Premier League 16 january

Wigan   0 - 1   Man City

Edin Dzeko's header saw Manchester City beat Wigan to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to three points over Manchester United.

Manchester City have won all nine Premier League games Dzeko has scored in

The Bosnian leapt to deftly flick home David Silva's free-kick from the left midway through the first half.

Ali Al Habsi then denied Dzeko a second with a fine save before matching it by keeping out Silva's follow-up shot.

But, although James McArthur and James McCarthy had good chances, the hosts could not find a way past Joe Hart.

City could have made the game safe, with Dzeko's deflected effort again saved and Sergio Aguero shooting wide from 12 yards late on.

There was a moment of late controversy when Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa escaped with a yellow card after handling the ball on the halfway line to stop Aguero racing clear.

But City will be grateful for a hard-fought victory, their first away from home since beating QPR on 5 November and a return to winning ways after consecutive cup defeats.

While Wigan defended compactly, they could not contain their high-scoring opponents, who, in 21 games, are now on 57 goals, just three short of the total number they scored last season.

Defeat for Roberto Martinez's team means that they remain at the bottom of the table, continuing a miserable run of form at home, where they have not won in the league since August.

With Silva back in the side following an ankle injury, City had a good rhythm to their passing as they probed throughout the first half.

They suffered an early scare when, in a frantic passage, Hugo Rodallega could not capitalise on Joleon Lescott's error, Gareth Barry nudged over Jordi Gomez in the penalty area to wild appeals and McArthur's shot was deflected wide.

But, once they rode that storm, Silva proved his worth by floating into space and, although several moves broke down, the visitors were dominating possession.

Dzeko flashed a header wide from Gael Clichy's cross but that the lead came from a set-piece showed how hard Martinez's team were working with their five-man defence.

It took a fine jump by Dzeko to turn in Silva's free-kick, after the Bosnian had been tripped, and the striker's 14th goal of the season settled the visitors down.

Wigan did have their moments on the break with Victor Moses, playing behind Rodallega, firing over and McArthur testing Hart, although when City committed men to attack they were quick to counter and Al Habsi saved well from Aguero before half-time.

Despite their poor home record, the hosts had already drawn with Liverpool and Chelsea at the DW Stadium this season and they started the second period brightly, but only Al Habsi will know how he prevented City doubling their lead soon after the break.

The Oman keeper made a superb double stop to deny Dzeko, then Silva, and when Aguero dribbled his way into the six-yard box both the Argentine and Dzeko failed to make proper contact and the chance was spurned.

While Wigan were hanging on they always posed a threat, with Jordi Gomez impressive in midfield. And they were a toe's width from equalising when Rodallega put McCarthy through, his left-footed shot being well thwarted by England keeper Hart, who ensured his ninth Premier League clean sheet of the campaign.

Substitutes Ben Watson and Franco di Santo added some extra zeal to Wigan's play, although City had the better chances towards the end, Dzeko and Aguero both failing to take advantage of good opportunities.

City's fans were spitting mad when Figueroa only received a yellow card when, with Aguero on his shoulder, he handled the ball on the halfway line late on to stop another City counter-attack.

But, on a freezing night, City boss Roberto Mancini will be content to send his team's fans home with a victory which is evidence that, after a small blip, they have again warmed to their title challenge.

Source: BBC Sport

Swansea City 3 - 2 Arsenal

Golden Graham seals famous victory

Danny Graham struck the winner as Swansea claimed the first major scalp of their maiden Premier League campaign with a thrilling victory over Arsenal at the Liberty Stadium.

The Gunners had silenced the home support by taking an early lead through captain Robin van Persie, but Scott Sinclair levelled from the penalty spot for Welsh side.

Nathan Dyer then fired Swansea ahead before Theo Walcott equalised, but Arsenal paid the price for a loss of concentration as Graham ran in to slot his ninth goal of the season less than a minute later to move the Swans up to 10th in the table.

Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers had called on England manager Fabio Capello to visit south Wales to watch his side in action, with Dyer and Sinclair having been linked with a call up to the national squad, and with the Italian in attendance the duo could not have done much more to enhance their aspirations in an enthralling encounter.

But there had been little hint of the drama to come when Arsenal took a fifth-minute lead.

Arsene Wenger had recalled Van Persie to his side after his recent extended break, and it did not take the Dutchman long to get back in the swing of things.

Andrey Arshavin's pass carved Swansea apart, and the striker made no mistake as he checked before firing past Steven Caulker and goalkeeper Michel Vorm from a tight angle for his 22nd goal of the season.

The breakthrough initially knocked the wind out of Swansea's sails - but they were level after 16 minutes.

