Final 2012/2013 Barclay's Premier League Table

1. Manchester United       89 +43
2. Manchester City           78 +32
3. Chelsea                        75 +36
4. Arsenal                         73 +35
5. Tottenham Hotspur       72 +20
6. Everton                         63 +15
7. Liverpool                      61 +28
8. West Bromwich Albion 49 -4  
9. Swansea City                46 -4
10. West Ham United        46 -8
11. Norwich City               44 -17
12. Fulham                         43 -10
13. Stoke City                   42 -11
14. Southampton               41 -11
15. Aston Villa                   41 -22
16. Newcastle United        41 -23
17. Sunderland                  39 -13
18. Wigan Athletic             36 -29
19. Reading                       28 -30
20. Queens Park Rangers  25 -30

Arsenal Hold On To Fourth, Premier League Ends On Highs & With Goodbyes

Newcastle 0-1 Arsenal: Arsenal managed to hold on to fourth place after an extremely tight match against Newcastle. The Champions League earning goal came seven minutes in to the second half when a free-kick was headed forward for Laurent Koscielny to swivel and volley on to the forehead of Steve Harper before it glanced in from four yards. The game was an extremely nervy one, but one Arsenal managed to see out. Theo Walcott did have a chance to put the game to bed but he ended up hitting the post and Arsenal had to continue to hold on. Newcastle end the season by saying goodbye to Harper who will be leaving the club after 20-years of service for The Toon.

Tottenham 1-0 Sunderland: Tottenham did what they could to try and steal fourth from Arsenal. Spurs were livid in the first half when Sebastian Larsson pushed Gareth Bale in the box, but Andre Marriner booked the Welshman for diving, meaning that Spurs would end the season without winning a league penalty.  After blocking countless shots off the line and even having their post hit, Sunderland eventually tried to help Tottenham on 75-minutes when David Vaughan was given a second yellow card. Spurs did put Arsenal to the test late on when Bale scored another fantastic goal from outside the box, with a wicked curling shot, in injury time, but it just wasn't enough for them to take fourth.

West Brom 5-5 Manchester United: It's 1500 and out for Sir Alex Ferguson and his last game will be one that won't be forgotten in a hurry. It started brilliantly after just six minutes when Javier Hernandez's cross was headed home by Shinji Kagawa. It was 2-0 after nine minutes when Antonio Valencia's cross was diverted home by Jonas Olsson in to his own net. United grabbed a sensational third on the half hour mark when Tom Cleverley fed Alexander Buttner who smashed it in to the bottom corner from just inside the box. West Brom managed to pull one back five minutes before half time when Graham Dorrans' low cross was sent home by James Morrison. It became 3-2 five minutes in to the second half when substitute Romelu Lukaku guided a shot from outside the box in to the bottom corner despite Anders Lindegaard getting a hand to it. Robin Van Persie made it 4-2 three minutes later with his 30th goal of the season after Valencia pulled the ball back to him. Javier Hernandez re-established United's three goal lead on 63-minutes when substitute Ryan Giggs played a low ball in for the Mexican to tap home from two yards. Paul Scholes would also make his final appearance as a footballer late on in the second half and he managed to earn his 97th yellow card of his career. There were two goals in the space of a minute when Lukaku first broke through to score his second of the game. That was followed by Youssouf Mulumbu scoring from a pull back to make the score 5-4. Unbelievably, West Brom managed to to find an equaliser four minutes from the end when Mulumbu's shot back across goal was tapped home by Lukaku at the second attempt to become only the third player to score a Premier League hat-trick against Manchester United. Lukaku leaves West Brom on an extreme high while the footballing world say goodbye to Sir Alex Ferguson and Paul Scholes.

Chelsea 2-1 Everton: A fixture that, next season, will see both teams with a different manager at either helm. Chelsea managed to confirm third without the possibility of a play-off match and it began after seven minutes when Juan Mata tapped home a parried shot. Everton equalised on 14-minutes with Steven Naismith getting a rare goal after being put through by Victor Anichebe. The winner came on 76-minutes when Victor Moses chested the ball down for Fernando Torres to score his first Premier League goal in over nine hours. Rafa Benitez leaves Chelsea with a victory and a Europa League trophy, David Moyes leaves Everton with his head held extremely high.

Manchester City 2-3 Norwich: Managerless Manchester City end their season with defeat in Mark Halsey's last game as a referee. Norwich took the lead on 26-minutes when Wes Hoolahan's tenacity saw the ball the fall to Anthony Pilkington who finished neatly past Joe Hart. Their lead lasted just three minutes when a good interchange between Samir Nasri and Edin Dzeko saw the ball go to Jack Rodwell for the Englishman to score his first goal for the club. Norwich managed to retake the lead nine minutes in to the second half when Robert Snodgrass' ball across the box was tapped home by Grant Holt. This time their lead lasted for five minutes as City broke and Rodwell scored his second after Yaya Toure fed a long ball through for him. But Norwich weren't to be denied and it was third time lucky on 65-minutes when Jonny Howson stole the ball on the halfway line and ran all the way through the City team before finishing well past Hart.

West Ham 4-2 Reading: Reading's final match in the Premiership for now saw another typical comeback, but this time without any points. The deadlock was broken after 23-minutes when Alex McCarthy's clearance was straight at Andy Carroll, the loose ball was pounced upon by Kevin Nolan to roll it home. It was 2-0 on 34-minutes when Carroll controlled a cross before pulling the ball back for Ricardo Vaz Te to smash in to the corner. Reading pulled one back eight minutes in to the second half when Garath McCleary's deflected shot found the net. It was 2-2 two minutes later when Nick Blackman's cross was tapped home by Adam Le Fondre, perhaps Reading's best player this season. Nolan managed to make it 3-2 11-minutes before half time when Carroll played the ball over the top for Nolan to score his second. Nolan would end up getting his hat-trick three minutes from time by heading home from Modibo Maiga's cross. Despite not scoring, Carroll put in a great performance to end his loan spell at The Hammers.

Swansea 0-3 Fulham: Swansea end up holding the record of scoring this season's first goal and conceding this season's last. Way before that, Alex Kacaniklic had put Fulham ahead after 22-minutes. Dimitar Berbatov was on hand to add to his great tally this season by rounding Michel Vorm to make it 2-0 on 77-minutes, his 15th of the season. The final goal of the season came form the on loan Urby Emanuelson who tapped home after a parried shot.

Liverpool 1-0 QPR: Liverpool said goodbye to Jamie Carragher who bid a tearful farewell to the only club he's ever loved and played for. The only goal of the game came on 23-minutes when Philippe Coutinho drilled a shot in to the bottom corner from long range. It would have been extremely fitting for Carragher to end his career with a rare goal but he came extremely close when he smashed the post from a 35-yard shot. But Carragher has had a great career and he will be a big miss for Liverpool.

Wigan 2-2 Aston Villa: Wigan's last match in the Premiership comes with a draw against Aston Villa in what could have been a proper basement battle had results been different. The forgotten man, Darren Bent, had put Villa ahead after just five minutes after Gabriel Agbonlahor played him through. Emerson Boyce equalised for Wigan on 21-minutes, heading powerfully home from Roger Espinoza's cross. Wigan took the lead just before half-time when Ben Watson's shot was blocked on the line before it hit Nathan Baker and and went in. But Villa earned a point just after the hour mark when Ron Vlaar controlled a free-kick before sublimely half-volleying the ball home. It was a poignant final match of the season for Villa as Stilian Petrov had announced his full retirement from football earlier in the week.

Southampton 1-1 Stoke: Michael Owen says goodbye to his playing career after coming off the bench at St. Mary's. Stoke took the lead just two minutes in to the second half when Peter Crouch headed home from a cross against his former employers. Southampton equalised ten minutes later when Rickie Lambert tapped home from a parried shot. Unfortunately, Owen couldn't sign off with a goal but it is the end of a fantastic career.   

Arsenal Fource Wigan Down, Managerless City Win

There will be no final day drama at the foot of the Barclay's Premier League as Wigan have now been confirmed as the final team to be relegated. Wigan, who previously had been the only team to make it to the top flight of English football and never be relegated, have now become the first side to win the FA Cup and get relegated in the same season.

Wigan knew that had to beat Arsenal at The Emirates to have any chance of surviving, but the win for Arsenal means that they have leapfrogged Tottenham back in to fourth place and now know that have to equal or better Spurs' result on Sunday to seal Champions League football.

It took just 11-minutes for Arsenal to take the lead when Lukas Podolski easily finished off a poorly defended corner. But, just like in recent games, Arsenal have started like a train but petered out and Wigan started slow but grew in to the match. By half-time Wigan were deservedly level with a great goal just before the whistle. Shaun Maloney went down a little easily under a Mikel Arteta challenge and the referee perhaps harshly awarded Wigan a free-kick. It was Maloney who stood over the kick and smashed the ball in at the front post despite Wojiech Szczesny somehow getting a hand to it.

But Wigan's defensive frailty was put to the sword once again in the second half and this time, it has finally been one defeat too many. Arsenal retook the lead when Santi Cazorla was played in down the wing. The Spaniard then lay a ball across the Wigan box where Theo Walcott was on hand to slide it home. The game was then virtually over five minutes later when a huge whole at the back saw Podolski again get played through before the German chipped the oncoming Joel Robles to make it 3-1.

The final nail in the coffin came on 71-minutes when Aaron Ramsey again found himself in acres of space down the wing. The Welshman then cut inside as he bore his way down on goal and finished with a powerful shot off Joel to make it 4-1, scoring his first Premiership goal in over a year. Wigan's eight years in the Premier League will come to an end against Aston Villa on Sunday.

Managerless Manchester City were also in action tonight against Reading. After the debacle of sacking Roberto Mancini yesterday, the City players had to regroup despite David Platt also announcing that he'd following Mancini out of the door.

It was a very 'nothing to play for' type of match at The Madejski but City did take the lead five minutes before half-time when a corner routine between Gareth Barry, David Silva and James Milner ended up seeing the ball laid across the goal fro Sergio Aguero to roll home. The points were wrapped up two minutes from time when poor play from Reading saw Silva nick the ball before feeding substitute Edin Dzeko through for the Bosnian to stroke home.

Fergie & Scholes' OT Farewell, Moyes and Neville's Goodison Farewell, Norwich & Newcastle Safe, Super Frank Makes History

Manchester United 2-1 Swansea: This match was never about the result. 26 and a half years, 13 Premier League trophies and, what will be, 1500 games, Sir Alex Ferguson bode farewell to the Old Trafford faithful. There was a goodbye also to Paul Scholes who also played his final match at The Theatre of Dreams. A dream final home victory almost started in the opening when Javier Hernandez's effort smashed the bar and stayed out. United did take the lead six minutes before half time when a poorly defended free-kick saw Hernandez pounce and slot the ball past Gerhard Tremmel. Swansea hadn't arrived as party guests and Michu was ready to spoil the party four minutes in to the second half when the Spaniard beat Phil Jones to the ball to volley past David De Gea from a Nathan Dyer cross. Perhaps in United fashion, the winner had to come late and although it wasn't quite in Fergie time, it was Rio Ferdinand who smashed a half volley from a corner in to the next from seven yards with just three minutes remaining.

