Skip to content

Premier League round-up

QPR are still without a win after losing to Southampton, Reading secured a first Premier League win and Arsenal won the North London derby.

Pressure mounts on Hughes; McDermott secures vital win

Queens Park Rangers are still without a win after losing at home to Southampton, Reading secured a first Premier League victory of the season and Arsenal won the North London derby. Manchester City were in rampant mood at home to Aston Villa to reclaim top spot in the table after rivals Manchester United suffered a surprise defeat at Norwich City, while Chelsea's domestic wobble continued after defeat at West Bromwich Albion. Liverpool enjoyed an ultimately convincing home win over Wigan Athletic as Newcastle United lost at home for the second time in a week after being beaten by Swansea City. Southampton won the battle of the Premier League's bottom two after beating Queens Park Rangers 3-1 at Loftus Road to pile the pressure on Mark Hughes. Woeful defending allowed Southampton to take the lead midway through the first half when Rickie Lambert headed home from about a yard out after QPR had wasted numerous chances to clear a corner. QPR were architects of their own downfall again on the stroke of half-time when failing to deal with the threat of Nathaniel Clyne, who fed Jason Puncheon to curl home left footed from the edge of the area. The hosts needed a fast start to the second half and got what they wanted when Junior Hoilett glanced home Adel Taarabt's cross on 49 minutes. QPR's defensive woe was summed up with seven minutes left when Adam Lallana fired in a low cross and Anton Ferdinand diverted the ball past goalkeeper Julio Cesar. Adam Le Fondre scored twice in the second half as Reading came from behind to beat Everton 2-1 at the Madejski Stadium to pick up a first three points of the season. A comedy of errors saw Everton go in front on 10 minutes when Steven Naismith tucked the ball home from inside the six-yard box after Reading had fluffed several opportunities to clear a long ball forward. Reading drew level six minutes into the second half when Nicky Shorey whipped in a cross which Adam Le Fondre headed into the top corner. Le Fondre then decisively put Reading ahead with 11 minutes to go when he drilled home from the penalty spot after the striker had been barged over by Everton full-back Seamus Coleman. Norwich stretched their unbeaten run to five games in the league after posting a shock 1-0 home success over previous leaders Manchester United. A resolute defensive performance from the Canaries was rewarded on the hour mark when Anthony Pilkington's looping header helped to knock United off their perch. Though United spent large parts of the game in Norwich's half, they rarely looked likely to conjure up an equaliser, with Sebastien Bassong's inadvertent header coming closest to beating John Ruddy. Arsenal ruthlessly took advantage of former striker Emmanuel Adebayor's red card to beat North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 5-2 at Emirates Stadium. Adebayor had given Spurs a dream start by scoring from close range on 10 minutes after Wojciech Szczesny had pushed out a shot, but the Arsenal old boy was sent off eight minutes later for a lunging challenge on Santi Cazorla. The Gunners equalised on 24 minutes through Per Mertesacker's header and took the lead three minutes before half-time when Lukas Podolski's shot ricocheted off ex-Arsenal defender William Gallas. There was still time for the home side to score again before the interval as Olivier Giroud finished low at the near post from Cazorla's cross. Cazorla got the goal his performance deserved on the hour mark when slotting home at the far post, but Spurs gave themselves hope of an unlikely comeback when Gareth Bale scored with 20 minutes to go. However, Arsenal put the seal on an emphatic victory in stoppage time when Theo Walcott scored to ensure Arsene Wenger's side jumped above their neighbours in the table. Manchester City extended their unbeaten start to the season with a dominant second-half display securing a 5-0 victory over struggling Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium. The champions had produced a scrappy first-half performance before making the breakthrough two minutes before half-time when David Silva lifted the ball home from close range after Villa had failed to clear a corner. City were then given a helping hand to forge clear as Andreas Weimann appeared to be harshly penalised for handball on 54 minutes and Aguero dispatched the spot-kick. Just 11 minutes later, another handball decision went City's way as Barry Bannan was penalised and this time Carlos Tevez made no mistake from the spot. Aguero helped himself to his second of the afternoon on 67 minutes as his low shot took a slight nick off a Villa defender and beat Brad Guzan at his near post. Tevez then emulated his fellow Argentine on 74 minutes when he tapped home at the far post following an excellent low cross from Samir Nasri. West Brom continued their excellent run of form at home after Steve Clarke masterminded a 2-1 victory over his former club Chelsea at The Hawthorns. West Brom were quickly out of the blocks and took a 10th minute lead when Shane Long headed home at the far post from James Morrison's pinpoint cross. Chelsea levelled on 39 minutes in similar circumstances as Cesar Azpilicueta's cross to the far post was met by Eden Hazard and the Belgian's header deflected in off Billy Jones. The Baggies were back in front five minutes after half-time when Long turned provider to cross for Peter Odemwingie to glance home a header at the near post. Luis Suarez helped himself to a brace as Liverpool perked up in the second half to overcome Wigan 3-0 at Anfield. After a poor first half, Liverpool hit the front two minutes into the second period when Raheem Sterling burst down the right and pulled the ball back for Suarez to finish emphatically. Suarez was similarly clinical on 58 minutes when he was played in by Jose Enrique before flicking the ball beyond the onrushing Ali Al Habsi. Sterling then had a hand in Liverpool's third goal on 65 minutes as his low shot was palmed out by Al Habsi and Enrique reacted quickest to turn home the loose ball. Swansea City climbed into the top half of the Premier League after holding on for a 2-1 triumph at Newcastle United. Swansea took the lead on 58 minutes when Pablo Hernandez seized on Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul's poor clearance before crossing for his fellow Spaniard, Michu, to powerfully head home. The points were made safe three minutes from time when Danny Graham's shot was parried by Krul into the path of Jonathan de Guzman, who fired high into the net. Demba Ba gave Newcastle late hope when nodding home after Sylvain Marveaux had struck the crossbar, but there was no time to force an equaliser.

Around Sky