by Vurnon Anita. But the goal was not given as Maiga was ruled offside.  So now, with no wins yet, Pardew is starting to hear a bit of Geordie yelling.

Southampton 1 – 1 Sunderland

Jose Fonte’s late goal grabs a point for the Saints.  It didn’t look like it was going to be the Saints’ day on Saturday as the Blackcats grabbed the early lead in the third minute when an unmarked Emanuele Giaccherini finished off Sebastian Larsson’s corner kick.  The Saints struggled to stay in the BPL last year and one of their problems was scoring goals.  The same was the case on Saturday a boss Mauricio Pochettino continues to try to find some sort of rhythm in his side.  They thought they had leveled the score in the sixth minute when Rickie Lambert hit a through pass for Jay Rodriguez who poked the ball into the Sunderland net.  But the goal was disallowed as the assistant referee ruled Rodriguez was offside.  In the 16^th minute Blackcats’ keeper Keiren Westwood did well to block Lambert’s header on goal.  Late in the half, the visitors thought they had a penalty shout when USA international Josy Atidore appeared to have been brought down in the Saints’ area.  The second half saw more domination by the Blackcats and in the 58^th minute, Altidore nearly doubled their lead when his shot was deflected away by Saints’ keeper Artur Boruc.  Lambert and Rodriguez worked to try to lift the home side as the match ground down, but it just didn’t look like the Saints would be able to get anything on goal.  But in the 87^th minute, John O’shea was penalized for a foul committed on Pablo Osvaldo.  James Ward-Prowse took the free kick and Fonte was able to out-jump the Blackcats’ defenders to head the ball home for the equalizer.  The goal means that Sunderland boss Paolo Di Canio is still without a win this season and the Saints are still unbeaten.  Not a bad start for Pochettino’s boys.

Stoke 2 – 1 Crystal Palace

Second half goals from Charlie Adam and Ryan Shawcross lift the Potters over Palace.  There were some Stoke fans who are still worried about Mark Hughes taking over the management of their club.  But after Saturday, things seem to be a little better at the Britannia Stadium.  Things didn’t start out that way for the hosts as they made a sluggish start to the match.  They went a goal behind when Marouane Chamakh put home Damien Delaney’s pass in the 30^th minute.  They almost went further behind three minutes later when Asmir Begovic saved Dean Moxey’s shot on goal.  So the first half ended rather ignominiously for the Potters and it was up to Hughes to find a way to inspire the boys.  Palace, on the other hand, were hoping to get their first win in the BPL.  The second half saw the momentum switch over to the home side and they nearly equalized in the 51^st minute when Steven Nzonzi narrowly missed his shot to the right of the Palace goal.  They did equalize in the 58^th minute when Adam poked home Jon Walter’s pass.  Stoke got the winner in the 62^nd minute when Shawcross was able to knock in a loose ball in the Palace area.  They nearly had a third in the 75^th minute when Nzonzi banged his shot off the post.  Although Palace tried hard to get the equalizer, Stoke was able to hold on for the win and three valuable points.  Maybe Hughes will keep them from getting relegated after all.

Aston Villa 0 – 1 Liverpool

Daniel Sturridge comes through again for the Reds.  Well, it’s another win without Suarez as it looks like Sturridge is the new go-to striker for Brendan Rodgers.  Suarez has four more matches of his ten match suspension to serve and it looks like Liverpool are doing just fine without him.  Sturridge has scored seven goals in the time that Suarez has been out and with his form and Simon Mignolet’s heroics in goal have Liverpool fans dreaming of winning the BPL.  The goal came in the 21^st minute when Jose Enrique found Sturridge’s run with his left wing pass.  Sturridge was able to get around keeper Brad Guzan and knock in the goal with his left foot.  Christian Benteke nearly equalized in the 40^th minute when his shot was parried away by Mignolet.  Villa started the second half with a bit more purpose, but each and every chance they had on goal was expertly dealt with by Mignolet.  The closest the home side came was in the 86^th minute with Benteke had another close range effort knocked away from goal by Mignolet.  So the result sees the Reds undefeated and in second place in the BPL.