Scholes' final match ended with 25-minutes left to play and the maestro left the pitch to a more than deserved standing ovation. Wayne Rooney's notable absence from the squad raised a lot of eyebrows but those debates will come in the future headlines. Today, it's all about one man and one team. Manchester United lifted the trophy and everyone around the world was witness to Ferguson's final ever addressing of the Old Trafford crowd. He isn't leaving the football club entirely as he will still be there as a director but the bombshell that he knew he was going retire way back at Christmas, it's a shock as to how it was kept a secret for so long. Football has lost the best domestic manager the world has ever seen and the longevity is something that will never be surpassed again. Thank you Sir Alex Ferguson.

Everton 2-0 West Ham: This was another match where the result wasn't important. It was about another Scot leaving another top team. David Moyes sat in the dug out of Goodison Park for the last time after a brilliant 11-years at the club. Alongside Moyes, Phil Neville, was in attendance for his final Everton match but injury meant he couldn't take part. Everton got off to the best start when Kevin Mirallas finished off a fantastic team move after just six minutes. It was 2-0 on the hour mark when Mirallas' shot took a huge deflection off James Collins to beat Jaaskelainen for a second time.

With Bill Kenwright visibly and unsurprisingly upset, Moyes came to a guard of honour at the end of the game and another momentous standing ovation. Moyes leaves to try and fill the biggest void in English football. As Everton's search for a new manager now begins and luck must be given to both Moyes and Everton for their futures.

Stoke 1-2 Tottenham: With Arsenal playing the FA Cup winners on Tuesday, Spurs managed to move in to fourth place by two points after this close fought victory. Stoke actually took the lead after just three minutes when Steven N'Zonzi was unmarked at the front post to head home a free-kick. Tottenham managed to level on 20-minutes when Clint Dempsey hit the loose ball from 35-yards in to an unguarded net after the initial ball over the top had been cut out by a defender as Asmir Begovic also came out, leaving his goal open. Stoke were reduced to ten men just two minutes in to the second half when Charlie Adam received a second yellow card for an unnecessary foul from behind when he was never going to get the ball. But it took Spurs until the last seven minutes before they finally took advantage; Dempsey's pull back being tapped home by Emmanuel Adebayor from all of four yards. All eyes are now on Arsenal as they play their penultimate card in the race for Champions League, a card that could see Wigan get relegated.

Norwich 4-0 West Brom: Norwich have guaranteed their survival after this rout over West Brom. There was a return to the side for John Ruddy and he'll be extremely happy to come away with a clean sheet. The deadlock was broken on 25-minutes when Robert Snodgrass fired in to the roof of the net after Wes Hoolahan's first attempt was closed down by Ben Foster. Norwich were given their second goal on 62-minutes when Ben Foster managed to slice a clearance and allow Grant Holt to take the ball and roll it home.  It was 3-0 three minutes later when a free-kick was diverted in to his own net by Gareth McAuley. The game was rounded up in injury time Jonny Howson linked up with Luciano Becchio before curling a magnificent shot in to the corner from outside the box.

QPR 1-2 Newcastle: Newcastle have also confirmed their place in next season's Premier League. It didn't start very well for the visitors as QPR were awarded a penalty after just 11-minutes when Junior Hoilett was brought down by the returning Mathieu Debuchy. Loic Remy stepped up and sent Rob Elliott the wrong way to give the relegated hosts the lead. The roles were reversed just seven minutes later though when Hatem Ben Arfa earned a penalty after Jose Bosingwa was pulling at the Frenchman's shirt. Ben Arfa ended up taking the penalty and smashed in to the top corner just off the underneath of the crossbar. Yoan Gouffran made it 2-1 ten minutes before half time when a poor back pass from Bosingwa saw Rob Green's clearance charged down before the ball fell to Gouffran who rolled the ball in to the empty net. Elliott will miss Newcastle's final game of the season against Arsenal after being sent off nine minutes before half time when he received a second yellow card for handling the ball outside the area. It's a pretty stupid sending off as the first yellow card was brandished for kicking the ball away.

Sunderland 1-1 Southampton: If Wigan fail to win on Tuesday, Sunderland will stay up based on the fact Wigan will be down. For now though, the point means that Sunderland are now four points ahead of the bottom three. Sunderland took the lead on 68-minutes when Phil Bardsley scored a fantastic deflected goal, his first in over a year, which beat Artur Boruc in to the corner. But Sunderland's safety celebrations were cut short with 14-minutes remaining when substitute Jason Puncheon stabbed the ball home at the second attempt whilst on the floor from three yards after Simon Mignolet parried his initial shot. Whilst not entirely mathematically safe, Southampton have assured their place in next season's league due to Wigan's woeful goal difference.

Fulham 1-3 Liverpool: Daniel Sturridge will grab the headlines in this game after a great hat-trick. Dimitar Berbatov actually got the first goal on 33-minutes with a good header from a Sascha Riether cross to give Fulham the lead. Parity was restored three minutes later when Sturridge used magnificent footwork to fire home after Andre Wisdom cleared the ball from his own box. Fulham should have had a penalty in the second half when Lucas handled in the box but nothing was given on the hour mark. The visitors then took the lead two minutes past the hour when Philippe Coutinho's slipped shot ended up feeding Sturridge fantastically to give the striker his second goal. The hat-trick was completed five minutes before half-time when Sturridge lofted the ball over the oncoming Mark Schwarzer after Coutinho had once again picked out the striker with another delightful ball.

Aston Villa 1-2 Chelsea: Aston Villa will have also escaped if Wigan don't win on Tuesday, they remain five points clear of The Latics after Frank Lampard broke the all time scoring record. Safety was looking assured on 14-minutes when Christian Benteke linked up with Yacouba Sylla before firing in yet another goal for the Midlands side. Chelsea's job looked to have been made even harder when Ramires was sent off just before half time for a high challenge on Gabriel Agbonlahor. But Villa would also be reduced to ten 13-minutes in to the second half when Benteke was shown a second yellow for a high challenge on John Terry, his first came in the first half for elbowing Cesar Azpilicueta and that could have been a red all on its own. Chelsea levelled just after the hour mark when Eden Hazard played the ball to Lampard to fire home on the edge of the box to level Bobby Tambling's goalscoring record. The record was then finally broken with two minutes remaining after Lampard linked up with Ashley Cole before finishing off the defender's low cross.  

Chelsea and Spurs End In Stalemate, Defeat For Wigan Keeps Them In Trouble, Point Doesn't Really Help Sunderland

Chelsea 2-2 Tottenham: The Champions League places remain as you were after this draw at Stamford Bridge. The only thing it does do is move Chelsea two points clear of Arsenal and moves Spurs to a point behind The Gunners. Chelsea took the lead after just ten minutes when Oscar headed home from a corner. Tottenham managed to level on 26-minutes when Emmanuel Adebayor produced a great bit of running before smashing the ball in to the top corner. But Chelsea would take the lead again just six minutes before half-time when Ramires managed to break through and toe poke the ball past the unsuspecting Hugo Lloris. Chelsea looked set on taking all three points until Tottenham managed to steal a point with ten minutes remaining; Benoit Assou-Ekotto played the ball up to Adebayor, who was marginally offside, the Togolese then flicked the ball back for substitute Gylfi Sigurdsson to stroke beautifully in to the bottom corner. Chelsea remain very on much course for a Champions League spot whereas Tottenham have to hope that Arsenal slip up against relegation contenders Wigan or Newcastle.

Wigan 2-3 Swansea: Wigan led twice before ultimately losing and finding themselves three points from safety with two games remaining. Wigan took the lead just before half-time when a parried cross fell to Roger Espinoza for the Honduran to volley home. Swansea levelled five minutes in to the second half when Angel Rangel's volley went in off the post after Wayne Routledge had found the defender. But Wigan once again found themselves in front just three minutes later when Gary Caldwell split the Swansea defence to allow James McCarthy to fire past Michel Vorm. However, Swansea would again find themselves level before the hour mark when Caldwell gave the ball away and Itay Schecter finished at the second attempt. Poor defending ended up leading to Wigan's heartbreak when both James McArthur and Shaun Maloney failed to clear a Pablo Hernandez cross and Dwight Tiendalli was on hand to slot home and steal the points 14-minutes from time. Vorm was later stretchered off after clashing with Ben Davies but Wigan are now even closer to the dreaded drop.

Manchester City 1-0 West Brom: With the FA Cup final coming this weekend, City managed to squeeze in a victory over West Brom. The only goal of the game came ten minutes before half time when Carlos Tevez's cross was neatly volleyed home by Edin Dzeko.

Sunderland 1-1 Stoke: Sunderland managed to go three points clear of the drop after securing a point against Stoke, a result that sees them move six points clear of Wigan and now all but safe with two games remaining. Stoke were ahead after just nine minutes when Jonathan Walters scored from a corner. It got worse for Sunderland 11-minutes before half-time when Craig Gardner was sent off for a late challenge on Charlie Adam. But Sunderland somehow managed to dig in and a point was rescued on 63-minutes when John O'Shea was on hand to poke a corner home.     

Goalless Merseyside, Third Place Matas For Chelsea

Manchester United 0-1 Chelsea: Chelsea regain third by a point after stealing the victory at Old Trafford. With United not playing for anything, the onus was on Chelsea to bring a spark in to this game. For the large majority, it didn't materialise at either end until the game was won three minutes before the end. Ramires stole the ball off Wayne Rooney just outside the Chelsea box. Chelsea countered and, after several poor attempts at a clearance, the ball found it's way to an unmarked Juan Mata whose guided shot took a slight deflection of Phil Jones before nestling inside the post. Tempers did flare towards the end and Rafael was sent off in the final minute for kicking out at David Luiz who had laid a few well placed elbows in to his fellow countryman. But there was no excuse for Rafael's reaction, nor Luiz's smile on the ground whilst pretending to clutch his leg in front of Sian Massey on the line. Rafael was deservedly sent off and Chelsea go one step closer to guaranteeing Champions League football next season.

Liverpool 0-0 Everton: This goalless draw means that Everton remain five points clear of their Merseyside rivals. For once, there was only really one talking point in the derby, apart from it being Jamie Carragher's last, that being a goal for Sylvain Distin that was ruled out. It came from a corner and Distin headed home, but the Frenchman slightly pushed Carragher in the back and there was enough contact for Michael Oliver to rule the goal out, much to Everton's disappointment.

