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During the XXXI round matches of the English Premier League played on Saturday, the leaders of the tournament table, "Man Utd", defeated London's "West Ham" 2-4 away in the second half after Wayne Rooney's benefit match.
The hosts gained a solid advantage at the beginning of the match after two converted penalties by Mark Noble and it seemed like a repeat of the League Cup quarterfinal scenario could happen, when 'the hammers' crushed their opponents 4-0 in front of their own fans.
The 'Red Devils' launched an attack to prevent a repeat of the history from 3 months ago at the "Upton Park" stadium, and they succeeded - Rooney's penalty kick decreased the gap, a shot from about 14 meters equalized the game, and by converting a penalty kick, they took the lead.
Within 14 minutes, "Man Utd" reversed the result to their advantage when Javier Hernandez scored the fourth goal for the team.
In other matches, London clubs "Chelsea", "Tottenham", and "Arsenal" were forced to settle for one point, while "Liverpool" lost 2-1 away to "W.B.A.".
The match between Liverpool's "Everton" and Birmingham's "Aston Villa" ended in a 2-2 draw.
Results:
London's "West Ham" 2 - 4 "Man Utd" 11' [1 - 0] M. Noble (penalty) 25' [2 - 0] M. Noble (penalty) 65' [2 - 1] W. Rooney 73' [2 - 2] W. Rooney 79' [2 - 3] W. Rooney (penalty) 84' [2 - 4] J. Hernandez
"Birmingham" 2 - 1 "Bolton" 4' [1 - 0] K. Phillips 59' [2 - 0] C. Gardner 70' [2 - 1] J. Elmander
Liverpool's "Everton" 2 - 2 Birmingham's "Aston Villa" 38' [1 - 0] L. Osman 47' [1 - 1] D. Bent 68' [1 - 2] D. Bent 83' [2 - 2] L. Baines (penalty)
"Newcastle" 4 - 1 "Wolves" 22' [1 - 0] K. Nolan 45' [2 - 0] S. Ameobi 50' [3 - 0] P. Lovenkrands 58' [3 - 1] S. Ebanks-Blake 90' [4 - 1] J. Gutierrez
"Stoke" 1 - 1 London's "Chelsea" 8' [1 - 0] J. Walters 33' [1 - 1] D. Drogba
"W.B.A." 2 - 1 "Liverpool" 50' [0 - 1] M. Skrtel 62' [1 - 1] C. Brunt (penalty) 89' [2 - 1] C. Brunt (penalty)
"Wigan" 0 - 0 London's "Tottenham"
London's "Arsenal" 0 - 0 "Blackburn" 76' S. N'Zonzi ("Blackburn") sent off the field
