Aguero double keeps Man City top while rivals Man Utd thrash Fulham
Aston Villa 1-2
Marc Albrighton scored the 20,000th goal of the Barclays Premier League but could not prevent Aston Villa from suffering their second successive defeat, this time at the hands of Arsenal.
Robin van Persie netted his 34th Barclays Premier League goal of 2011 from the penalty spot in the 17th minute after Theo Walcott had been brought down in the box.
Midfielder Albrighton capitalised on a defensive mistake by Per Mertesacker to slot past Wojciech Szczesny for the historic goal in the 54th minute, but Gunners substitute Yossi Benayoun grabbed a late winner for the visitors three minutes from time.
Everton 1-0 Swansea
Everton secured their first victory in four matches courtesy of Leon Osman’s 60th-minute winner to overtake Swansea in the Barclays Premier League table.
Midfielder Osman converted Roysten Drenthe’s right-wing corner past in-form Swans goalkeeper Michel Vorm for the Toffees’ third victory at Goodison Park this season.
The defeat continued Swansea’s miserable Barclays Premier League record away from the Liberty Stadium – they have yet to win on their travels after five losses and three draws.
Fulham 0-5 Manchester United
Champions Manchester United turned on the style as they comprehensively thrashed Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Goals from Danny Welbeck, Nani and Ryan Giggs put the visitors 3-0 up at half-time before Wayne Rooney and substitute Dimitar Berbatov added two more goals in the final three minutes of the match.
However, United were forced to replace England international Phil Jones in the 20th minute when the defender required extensive treatment after sustaining a facial injury in a clash with Fulham striker Clint Dempsey.
Manchester City 3-0 Stoke
Two goals from Sergio Aguero ensured Manchester City maintained their two-point lead at the top of the Barclays Premier League following a confident home victory against Stoke.
The Argentina striker put the hosts in front in the 29th minute before Adam Johnson doubled the lead seven minutes later with a fine 25-yard strike.
And Aguero added his 15th of the season in the 54th minute when he slotted past Thomas Sorensen from eight yards after good work from Sami Nasri.
Newcastle 2-3 West Brom
An 85th-minute volley from Paul Scharner earned West Brom three vital points in a thrilling match against Newcastle at the Sports Direct Arena.
Peter Odemwingie put the visitors 1-0 up before Demba Ba equalised with a superb 20-yard free-kick in the 34th minute.
Gareth McAuley put the visitors back in front a minute before half-time but Ba levelled the scores in the 81st minute before Austrian Scharner volleyed the winner four minutes later.
QPR 2-3 Sunderland
A dramatic 89th-minute winner from Wes Brown saw Martin O’Neill clinch his second victory as Sunderland manager following an entertaining encounter against QPR at Loftus Road.
Nicklas Bendtner put the Black Cats in front before Stephane Sessegnon added a second in the 53rd minute.
But the hosts fought back with two goals in four minutes from Heidar Helguson and Jamie Mackie before Brown’s glancing header trickled past Paddy Kenny two minutes from full-time.
Wigan 0-0 Liverpool
A brilliant second-half penalty save by Ali Al-Habsi earned Wigan a valuable point after a home draw against Liverpool.
The Oman international pushed aside Charlie Adam’s well-struck spot-kick in the 51st minute after Gary Caldwell was adjudged to have handled the ball following Luis Suarez’s overhead kick.
Al-Habsi made a string of fine saves to deny the visitors while Hugo Rodallega went close to snatching all three points with a late header for Wigan.
from http://www.premierleague.com
