Premier League round-up

United in charge; Stoke climb; Villa and Gunners held; Pompey woe

By Rob Parrish   Last updated: 31st January 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Premier League round-up

Joy for Ronaldo

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Stoke 1 Man City 0
Arsenal 0 West Ham 0
Aston Villa 0 Wigan 0
Bolton 3 Tottenham 2
Fulham 3 Portsmouth 1
Hull 2 West Brom 2
Middlesbrough 0 Blackburn 0
Man Utd 1 Everton 0

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Manchester United moved five points clear at the top, Stoke lifted themselves out of the drop zone as Aston Villa and Arsenal were held.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot as the Premier League champions defeated Everton at Old Trafford.

Ten-man Stoke overcame the first-half dismissal of Rory Delap to snatch all three points against miserable Manchester City thanks to James Beattie's header.

Aston Villa could have moved into second place with victory over Wigan, but they were unable to find a way beyond Steve Bruce's battling Latics.

Arsenal were similarly frustrated in their London derby against West Ham at Emirates Stadium, missing the chance to close in on their rivals for a top-four finish.

Bolton allowed another 2-0 lead to slip away in their clash with Tottenham before snatching all three points thanks to a late winner from Kevin Davies.

Fulham increased Portsmouth's woes with a 3-1 victory at Craven Cottage, Hull and West Brom shared the points at the KC Stadium and Middlesbrough's home meeting with Blackburn ended in stalemate.

Turn the screw

Ronaldo's first-half penalty lifted Manchester United five points clear at the top of the table thanks to a 1-0 victory over Everton.

With Liverpool and Chelsea meeting on Sunday, Sir Alex Ferguson's side took the chance to turn the screw at the top.

Michael Carrick showed great skill to nutmeg Mikel Arteta on the edge of the box, with the Spaniard then flicking out a leg to bring down the midfielder.

Referee Mark Halsey pointed to the spot and Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to beat Tim Howard from 12 yards and bag his third goal in two games.

Edwin van der Sar secured his 12th successive Premier League clean sheet and broke the Football League record for not conceding a goal in the process.

January signing Beattie scored a priceless winner for 10-man Stoke as miserable Manchester City were beaten at the Britannia Stadium.

The Potters were at a numerical disadvantage from the 38th minute after Delap was shown a straight red card after clashing with Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Delap was angered by Wright-Phillips' challenge on Danny Pugh and responded by bringing down the winger and then kicking the ball at him from point-blank range as he lay on the turf.

The England international responded by kicking out at the Stoke man, but escaped without any punishment from referee Martin Atkinson.

Tony Pulis' men made light of their numerical disadvantage, with Beattie heading home superbly at the far post in added time at the end of the first half after Wayne Bridge misjudged Matthew Etherington's cross from the left.

Aston Villa missed the chance to move into second place in the table as battling Wigan grabbed a hard-earned point at Villa Park.

The Latics defended superbly throughout, producing three goalline clearances to keep Martin O'Neill's men at bay.

Maynor Figueroa was on hand to keep out an effort from Gabriel Agbonlahor, while Paul Scharner performed similar heroics to deny the returning John Carew.

Arsenal were frustrated by West Ham's resolute defence at the Emirates Stadium as Arsene Wenger's men missed the chance to close the gap on Villa.

Emmanuel Adebayor spurned Arsenal's best chance just after the hour mark when he slid the ball wide from close range after Bacary Sagna's ball from the right across the box.

Abou Diaby saw his header deflect off James Collins and onto the bar in the first period, but the Gunners could not break down Gianfranco Zola's men.

Striker Kevin Davies scored twice as Bolton survived throwing away a two-goal lead for the second time in four days to snatch victory against Tottenham.

Sebastien Puygrenier headed the hosts into the lead in the 31st minute, emerging from a mass of bodies in the box to glance home Mark Davies' well-delivered free-kick from the left corner of the area.

Kevin Davies doubled their advantage in the 64th minute, producing a superb finish across Carlo Cudicini and into the top corner after Gary Cahill's flick-on from the edge of the box.

But Spurs refused to buckle and two goals in the space of three minutes from half-time substitute Darren Bent dragged Harry Redknapp's men back on terms.

Bent, lambasted by Redknapp for missing a simple chance in the recent draw with Portsmouth, showed his prowess to slot home from close range after Pascal Chimbonda's cut-back.

And the former Charlton man was on target again in the 75th minute to level after Jussi Jaaskelainen could only parry Wilson Palacios' shot from the edge of the box.

But with just three minutes remaining Kevin Davies got his head to Matt Taylor's corner from the left with the Spurs defence and keeper Cudicini all at sea.

Pressure

Fulham increased the pressure on Portsmouth manager Tony Adams with a comfortable 3-1 victory at Craven Cottage.

Roy Hodgson's men went ahead in the 14th minute with Andy Johnson bursting clear after Clint Dempsey's through-ball and firing coolly beyond goalkeeper David James.

Pompey attempted to respond and saw Younes Kaboul head against the bar, while David Nugent felt he should have had a penalty after being brought down by John Pantsil.

But a defensive lapse allowed the Cottagers to stretch their lead as a simple ball over top from Simon Davies sent Erik Nevland racing clear from his own half and he calmly found the bottom corner

The same duo combined again for the third soon after, with Nevland allowed far too much time and space in the box after being found by Davies.

Nugent did pull one back for the visitors six minutes from time when he headed home Jermaine Pennant's free-kick.

Hull snapped their six-game losing streak but were forced to settle for a point after a four-goal thriller against bottom club West Brom.

The Tigers deservedly got their noses in front just before the interval when West Brom's attempts to play the offside trap failed miserably as Ian Ashbee's ball over the top released Bernard Mendy into space and he raced clear before rounding Scott Carson to score.

But the Baggies were back on terms early in the second period as James Morrison showed quick feet to trick his way into the box before Jay Simpson pounced on the ball and drilled home from eight yards out.

Hull were back in front in the 69th minute as Mendy turned provider, swinging over a great cross from the right with Craig Fagan diving to head home.

But the lead was short lived after Robert Koren was brought down by Kamil Zayatte and Chris Brunt stepped up to fire under Matt Duke.

Sam Allardyce remains unbeaten as Blackburn manager as Middlesbrough's run without a Premier League win was extended to 12 games.

The point does little for either side as they battle to beat the drop, with Rovers joining Boro in the bottom three after Stoke's win over Manchester City.

Jason Roberts missed the best chance of the match deep into added time with goalkeeper Brad Jones the hero for the hosts.

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