Tottenham 1 – 0 Swansea

Roberto Soldado scores from the spot for Spurs as Gareth Bale has begun packing his bags for Madrid.  It looks like Bale’s transfer will go through and he has not played a match at all this season for Spurs.  They dominated most of the match on Sunday, but they couldn’t really put anything on goal as shots from Etienne Capoue and Joe Paulo Paulinho were saved by Swans’ keeper Michel Vorm.  Swans finally got a shot on goal in the 25^th minute when Jonjo Shelvey’s shot was saved by Spurs’ keeper Hugo Lloris.  Spurs thought they had a first half penalty shout in the 30^th minute when Shelvey was penalized for a foul on Andros Townsend.  However the referee indicated that the foul occurred just outside the Swans’ area.  Mousa Dembele’s free kick went over the bar as halftime approached.  Spurs were awarded their penalty kick in the 58^th minute when Shelvey again fouled Townsend.  This time, the foul was clearly in the area.  Soldado put home the spot kick to give the home side the lead.  The closest Swans would come to scoring would be in the 71^st minute when Lloris saved Chico’s Flores.  But that would be it and the final whistle saw Spurs grab third place in the BPL table.

Cardiff 3 – 2 Manchester City

The newly-promoted Welsh side pulls off the upset of the week at home.  This match should have been an easy three points for Citeh.  After all, they were playing a newly promoted side and they were the better team.  But someone forgot to tell Fraizer Campbell.  He was great on Sunday as he proved an early handful for the Citeh defense.  He was the central part of the Cardiff attack that kept Citeh under pressure and forced a fine save from keeper Joe Hart in the 43^rd minute.  The second half saw a better start from Citeh and they grabbed the lead in the 51^st minute with Edin Dzeko hit a wonderful shot from distance into the right corner of the Cardiff goal.  That should have been good enough to ensure the win for Citeh, but Campbell picked his side up in the 59^th minute.  He knocked Bo-Kyung Kim’s cross onto goal.  Although Joe Hart was able to keep the attempt out, Aron Gunnarsson was able to poke home the rebound to level the score.  It was really game on now for the home side and they took the lead in the 78^th minute when an unmarked Campbell knocked home Peter Whittingham’s corner kick.  Poor marking from a corner kick got Citeh again in the 86^th minute when Campbell headed home his second and Cardiff’s third goal from a Don Cowie corner kick.  Although substitute Alvaro Negredo got a goal back for Citeh in stoppage time, they were well beaten.  Manuel Pellegrini has a bit of work to do to fix the Citeh defense.

New goalkeeper Simon Mignolet is the latest hero at Anfield.  It was a match that the Reds were expected to dominate.  They were by far the better side throughout the day and thought they had taken the lead early in the 11^th minute when Daniel Sturridge headed in Steven Gerrard’s free-kick.  But the goal was ruled out for offside.  However the England international striker, who the Kopp are depending upon to take over the scoring duties from suspended striker Luis Suarez, did come through in the 37^th minute.  He was able to take a brilliant touch from Iago Aspas’s through ball and hit a left-footed shot past Potters’ keeper Asmir Begovic.  The one thing that plagued the Reds last season has the inability to hold onto one goal leads.  They nearly surrendered the lead Saturday when Jonathan Walters had his shot saved by Mignolet in the 42^nd minute.  The Potters had another chance in the 44^th minute when Robert Huth’s header on goal was blocked by Reds’ defender Daniel Agger.  USA international midfielder Geoff Cameron missed his chance to equalize when his header went wide of the goal as the halftime whistle blew.  The second half saw the usual dominance from the Reds as they attacked the Kopp end.  They just couldn’t finish as first Coutinho curled a shot past the post, then Sturridge had his shot saved by Begovic.  Aspas header from a corner went wide of the goal, and Jordan Henderson struck his shot off the goal post.  Stoke had the prime opportunity to steal a point from this match when they were awarded an 87^th minute penalty-kick from Agger’s hand-ball in the area.  Jonathan Walters’ spot-kick was brilliantly saved by Mignolet and then he was able to scramble back to his feet and save Kenwyne Jones’ shot from the rebound.  So while the Suarez Drama remains unresolved, Liverpool fans feel good about their new goalkeeper.

