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On Sunday, two matches of the English Premier League championship took place. Aston Villa unexpectedly beat Newcastle United at home, while champions Chelsea comfortably defeated Blackburn away.
The first match took place in Birmingham, where Aston Villa clashed with Newcastle. The match started actively. Already in the 2nd minute, Luke Moore put Aston Villa ahead with a precise shot from about 16 meters into the far right corner of the goal, beating Newcastle's goalkeeper Shay Given.
After the missed goal, Newcastle intensified their game and launched two very dangerous attacks. In the 3rd minute, Nolberto Solano shot dangerously from a distance, but the ball flew over the goal. Just a few seconds later, James Milner struck powerfully with his right foot after a corner kick, but the ball went over the crossbar.
The game calmed down, and "Aston Villa" captain Gareth Barry and "Newcastle" foreign legionnaire Emre from Turkey were both shown yellow cards for rough play. In the 37th minute, Gabriel Agbonlahor broke through on the right flank and passed the ball into the penalty area for Juan Pablo Angel, who scored confidently from about 11 meters, beating S. Given for the second time.
Three minutes later, after a successful pass from G. Agbonlahor, he himself tried to score, but his shot from 16 meters missed the target. In the 44th minute, Newcastle's newcomer Damien Duff shot accurately with his left foot from about 18 meters, but Aston Villa's goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen reacted flawlessly. The first half ended with a score of 2-0 in favor of Aston Villa.
In the second half, the "Magpies" pressed their opponents. In the 51st minute, D. Duff tried his luck from a distance again, but once again T. Sorensen played superbly. At the end of the half, in the 74th minute, Aston Villa's player Steven Davis posed a threat, but his shot from 18 meters missed the target and was easily caught by C. Given. In the 90th minute, Luke Moore's shot from about 10 meters shook the crossbar of Newcastle's goal. This was the last attack of the match, after which the referee declared a relatively easy victory for Aston Villa.
Later, at Blackburn's home stadium, the local Blackburn met face to face with the defending champions Chelsea. As expected, the champions took the initiative from the first minutes and started to create dangerous attacks. The 1st minute saw a long-range shot from Michael Essien that went over the crossbar. In the 6th minute, after a mistake by Ricardo Carvalho, Robbie Savage missed an opportunity - his shot from 18 meters flew over the crossbar.
Two minutes later, there was danger at Blackburn's goal. Michael Ballack's long shot was powerful, but it was caught without any problems by Brad Friedel. Three minutes later, M. Essien again threatened the opponent's goal. His shot with his left foot to the right corner of the goal was slightly off target. In the 16th minute, a corner was taken by Blackburn defender David Bentley, but Morten Gamst Pederson's header from 10 meters flew over the goal.
In the 21st minute, D. Bentley took a long shot, but the ball flew over the crossbar once again. In the 25th minute, Chelsea's newcomer Andriy Shevchenko shot wide of the goal, and in the 36th minute, his shot ended up in B. Friedel's hands. At the end of the first half, Salomon Kalou's shot from 22 meters posed no problems for Blackburn's goalkeeper. The players went to rest with a 0-0 score.
The first goal of the match came at the very beginning of the second half. In the 47th minute, Blackburn's newcomer Andre Ooijer fouled Frank Lampard in the penalty area, and the referee awarded a penalty kick. The Englishman himself took the kick and sent the ball to the upper left corner of the goal, putting Chelsea ahead.
In the 54th minute, Benni McCarthy tried to equalize the score, but his shot was blocked by Petr Cech. In the 54th and 55th minutes, D. Bentley and B. McCarthy had shots, but P. Cech acted as an impenetrable wall. In the 72nd minute, D. Bentley crossed the ball towards the near post, but A. Ooijer's shot from just a few meters flew over the goal.
Meanwhile, Didier Drogba spoke up in the 80th minute, breaking the silence of the whole match. The Ivorian striker fired a shot from about 10 meters into the center, beating Blackburn's goalkeeper B. Friedel for the second time. In the 82nd minute, there was a dangerous penalty shot by D. Bentley, and a minute later the same player nearly punished P. Cech from a distance, but the ball flew past the post.
That was all Blackburn could do in the final minutes of the match. Chelsea redeemed themselves in front of all the fans after a disgraceful loss to Middlesbrough.
Statistics of the matches held on Sunday:
"Aston Villa" 2 – 0 "Newcastle" 2‘ [1 – 0] Luke Morre 37‘ [2 – 0]Juan Pablo Angel
"Blackburn" 0 – 2 "Chelsea" 47‘ [0 – 1] Frank Lampard (11m penalty) 80‘ [0 – 2] Didier Drogba
Tournament table
