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On Saturday, eight matches of the 10th round of the English Premier League took place. Manchester United team took a crushing victory from Bolton, champions Chelsea dealt with newcomer Sheffield United, Liverpool defeated Aston Villa, Wigan snatched a victory against Fulham, Arsenal lost two points in a match against Everton, Portsmouth defeated Reading, while Tottenham vs. Watford and Newcastle vs. Charlton matches ended goalless.
The start of the 10th round of the English top championship began with a match in Sheffield, where Sheffield United met with defending champions Chelsea. The first dangerous chance was created in the 10th minute when Chelsea defender Frank Lampard's penalty shot was saved by Sheffield United goalkeeper Patrick Kenny. But 6 minutes later, the referee awarded a penalty when Didier Drogba illegally stopped Claude Davis.
Forward Danny Webber stood at the mark, but Chelsea goalkeeper predicted the trajectory of the ball shot into the bottom right corner. Later, both teams calmed down a bit and neither created more dangerous attacks. Only in the 41st minute, F. Lampard's header was saved by P. Kenny from close range. Moments later, the hosts' defender Mikele Leigertwood fouled F. Lampard. The English defender punished the opponents' goalkeeper P. Kenny with a precise and powerful penalty shot for the rough play.
At the start of the second half, the visitors, for the second time in this match, beat Sheffield United goalkeeper P. Kenny. In the 49th minute, after a high pass from F. Lampard from the left flank, German midfielder Michael Ballack headed the ball into the net from just a few meters. After the scored goal, the visitors further pressed their opponents. In the 52nd minute, F. Lampard's shot went wide, and a minute later, A. Robben's shot was blocked by P. Kenny.
However, in the 56th minute, Sheffield United goalkeeper Keith Gillespie had an opportunity, but his long-range shot flew over the crossbar. Ten minutes later, Chelsea responded with an attack when after Wayne Bridge's ball delivery, M. Ballack struck the ball from 10 meters above the goal. In the 71st minute, the best chance to equalize was missed by the hosts' forward Rob Hulse, who missed the goal with his head after Alan Quinn's pass.
At the end of the match, a penalty shot by A. Quinn of Sheffield United was inaccurate, and the final whistle from the referee signaled another victory for the Chelsea club, which remains in the second position, while Sheffield United also stays in 17th place.
Another interesting match took place in London, where newcomers from Liverpool, Everton, visited the new "Arsenal" club's "Emirates" stadium. The match, as expected, was more active from the home team, but it did not bear any fruits. However, in the 11th minute, an own goal into Arsenal's net was scored when after a corner kick from Mikel Arteta, Tim Cahill failed to kick the ball, but it bounced to his feet, and he sent it into the upper corner of Jens Lehmann's goal.
After a quick conceded goal, the "Gunners" attacked more and more fiercely. In the 13th minute, Tomas Rosicky played a wall pass with Thierry Henry, but the shot was over the goal. Four minutes later, the young team star Cesc Fabregas shot from a distance, but a bit imprecisely. In the 20th minute, after C. Fabregas's pass from afar, the team's attacking leader T. Henry struck powerfully, but his shot was deflected by Everton's goalkeeper Tim Howard.
All the initiative was with the home team, but they were unable to break through the excellently organized "Toffees" defense. In the 31st minute, luck was attempted by the home team defender Kolo Toure from a distance, but the ball was easily caught by T. Howard. At the end of the first half, Arsenal players attacked over the goal.
In the second half, Arsenal, without waiting, began to attack their opponents. In the 46th minute, after T. Rosicky's pass, T. Henry made a leap, but his shot, heading into the lower left corner of the goal, was parried by T. Howard with his fingertips. A minute later, a deceptive shot from Czech player T. Rosicky was directed a bit over the goal.
From the 56th minute, Arsenal simply overwhelmed Liverpool opponents. Matthieu Flamini missed two good opportunities. In the 59th minute, after Gilberto's pass, T. Rosicky shot from play, but the ball missed completely beside the goal. A minute later, after Alexander Hleb's pass, he shot powerfully, but again this time too, T. Howard guarded the goal impeccably. However, the attack continued. After Robin van Persie's header pass, the Brazilian Gilberto shot beside the goal. Four minutes later, William Gallas cracked the ball and his strong shot failed to land in the net.
But despite attacking and attacking, the home team finally scored the 69th minute. "Toffees" defender Lee Carsley illegally stopped the onrushing T. Rosicky. Dutchman R. van Persie took the penalty kick, and with a left-footed shot into the upper corner of the goal, finally beat T. Howard. While the goalkeeper guessed the direction of the ball's flight and managed to touch the ball, he could not stop it from landing in the net.