Arsenal 1 – 3 Aston Villa

Two Christian Benteke penalties and a late Antonio Luna debut goal put Gunners’ boss Arsene Wenger in trouble.  This one looked like it was going to be an easy win for the Gunners.  After all, the Villains were nearly relegated last season and the Gunners are a top four side, right?  That was what everyone at the Emirates Stadium was thinking when they took the early lead in the sixth minute.  Winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made a brilliant cross into the area and Olivier Giroud was able to make a wonderful left-footed finish.  That should have been the start of some Arsenal dominance, but the match began to unravel for the home side in the 22^nd minute.  Gabriel Agbonlahor was able to cruise through the center of the Gunners’ defense and in on goal when he was fouled by keeper Wojciech Szczesny.  The referee waited to blow his whistle as the ball deflected to Andreas Weimann.  But when it went into the side netting, the penalty kick was awarded.  Although Szczesny saved the kick from Christian Benteke, he was able to head home the rebound to level the scores.  The second half saw the debut of the new Goal Decision System (GDS).  GDS is the new television replay technology to determine if a goal has been scored and notifies the referee if the ball has crossed the goal line at any point.  In the 52^nd minute, Villa defender Fabian Delph hit a shot that struck the inside of the right-hand post.  GDS determined that the ball hadn’t crossed the line and the score remained tied.  Arsenal could have done with some TV replay in the 60^th minute when Agbonlahor got loose again in the Gunners’ area.  Defender Laurent Koscielny was judged to have tripped the Villa striker from behind and the referee awarded the away side another spot kick.  Replays showed that Koscielny actually got the ball and not the man, but the referee didn’t see things that way and booked him for the challenge. Benteke took the spot-kick and this time slammed it home to but the Villains into the lead.  Thinks went from bad to worse for Arsenal in the 66^th minute when Koscielny was sent off for a hard challenge on Weimann.  The 10-man side nearly equalized a short time later when Tomas Rosicky was able to weave his way through the Villa defense and in on goal.  Only a reaction save from USA international keeper Brad Guzan denied Rosicky.  Santi Cazorla got hold of the rebound, but his half-volley was saved over the bar by Guzan.  The final punch to the face for the Gunners came in the 85^th minute when Weimann was able to put Antonio Luna in behind a pushed up Arsenal defense.  Luna went in one-on-one against the goal keeper and easily slotted home the third Villa goal.  Most of the Emirates crowd headed for the exits at that point and as they were leaving, shouted their displeasure at Wenger and the fact that he hasn’t spent any money on transfers during the summer window.  Is there more controversy to come?

Norwich 2 – 2 Everton

Ricky van Wolfswinkel’s second half goal salvages a point for the Canaries at home.  This was the first match with Roberto Martinez in charge of Everton.  There is a lot of fear from the fans on the Blue half of the Mersey since Martinez’s arrival from relegated Wigan.  The first half was a stalemate as neither side was able to make any sort of breakthrough.  It took a great effort from defender Steven Whittaker in the 50^th minute to open the scoring.  Whittaker was able to get past two Everton challenges and curl a shot past keeper Tim Howard and off the post.  Whittaker was the first to react to the rebound and poke the ball into the empty net to put the Canaries into the lead.  The Toffees were able to equalize 10 minutes later when new transfer Ross Barkley scored his first goal for his new club.  They took the lead in the 64^th minute when Canaries keeper John Ruddy fumbled Nikica Jelavic’s shot and Seamus Coleman poked home the loose ball.  But any hope for an Everton victory ended in the 71^st minute.  Whittaker’s shot from the edge of the edge of the area found Van Wolfswinkel’s head and the striker found the net in behind keeper Howard.  Everton had a chance to get the lead back in the 80^th minute when Ruddy fumbled Steven Naismith’s shot on goal.  But Jelavic couldn’t follow-up on the loose ball and Coleman’s 87^th minute miss ensured that the points would be shared.  So the start of the Martinez era at Everton was an indifferent start.  But this is a long season and anything could happen.