West Brom 2-3 Wigan: Wigan move three points behind Newcastle and Norwich in the race for safety. Despite remaining in the relegation zone, Wigan do have a game in hand over Newcastle which is against Swansea. They are two points behind Sunderland but they don't play until Monday. West Brom took the lead just before the half hour mark when Markus Rosenberg's low cross was slid home by Shane Long for his second goal in as many games. Wigan were level ten minutes later when an great advantage played by the referee, Lee Probert, saw Jean Beausejour launch a great cross in to the box for Arouna Kone to head home. West Brom were back in front five minutes in to the second half when Gareth McAuley headed home from a Graham Dorrans free-kick, which was far too poorly defended. This time Wigan were level within eight minutes when substitute James McArthur headed from a splendid Shaun Maloney cross, just a minute and nine seconds after coming on. The winner came ten minutes from time, just moments after surviving a penalty scare, when Callum McManaman tapped home another brilliant Maloney run and pull back.

Norwich 1-2 Aston Villa: Two wins and six points later, Villa are now up to 13th on 40-points and now five points clear of the relegation zone. This latest defeat for Norwich means Paul Lambert has left his former side just three points ahead of Wigan, who have a game in hand. Villa took the lead ten minutes in to the second half when Gabriel Agbonlahor took the ball from inside his half before smashing it in to the bottom corner from 30-yards. Norwich were awarded a penalty on 74-minutes when Joe Bennett pulled Robert Snodgrass down in the box. Grant Holt stepped up and sent Brad Guzan the wrong way to equalise. But Villa took all three points in the last minute of normal time when Agbonlahor's pace managed to beat the defenders to latch on to Ashley Westwood's through ball, the striker did fantastically well to coolly finish in to the bottom corner.

Fulham 2-4 Reading: It's a little late, but Reading finally showed some Premiership quality to see of Fulham at Craven Cottage, leaving The Cottagers stuck on the 40-mark. Reading were given a penalty on 12-minutes when Hal Robson-Kanu was fouled by John Arne Riise just inside the box. The Welshman got up to take the penalty and sent Mark Schwarzer the wrong way. The second goal didn't come until the 62nd minute when Robson-Kanu curled a great shot in to the corner from a wide angle inside the box. Bryan Ruiz pulled a goal back on 70-minutes after linking up well with Hugo Rodallega. But Reading restored their two goal lead with 15-minutes remaining when Jem Karacan's ball over the top found substitute Adam Le Fondre. The striker managed to head the ball past the oncoming Schwarzer before tapping home. It was 3-2 just two minutes later when substitute Alex Kacaniklic's cross was met by Ruiz's head. Rodallega ended up smashing the crossbar before Reading ensured themselves of the victory when the ball came out to Karacan to strike in to the bottom corner from outside the box, a nice way to score his first Premier League goal.

Tottenham 1-0 Southampton: Spurs remain three points behind Chelsea  and two behind Arsenal in the race for Champions League football. Tottenham hadn't won a three o'clock all season so when the kick-off was delayed by half an hour due to traffic problems on the M25, Spurs must have felt a little better. The only goal of the game came four minutes from time when, who else, Gareth Bale picked the ball up and made his way inside before unleashing a shot in to the bottom corner from 30-yards to score against his former club. It means that he becomes the first Spurs player to score 20 league goals in a season since Jurgen Klinsmann. Defeat for Southampton mean that they are now just four points ahead of Wigan.

QPR 0-1 Arsenal: Arsenal remain fourth, one point behind Chelsea who still have a game in hand against Spurs, by rooting QPR to the bottom of the table. The only goal of the game was the quickest in the Premiership this season. It came on just 21-seconds when a good passing move saw Aaron Ramsey play the ball through for Theo Walcott to net his 20th goal of the season with a little help from the post. For a second time in the match later on in the first half, Robert Green managed to put a Walcott shot on to the post but this time it stayed out.

West Ham 0-0 Newcastle: Newcastle are now just three points from the brink after surviving a goalless draw at Upton Park. Newcastle thought they had scored in the first half but Papiss Cisse's effort was just cleared off the line. West Ham thought they should have had a penalty in the second half when Kevin Nolan was pushed by Fabricio Coloccini, but nothing was given. Newcastle then had to thank Rob Elliott for keeping West Ham out.

Swansea 0-0 Manchester City: A goalless draw in what was really a nothing match at The Liberty. Swansea should have had a penalty in the first half when Michu was kicked down by Matija Nastasic but nothing was given. City's best chance fell to Edin Dzeko but the Bosnian somehow missed his volley from four yards.



 

Villa Spank Sorry Sunderland

Aston Villa 6-1 Sunderland: Villa have spiced things up down at the bottom after this thrashing over a very poor Sunderland. After half an hour of entertaining, end to end, football, the deadlock was broken when a blocked shot came out to Ron Vlaar about 40-yards out. The Dutchman took a touch before then firing a shot in to the bottom corner that Simon Mignolet saw too late to react, a great strike to get your first goal for the club. But Villa's cheers lasted no more than 90-seconds as Sunderland went up the other end with Danny Rose playing a couple of great one-twos before finding himself scoring past Brad Guzan for his first goal for Sunderland. Six minutes after that, seven minutes before half-time, Villa were back in front when a great counter attack saw the ball get squared over the top to Andreas Weimann for the Austrian to calmly lift the ball over Mignolet.
The fourth goal was always going to be the most crucial and it arrived ten minutes in to the second half when Christian Benteke rose above everyone else to head home from a corner, scoring his 20th in all competitions this season. Benteke then made it two in four minutes when Gabriel Agbonlahor's deflected effort forced Mignolet to track back and he could only get an arm to the ball. It bounced back to Benteke who easily headed home from six yards. Sunderland's day got worse on 70-minutes when Stephane Sessegnon got sent off for a studs in 'stamping' tackle. It wasn't malicious by any means but you can definitely see why Lee Probert sent him off. If Sunderland's appeal is unsuccessful, Sessegnon will miss the remaining games and will be a huge blow.
Villa performed possibly better than at any point this season and they made it 5-1 just two minutes after Sessegnon had been sent off. Benteke was played through and the Belgian completed his hat-trick by beating Mignolet at his near post from an acute. It was just three more reasons why Benteke should have been given the Young PFA Player award. The rout was completed two minutes before the end when substitute David Vaughan, who had just been on the field for a matter of moments, played a poor pass back and allowed Agbonlahor through on goal, the striker rounded Mignolet before becoming Villa's top scorer in the Premier League era. Not only is the result huge in terms of levelling on points with Sunderland and Newcastle. But because of the two vast scorelines, Newcastle are now the team teetering above the relegation zone on goal difference. If Wigan win their game in hand then they will be just two points behind those three teams.

Reading 0-0 QPR: Both teams have now officially been relegated from the Premiership after an absolutely diabolical draw. The writing may have already been on the wall for both clubs but they showed zero Premiership class or desire in this goalless encounter. What must surely upset the fans most was that both Harry Redknapp and Nigel Adkins were able to smile about this achievement. Fans need to see emotion in their clubs and that wasn't on show in this game, the most despicable of all was Jose Bosingwa who actually walked down the tunnel laughing at the final whistle. Two sides deservedly vacating the top league in English football.

Arsenal 1-1 Manchester United: The newly crowned champions took the pitch with a guard of honour from the Arsenal side, but for the first half United looked like they were still partying. Arsenal took the lead after just two minutes when Theo Walcott was played through, although offside, and managed to score over David De Gea. Arsenal would rue only scoring the one goal despite their dominance and Bacary Sagna was too eager to ratify a mistake and would ultimately bring down Robin Van Persie, on his return to The Emirates, to concede a penalty. The Dutchman stepped and scored against his old club for a second time this season and again refused to celebrate. The point for Arsenal leaves them a point behind Chelsea but more importantly two above Tottenham.

Chelsea 2-0 Swansea: It was the first time these two sides met since the ball boy incident in the Carling Cup. It was Mark Clattenburg's first game officiating in a Chelsea match since that one against Manchester United where he was wrongly accused of being racist. Fortunately, there were no similar talking points as Chelsea reclaimed third and are now a point ahead of Arsenal, but more importantly three ahead of Tottenham. Substitute Frank Lampard played the ball for Oscar to give Chelsea the lead two minutes before half-time. Chelsea were then awarded a penalty in first half injury time to ensure the points; Juan Mata was fouled by Leon Britton before Lampard stepped up and converted, moving to one goal behind the all time Chelsea goalscoring record.

Newcastle 0-6 Liverpool: Liverpool's first match without Luis Suarez for ten games begins with a thrashing over Newcastle, moving the Toon to five points above the relegation zone. Daniel Agger headed Liverpool ahead after just three minutes. Jordan Henderson made it 2-0 on 17-minutes when Philippe Coutinho's brilliant through ball saw Daniel Sturridge lay it off to the former Sunderland man to stroke in to the empty net. The third came nine minutes in to the second half when Coutinho again slid the ball to Sturridge to fire home. Sturridge scored his second on the hour mark when Henderson beat the offside trap and rolled the ball across Rob Elliot for the striker to tap home. Fabio Borini scored his first Premiership goal on 74-minutes just a minute after coming on. It somehow got worse a minute later when Mathieu Debuchy was given a second yellow card for a poor challenge on Coutinho. Henderson took the following free-kick on the side of the box and it somehow curled in to the net to make it six.

Wigan 2-2 Tottenham: Wigan remain two points from safety after a late draw against Tottenham. The result sees Spurs two points behind Arsenal and three behind Chelsea. The PFA Player and Young Player of the Season, Gareth Bale, put Spurs ahead on nine minutes when Joel Robles' clearance was blocked by the Welshman and rebounded in to the net. The lead lasted all of two minutes when Emerson Boyce headed home from a corner. Wigan were temporarily out of the relegation zone four minutes in to the second half when Callum McManaman scored his first Premiership goal with an absolute battering ram. The the win was denied ten minutes from the end when Boyce accidentally shinned the ball from Tom Huddlestone's free-kick in to the net.

Southampton 0-3 West Brom: An eventful St.Mary's sees West Brom emerge with all three points. The visitors took the lead when Marc-Antoine Fortune scrambled the ball over the line with his knee at the third time of asking. Romelu Lukaku made it 2-0 on 67-minutes after being played through by Fortune and the Belgian rounded Artur Boruc to roll home. Gaston Ramirez was sent off on 70-minutes for elbowing Shane Long. Fortune was also given a red card for then putting his hand in Ramirez's face in the aftermath of the foul. Long got revenge on 77-minutes by making it 3-0 by putting the ball through Boruc's legs. The action wasn't finished as Daniel Fox also received his marching orders seven minutes before half-time; a straight red was shown for a two footed challenge on Steven Reid.