Inspired, that they could truly win three points and threatened "Toffees" goal even more. In the 71st minute, T. Henry's shot sailed beside the goal, after nine minutes, Gilberto failed to score. At the end of the match, eagerly seeking to snatch a victory, Arsenal players did not succeed. All hope was buried in the 90th minute, when after R. van Persie's pass, the inaccurate header by T. Henry proved futile.
Indeed, during the added time from the referee, the "Everton" head coach David Moyes had to leave the field as he copied the referee's watch glance. But this didn't help either team to share points in this match. Currently, "Arsenal" dropped to the 5th position, while "Everton" remains in 6th.
In other matches, Bolton's local team hosted league leaders Manchester United players. Already in the 3rd minute, Manchester United goalkeeper Ryan Giggs shot wide. Just two minutes later, United defender Patrice Evra's shot was saved by Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen. But the 10th minute saw the first goal of the match.
Michael Carrick passed the ball from the right flank to forward Wayne Rooney, who, recently celebrating his 21st birthday, after a very long break, beat Bolton goalkeeper with a left-footed shot into the lower left corner of the net. The visitors were determined and 6 minutes later again sent the ball into the "Trotters" goal. This time, England's young star W. Rooney hit the ball into the net for the second time.
In the 22nd minute, the hosts' veteran defender Gary Speed responded with an attack, but his shot was inaccurate. After five minutes, the "Red Devils" terrorized Bolton's defense, and R. Giggs, not stopping the ball, struck just to the side. A minute later, Louis Saha's shot from afar flew beside the goal. In the 33rd minute, Bolton defender Tal Ben Haim attempted luck from distance but missed the goal.
Four minutes later, after a corner kick by Bolton, El Hadji Diouf's header threatened danger from Abdoulaye Faye, but Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar fortunately saw the ball flying over the crossbar. Moments later, Nicolas Anelka also threatened Olanda's goal. In the 41st minute, the agile United winger R. Giggs again struck towards J. Jaaskelainen's goal, but once again, the Finn defended the goal reliably.
In the second half, the first opportunity was created by Bolton players when in the 49th minute N. Anelka's penalty shot flew over the crossbar. After this moment, the teams calmed down a bit and focused on the midfield. In the 69th minute, after R. Giggs' pass with his head, the ball was sent over the goal by L. Saha. A few moments later, from about 10 meters away, J. Jaaskelainen repelled another shot by L. Saha. In the 75th minute, one of the best opportunities came for the Bolton club when E. van der Sar saved Ivan Campo's shot.
In the 77th minute, Manchester United forward W. Rooney shot precisely but directly into J. Jaaskelainen's hands. And after three minutes, the third goal of the match came, when after L. Saha's pass, the ball was placed into the goal by C. Ronaldo. Trying to achieve a "hat-trick", the same W. Rooney, after a pass from Darren Fletcher from the right flank, sent the ball into the lower left corner of the goal, putting a dot in this match.
After this crushing victory, Manchester United retained their leader positions, while Bolton continues to walk in third.
In another match, the defense of "Liverpool" was tested against Martin O'Neillo’s Aston Villa, who were not familiar with losing. In the 5th minute, Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt struck over the goal. Four minutes later, without stopping the corner-kick from Luis Garcia, John Arne Riise struck from about 22 meters but missed.
DXfter a few moments, J. A. Riise tried his luck from further away, but the shot flew over the goal. In the 20th minute, team captain Steven Gerrard raised the corner kick towards the far goalpost, and the ball found the head of the tall Peter Crouch, but his shot was a bit inaccurate. In the 27th minute, a long shot by L. Garcia was flying beside the goal. However, just three minutes later, Liverpool reached their goal and scored the first goal.
After a high pass from Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia, the unopposed Dutchman Dirk Kuyt send the ball into the opponents' goal with his head. In the 37th minute, the second goal of the match fell when, after a Steve Finnan's pass, Peter Crouch put the ball into the lower right corner of the goal.
A few minutes later, the Reds even managed to score a third goal when, after P. Crouch's pass from the left flank, from just a few meters, Luis Garcia "shot" the ball into the goal of the Aston Villa goalkeeper.
In the second half, the Villa defender Wilfred Bouma's shot from distance went wide. In the 48th minute, a dangerous shot from Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, but the ball, once again, missed the goal. Two minutes later, S. Hyypia hit a shot without stopping the ball, and the ball flew over the goal.
After a few moments, S. Gerrard's shot was a bit inaccurate, and Xabi Alonso's shot was intercepted by T. Sorensen. However, the Aston Villa players managed to score a goal in the 55th minute when after a newcomer Chris Sutton’s pass from the right side, his shot to the upper left corner of the Liverpool goal beat Pepe Reina.
