Premier League review

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Darren Bent's 95th-minute leveller ensured Sunderland a point against Arsenal, whilst Dimitar Berbatov and Florent Malouda fired Manchester United and Chelsea to victory in another entertaining weekend of Premier League action.

Ten-man Arsenal were denied three valuable points at the Stadium of Light in the fifth minute of stoppage time as Darren Bent rescued a point for Sunderland. Arsenal went ahead through fluke circumstances; Cesc Fabregas chased down Anton Ferdinand who hit the ball against the Arsenal skipper and could only look on as it looped into the net. However Alex Song was dismissed for two bookable offences, and when Tomas Rosicky missed a penalty, it looked as if it would not be the Gunners' game - and those fears were confirmed when Bent stole in to stroke home his third goal of the season.

Meanwhile at Old Trafford, Manchester United left it late to beat Liverpool, with Dimitar Berbatov scoring a magnificent hat-trick. United had opened the scoring late in the first half when Berbatov found the net moments before half-time, but Sir Alex Ferguson's side soon found the tables had turned when Steven Gerrard scored a quick-fire brace to cancel out a second Berbatov goal. And just as it looked like United were about to surrender yet more points from a winning position, Berbatov popped up to complete his treble with five minutes remaining to give United a much-needed win.

Champions Chelsea continued their flawless start to the season with a 4-0 rout of Blackpool. It took only 71 seconds for the high-flying Blues to open the scoring; Salomon Kalou netting his fifth of the season before Florent Malouda fired home twice with conviction to extend Chelsea's lead. Didier Drogba - captaining the team due to John Terry's absence - also found the net in a convincing win. Carlo Ancelotti's side maintain their 100% record this season, and stretch their impregnable home record even further; now not having conceded at Stamford Bridge since March.

Everton came within a post's width of a late equaliser against Chris Hughton's Newcastle at Goodison Park, but David Moyes was left cursing his luck when Yakubu Aiyegbeni rattled the base of the post. The Toffees had fallen behind to a stunning goal from Hatem ben Arfa, but they might have found the chances of a recovery even greater had a blatant foul inside the area on Kevin Nolan not been missed by the officials. Everton languish in the bottom three and are still without a win this season - Moyes will hope the sort of character his team displayed against Manchester United last week will be on display once again sooner rather than later.

Another side looking for their first three-point haul of the campaign were West Ham United, who were without manager Avram Grant for their lunchtime visit to the Potteries to face Stoke City. Scott Parker gave them the perfect start when he bundled the ball home from close range, but Kenwyne Jones equalised and then was only denied by a brilliant Rob Green save as the two sides were locked in stalemate by full time.

Elsewhere, Aston Villa were held 1-1 at home by a resilient Bolton side, with Kevin Davies scoring his 100th career league goal. The hosts had taken the lead when Adam Bogdan was beaten by Ashley Young's free kick, but Davies capped off a brilliant flowing move to equalise and ensure a share of the spoils. Across town, West Bromwich Albion got the better of Alex McCleish's Birmingham City thanks to a Scott Dan own goal and strikes from Peter Odemwingie and Jonas Olsson. Cameron Jerome had earlier opened the scoring, but the Blues were beaten 3-1; their first loss of the campaign.

Clint Dempsey scored a second half equaliser for Fulham at Blackburn, as the two teams drew 1-1 at Ewood Park. The hosts had gone ahead contentiously when Chris Samba headed home despite a blatant foul on Mark Schwarzer in the Fulham goal in the build-up to the Rovers captain finding the net. Nevertheless, Dempsey beat the impressive Paul Robinson with a smart header to level the scores and continue Fulham's unbeaten start.

Manchester City returned to winning ways after taking just a point from their last two games, by inflicting another home defeat on Wigan. Carlos Tevez and Yaya Toure got the goals for the Eastlands outfit who move up to fourth in the table whilst Wigan dropped into the relegation places on goal difference due to Stoke's draw with West Ham. Though it is still only early days, Roberto Martinez will no doubt be concerned his team have mustered a solitary win from their first five matches.

At White Hart Lane, Tottenham came from behind with a three-goal salvo in just thirteen minutes to beat a spirited Wolverhampton Wanderers. The visitors from the Black Country had opened the scoring thanks to Steven Fletcher's goal on the stroke of half-time, but Rafael van der Vaart restored parity with a calmly taken penalty before Roman Pavlyuchenko and Alan Hutton sealed the win with two late strikes.

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Player of the weekend - Dimitar Berbatov. The sort of form Berbatov is now showing at Old Trafford may be long-overdue, but with Wayne Rooney out-of-sorts, Manchester United will be happy that their Bulgarian striker has found his confidence once again. His hat-trick - including a simply stunning overhead kick - was sublime and if he continues to show the same sort of form in front of goal throughout the season, the Bulgarian may be the man who fires United into contention for the title.

Team of the weekend - West Bromwich Albion. The Baggies were excellent in their 3-1 triumph over Birmingham; a victory that moves them up to tenth in the table and continues their excellent form at the Hawthorns this season. They found themselves unlucky to fall behind to their cross-city rivals, and Robert di Matteo's men showed great character to come back and secure three important points whilst playing free-flowing, entertaining football in the process.

Moan of the weekend - Shirt-pulling. It's become a permanent fixture in Premier League football - but when will referees start punishing it? Florent Malouda was denied a clear penalty when his shirt was tugged inside the area at Stamford Bridge, but when Didier Drogba brushed against a Blackpool player's shirt, not only was a free-kick given, but the Ivorian was given a yellow card! Some consistency - and the award of a penalty of two - wouldn't go amiss.

Goal of the weekend - Dimitar Berbatov (second). There were some excellent goals this weekend, with Villa Park seeing two of the best with Ashley Young's freekick and Bolton's wonderful team effort both classic in their execution. But the technique - and audacity - Berbatov showed was admirable and enough to make even his doubters applaud his effort.

Game of the weekend - Manchester United 3-2 Liverpool. Though the first thirty minutes was dour, the game eventually became an instant classic. Liverpool showed great character to come back from 2-0 down to level the match, but United were not to be undone and their excellent team performance in the end warranted the win.

[zolayes 14,489]

LAFF of the weekend .....Arsene Wenger ,,,,dignity and respect gone ....a pantomime figure on the touch line

[zolayes 14,489]

with regard to pool ..man u game ...Webb did not give a penalty it was assistants ruling ..

incidentally I think Joe Cole will get his wish ..possibly next season Stevie G will win his Championship medal YNWA