Newcastle, England – Moussa Sissoko netted two goals in his debut for Newcastle, including the match-winner in stoppage time as the Magpies earned their second consecutive victory with a thrilling 3-2 win over Chelsea on Saturday at St. James' Park.
The hosts opened the scoring four minutes from the break when Davide Santon took down a pass out wide on the left wing and fired a soaring right-footed cross into the penalty area, where Jonas Gutierrez got his head to it and nodded it past Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech for his first league goal this campaign.
But the European champions equalized 10 minutes after the interval when Frank Lampard used some fancy footwork to elude defenders before ripping a rising, right-footed bomb into the top portion of the net, leaving Magpies goalkeeper Tim Krul with no chance for a save.
Juan Mata gave the Blues the lead in the 61st minute with a powerful strike from outside the box, but Sissoko tied it up for Newcastle just seven minutes later when he jumped on a rebound from a Yoan Gouffran shot and slotted it past an out-of-position Cech.
Sissoko sealed the result for the new-look Magpies right at the death as he collected a pass from Santon and beat Cech to the bottom left corner of the net.
With the victory, the Tyneside club moved further away from relegation on 27 points, six from the drop zone, while Chelsea remains a distant third, 16 points behind Manchester United for the top spot.
Manchester United 1, Fulham 0
London, England - Manchester United increased its lead atop the Premiership to a comfortable 10 points on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Both teams played well in an entertaining opening 45 minutes which produced several good scoring chances, including a few hit posts, and even a momentary power outage.
After the break, it was Fulham which had the better of the play, but the Red Devils were able to hit on the counter attack 11 minutes from time for the only goal of the game.
Wayne Rooney pounced on a loose ball on the left flank following an error by Fulham defender Philippe Senderos and quickly slotted a right-footed shot into the far corner to give United the lead.
The Cottagers fought valiantly without striker Dimitar Berbatov, who missed the match due to injury, but an equalizing goal never materialized, leaving the club in 13th place on 28 points with the result.
QPR 0, Norwich 0
London, England - Adel Taarabt failed to convert a crucial second-half penalty kick as Queens Park Rangers had to settle for a scoreless draw with Norwich City on Saturday at Loftus Road.
Both sides generated plenty of shots in the physical affair which saw referee Jon Moss hand out seven yellow cards.
The best scoring chance of the contest came in the 56th minute when QPR forward Jamie Mackie, who got the starting nod in place of an injured Loic Remy, was brought down in the penalty area by Canaries goalkeeper Mark Bunn.
Taarabt stepped to the spot and fired a low hard shot that was earmarked for the bottom right corner, but Bunn got down quickly and parried it away with a strong left hand.
With the result, Rangers remains on the bottom of the table with 17 points, six from safety, while Norwich resides in 14th place.
Arsenal 1, Stoke City 0
London, England - Lukas Podolski's 78th-minute strike was enough to lift Arsenal to a 1-0 win over Stoke City on Saturday at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal had the better of the play throughout the match, controlling 66 percent of the possession and firing 23 shots toward Stoke's net, but the Gunners were unable to break down a staunch Potters back line through the first 45 minutes.
The breakthrough came after Theo Walcott was brought down just outside the penalty area, giving the Gunners a free kick.
Podolski stepped up and ripped a low, left-footed strike, which took a fortunate deflection off Stoke defender Geoff Cameron before ending up in the net for the only goal of the contest.
Arsenal extends its unbeaten run in league play to three straight games, while Stoke City sits in 10th place on 30 points.
Everton 3, Aston Villa 3
Liverpool, England - Marouane Fellaini scored twice inside the final half hour as Everton and Aston Villa played to a thrilling 3-3 draw on Saturday at Goodison Park.
Christian Benteke found the back of the net just two minutes into the contest for the Villains, but Victor Anichebe scored off a deft pass from Kevin Mirallas 20 minutes later to level the score.
Three minutes after that, Villa went on top through Gabriel Agbonlahor, and Benteke added a second tally in the 61st minute to push the visitors' advantage to 3-1.
Fellaini would not let his side go down as he slotted one hone in the 69th minute following a feed from Anichebe. He then brought the Toffees all the way back level in stoppage time when he got on the end of a corner kick from Leighton Baines and nodded it past Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan to rescue a point for his side.
The result sees Everton pull even on 42 points with Tottenham, which will battle West Brom on Sunday, while Villa inches closer to safety with 21 points, two from escaping the drop zone.
Reading 2, Sunderland 1
Reading, England - Jimmy Kebe's second goal of the match five minutes from time lifted Reading to a 2-1 win over Sunderland on Saturday at the Madejski Stadium.
Kebe got the hosts off to a good start just seven minutes into the game when a cross from Jobi McAnuff fell to his feet and he blasted it into the net from in close for the early 1-0 advantage.
Craig Gardner converted a penalty kick in the 29th minute to equalize for Sunderland, but Kebe got his head to a cross from Ian Harte and nodded it home to ensure all three points for his side.
Reading earned its fourth win in its last six league matches to pull out of the drop zone with 23 points, while Sunderland remains in 13th place.
West Ham 1, Swansea City 0
London, England - Andy Carroll made his first start since November for West Ham and netted the only goal of the contest as the Hammers earned a 1-0 win over Swansea City on Saturday at Upton Park.
West Ham fired seven shots on goal over the course of the 90 minutes, and the breakthrough came 13 minutes from time when Mark Noble lofted a corner kick into the penalty area and Carroll rose up and powered it into the top portion of the net for the winner.
With the win, West Ham improves to 11th place with 30 points, while the Swans remain in eighth place with 34 points.
Wigan 2, Southampton 2
Wigan, England - Shaun Maloney scored in second-half stoppage time to rescue a point for Wigan in a 2-2 draw with Southampton on Saturday at the DW Stadium.
The hosts got off to a flying start 25 minutes in when Gary Caldwell got his head to a cross from Jean Beausejour and powered it into the bottom left corner for the 1-0 edge.
After the break, Southampton found an equalizer through leading scorer Rickie Lambert, who tapped one in from close range off a pass from Jay Rodriguez for his 11th league goal this term.
Five minutes from time, Morgan Schneiderlin ran onto a through ball from Rodriguez and slotted it into the net to give the Saints the lead, but Maloney rescued a point for the Latics with the tying goal in the closing moments of the match.
Wigan improved to 21 points, but is still two points shy of safety, while Southampton is winless in its last four league matches and sits just three points above the drop zone.
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