In the 59th minute, after S. Finnano's pass, D. Kuyt aimed imprecisely at the goal. Later, J. A. Riise and L. Garcia's shots flew beside the goal. In the 69th minute, a dangerous opportunity was created by Aston Villa when after a pass from S. Petrov, from just a few meters, C. Sutton headbutted, but was saved by P. Reina deflecting the shot with his fingers.
At the end of the match, a penalty kick was taken by Liverpool's X. Alonso, but his shot was grabbed by T. Sorensen. After three minutes, the visitors also responded after Dider Agathe's pass, team captain Gareth Barry struck, but P. Reina caught his shot. During the referee's added time, Liverpool could have increased their lead, but from a few meters away, Robbie Fowler missed, and D. Kuyt's distant shot failed to hit the target.
Now, Rafael Benitez's players rose to the 8th position with 14 points, while the Aston Villa team remains in the 7th place.
In another match, the battle for Premier League discoveries, Portsmouth and newcomers Reading, squared off. Here, the first goal was scored in the 7th minute when after Miguel Pedro Mendes' corner kick, Reading defender Brynjar Gunnarsson redirected the ball into his team's net. In the 51st minute, the home team doubled their lead when for the 7th time in the competition after a Solo Campbell's pass, veteran striker Nwankwo Kanu marked his second goal.
In the 65th minute, Pompey extended their lead by captain M. P. Mendes, who, without stopping the ball, from about 18 meters out, sent the ball into the lower right corner of the net. But Reading did not think to give up that easily, and in the 82nd minute, Kevin Doyle managed to soften the result. After this victory, Portsmouth moved up from 15th place to 13th, while Reading dropped from 8th to 10th.
In the next match, Fulham and Wigan met. The winner of this match was decided in the last minutes. In the 83rd minute, Wigan striker Henri Camara beat Fulham goalkeeper Antti Niemi with an accurate shot into the lower left corner of the goal.
However, Wigan could have won with a larger score when in the 74th minute, defender Zat Knight handled the ball in the penalty area. The Dutch goalkeeper Denny Landzaat struck powerfully, but his shot shook the Fulham goalposts. After this victory, Wigan moved from 15th place to 13th, while Fulham remained in the 9th place.
Concluding the matchday, another match between Tottenham and Watford ended undecided. The match ended in a goalless 0-0 draw. In the evening games, Newcastle met with the struggling Charlton. However, here too, no goal was scored within the 90 minutes, and the final result was 0-0.
Results of the English Premier League matches played on Saturday:
"Sheffield United" 0 - 2 "Chelsea" 43‘ [0 - 1] Frank Lampard 49‘ [0 - 2] Michael Ballack
"Arsenal" 1 - 1 "Everton" 11‘ [0 - 1] Tim Cahill 69‘ [1 - 1] Robin van Persie
"Bolton" 0 - 4 "Man Utd" 10‘ [0 - 1] Wayne Rooney 16‘ [0 - 2] Wayne Rooney 82‘ [0 - 3] Cristiano Ronaldo 89‘ [0 - 4] Wayne Rooney
"Liverpool" 3 - 1 "Aston Villa" 30‘ [1 - 0] Dirk Kuyt 37‘ [2 - 0] Peter Crouch 43‘ [3 - 0] Luis Garcia 55‘ [3 - 1] Gabriel Agbonlahor
"Portsmouth" 3 - 1 "Reading" 7‘ [1 - 0] Brynjar Gunnarsson (own goal) 51‘ [2 - 0] Nwankwo Kanu 65‘ [3 - 0] Miguel Pedro Mendes 82‘ [3 - 1] Kevin Doyle
"Fulham" 0 - 1 "Wigan" 83‘ [0 - 1] Henri Camara
74‘ Denny Landzaat ("Wigan") missed a 11-meter penalty
"Tottenham" 0 - 0 "Watford"
"Newcastle" 0 - 0 "Charlton"
Top scorers:
1. Nwankwo Kanu - 7 goals ("Portsmouth") 2. Andrew Johnson - 6 ("Everton") 3-4. Frank Lampard ("Chelsea") Tim Cahill ("Everton") Wayne Rooney ("Man Utd") Thierry Henry ("Arsenal") Didier Drogba ("Chelsea") Darren Bent ("Charlton") Bobby Zamora ("West Ham") - both with 5 goals 4-5. Kevin Doyle ("Reading") Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ("Man Utd") Robin van Persie ("Arsenal") - all with 4 goals
