English Premier League

November 20, 2010: The race to the league cups boils now as Manchester United beat Wigan, Chelsea lost to Birmingham City and Arsenal lost the North London Derby to Tottenham Hotspur in an exciting day of football!

Arsenal 2-3 Tottenham Hotspur

In the big north London derby, Spurs came out tops as they came from behind to beat the Gunners by 3 goals to 2 at the Emirates. Arsenal went 2-0 ahead in only the first half with goals by arguably their player of the season Samir Nasri and the in-form Marouane Chamakh. In the second half, Spurs staged a magnanimous comeback and scored three goals, with Gareth Bale leading from the front and the other two scored by Rafael Van Der Vaart and Younes Kaboul. Arsenal dominated the first half with quick passing and a lot of possession and were rewarded in only the 8^th minute when Nasri scored from a tight angle after escaping from the clutches of Spurs keeper Gomes. In-form Chamakh scored his 9^th goal of the season in the 27^th minute when he turned in a cross by Andrey Arshavin. The tables turned in the second half when Gareth Bale scored a brilliant coolly taken goal from a cross by van der Vaart. The provider turned goal scorer in the 67^th minute from the penalty spot after Fabregas deliberately hand-balled a free kick in the penalty area. Spurs finally clinched it in the 85^th minute when Kaboul headed the ball in the goal from a van der Vaart free kick.

With this result, Arsenal lost the opportunity to leapfrog Chelsea to the first position in the league.

Manchester United 2-0 Wigan Athletic

United ran out easy 2-0 winners against a 9-man Wigan in a one sided match at Old Trafford. Wigan missed easy chances in the first half and were made to pay in the last minute of the first half when Patrice Evra scored his first goal in three and a half years with a forceful header from a Park Ji Sung cross. Wayne Rooney came on in the 57^th minute much to the delight of the home fans. Wigan skipper Alcaraz reduced Wigan to 10 men when he was shown the second yellow of the match due to a rash challenge on Darren Fletcher. Immediately after, Rodallega was shown a straight red for a two footed unnecessary challenge on Rafael. There was no hope for 9-man Wigan to come on terms after this major setback. United added insult to injury through a low and powerful Hernandez header in the 76^th minute of the match.

With this victory United are now level on points with leaders Chelsea, but with a lower goal difference.

Birmingham City 1-0 Chelsea

League leaders Chelsea suffered their second successive defeat for the first time in four years when they lost to Birmingham City by a goal to nil away from home in a shocking result. Birmingham goalkeeper Ben Foster had an excellent game which was crucial in his side’s victory. He made tremendous saves, as expected from one of England’s best upcoming goal keepers. The home side scored the solitary goal of the match in the 17^th minute through Lee Bowyer. Though the Blues kept up the pressure throughout the 90 minutes and were overall the more dominant side with 26 attempts on goal, they could not find a way through.

Post Match English Premier League Table

Chelsea remain on top of the league table, though only leading United by goal difference. Arsenal drop back into third place behind United. With a Saturday full of twists and turns, the Premier League race is blown wide open with the top two teams neck to neck. We can expect some more fireworks in the upcoming weeks with some crucial matches for the top teams!

Tags: Arsenal, Birmingham City, Chelsea, English Premier League, EPL, Football, Manchester United, North London Derby, Tottenham Hotspur, Wigan