Sunderland 0 – 1 Fulham

Pajtim Kasami’s header is good enough for all three points for the Cottagers.  This was the second attempt at the BPL by USA international striker Jozy Altidore and he nearly scored in the first minute of the match when his shot was blocked by defender Steve Sidwell.  The Black Cats continued to dominate the first half, but the closest they came to scoring again wasn’t until the 25^th minute when Adilson Cabral’s shot missed just left of the goal.  The only real effort Fulham could make on goal was right at the end of the first half when new transfer Adel Taarabt’s free-kick went into the Sunderland wall.  The unlikely goal came five minutes into the second half.  Damien Duff floated a free-kick in from the left and Kasimi was able to get up the highest and head the ball past a frozen keeper Keiren Westwood.  Altidore should have equalized in the 65^th minute when he was picked out by John O’Shea’s cross.  He was able to get past defender Aaron Hughes, but his shot went just wide of the goal.  Altidore had one more chance in the 75^th minute when Cottagers’ keeper Maarten Stekelenburg saved the strikers’ close range shot.  Stekelenburg went off injured after the play and was replaced by David Stockdale, but the Black Cats just couldn’t make any more significant attacks on goal.

West Bromwich Albion 0 – 1 Southampton

Rickie Lambert completes a wonder week as he scores the winner for Southampton.  He scored in his England debut in midweek.  Saturday he won the match for the Saints.  What a week!!  This match was a really dull affair that looked like it was going to be a goalless yawn-fest.  Both sides struggled to stay in the BPL last season and neither side wanted to give anything away.  It was supposed to be the triumphant return of new Baggies striker Nicolas Anelka.  This is his sixth English club and his first start in the BPL in two years.  But the 34-year-old former France international didn’t make any real contribution to the match and was taken off in the 83^rd minute.  The moment of the match happened in stoppage time when Baggies defender Youssouf Mulumbu brought down Luke Shaw in the penalty area.  Lambert scored the kick from the spot to put the Saints into the lead.  Billy Jones almost equalized right at the end of the match, but Saints’ keeper Artur Boruc was able to get down quickly and make the save just as the final whistle blew.

West Ham 2 – 0 Cardiff

Joe Cole and Kevin Nolan ruin Cardiff’s BPL debut.  This is the Welsh side’s first time in the BPL and they’re learning the hard way that the step from the Championship can be a tough one.  The new Welsh side hadn’t been in the top division since 1962 and it showed.  They didn’t get a shot on target and although their new guys Gary Medel and Steven Caulker both played, they just could get going.  Craig Bellamy, on as captain for the Blue Birds, tried to rally his side but they were clearly the inferior side and in the 12^th minute Matthew Jarvis exposed their defense and found Cole who easily finished for the first goal.  Coal should have had a second a short time later, but with just the goal keeper to beat, he lost control of the ball.  Cardiff made a better start to the second half and had a chance to equalize through a frantic goalmouth scramble.  But the Hammers were able to scramble the ball clear and maintain their lead.  In the 70^th minute, Hammers’ boss Sam Allardyce decided to bring on new boy Stewart Downing for Jarvis.  The substitute brought some pace to the home side and he set up Nolan to shoot at the far corner of the Cardiff goal.  But keeper Ben Turner was able to make the save.  But Nolan wasn’t to be denied in the 75^th minute when Mark Noble was able to sneak through the Cardiff defense and find Nolan who swept the ball into the net.  Cardiff substitute Nicky should have gotten a goal back at the end, but he put his shot over the bar at close range.  They’ve got to do better than that if they plan on staying in the BPL.