Manchester City 2-1 West Ham: Manchester City respond to surrendering their title with a close victory over West Ham. Sergio Aguero put them in front on 28-minutes when a great team goal saw him play the ball through Jussi Jaaskelainen's legs from four yards. The points were assured seven minutes from the end when Yaya Toure smashed a rocket in to the top corner from the edge of the box. West Ham did deserve a goal and it came in injury time when Andy Carroll's blast somehow broke through Joe Hart as it trickled through his legs.

Stoke 1-0 Norwich: Stoke move six points clear and reach the magic-40 mark with a crucial victory over Norwich who are two points behind them. The only goal of the game came a minute in to the second half when a lofted ball was brought down by Cameron Jerome before being fired home by Charlie Adam.

Everton 1-0 Fulham: Everton move three points behind Chelsea with a close victory over Fulham. The only goal of the game came on 16-minutes when Seamus Coleman's pull back was fired home by Steven Pienaar.

RVP Hat-trick Seals 20th Title

Manchester United 3-0 Aston Villa: Manchester United are officially the 2012/2013 Barclay's Premier League champions, their 20th title, after a comfortable victory over Aston Villa. The party began on 90-seconds when Ryan Giggs was picked out by Rafael before the Welshman laid the ball across the goalmouth for Robin Van Persie to tap home. The Dutchman made it 2-0 on 13-minutes with, what is becoming a trademark goal, a sublime volley from over the shoulder after Wayne Rooney played the aerial ball. The hat-trick and title win was complete on 33-minutes after Giggs performed a great run before unselfishly played the ball to Van Persie to again tap home. With the title now sealed, all focus returns to the relegation battle as Villa remain just three points above Wigan who have a game in hand.

Tottenham 3-1 Manchester City: Manchester City surrender the title after Tottenham's comeback. The result sees Spurs remain a point behind Chelsea, but two behind Arsenal with a game in hand. Carlos Tevez worked well to give City the lead after five minutes when his effort led to James Milner pulling the ball back for Samir Nasri to slot home. Spurs equalised on 75-minutes when the returning Gareth Bale played a low cross for Clint Dempsey to tap home at the back post. That turned the games on its head as Tottenham went 2-1 ahead on 79-minutes when substitute Jermain Defoe curled a great effort past Joe Hart after being played through by Lewis Holtby. The win was then assured just three minutes later when Bale made it 3-1, scoring over Hart after Tom Huddlestone played the ball in to him.

Liverpool 2-2 Chelsea: It was a return to Anfield for Rafa Benitez but the headlines will all go Luis Suarez after another controversial, yet bizarre, incident. Chelsea took the lead on 26-minutes when poor defending saw Oscar head a Juan Mata corner in to the bottom corner. Brendan Rodgers' half-time substitute paid off just seven minutes after the restart when Suarez brilliantly found his new strike partner, Daniel Sturridge, to score against his old club. Five minutes later and Suarez became the villain when he handled from the corner to give Chelsea a penalty. Eden Hazard stepped up and easily sent Pepe Reina the wrong way to reinstall the lead. Suarez should then have the pitch in the disgrace, and now must face a lengthy retrospective ban, when a battle between himself and Branislav Ivanovic ended with the Uruguayan grabbing the Serbian's arm and sink his teeth in to it. But Suarez has previous as he was once banned for biting in Holland for seven games and a similar punishment must be handed out this time around. If there was going to be an equaliser in this game, it was always going to happen in the depths of stoppage time and scored by Suarez. That's exactly what happened as Sturridge's 97th minute cross was headed home by Suarez to controversially seal a point for Liverpool. The point for Chelsea means that sit a point behind a Arsenal, but have a game in hand, and now a point ahead of Tottenham.

Norwich 2-1 Reading: Reading are one game from relegation, but they hold on to their Premier League status for one more game at least with victory over QPR this weekend, a result which would relegated Harry Redknapp's men. This comes after losing to Norwich in a game that sees the Canaries move seven points clear of the drop with only four to play. Norwich took the lead five minutes in to the second half when Ryan Bennett scored the rebound after Grant Holt's header from Robert Snodgrass' free-kick was parried, Bennett's first ever goal for Norwich. It was 2-0 two minutes later when Alex McCarthy tried to come out and catch a Snodgrass cross that he was never to claim and Eliot Bennett coolly slotted between his legs. Garath McCleary finished off a great run with a good long range goal with 18-minutes to play, but Norwich held on to virtually condemn Reading to Championship football next season.

QPR 0-2 Stoke: Like Reading, QPR are now only a game away from relegation. If they beat Reading at the weekend then they relegate the Royals while remaining a Premiership team for one more game at least. Peter Crouch put Stoke ahead three minutes before half-time, finishing from a Cameron Jerome low cross. The points were secured 13-minutes from time when Crouch was pulled down in the box by Clint Hill whilst trying to reach Robert Huth's header which had just come back off the post. The penalty was given and Jonathan Walter stepped up, after being made to take it again, to convert in to the bottom corner. The win is crucial for Stoke as they now move six points clear of the bottom three.

West Ham 2-0 Wigan: Wigan remain three points from safety in what is now looking like a straight fight between themselves and Villa to be the last to fall from the Premiership. Matt Jarvis gave West Ham the lead when his 21st minute cross managed to miss those in the box before beating Joel Robles and ending up in the net. Kevin Nolan then scored his 100th career goal with a volley from Andy Carroll's header to put the game beyond all doubt with ten minutes remaining. The win for The Hammers means that a top ten place is still very much in their grasp this season.

Sunderland 1-0 Everton: Everton's hopes of Champions League football may now be all but over after defeat at the Stadium of Light. The Toffees fall six points behind Chelsea in fourth but Chelsea, and Tottenham in fifth, have a game in hand. The second win in a row for Paolo Di Canio is extremely crucial as it now sees Sunderland move six points clear of the relegation zone. The only goal of the game came in first half injury time when Tim Howard rolled the ball out to Leighton Baines. Baines then gave the ball away to Stephane Sessegnon and the Frenchman gleefully took his chance to toe-poke past the American keeper.

Fulham 0-1 Arsenal: Arsenal's hopes of Champions League football next season have been boosted by this victory at Craven Cottage. The three points mean they now sit a point ahead of Chelsea and still two ahead of Tottenham, with both having a game in hand over The Gunners. Fulham's match was hampered after just 12-minutes when Steve Sidwell was sent off for a studs in challenge on Mikel Arteta. Per Mertesacker scored the only goal two minutes before half-time, heading from a yard out after Theo Walcott's free-kick had found Laurent Koscielny at the back post. The man count was levelled in second half injury time when Olivier Giroud was also shown a straight red for an over the ball, studs in, challenge on Stanislav Manolev. But the damage had already been done and Arsenal held on to the win.

West Brom 1-1 Newcastle: Newcastle move six points clear of the relegation zone after a point at The Hawthornes. The visitors took the lead on eight minutes when Yoann Gouffran finished off a move that saw Papiss Cisse pick out a cross to Yohan Cabaye before the ball was played to Gouffran. But the three points were taken away from Newcastle on 64-minutes when Billy Jones finished after a pass from Romelu Lukaku.

Swansea 0-0 Southampton: This was probably one of the first 0-0 draws between two teams who have nothing left to play for towards the end of the season. There wasn't a lot of class between the sides and the point sees Southampton move eight points clear of the drop which should be enough with just four games remaining.

United Need Six, City Gain Two Points, Chelsea Up To Third

Manchester City 1-0 Wigan: A late show sees City close the gap to 13-points, with a game in hand, at the top whilst Wigan remain three points from safety, also with a game in hand. The only goal came seven minutes from the end when Carlos Tevez produced a great run before smashing a great shot home, a result City will be hoping for again against Wigan when they meet at Wembley.

West Ham 2-2 Manchester United: United now require six points to lift the trophy after being somewhat staggered by West Ham. It looked worse on 16-minutes when Andy Carroll's header was then headed home by Ricardo Vaz Te. But United equalised just after the half hour mark when Robin Van Persie played Shinji Kagawa down the side of the box. The Japanese cut inside before rolling the ball across the six yard box for Antonio Valencia to tap in to an empty net. West Ham went back in front ten minutes in to the second half when Mohamed Diame scored a great curling effort from the edge of the box. But United's blushes were spared on 77-minutes when Kagawa's great shot ended up coming off both posts before Van Persie, who was in an offside position, finished off on the rebound.

Fulham 0-3 Chelsea: Chelsea move back in to third place, a point above Arsenal and, more importantly, three above Tottenham. David Luiz broke the deadlock with an absolute screamer in to the top corner on the half hour mark. John Terry made it 2-0 two minutes before half time with a header from a Juan Mata corner. Terry then added the third on 71-minutes when he scrambled Fernando Torres' effort over the line.

Arsenal 0-0 Everton: For the first time at The Emirates, a game between Arsenal and Everton finished goalless. But it wasn't a boring 0-0 as both teams had chances in what was a very feisty affair. The point does leave Arsenal two points ahead of Tottenham, with Spurs having a game in hand, while Everton remain five points behind The Gunners and still with an outside chance of Champions League football.

Di Canio Becomes Instant Mackem Legend, Business-Like United Now Seven Away

Newcastle 0-3 Sunderland: Paulo Di Canio has become an instant Mackem legend after getting his first victory in charge against Sunderland's Tyne and Wear rivals. The win sees them move up to 15th and three points clear of relegation, also improving their goal difference threefold. Defeat for Newcastle means that they are only two points further ahead of Sunderland. Stephane Sessegnon gave Sunderland the lead on 27-minutes after turning Jonas Gutierrez before firing past Tim Krul on the edge of the area. Krul was later taken off for a suspected dislocated shoulder which means he's out for the remainder of the season. Adam Johnson made it 2-0 on 74-minutes with a great solo effort that saw him run inside, unchallenged, before beating Rob Elliot. The points were wrapped up eight minutes from time when David Vaughan fired a spectacular shot in to the far corner. The game has been marred though as there have been 27-arrests in Newcastle between fans and three police officers have sadly been injured.

Stoke 0-2 Manchester United: United are now seven points away from clinching their 20th Premiership title. It took four minutes for the visitors to take the lead when an undefended corner saw Michael Carrick poke the ball in off the post. The win was confirmed on 66-minutes when Robin Van Persie went down under a Andrew Wilkinson challenge in the box. The Dutchman stepped up and dispatched the penalty to end his recent drought. United went close to conceding their first penalty of the season when Nemanja Vidic slipped and Kenwyne Jones fell over him just inside the box, but the referee gave nothing and the defeat for Stoke keeps them just three points above the bottom three.