After sharp play down the left by the excellent Joe Allen, Dyer went down under Aaron Ramsey's challenge for referee Michael Oliver to award what looked a soft penalty. Sinclair converted into Wojciech Szczesny's left-hand corner to maintain his 100% record from the spot this term.

The game was living up to predictions of an entertaining contest and the Gunners could have re-established their lead just two minutes later as Ramsey skipped past Vorm and pulled the ball across the six-yard box, only for a fortunate ricochet off Angel Rangel to land in the keeper's arms.

The visitors continued to carve out the clearer chances, and Van Persie should have done better when played in just before the half-hour mark.

Swansea captain Ashley Williams was caught hopelessly upfield after Leon Britton had been dispossessed by Yossi Benayoun, the Israeli's pass found his Dutch team-mate in acres of space but Vorm stood up well to repel his right-footed shot.

Arsenal could have mirrored their first half start but failed to make the most of two presentable chances in the opening moments of the second period.

Walcott blazed over after being located down the right channel by Van Persie, while Arshavin was equally wasteful after being teed up in space on the edge of the box.

But there was no let such let off at the other end when Dyer put Swansea ahead after 57 minutes.

Ramsey was easily robbed by Wales team-mate Allen and the midfielder picked out Dyer for the winger to shoot high into the net and give Swansea a merited lead.

Wenger had seen enough and Thierry Henry was sprung from the bench along with Tomas Rosicky as the ineffectual Arshavin and Benayoun made way.

Swansea were having their best spell of the game but they were made to pay for a poor lapse in defence as Johan Djourou's pass split Neil Taylor and Williams for Walcott to clip the ball over Vorm and level after 69 minutes.

But the parity lasted less than a minute as substitute Gylfi Sigurdsson's pass saw Graham race in and make the most of Szczesny's hesitancy in advancing from his line to put Swansea back in front.

Per Mertesacker should have levelled barely two minutes later but the German defender horribly scuffed his effort wide, then Ramsey aimed his bullet header from Walcott's cross straight at Vorm as Arsenal threw numbers forward.

The Gunners' last chance came when Rosicky drove to the edge of the Swansea box and forced Vorm to beat out his drive before gathering Laurent Koscielny's follow-up as the home side held out to spark delirious celebrations at the final whistle.

Source: ESPN

Premier League - January 2012

Wolves 1-2 Chelsea: Frank Lampard winner caps dramatic finale to give Andre Villas-Boas first victory in five games

Blues net late winner to bounce back from defeat at Stamford Bridge on Saturday after Stephen Ward cancelled out Ramires' 54th minute strike at Molineux

Chelsea bounced back from defeat at the weekend with a 2-1 victory against Wolves at Molineux thanks to goals from Ramires and Frank Lampard while Stephen Ward netted for the home side.

The Blues should taken the lead in the eighth minute through Mata when he was put through by Torres but the former Valencia man could not get decent contact on the ball and the chance was spurned.  

Andre Villas-Boas’ side were looking confident going forward and began to click into gear as Lampard and Torres played a lovely one-two to put the England man through on goal only for him to be denied by excellent defensive work from Christophe Berra and Richard Stearman.

Again the Blues threatened the Wolves goal moments later when Ramires was released by Mata down the right. The Brazil international beat his man before firing a powerful effort at goal, which crept just wide of the post.

Despite Chelsea’s dominance it was Wolves that came closest to breaking the deadlock when Roger Johnson headed Adam Hammill’s pinpoint free kick against the post with Petr Cech beaten, as the defender rose unmarked at the back-post.

The home side should have taken the lead seconds later when Hammill lifted the ball into the area and this time Ward rose unmarked in the six-yard box but he could only head his effort wide of Cech’s goal.  

Chelsea looked to be taken aback by the home side's near misses but got back into their passing game before the end of the half as Lampard and Jose Bosingwa tested the handling ability of Wayne Hennessey with powerful efforts which the Welshman was equal to.

Wolves had an excellent opportunity to open the scoring at the start of the second half but Hammill’s volley, from substitute Matt Jarvis’ cross, was brilliantly blocked by John Terry as the ball looked to heading for the net.

Chelsea responded to this threat straight away by taking the lead in the 54th minute through Ramires as blasted a right-footed shot into the top corner following the home side’s failure to clear a Mata corner.

The Blues took the pace out of the game after getting their goal to frustrate the hosts and the crowd inside Molineux with controlled passing to preserve their lead and stop Mick McCarthy’s side from building any attacking momentum.

The home side nearly got back into the game through Edwards who got behind the Chelsea defence and latched onto Henry’s ball over the top but couldn’t loop his header over Cech who made a comfortable save.

Chelsea tried to get a second goal to give them a cushion but couldn’t break through a stubborn Wolves rearguard action.