Crystal Palace 0 – 1 Tottenham

Spurs get a lucky penalty kick for the win.  It was a really noisy day at Selhurst Park on Sunday as Palace began their fifth appearance in the BPL.  The fans had every reason to be optimistic as Spurs talisman Gareth Bale did not play due to a foot injury.  There is still speculation that he’ll soon be moving on to Real Madrid, so boss Andre Villas-Boas was counting on his new guys to step up.  Spurs should have taken the lead early in the first half when Mousa Dembele’s shot on goal bounced off the bar in the 13^th minute.  That’s as close as they would come as Palace defended well throughout the first half.  There was hope amongst the home fans that maybe they’d get a result.  But alas, luck just wasn’t on their side.  In the 50^th minute, Dean Moxey was doing his best to defend Aaron Lennon in the Palace penalty area.  Lennon made a desperate attempt at a cross and the ball struck Moxey’s arm.  The referee awarded Spurs the penalty kick and new-man Roberto Soldado scored his first goal for his new team.  Palace boss Ian Holloway decided to go on the offensive and brought on Jonny Williams, Kevin Phillips and new man Marouane Chamakh.  The move nearly paid off when Phillips was able to break Spurs offside trap to get in on goal.  Keeper Hugo Lloris managed to get the ball away from the striker and Lennon was able to track back and defend from Williams who had gotten the rebound.  The save of the match happened right at the end when Lloris was able to deny Kagiso Dikgacoi’s point-blank shot.

Chelsea 2 – 0 Hull

Version 2 of the Jose Mourinho Era at Stamford Bridge is an easy victory.  It’s been six years since he was last in charge of the Blues and he was welcomed with a standing ovation by the fans.  The match was pretty easy for Chelsea.  One thing to remember about Mourinho’s Chelsea sides, they just don’t lose at home.  They didn’t have things going all their way in the early going.  They had been awarded a fifth minute penalty kick when keeper Allan McGregor was judged to have fouled striker Fernando Torres in the area.  Frank Lampard, who is usually automatic from the spot, had his kick saved by McGregor.  But the Blues eased into the lead in the 12^th minute when midfielder Kevin De Bruyne set up Oscar who poked home the ball from his right foot.  The second goal came in the 24^th minute when Chelsea were awarded a free-kick from a foul on Torres by James Chester.  Lampard took the kick and more than made amends for missing his earlier penalty kick by finding the back of the net with a superb 30 yard effort.  There was a bit of controversy at the end of the half when Branislav Ivanovic’s header for goal was ruled out by the GDS device.  But two goals was more than enough to ensure Mourinho’s 61^st match unbeaten at home in change of Chelsea.  Although Hull put up more resistance in the second half they just didn’t have enough to challenge Chelsea.  And so it begins.

Manchester City 4 – 0 Newcastle

Manuel Pellegrini’s leadership of Citeh starts out with total domination.  Citeh had the best team on paper last season.  They just had a problematic coach in Roberto Mancini.  Mancini’s biggest problem was trying to get all that talent to play together when it really mattered.  Well this first look at Citeh under Pellegrini’s leadership has them playing together with a swagger and dominant arrogance that could very well see them b quite successful this season.  It didn’t take them long to put their stamp on this match when Spanish international David Silva got the first goal from a header in the sixth minute.  The second goal came in the 21^st minute when Yaya Toure got hold of a loose ball and sent Edin Dzeko through.  Dzeko found the run of Sergio Aguero and the Argentine striker poked home from his right foot.  As if boss Alan Pardew didn’t need more stress, things got worse for his Magpies when, in the 45^th minute, defender Steven Taylor took a swing at Aguero’s head and was promptly sent off.  The match was pretty much done and dusted at that point.  Toure got the third goal in the 50^th minute and substitute Samir Nasri, on for Aguero, complete Newcastle’s humiliation in the 74^th minute.  Dzeko should have had the fifth goal for Citeh toward the end, but had his effort ruled out for offside.  The final whistle put Citeh ahead of their cross town neighbors at the top of the table on goal difference.  One can’t help but wonder if we’re going to repeat the finish of the 2011-12 season.