Premier League review

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Goals from Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda maintained Chelsea's flawless start to the season whilst Darren Bent's 94th-minute penalty earned Sunderland a shock victory over Manchester City.

But the result of the weekend no doubt belongs to Wigan Athletic; shock victors in their clash with Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Saturday. The Latics - amongst the early relegation favourites - had been thrashed by Blackburn and Chelsea 4-0 and 6-0 respectively, but pulled off a monumental smash-and-grab against Harry Redknapp's high-flyers. The goalscorer was Hugo Rodallega, but Wigan's match-winner was goalkeeper Ali al Habsi who pulled off a string a magnificent saves to preserve the Latics' cleansheet and ensure a massive victory that might just have saved Roberto Martinez' job at the DW Stadium, for the time-being at least.

Nevertheless, Manchester City's defeat at the hands of Sunderland will no doubt raise a few eyebrows, with Roberto Mancini's side looking lethargic considering their lethal performance against Liverpool on Monday night. Carlos Tevez was guilty of a shockingly-bad miss before Darren Bent's last-minute penalty gave the Black Cats their first victory of the season.

Elsewhere, Bolton came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Alex McCleish's Birmingham City. The Blues had opened the scoring through Roger Johnson and Craig Gardner's third of the season seemed to have won the game for the second city team, especially with Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen sent off. But the Trotters pulled off a stunning recovery when Kevin Davies scored a penalty and Robbie Blake's inch-perfect free-kick beat Ben Foster to rescue a point in the most dramatic of fashions.

Arsenal beat Blackburn at Ewood Park 2-1 after Andrei Arshavin's second half strike. Theo Walcott had continued his good form after his hat-trick against Blackpool but Mame Diouf equalised after a superb run by El Hadji Diouf. Nevertheless, Arsene Wenger's side were not to be denied and Arshavin's composed finish earned the Gunners a deserved win.

Champions and early pace-setters Chelsea disposed of a resolute Stoke City 2-0 at Stamford Bridge thanks to goals from the in-form duo of Drogba and Malouda, though the West London outfit were given a tough time by the Potters. Frank Lampard had missed an early penalty and will require a hernia operation, whilst skipper John Terry limped off at full-time with a groin strain - both will miss England's Euro 2012 qualifiers during the international break.

Blackpool's first home fixture of the campaign was a thriller at Bloomfield Road as Dickson Etuhu's late leveller earned Fulham a deserved draw. The Cottagers had gone ahead when Bobby Zamora headed home from close range, but a John Painstil own goal and a Luke Varney strike had given the Tangerines the lead following a quick-fire turnaround. But Etuhu's composed finish was enough for Mark Hughes' side to continue their unbeaten start to the new campaign.

Andy Carroll's good form in front of goal continued as he levelled for Newcastle against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a competitive match at Molineux. Sylvain Ebanks-Blake had superbly fired home before half-time by Carroll's magnificent header - the English forward's fourth of the season - meant the spoils were rightfully shared.

After a disappointing Europa League exit, Aston Villa recorded a much-needed win over Everton at Villa Park thanks to Luke Young's early goal - but the Villa were indebted to their superb goalkeeper Brad Friedel, who pulled off a string of top-class saves to deny the Toffees an equalising goal.

Liverpool were similarly in need of a victory after suffering a 3-0 reverse at Manchester City, but they made tough work of a determined West Bromwich Albion side who had midfielder James Morrison sent off late on. Fernando Torres was the match-winner for the Merseyside outfit, who will look to build on their return to form after ensuring Europa League qualification on Thursday evening.

Avram Grant's nightmare start as West Ham manager looks set to go on as his side were totally outclassed by Manchester United. Wayne Rooney ended his 18-game goal drout with a clinically-dispatched penalty, whilst Luis Nani and Dimitar Berbatov both scored in emphatic fashion to continue the Red Devil's unbeaten start.

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Player of the weekend - Ali al Habsi. Theo Walcott's performance at Blackburn was once again superb and the masterly veteran duo of Paul Scholes and Brad Friedel deserve honourable mentions, but Wigan's goalkeeper was exceptional. Replacing the under-fire Chris Kirkland, al Habsi pulled off a number of brilliant saves, and recorded a fantastic clean sheet after the Latics had conceded 18 goals in their last three Premier League matches.

Team of the weekend - Wigan. An obvious choice, Wigan were collectively brilliant. Althought ultimately indebted to goalscorer Rodallega and the superb al Habsi, they defended superbly and in fairness created as many chances as their opponents. Wigan have established themselves as the enigma of the Premier League - after two morale-crushing losses, they go to play a team that were unbeaten at home in six months and pull off a victory no-one gave them a hope of achieving. Absolutely superb!

Moan of the weekend - Wayward finishing. Frank Lampard's poor penalty, Antolin Alcaraz's shocker from two yards, Sylvain Ebanks-Blake's header against the post from two yards and Carlos Tevez's Ronnie Rosenthal impression were just some of the embarrassing blunders from an incredible weekend of football - but unlike at the World Cup, the players can't blame the ball! Shooting practice, anyone?

Goal of the weekend - Luis Nani. The Portuguese winger was instrumental in United's win over West Ham and his goal was brilliantly crafted and emphatically finished. Wayne Rooney's instinctive flick still left Nani which much to do, but a fabulous dribble and rifled finish saw him ensure the points for Sir Alex Ferguson's men.

Game of the weekend - Blackpool 2-2 Fulham. A second successive 2-2 draw for Fulham will no doubt delight Mark Hughes as much as it did the watching supporters at Bloomfield Road and those watching on the television at home. Full of goals and excitement - including two disallowed Blackpool strikes - the magnificent atmosphere, brilliant goalkeeping by Messrs Stockdale and Gilks, and superb finishes courtesy of Etuhu and Varney made for a highly entertaining clash.