Arsenal 3-1 Norwich: Another late show sees Arsenal move in to third, a point ahead of both Chelsea and Tottenham, Chelsea now have a game in hand. Defeat for Norwich means that they are still only four points above the drop zone. Olivier Giroud hit the cross bar early in the first half but despite this and other missed chances, Norwich actually went on to take the lead; Michael Turner heading home from a Robert Snodgrass free-kick 11-minutes in to the second half, just moments after making a goal-saving block at the other end. Arsenal were given a penalty five minutes before the end when Kei Kamara pulled Giroud's shirt, Mikel Arteta stepped up and just managed to beat Mark Bunn to level the match. Arsenal then took the lead three minutes later when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's pull back across the six yard box was tapped in by Giroud. The points were then sealed in injury time just after Johnny Howson's shot was saved by the feet of Lukasz Fabianski' Theo Walcott laying the ball back, after looking to be in an offside position when he received the ball, to Lukas Podolski to fire in to the corner of the net on the edge of the box.

Everton 2-0 QPR: QPR's chances of survival have got slimmer again after defeat in Goodison, remaining seven points from safety with most of their rivals having at least one game in hand over them. The win for Everton does keep their Champions League hopes alive and are now three points behind Tottenham and Chelsea. The deadlock was broken five minutes before half-time when Kevin Mirallas' blocked shot fell to Darron Gibson, 25-yards out. The Irishman's shot deflected past Julio Cesar for only his second goal for Everton. The points were sealed 11-minutes in to the second half when Victor Anichebe turned in Sylvain Distin's header from a corner, after the striker had hit the post earlier in the half.

Aston Villa 1-1 Fulham: It's another game where Villa fail to keep a lead and actually shoot themselves in the foot. The point does move them three points above the relegation zone with Fulham now making it to the magic 40-mark, nine points above the bottom three. Villa took the lead ten minutes in to the second half, after Dimitar Berbatov had hit the post, when Andreas Weimann's pull back was cleared only to Charles N'Zogbia who curled it home nicely from 12-yards. The equaliser came on 66-minutes when a corner was headed in to his own net by Fabian Delph by the near post and it proved to cost Villa the three points.

Southampton 1-1 West Ham: Southampton's great recent run of form means that this point sees both teams move seven points clear of relegation. After Rickie Lambert's effort somehow didn't cross the line and then come back off the post in the first half, Southampton took the lead 14-minutes in to the second half when Gaston Ramirez finished neatly at the second attempt. West Ham equalised on 66-minutes when Andy Carroll's low free-kick found its way in to the bottom corner.

Reading 0-0 Liverpool: A point probably isn't enough at this stage for Reading, but they have to thank Alex McCarthy and a goal-line clearance that they got one. Reading still find themselves seven points clear of safety and still all but down.

Another Aguero Moment Keeps City Alive

Manchester United 1-2 Manchester City: It may now still be 12-points but the win for City does keep their slim title hopes alive. From possibly to win their 20th Premiership in two games time, United now need ten points from the remaining 21 in order to lift the trophy. Rafael came closest to giving United lead when his effort hit the bar before going behind for a goal kick. The deadlock was finally broken six minutes in to the second half when James Milner's effort took a slight deflection off Phil Jones which was enough to wrong-foot David De Gea. City's lead only lasted eight minutes though when Robin Van Persie's corner was headed towards goal by Jones before going in off Vincent Kompany's back, the second own goal in two games for United, a stark contrast to what the Belgian did the last time these two met on a Monday. City began to put United on the back foot and substitute Sergio Aguero managed to get a yard ahead of the defence before smashing the ball past De Gea at his near post with only 12-minutes left on the clock.

Chelsea 2-1 Sunderland: Paolo Di Canio's first game in charge sees Chelsea regain third place on goal difference with Sunderland now on the edge of relegation. The defeat leaves the visitors out of the bottom three on goal difference alone, but Wigan do have a game in hand. It started better for Sunderland though as they took the lead just before half-time when a corner was flicked on and then sliced in to his net by Cesar Azpilicueta. Chelsea levelled two minutes in to the second half when Oscar's parried shot came off Matthew Kilgallon and somehow rolled in to the corner of the net. The winner came just eight minutes later when David Luiz's shot cruelly deflected off Branislav Ivanovic to bamboozle Simon Mignolet and end up in the net.

QPR 1-1 Wigan: Two great goals leave the two struggling sides no better off than what they were before a ball was kicked today. The point keeps QPR seven points from safety while Wigan's last gasp equaliser keeps them in bottom three on goal difference alone, with a game in hand. QPR's task was made harder on 21-minutes when Bobby Zamora sent off for kicking Jordi Gomez in the head whilst going for the ball, this came after Loic Remy had hit the post. But QPR recovered and played extremely well with ten men before actually taking the lead five minutes before the end; a Maynor Figueroa free-kick was blocked and Rangers set off on the counter attack through Stephane Mbia. Mbia then laid the ball off to Remy and the Frenchman side-footed the ball in to the corner of the net from just outside the box, a truly spectacular goal. Mbia then became the villain with the last kick of the game by conceding a free-kick. Shaun Maloney took the free-kick and sublimely struck it home, although Adel Taarabt did seem to duck under the ball a la Samir Nasri.

Tottenham 2-2 Everton: Spurs remain level with Chelsea in fourth place and two points ahead of Arsenal, although both have a game in hand over Andre Villas-Boas' men. Tottenham took the lead in the first minute when Jan Vertonghen's deep cross beat a couple of defenders before Emmanuel Adebayor slid the ball between Tim Howard's legs. Everton equalised on the quarter of an hour mark when Phil Jagielka headed in a corner at the far post. The visitors then took the lead eight minutes in to the second half when Victor Anichebe's touch sent Kevin Mirallas off on another run, the Belgian zigzagged his was through the defence before scoring another great solo goal. Moussa Dembele did have his deflected effort somehow saved on to the crossbar by Tim Howard before Spurs found an equaliser three minutes from time; Adebayor's effort hitting the post before Gylfi Sigurdsson stroking the rebound home. Everton remain six points behind Chelsea and Spurs.

Newcastle 1-0 Fulham: A very late winner sees Newcastle move five points clear of the relegation zone. Fulham are three points further ahead after this defeat and aren't potentially out of the woods just yet, but they should be safe. A deflected Vurnon Anita shot did hit the cross bar for Newcastle in the second half before the hosts ended up hitting the post twice from a corner. The winner came on the 93rd minute when a blocked shot fell to Papiss Cisse and the Senegalese half-volleyed it home.

Liverpool 0-0 West Ham: Liverpool's Hillsborough tribute couldn't produce a goal let alone a win for the hosts. Liverpool's best chance came in the second half when Steven Gerrard's effort was saved off the line before the Reds ended up hitting the post from a low ball across the box. Liverpool did have the ball in the net through Daniel Sturridge, but he offside and the goal was rightly disallowed. West Ham came close towards the end when a header from a corner was saved off the line. West Ham are six points clear of relegation.  

Stoke 1-3 Aston Villa: Villa move three points clear of the relegation zone and to within a point of Stoke after a win at The Britannia. Villa took the lead after nine minutes when Matt Lowton's slight pull back was finished by Gabriel Agbonlahor on the second attempt. Andreas Weimann thought he had made it 2-0 but his first half effort came back off the post. Villa looked to squander yet another winning position when Stoke equalised ten minutes from time; Charlie Adam springing the counter attack before getting it back off Jonathan Walters. Adam then poked the ball across to Michael Kightly who finished in to the bottom corner from the penalty spot. But Villa's blushes were spared when a cleared corner came to Matthew Lowton, the defender chested the ball before hammering the ball home on the volley from 35-yards with just three minutes left to play. The points were then sealed in injury time when Christian Benteke beat the last man just inside the Stoke half with a great touch. The Belgian then roared down in to the Stoke box with three team mates around him but Benteke coolly finished past Asmir Begovic.

West Brom 1-2 Arsenal: Arsenal are now just two points behind Chelsea and Tottenham in the race for Champions League football, The Gunners also have a game in hand over Spurs. Tomas Rosicky prevented Arsenal from going behind with a header off the line. The Czech then put them ahead on 20-minutes when he headed a cross-come-shot from Gervinho past Ben Foster, his first league goal in 65-matches. Rosicky then scored his second five minutes in to the second half after following up his parried powerful effort to beat Foster again. West Brom were awarded a penalty 20-minutes from time when Per Mertesacker brought Shane Long down. The German was last man and had no option but to be sent off. James Morrison stepped up and just squeezed it down the middle to make it 2-1. But the ten men managed to hold on to continue their fight for Champions League football.

Norwich 2-2 Swansea: Perhaps a mid-table battle although Norwich do only sit five points clear of the relegation zone. Swansea took the lead on 35-minutes when Michu fired home from a Jonathan De Guzman pull back after the Spaniard had had a goal ruled out for offside earlier on. Swansea's lead only lasted five minutes though as Robert Snodgrass headed in to the empty net from an Elliot Bennett cross. Norwich then took the lead on the hour mark when Michael Turner ghosted in to the back post to tap home a free-kick. But Luke Moore would equalise on 75-minutes, low volleying a header back across goal in to the net, to ensure both teams earned a point. There was a strong case that substitute Grant Holt should have been sent off just minutes after coming on for stamping on Chico Flores, but Holt even escaped without getting a yellow card.

Reading 0-2 Southampton: Nigel Adkins' side remain rock bottom after his former side came to The Madejski and walked away with the three points, leaving Reading eight points off safety. The win for Southampton sees them move seven points above the bottom three and possibly safe. Southampton took the lead 11-minutes before half-time when Jay Rodriguez beat Adam Federici to the ball and put it through his legs, questions have to be asked about Federici's commitment as he rather chickened out of the challenge with the striker. Rodriguez did hit the cross bar later in the half before the points were wrapped up on 72-minutes when a good team move was brilliantly finished off by Adam Lallana.  

Fulham Surely Safe After Seeing Off QPR

Fulham 3-2 QPR: Fulham move a point off the magic 40 mark, plus nine points clear of the bottom three, while QPR remain seven points from safety. Fulham took the lead on eight minutes when Ashkan Dejagah was brought down by Christopher Samba in the box, Dimitar Berbatov stepped up and converted coolly for his fourth goal in successive games, also only the first penalty QPR have conceded all season. The Bulgarian was on the scoresheet again on 22-minutes when poor play from Samba allowed Berbatov in to score his 13th goal of the season with a nonchalant shot from outside his right boot. The game was all but over four minutes before half time when Bryan Ruiz's low cross was turned in to his own net by Clint Hall. QPR were handed a lifeline in first half injury time when a slip from Giorgos Karagounis allowed Adel Taarabt to collect the ball and score from Brede Hangeland's legs. QPR were handed a second lifeline just three minutes in to the second half Karagounis brought down Taarabt in the box and another penalty was given. Loic Remy stepped up but it was magnificently saved by Mark Schwarzer. But the Frenchman made amends two minutes later, scoring after Stephane Mbia was able to loft to the ball over to him. Fulham would then spend the final 11-minutes with ten men as Steve Sidwell was sent off for a late challenge on Armand Traore but the Cottagers held on to keep QPR in deep trouble.  