The visitors were to pay when Ward volleyed in an equaliser from close range beating Cech after latching onto sub Steven Fletcher’s knockdown from Hammill’s cross into the area to the fury of Villas-Boas on the sidelines.

However, Chelsea picked themselves up straight away and regained the lead through Lampard who tapped in from six-yards converting Ashley Cole’s cross and good link-up play between the left-back and Torres.

Doyle nearly grabbed a late point for the home-side in the dying seconds but was denied by an excellent save by Cech to give the visitors a much needed win and to save Villas-Boas’ blushes.

Fulham 2-1 Arsenal: Late Sidwell & Zamora strikes punish Djourou red card as Gunners collapse in final five minutes

Cottagers earn emphatic win after late goals steal all three points in entertaining affair, after Laurent Koscielny had opened the scoring for the Gunners with first-half effort

Fulham remarkably stole all three points from Arsenal at Craven Cottage, ending up 2-1 winners of a thrilling Premier League affair.

The Gunners had the run of the opening 45 minutes, with Laurent Koscielny validating their dominance after he powered home a header when totally unmarked in front of goal.

Fulham reversed the pattern in the second half, desperately searching for an equaliser. Bobby Zamora, Philippe Senderos and Bryan Ruiz, amongst others, failed to put the ball in the back of the net, before Steve Sidwell finally nodded home five minutes from time.

With the clock seemingly ran out, Zamora netted the winner in the last minute of stoppage time to earn his team all three points.

Arsene Wenger made two changes from the side that beat QPR 1-0 at the weekend, as Francis Coquelin came in to replace the injured Thomas Vermaelen, while Gervinho was recalled ahead of Andrey Arshavin.

Orlando Sa had to make do with a place on the bench for Fulham after his goalscoring exploits against Norwich, as Martin Jol opted to bring Zamora back into the fray after the striker recovered from an Achilles problem. Sidwell was also handed a start to bolster the midfield.

Arsenal enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges, with Aaron Ramsey testing Mark Schwarzer from the edge of the box, before Gervinho wildly volleyed over after a corner found him in solitude at the far post.

John Arne Riise then should have perhaps found the lurking Zamora with his whipped first time cross after being slotted in down the left.

The deadlock was broken in the 20th minute when Ramsey’s deflected cross from the left-side of the box found Koscielny totally unmarked and the centre-half nodded home.

Moments later the lead should have been doubled, as the ball pinballed around the penalty area, with Gervinho and Ramsey both failing to send it over the line.

  Gunned down | Arsenal were unable to hold onto Laurent Koscielny's opener

As the home side pushed for an equaliser, Ruiz went close with a mazy dribble and slotted finish that went just wide before tumbling to no avail in the box under a challenge from Alex Song.

Theo Walcott and Ramsey were both guilty of spurning chances from just outside the area for the Gunners before the referee blew for the interval.

Ruiz rifled into the arms of Wojciech Szczesny as the teams re-emerged, and Fulham started in a mood that suggested they would take the game to their visitors.

Genuine chances on goal came few and far between for either team though, with the flowing nature of the first half being replaced by a more fragmented game punctuated by niggling fouls and breaks in play.

Sidwell fizzed an effort just over the bar from 30 yards out on the hour mark before Clint Dempsey skewed one wide when he would have hoped to test Szczesny.

Danny Murphy’s freekick saw the Arsenal keeper come rashly off his line and if Philippe Senderos could have directed on target, the ex-Gunner would have drawn the Cottagers level.

It was all Fulham by this point and Dempsey powered over Per Mertesacker to send Ruiz’s delightfully dug-out cross fractionally wide of the upright.

Ruiz looked certain to slam home the equaliser when the ball dropped to him 10 yards out, though the Costa Rican could only fire his effort into the legs of Szczesny.

Johan Djourou then received his marching orders after earning a second yellow by hauling down Zamora when he was through on goal. From the resulting free-kick, right on the edge of the box, Stephen Kelly could only hit the wall.

With five minutes to go, Fulham finally got the goal they long deserved, with Szczesny only able to palm a corner onto the head of Senderos, who looped the ball back in for Sidwell to power home from a couple of yards out.

Remarkably, with just one minute of stoppage time remaining, substitute Sebastien Squillaci's skewed clearance dropped to Zamora six yards out and his scuffed, left-footed volley wrong-footed Szczesny at the near post to send all three points to Fulham.

Source: goal.com

Results from today matches

Wolves 1 - 2 Chelsea

Aston Villa 0 - 2 Swansea City

Blackburn 1 - 2 Stoke City

QPR 1 - 2 Norwich City

Fulham 2 - 1 Arsenal