© EuroFootball.com
On Sunday, two more matches of the 23rd round were played in the English Premier League - Liverpool's Everton drew with Reading at home, and the determined Tottenham and Newcastle duel was unexpectedly won by the visitors.
2 - 3
14' [1 - 0] Jermaine Defoe
16' [1 - 1] Paul Huntington
54' [2 - 1] Dimitar Berbatov
72' [2 - 2] Obafemi Martins
74' [2 - 3] Nicky Butt
In the dramatic opening minutes of the match, Tottenham completely dominated Newcastle, and after several missed 100% chances, they ultimately succeeded - Steed Malbranque, during a quick attack, played the ball from the left side and sent it to the net from a few meters away by J.Defoe.
Although the goal seemed like a logical realization of the play advantage, moments later the scoreboard showed 1-1 - James Milner played the ball into the penalty area, and although the first shot by P.Huntington was accidentally blocked by his teammate Antoine Sibierski, the young defender didn't miss the second time and sent the ball between the legs of goalkeeper Paul Robinson.
After that, the game calmed down a bit and leveled, and emotions burst out when the referee signaled the end of the half. Tottenham players Pascal Chimbonda and D.Berbatov twice in a row prevented the opponent's goalkeeper Shay Given from clearing the ball, causing the Irishman's dissatisfaction.
However, this incident particularly upset P.Chimbonda and Newcastle defender Nicky Butt, who clashed in the middle of the field. The referee punished both of them with yellow cards, which Chimbonda, who roughly hit his opponent in the face with his hand, should especially be happy about.
The passions did not calm down, and on the way to the dressing rooms, the cameras captured unrest between the players there, but more serious disagreements or sanctions were avoided.
After the break, in the 54th minute, the hosts again surged forward - the same P.Chimbonda made an excellent run on the right flank and passed the ball to Teemu Tainio, whose shot was blocked by defender Nolberto Solano. However, Bulgarian D.Berbatov first reached the rebounded ball and for the second time forced S.Given to pull it from his goal.
After that, the London players regained the initiative and began to dominate, but soon paid dearly for their missed chances.
In the 72nd minute, a fantastic goal was scored by the Nigerian O.Martins, who played a wall pass with his teammate and unexpectedly sent it from about 18 meters into the helpless P.Robinson's goal.
But that was not all - just a few moments later, the same O.Martins accurately placed the ball into the penalty area where N.Butt was waiting and he shot it precisely into the corner of the goal, taking the visitors ahead.
As the match was ending, J.Defoe hit the crossbar from 16 meters, but Newcastle defended well and secured memorable three points.
1 - 1
27' [0 – 1] Joleon Lescott (o.g.)
81' [1 - 1] Andrew Johnson
Early in the match at the familiar Goodison Park stadium, Everton players, supported by the famous actor Sylvester Stallone, took the initiative, but struggled to get closer to the opponents' goal due to the crowded defense, making the game slow.
One of the few chances to score in the first half for the hosts was for Australian Tim Cahill, who returned to the field after a two-month break, but his close-range shot went straight to goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann.
And in the 27th minute, when the game became completely chaotic, the visitors unexpectedly surged forward - after a corner kick from the edge, Stephen Hunt headed the ball into the goal, which bounced off goalkeeper Tim Howard and defender J.Lescott before crossing the goal line.
However, the visitors' joy was overshadowed after a few minutes by the leg injury of their top scorer Kevin Doyle, which forced the striker to leave the field.
The second half started much more actively - initially T.Cahill and A.Johnson tested their luck with shots from 18 meters, and a little later after a substitution, Viktor Anichebe appeared on the field and headed the ball past the opponents' goalkeeper, but the ball was cleared off the goal line by Ibrahima Sonko.
In the 70th minute, A.Johnson missed again - after a precise pass from T.Cahill, the Englishman struck inaccurately from a jump and the ball flew well wide of the goal.
However, in the 81st minute, all efforts paid off - the same A.Johnson headed the ball to restore parity and secure a point for the hosts.
Standings
Top scorers:
1. Didier Drogba (Chelsea) 14 goals
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd) 13 goals
3. Robin van Persie (Arsenal) 10 goals
4. Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Middlesbrough) 10 goals
5. Kevin Doyle (Reading) 10 goals