Aston Villa 1-2 Liverpool: Villa remain in the relegation zone on goal difference after another game where the hosts would have liked to have finished at half-time. Villa took the lead just after the half hour mark when a long ball was brought down by Gabriel Agbonlahor and half volleyed home by Christian Benteke for his 14th goal of the season. Liverpool hadn't turned over a deficit in the league this season until today and Jordan Henderson gave them the equaliser two minutes in to the second half after a brilliant through ball from Philippe Coutinho. The winner came on the hour mark when Nathan Baker slid in to Luis Suarez and brought him down in the box. Steven Gerrard stepped up and expertly dispatched the penalty in to the bottom corner, despite Brad Guzan guessing correctly.

Sunderland 0-1 Manchester United: United did extend their lead to 18-points for a few hours with this slight victory over struggling Sunderland who now sit just a point above the relegation zone. The only goal of the game came on 27-minutes when Robin Van Persie's hopeful strike across goal was diverted in by Titus Bramble. The win sees United set a record as they become the first side in the Premiership to win 25 of first 30 matches in a season. The defeat for Sunderland has cost Martin O'Neill his job and the Black Cats will announce his successor in the coming days.

Southampton 2-1 Chelsea: The Saints move four points clear of relegation with Chelsea now falling two points behind Tottenham, with a game in hand, and just two points ahead of Arsenal. Southampton took the lead on 23-minutes when Jay Rodriguez coolly slotted home after a one-two with Steven Davis ripped the Chelsea defence apart. The returning John Terry found an equaliser ten minutes later with a free header from a corner. With Rickie Lambert celebrating his 500th senior appearance, there was perhaps nobody else who could win the game. The Saints forward curled a spectacular free-kick in to the net to give Southampton the crucial victory ten minutes before half-time.

Swansea 1-2 Tottenham: Spurs return to third by two points, Chelsea do have a game in hand, after staving off a Swansea fight back. It took seven minutes for Tottenham to take the lead when Jan Vertonghen played the ball to Gareth Bale. Bale returned the compliment with a chip through ball which the Belgian brilliantly controlled and slotted home. The roles were reversed on 21-minutes when Vertonghen fed the ball through for Bale and Welshman took one touch to control it before unleashing another great strike past the unsuspecting Michel Vorm. Swansea hit the woodwork in the first half but managed to pull one back on 71-minutes when Michu rose the highest from a corner to head home off the post. But Tottenham managed to hold on and even went on to hit the post through Bale, eventually taking all three points from the Liberty Stadium.

Arsenal 4-1 Reading: Nigel Adkins' first game in charge actually sees The Royals move to the bottom of the table on goal difference without QPR even playing. The convincing victory for Arsenal means that they are now just two points behind Chelsea in the race for fourth. The deadlock was broken on 11-minutes when Santi Cazorla's low shot-come-cross was tapped home by Gervinho, making it two in two for the Ivorian. Arsenal doubled their lead three minutes in to the second half when the roles were reversed; Gervinho playing the ball to Cazorla and the Spaniard effortlessly curled the ball in to the bottom corner. Gervinho gained a second assist on 67-minutes when the Ivorian sprung a counter attack before playing the ball to Olivier Giroud to slot home. Reading did score a consolation a minute later when substitute Hal Robson-Kanu dived to head home from a Jobi McAnuff cross. But the last word came from The Gunners when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was brought down by Adrian Mariappa on 77-minutes, Mikel Arteta stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way to cap off a good performance.

Wigan 1-0 Norwich: Wigan's latest great escape is still on after moving out of the bottom three on goal difference following this win over Norwich. The winner came nine minutes from the end with Arouna Kone finding a shot that was too powerful for Lee Camp, although Camp knows he probably should have done better. Norwich have now been sucked in to the relegation battle as they are now only four points above the drop.

Manchester City 4-0 Newcastle: City keep the gap at 15 with a good win over Newcastle who are now just three points above the relegation zone. The hosts had to wait for 41-minutes before opening the scoring with Carlos Tevez sliding home a Gael Clichy low cross. David Silva added a second in first half injury time when Samir Nasri thread a ball in to his path and the Spaniard lashed it home. Roberto Mancini and Vincent Kompany have been in the headlines recently over an alleged spat, but all was forgotten when the Belgian diverted Gareth Barry's effort from an undefended corner in to the net 11-minutes in to the second period. The rout was completed on 69-minutes when Yaya Toure's attempted smash across goal was blocked in to the net by the sliding James Perch.

West Ham 3-1 West Brom: West Ham are the biggest movers of the day, managing to move six points clear of the bottom three. Andy Carroll headed West Ham in front from a corner on 16-minutes before Gary O'Neil scored a great goal from the edge of the area, in to the top corner, on 28-minutes. Carroll added a third with a great over the shoulder volley from a defensive free-kick ten minutes before the end. West Ham went down to ten men when substitute George McCartney went off injured. West Brom were given a consolation when Romelu Lukaku went down under an aerial sandwich, Graham Dorrans stepped up and converted straight down the middle with two minutes left to play. The last piece of action came in the fifth minute of added time when Youssouf Mulumbu acted angrily to an O'Neil trip, the Congolese lost his head and picked the ball up before kicking it at O'Neil and was duly sent off.

Everton 1-0 Stoke: Everton keep their hopes of a Champions League place alive by moving four points behind Chelsea, whereas Stoke are now just four points from safety and very much in the mix for relegation. The only goal of the game came on 28-minutes when a punch from Tim Howard was picked up by Kevin Mirallas and the Portuguese ran the majority of the pitch before expertly finishing past Asmir Begovic after beating a couple of defenders. 

Win For Controversial Wigan, Spurs Slump and Super Frank Hits 200

Wigan 2-1 Newcastle: Wigan move three points from safety, with a game in hand, after this controversial win over Newcastle. Wigan took the lead on 18-minutes when Jean Beausejour benefited from a Callum McManaman cross to score his first goal for Wigan, also his first for two years. But the first half, and match, was marred by a horror challenge by McManaman on Massadio Haidara which left the Newcastle man in severe pain with suspected knee ligament damage. Referee Mark Halsey didn't get a good view of the incident and McManaman luckily stayed on the pitch. This caused chaos at half-time with a coach from either side being sent to the stand for causing a fracas at half-time. Newcastle managed to get an equaliser on 72-minutes through Davide Santon, his first goal for The Magpies, with a good finish from an acute angle. But Wigan would win the match with the last kick of the game when a corner was helped on by Maynor Figueroa's hand. That caused an almighty scramble in the six yard box before Arouna Kone smashed it home  even though the play should have been stopped for Figueroa's handball.

Chelsea 2-0 West Ham: Chelsea reclaim third spot by going a point ahead of Spurs. But the headlines will only concern a certain Frank Lampard who netted his 200th goal against his boyhood club. He got the opener with a great header on 19-minutes before Eden Hazard continued to take centre stage with a great finish five minutes in to the second half to ensure the points.

Tottenham 0-1 Fulham: Spurs hadn't lost at home since November, Fulham hadn't won against a London club away from all season and the visitors hadn't won at White Hart Lane in nine years, also not scoring for five years. But someone failed to inform a certain Dimitar Berbatov about that. The former Tottenham player scored the only goal of the game seven minutes in to the second half to leave Tottenham just four points ahead of Arsenal and one behind Chelsea. 

Sunderland 1-1 Norwich: Another potential mid-table match-up produced another draw which leaves Sunderland not just four points above the bottom three with Norwich a further three points ahead. Norwich took the lead on 26-minutes when Kei Kamara's header from a corner was headed home by Wes Hoolahan from less than a yard. Things got tough for the visitors on the half hour mark when they were reduced to ten men; Mark Bunn sent off for apparent handball outside the area when he came rushing out. Sunderland were given another helping hand five minutes before half-time when Sebastien Bassong was adjudged to have handled in the box and Chris Foy pointed to the spot. Craig Gardner stepped up and expertly dispatched it in to the top corner to earn the point.

Aston Villa 3-2 QPR: Villa came from behind and ended retaking the lead to move three points clear of the relegation zone, although Wigan have a game in hand. The defeat for QPR sees them stay at the bottom on goal difference and now seven points from safety. Rangers took the lead on 23-minutes when Jermaine Jenas was first to a Brad Guzan parry to score against his former loan club. Villa crucially equalised in first half injury time when Gabriel Agbonlahor floated in and headed a Matt Lowton cross home just moments after QPR had hit the post. Villa took the momentum to be the force in the second half that they weren't in the first and Andreas Weimann put Villa in front just before the hour mark with a good finish just inside the area. Like last week, Andros Townsend joined Jenas on the scoresheet when his low effort from outside the box somehow beats Guzan and finds the corner on 73-minutes. The winner came nine minutes from the end when Weimann's pull back was slotted home by Christian Benteke for his 17th goal of the season.

Everton 2-0 Manchester City: Ten man Everton push Manchester City 15-points behind Manchester United whilst boosting themselves to six points behind Tottenham in fourth. Leon Osman gave Everton the lead 13-minutes before half-time with a fantastic curling effort with the outside of his boot, completely bamboozling Joe Hart. Steven Pienaar was shown a second yellow card just after the hour mark for a high studs in challenge and duly walked down the tunnel. City couldn't take any advantage and deputy keeper Jan Mucha did a fine job. Everton managed to somehow get away with a penalty appeal late on when Marouane Fellaini handled in the box and the referee gave a free-kick just outside the box. The points were then wrapped up in injury time when Everton broke with Fellaini. The Belgian fed the ball to substitute Nikica Jelavic and the Croatian turned back inside before curling the ball over Hart and in to the top corner.

Southampton 3-1 Liverpool: The win for Southampton sees them move seven points ahead of the relegation while Liverpool now sit three points behind their Merseyside rivals. Morgan Schneiderlin broke his hoodoo, where every time he has scored this season the Saints have lost, with the games opener six minutes from time. Rickie Lambert made it 2-0 with a deflected free-kick against the team he supports 12-minutes before half-time. Philippe Coutinho pulled one back in first half injury time, smashing the ball home after Daniel Sturridge's effort was blocked. The points were wrapped up ten minutes from the end when Jay Rodriguez broke through and coolly slotted home.

Manchester United 1-0 Reading: United stretch their lead to 15-points and have now gone nine hours without conceding in the Premier League. It wasn't a vintage display and Reading weren't as far away as the bookies tried making out they would be at the start despite parting with Brian McDermott earlier in the week. The only goal of the game on 21-minutes when Rio Ferdinand's marauding run ended with a pass to Wayne Rooney and the striker's shot deflected off Alex Pearce before beating Stuart Pearce in to the bottom corner. Reading now sit seven points from safety after this defeat they can take some heart from.

