Saturday 27th February 2010
Manchester City surprisingly defeated nine-men Chelsea 4-2 at Stamford Bridge. After an uneventful first 40 minutes Frank Lampard gave Chelsea the lead in the 42nd minute from a superb Joe Cole pass. Manchester City hit back just before the break, as Carlos Tevez took on the Chelsea defence and his low effort trickled into the net.
City took the lead in the second half as Craig Bellamy ran at the Chelsea defence before firing past Hilario in the Chelsea goal. In the 75th minute City won a penalty in the pivotal moment of the game. Gareth Barry broke into the City box and outpaced Juliano Belletti, the Brazilian brought the City midfielder down and was shown a straight red card.
City striker Carlos Tevez stepped up calmly and scored from the spot. Chelsea were reduced to nine men as Michael Ballack received a second bookable offence for a poor challenge. City made it four just a few minutes later as Bellamy scored from close range after a good run from Shaun Wright-Phillips. Chelsea scored a consolation goal in the injury-time as Frank Lampard scored from the penalty spot.
Arsenal claimed all three points at Stoke City with a 3-1 victory. However the news that Aaron Ramsey had broken his leg in a challenge with Ryan Shawcross, soured the result for the Gunners. Stoke took the lead early on through a close range effort from Danny Pugh. The visitors were back on level terms in the 32nd minute, as striker Nicklas Bendtner headed home superbly past Thomas Sorensen.
Ryan Shawcross was dismissed for his awful tackle on Aaron Ramsey in 66th minute. Arsenal pressed Stoke and got their reward in injury as captain Cesc Fabregas gave them the lead from the spot. Defender Thomas Vermaelen added to their lead in the lengthy period of injury-time.
Troubled Portsmouth defeated Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor. Portsmouth took a deserved lead through French striker Frederic Piquionne after good play from Danny Webber. Burnley got back onto level terms through a superb lobbed effort from Martin Paterson from the edge of the area.
Portsmouth missed the chance to regain the lead with Jamie O'Hara's penalty saved by Brian Jensen. In the 76th minute Pompey had a second chance from the penalty spot to take the lead. This time they took advantage, midfielder Hassan Yebda rollling the ball home. Portsmouth were reduced to ten men late on when Ricardo Rocha received his second booking of the game.
Birmingham defeated struggling Wigan in controversial circumstances at St Andrews. Keith Fahey won a penalty kick after Mario Melchiot had allegedly brought down by the defender. Later replays showed their wasn't much contact between the pair. Birmingham took advantage through forward James McFadden from the penalty spot.
Bolton claimed three valuable points with a 1-0 victory over relegation rivals Wolves at the Reebok Stadium. The vital goal came just before half-time through a tap in from Zat Knight after superb play from winger Lee Chung-Yong. Wolves pressed Bolton for an equaliser but couldn't find a way pass their resolute defence.
Sunday 28th February 2010
Tottenham helped their claims for a Champions League place with a hard fought 2-1 victory over Everton. Tottenham took the lead through striker Roman Pavlyuchenko in the 11th from a Jermain Defoe cross. Despite Everton having a good spell Tottenham doubled their lead in the 28th minute. Croatian midfielder Luka Modric sent a superb chip over Tim Howard in the Everton goal.
In the second half Everton came out with more purpose and Nigerian striker Yakubu gave them a lifeline back into the game in the 55th minute from close range. Everton could and probably should have claim a point as on-loan American Landon Donovan missed a glorious chance. In the end though Tottenham held on for three crucial points.
Liverpool also strengthened their hopes of making the Champions League with a 2-1 victory over Blackburn at Anfield. The home side took the lead on 20 minutes as Steven Gerrard chipped the ball over Paul Robinson into the net. The visitors got back on level terms in the 40th minute, Keith Andrews scoring from the penalty spot after Jamie Carragher had handled in the penalty area. Liverpool regained the lead just before the break through a tap in from Fernando Torres after a mistake by Rovers keeper Paul Robinson. It was a crucial three points for the Merseysiders.
Sunderland and Fulham played out a goalless draw at the Stadium of Light. Sunderland had the better of possession but didn't make it count. Darren Bent and Bolo Zenden had good chances but failed to convert them. It was the Mackems 14th game with a win and leaves them deeply ensconced in the relegation battle.
