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Today, as is usual in England, on the second day of Christmas, the tenth round of the 18th "Premier" league matches took place, during which there was no shortage of goals, tense moments, red cards, and all the favorites secured victories.
The match in London was particularly intense, where "Chelsea" after a fierce battle forced "Fulham" to surrender. In the evening London derby, "Chelsea" took the lead with a score of 2-0, and despite the opponents later equalizing the score, J. Mourinho's team increased their winning streak with a goal by the Argentine Hernan Crespo.
Another London team, "Arsenal," narrowly defeated the "Charlton" team away from home and ended a series of three losses in a row, moving up to seventh place. Jose Reyes scored the winning goal for the "Gunners."
The match in Wigan was also fiercely contested, where the local team continued their fine form by defeating "Man City" by one goal. Although the Manchester players took the lead initially, they later conceded four goals without reply. However, two late goals revived the hopes of the visitors and added intrigue, but the hosts held on and celebrated victory.
Three matches ended with the same score of 2-0: "Liverpool" defeated the "Newcastle" team and spoiled Michael Owen's return, "Tottenham" beat the underdog "Birmingham" team, and playing away from home, "Blackburn" forced "Middlesbrough" to surrender for the second time this week after Wednesday's cup match.
"Aston Villa" had the easiest match, crushing the struggling "Everton" players, who suffered a similar defeat last week against the "Bolton" team. Liverpool's players scored three of those goals within five minutes last week. Similarly, this time - two of them were scored within two minutes.
In the final round match, "Bolton" failed to win away against "Sunderland" and dropped to fifth place. The battle for the English championship is far from over this year; on the contrary, the next round will be played in just two days, approaching Wednesday, with another matchday awaiting the teams on New Year's Eve.
Saturday's Statistics
0 - 1
58` [0 - 1] Jose Antonio Reyes
72` Danny Murphy ("Charlton") sent off.
3 - 2
3` [1 - 0] William Gallas
24` [2 - 0] Frank Lampard
29` [2 - 1] Brian McBride
56` [2 - 2] Heidar Helguson
74` [3 - 2] Hernan Crespo
2 - 0
58` [1 - 0] Robbie Keane (pen.)
90` [2 - 0] Jermaine Defoe
66` Muzzy Izzet ("Birmingham") sent off.
2 - 0
14` [1 - 0] Steven Gerrard
44` [2 - 0] Shay Given (own goal)
66` Lee Bowyer ("Newcastle") sent off.
3 - 0
35` [1 - 0] Paul Scholes
45` [2 - 0] Rio Ferdinand
63` [3 - 0] Ruud van Nistelrooy
0 - 2
38` [0 - 1] Shefki Kuqi
79` [0 - 2] Shefki Kuqi
1 - 1
17` [1 - 0] Gary O'Neil
56` [1 - 1] James Collins
88` Laurent Robert ("Portsmouth") sent off.
0 - 0
4 - 3
3` [0 - 1] Antoine Sibierski
11` [1 - 1] Jason Roberts
23` [2 - 1] Lee McCulloch
45` [3 - 1] Jason Roberts
71` [4 - 1] Henri Camara
77` [4 - 2] Joey Barton
88` [4 - 3] Andy Cole
4 - 0
35` [1 - 0] Milan Baros
48` [2 - 0] Mark Delaney
82` [3 - 0] Juan Pablo Angel
84` [4 - 0] Milan Baros
Top Scorers
1. Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United) - 14 goals;
2. Frank Lampard (Chelsea) - 12;
3. Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Middlesbrough) - 10;
4-5. Darren Bent (Charlton Athletic) - 9;
4-5. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) - 9;
6-8. Andy Cole (Manchester City) - 8;
6-8. Marlon Harewood (West Ham United) - 8;
6-8. Thierry Henry (Arsenal) - 8.
League Table