Swansea 0-2 Arsenal: Arsenal move to four points behind Tottenham with a game in hand in the race for Champions League football. After hitting the woodwork on a numerous times in the first half, Arsenal couldn't break the deadlock until the 74th minute when Nacho Monreal scored his first for the Gunners; stroking the ball home after the ball had broke to him following a tackle on Olivier Giroud. The win was guaranteed in injury time when Aaron Ramsey played Gervinho through and the Ivorian easily slotted home under Michel Vorm.

Stoke 0-0 West Brom: Perhaps a real mid-table match where both teams know they'll be in the Premiership next year and that's it. The goalless draw was probably a typical one at The Britannia and one that sees Stoke ten points clear of relegation and West Brom and further ten points ahead of Stoke.   

Cisse Wins It For Newcastle, Gerrard Fires Liverpool Back In To European Contention

Liverpool 3-2 Tottenham: Liverpool move level on points with Everton and two behind Arsenal, both have a game in hand, in the race for European football. Tottenham miss the chance to close to within a point of Manchester City being the only team in the top five to play in the league this weekend. Who else but Luis Suarez was on hand to give Liverpool the lead after 22-minutes finishing off a great move between Philippe Coutinho and Jose Enrique. Tottenham equalised just before half-time with Jan Vertonghen heading home from a Gareth Bale cross. Spurs would then take the lead eight minutes in to the second half with Vertonghen again on the scoresheet after another Bale cross wasn't really cleared by Jamie Carragher. This time Liverpool had to find an equaliser and did so on 66-minutes, Stewart Downing benefiting from a loose back pass from Kyle Walker and the rest of the defensive failed to stop the winger, despite their comedic attempts. The winner came eight minutes from time when Benoit Assou-Ekotto fouled Suarez in the box. The iconic Steven Gerrard stepped up and sent Hugo Lloris the wrong way.

Newcastle 2-1 Stoke: Newcastle move level on point with Stoke and, more importantly, nine points clear of the drop zone thanks to an injury time winner. Stoke took the lead on 67-minutes when Cheick Tiote fouled Jon Walters in the box. Walters got up and took the penalty, clinically finishing it. Stoke's lead lasted five minutes though as Yohan Cabaye equalised with an exquisite free-kick in to the top corner. Sylvain Marveaux then played Papiss Cisse through in injury time and the Senegalese won the game for the Magpies.

QPR 3-1 Sunderland: Harry Redknapp's escape act is still well and truly on after beating Sunderland at Loftus Road. The win puts them level on points with Reading and now just four points from safety. It wasn't looking as good for QPR after 20-minutes as Steven Fletcher bagged his 11th goal of the season, scoring from a sucker punch counter-attack where Adam Johnson's ball across was touched in by the striker. Sunderland's lead only lasted ten minutes as QPR were level on the half hour mark; Andros Townsend's shot was blocked but fell in to the path of Loic Remy and the Frenchman made no mistake in scoring his third goal in five games. QPR went on to take a deserved lead with 20-minutes remaining; Townsend scoring a fantastic half-volley from 25-yards. The win was secured in injury time with Jermaine Jenas firing a spectacular shot in to the bottom corner from virtually the same spot as Townsend. The defeat for Sunderland edges them further in to the darkness, sitting unnervingly six points ahead of the bottom three.

Reading 1-2 Aston Villa: Villa move out of the bottom three after this crucial six-pointer. They move three points clear of safety with Wigan now having a game in hand, where a win would put them level again. Although this is a momentous blow for Reading, they're still just four points from avoiding the drop. Reading actually took the lead on 32-minutes when Jobi McAnuff's cross was missed by Nathan Baker but the ball came off his standing foot a bounced in to the empty net. Villa instantly equalised though when Andreas Weimann's pull-back was met by Christian Benteke whose deflected shot bamboozled Adam Federici and went in to the net. Villa won it in first half injury time when a lengthy passing spell saw the final cross defended poorly and Barry Bannan would hit the post before Gabriel Agbonlahor smashed it home. Reading had numerous chances to equalise but they couldn't force the ball home, when they did the flag was rightly up for offside.

Norwich 0-0 Southampton: Norwich are quietly becoming the goalless draw specialists, this being their fourth in their last eight games, they've also not scored in another two of those last eight. The point for Southampton does move them four points clear of the relegation zone. Both teams attacked quite well in the awful weather conditions but neither could find a killer touch. There was controversy in injury time when Grant Holt went down far too easily under Luke Shaw in the box. Mark Clattenburg took a long view at it and seemed to change his mind by pointing to the spot. This enraged the Southampton fans as it did look harsh but Holt's attempt was smartly saved by the heroic Artur Boruc. Norwich had waited a long time for their first penalty of the season, so it was a waste for Holt not to score it and it puts them nine points above the relegation zone, which should just about be enough.

West Brom 2-1 Swansea: Another Romelu Lukaku display enables West Brom to move three points clear of Swansea and two points behind Everton, who now have a game in hand, in the race for sixth. Swansea broke the deadlock on 33-minutes with Luke Moore scoring against his former club, heading home a Jonathan De Guzman corner to make it two in two for the striker. West Brom levelled five minutes before half-time with Lukaku scoring his 13th goal of the season, sliding the ball home from a low Graham Dorrans cross. West Brom were awarded a penalty in the second half but Lukaku's effort was saved by Michel Vorm. The winner came just after the hour mark when Angel Rangel's attempted clearing header from a corner hit De Guzman on the back and rebounded in to the net. Swansea thought they had equalised late on when Roland Lamah scored his first Swansea goal. But the goal was ruled out for offside when the ball actually came back to the striker from a defender and maybe shouldn't have been disallowed.    

City Re-Close Gap To-12

Aston Villa 0-1 Manchester City: City close the gap once again to 12-points with an extremely close win over Villa. The only goal of the game came crucially in first half injury time when Ciaran Clark was dispossessed by Edin Dzeko. The Bosnian ran through on goal before squaring to Carlos Tevez and the Argentine rounded Brad Guzan to slot home. The defeat for Villa keeps them in the bottom three on goal difference with two crucial games against Reading and QPR coming up. 

Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal: Spurs reclaim third spot after winning one of the most crucial North London derbies for a long time. The victory puts them seven points clear of Arsenal and step closer to finishing above them for the first time since 1995. Too high defending eight minutes before half-time allowed Gylfi Sigurdsson to slide the ball through for, who else, Gareth Bale to score his 16th goal of the season and become the first Welshman to do so in the Premiership. It was deja vu two minutes later as Scott Parker was able to play Aaron Lennon through the open defence and double the lead. Arsenal threatened a comeback when Per Mertesacker's header took a deflection from a corner six minutes into the second half. But Arsenal didn't find an equaliser and now slip five points behind Chelsea. The win means that Spurs have now been unbeaten in their last 12-league games, which is a record for them.

Southampton 1-2 QPR: In the battle of the birthday boys, Harry Redknapp managed to out fox Mauricio Pochettino to put QPR four points from safety. The deadlock was broken when Loic Remy scored for his second away game in a row on 14-minutes. Southampton were level in first half injury time when a Julio Cesar parry was pounced upon by Gaston Ramirez who cheekily chipped the rushing Cesar. The winner came 13-minutes from the end when Ji-Sung Park's cross was tapped home by Jay Bothroyd. Southampton remain three points clear of the relegation zone.

Manchester United 4-0 Norwich: With the hype all about Ryan Giggs making his 1000th senior appearance, there was a lot of disappointment to see the winger left out of the squad and rested for the game against Real Madrid. But United carried on without him and ended up easing to maintain their 12-point gap. United took the lead in first half injury time when Robin Van Persie's flick was tapped home by Shinji Kagawa. Norwich were the last team to beat United in the league and should have levelled before United took a 2-0 lead on 76-minutes when Wayne Rooney's pull back was coolly converted by Kagawa for his second of the game. The Japanese midfielder had only scored two goals for United before today and that soon became five when he scored his hat-trick three minutes before the end, exquisitely chipping Mark Bunn after a good move. But the best goal came in injury time with Rooney finding a fantastic dipping shot from 25-yards. Norwich remain eight points above the bottom three.

Wigan 0-4 Liverpool: A Luis Suarez hat-trick keeps Wigan just above the relegation on goal difference. Stewart Downing opened the scoring by heading home from a Philippe Coutinho cross after just two minutes. Suarez's first game came on 18-minutes when Coutinho slid the ball through to the Uruguayan to waited for Ali Al-Habsi to dive before slotting home. The third came 11-minutes before half-time when Suarez's deflected cross hit the post and went in. The hat-trick was completed four minutes into the second half when Glen Johnson played him through down the wing for Suarez to cut inside and finish between Al-Habsi's legs. The win keeps Liverpool in seventh and three points behind Everton.

Everton 3-1 Reading: Everton go two points behind Arsenal and five behind Chelsea in the race for Europe while Reading remain a point from safety. Marouane Fellaini headed Everton ahead from a Seamus Coleman cross three minutes before half-time. Steven Pienaar smashed Everton 2-0 in front with a great effort from 20-yards 14-minutes in to the second half. The points were sealed on 66-minutes when Kevin Mirallas played a neat one-two with Pienaar to cut the defence open for Mirallas to slot home. Reading managed to score a consolation six minutes before the end with Hal Robson-Kanu headed a cross home.

Sunderland 2-2 Fulham: Fulham remain three points ahead of Sunderland after a point at the Stadium of Light. The deadlock was broken after 16-minutes when Ashkan Dejagah was lightly tripped by Craig Gardner in the box. Dimitar Berbatov stepped up and nonchalantly converted into the bottom corner. It was 2-0 ten minutes before half-time when Dejagah's effort was parried in to the path of Sascha Riether to score his first Fulham goal. Sunderland pulled one back two minutes later when Philippe Senderos was adjudged to have fouled Gardner. Gardner then stepped up and also finished the spot-kick. The point was earned 20-minutes from the end when a counter attack, which started from a brilliant Simon Mignolet save, saw the ball end up coming back to Stephane Sessegnon on the edge of the box and the Frenchman slotted home. Sunderland remain six points clear of relegation with Fulham a further three points ahead.

Chelsea 1-0 West Brom: Chelsea remain fourth and two points behind Tottenham with a tight fought victory over West Brom. The only goal of the game came on 28-minutes when David Luiz beat Ben Foster in the air to head back for Demba Ba to tap home. West Brom are now well and truly looking like a settled, mid-table team on 40-points and away from the battles for Europe and relegation.

Stoke 0-1 West Ham: West Ham move level on points with Stoke with this victory in the Britannia. The winner came crucially in first half injury time when Jack Collison was played through by Ricardo Vaz Te for him to slot home. Both teams sit nine points above the relegation zone and still aren't totally safe with ten games remaining.

Swansea 1-0 Newcastle: The League Cup winners returned the league with a win over the in form Newcastle. The only goal of the game came five minutes before the end when poor defending from a cross saw the ball break loose for Luke Moore to finish from close range. The defeat sees Newcastle remain six points above the bottom three with Swansea hitting the magic 40-mark.      

City Keep Gap At 12, Sublime Cisse Helps Newcastle to Win

West Ham 2-3 Tottenham: Another game involving Spurs sees another Bale masterclass to put them third. The Welshman opened the scoring after just 13-minutes with a great finish into the bottom corner from outside the box. West Ham were level on 25-minutes when Scott Parker fouled Andy Carroll in the box, Carroll got up and took the penalty, slotting it home with ease. Both keepers had a fantastic game but West Ham turned it around to lead 13-minutes into the second half when Joe Cole controlled a Joey O'Brien cross before firing home. Hugo Lloris somehow prevented the Hammers from going 3-1 ahead and minutes later Gylfi Sigurdsson to finish off an undefended Bale free-kick. The winner came in injury time when Bale found himself in space 25-yards out and absolutely smashed it sublimely into the top corner. The defeat is probably harsh of West Ham who remain six points ahead of the relegation zone.

Manchester City 2-0 Chelsea: City remain 12-points behind Manchester United but, perhaps more importantly, move seven points ahead of Chelsea. Chelsea held off City during the first half and should have taken the lead when Demba Ba was brought down by Joe Hart. As the ball was going away from goal, Hart escaped getting a card and Frank Lampard stepped-up for his chance to score his 200th goal. But his fellow England team mate was up to the challenge and smartly saved it, five minutes into the second half. Chelsea were punished on 63-minutes when Yaya Toure was on hand to put City ahead. The points were wrapped up five minutes before half-time through Carlos Tevez. Chelsea now sit two points behind Tottenham in fourth place.

Newcastle 4-2 Southampton: Newcastle go three points ahead of Southampton and crucially six points clear of the relegation zone. The loss for Southampton means they still only sit three points above the bottom three. Every game that Morgan Schneiderlin has scored in this season, Southampton have lost, so when he put the Saints ahead after just three minutes there may have been a few nervous faces. The inevitable happened on 33-minutes when Moussa Sissoko levelled before Papiss Cisse produced a moment of magic to smash Newcastle in front three minutes from time. Southampton were level five minutes into the second half when Rickie Lambert netted 100th goal for Southampton. Danny Fox then conceded a penalty on 67-minutes for handling in the box. Yohan Cabaye stepped up and coolly converted to put Newcastle back in front. The win was secured 11-minutes before the end when Fox's clearance smashed into Jos Hooiveld and into the net, Hooiveld's third own goal of the season.

Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa: Arsenal move to within two points of Chelsea in the battle for fourth. The defeat for Villa sees them slip back into the bottom three on goal difference. Arsenal took the lead after just six minutes when Santi Cazorla scored his tenth goal of the season. Arsenal's bad week looked like it was going to continue when Villa broke and Andreas Weimann's shot went through Wojiech Sczcesny on 68-minutes, his tenth of the season, but the keeper should have done better. But Szczesny's blushes were spared five minutes from time when Nacho Monreal's pull back was slotted home by Cazorla. Next week's North London derby may be one of the biggest between Arsenal and Spurs in recent history.

QPR 0-2 Manchester United: United remain 12-points clear whereas QPR remain seven points from safety. It took 23-minutes for United to take the lead; Robin Van Persie smashed a low cross that was parried by Julio Cesar for Rafael to smash a 25-yard effort right into the top corner, just his fifth goal in 121-appearances. The bad news for United was that Van Persie was later substituted in the first half after a collision with a cameraman in which he hurt his back. The points were sealed ten minutes from time when Ryan Giggs scored his second Premier League goal in a row after Nani played a neat ball to beat the offside trap.

Reading 0-3 Wigan: Wigan move out of the relegation zone on goal difference after this colossal victory over fellow relegation candidates. The defeat for Reading isn't catastrophic as they still only sit a point behind Villa and Wigan. The visitors crucially took the in the final minute of normal time in the first half when Maynor Figueroa's header from an undefended corner hit Arouna Kone which diverted it into the net. Kone then made it 2-0 in injury time when Jean Beausejour found an exquisite ball to break the offside trap and the Ivorian cheekily chipped the diving Adam Federici. It became 3-0 just three minutes into the second half when a neat one-two between Franco Di Santo and Figueroa saw the latter finish coolly between Federici's legs. The mountain became too high to climb for Reading as the half had only been going ten minutes before Pavel Pogrebnyak was shown a straight red for a striker's lunge into the ankle of Figueroa.

Norwich 2-1 Everton: Two late goals from Norwich sees them move eight points clear of the bottom three. The defeat for Everton means they slip to five points behind Arsenal in sixth place. Everton took the lead six minutes before half-time when Leighton Baines' cross was headed home by Leon Osman. Norwich equalised when Kei Kamara headed a corner home for his first ever goal in England. Grant Holt then won the game with virtually the last kick when Kamara's header down was prodded home by the Norwich captain, his fifth of the season.

West Brom 2-1 Sunderland: Sunderland sit just five points clear of the relegation zone after another defeat. It was another Romelu Lukaku show which began ten minutes before half time when Craig Gardner was adjudged to have handled in the box. The young Belgian stepped and dispatched it down the middle. Lukaku then made it 2-0 when a poor back pass from Titus Bramble allowed him to get the run of Simon Mignolet. Mignolet did actually get to the ball first but his clearance smacked Lukaku and went in to the net with 15-minutes to play. Sunderland managed to pull one back four minutes later when Stephane Sessegnon's curling effort deflected off Jonas Olsson before going in. But West Brom held on to move up to seventh.

Fulham 1-0 Stoke: Fulham move to within a point of Stoke and eight points clear of safety after this close fought victory. The only goal of the game came in first half injury time when Dimitar Berbatov smashed a wonderful effort past Asmir Begovic. Stoke's best chance to equalise came ten minutes into the second half when Ashkan Dejagah handled in the area. Jon Walters stepped up and it would have found the bottom except for Mark Schwarzer guessing right and stopping the placed effort.

FA Cup Fifth (& Fourth) Round Results (Liverpool Thrash Swansea)

Manchester United 2-1 Reading: Two goals in three minutes help United progress to the quarter finals. Tumultuous second half pressure finally paid off on 69-minutes when first half substitute Nani fired home. United made it 2-0 three minutes later when Javier Hernandez managed to head home from a Tom Cleverley cross. United were made to sweat in the final ten minutes when sleepy defending saw Jobi McAnuff pull one back with nine minutes to play. But United held on to dump their third fellow Premier League side out of the tournament.

(Premiership) Liverpool 5-0 Swansea: Liverpool move ahead of Swansea after thrashing an under strength side. Only four players who beat QPR last week started at Anfield with Michael Laudrup setting his sights on the Capital One Cup final next week. The deadlock was broken nine minutes before half-time when Kemy Agustien tripped Luis Suarez from a corner. Steven Gerrard stepped up and converted despite Michel Vorm guessing right. Philippe Coutinho marked his debut with Liverpool's second just 16-minutes into the second half. A great piece of team play saw Jose Enrique play a one-two with Daniel Sturridge before the defender slotted home Liverpool's third on 50-minutes. The game was well and truly over six minutes later when Suarez finished off a pass from Stewart Downing. The rout was completed on 71-minutes when Wayne Routledge handled in the box and Sturridge this time stepped and converted with Vorm again guessing the right way. Liverpool are now nine points away from Tottenham in fourth place although everyone has a game in hand over them.

(Fourth Round) Chelsea 4-0 Brentford: Chelsea will now face Middlesbrough at the Riverside a week Wednesday after seeing off Brentford at the second attempt. It took nine minutes into the second half for Chelsea to take the lead through Juan Mata. Oscar finished off a lovely move to make it 2-0 on 68-minutes before Frank Lampard became Chelsea's highest goalscorer in the FA Cup with their third on 71-minutes. The rout was completed nine minutes from time when John Terry added his name to the scoresheet.

Huddersfield Town 1-4 Wigan Athletic: Wigan become the third Premiership side definitely in the quarter finals after avoiding an upset against Huddersfield. Callum McManaman put Wigan ahead just after the half hour mark before Arouna Kone doubled their lead five minutes before half time. James McArthur made it three 11-minutes into the second half before Lee Novak pulled one back on 62-minutes. Kone added the fourth in the final minute of normal time.

Manchester City 4-0 Leeds United: The 2011 winners ease themselves into the quarter finals after a much better display than that against Southampton last week. City took the lead after just five minutes when Yaya Toure scored after a couple of cutting one-twos. Sergio Aguero slightly refereed the game on the quarter of an hour mark when he stopped playing after believing to have been pulled back. Referee Mark Clattenburg agreed with him and pointed to the spot for the Argentine to slot home. Carlos Tevez made it 3-0 seven minutes into the second half before Aguero rounded it off with his second on 74-minutes.

Oldham Athletic 2-2 Everton: Oldham are at it again after dumping Liverpool out in the last round. Matt Smith scored two against the reds and scored the vital equaliser in the 94th minute to force a replay at Goodison. The dream was well and truly on when Jordan Obita put the League One side ahead after 13-minutes. The lead only lasted for 11-minutes when Victor Anichebe levelled. Everton looked to have it firmly in their grasp when Phil Jagielka headed Everton ahead three minutes into the second half. But Oldham came on strong in the last ten minutes and finally kept the dream alive with Smith's header in the depths of injury time.

Arsenal 0-1 Blackburn Rovers: After being knocked out by Bradford in the Capital One Cup this season, Arsenal have now been knocked out by Blackburn to become the eighth Premiership side to be ousted from the competition by a lower league opposition this season. Arsenal's biggest names were all on the bench and would watch Blackburn's only shot on target find the net courtesy of Colin Kazim-Richards on 72-minutes against the club he was briefly at as a boy. The cavalry did quickly emerge from the bench but couldn't prevent the Championship side from gaining this scalp.

Milton Keynes Dons 1-3 Barnsley: The 2007/08 semi-finalists are one game away from repeating that feat after overcoming their League One opposition. The Championship side took the lead after just three minutes through Chris Dagnall before Marlon Harewood made it 2-0 on 19-minutes. Dean Bowditch pulled a goal just after the hour mark and the prospect of 12-added minutes because of an injury looked to set up a tantalising finish. But Barnsley could breath after just a minute of the added time when Dagnall got his second to make it 3-1. Alan Smith was shown a red card in the 95th minute for a late attempted header which was perceived as a head-butt.

Luton Town 0-3 Millwall: Luton's magical run is over after succumbing to the Championship outfit. The 2004 runners-up have been in the news for the wrong reasons this week but this result gives them the headlines for the right reasons. James Henry took full advantage of a bad defensive error to give Millwall the lead on 12-minutes. On-loan Rob Hulse scored his first goal for the visitors nine minutes before half-time and Dany N'Guessan rounded the day off with the third four minutes from the end.