• Premier League round-up

City top at Christmas as Benayoun & Brown steal wins

ESPN staff
December 21, 2011
Manchester City finished 2011 unbeaten at the Etihad Stadium © Getty Images
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Manchester City will be top at Christmas for the first time in 82 years after they cruised to a 3-0 victory over Stoke City at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, but Manchester United kept pace with a 5-0 win over Fulham and Arsenal left it late to beat Aston Villa.

Two goals from Sergio Aguero and one from Adam Johnson were enough to give Roberto Mancini another comfortable victory, although Manchester City fans would be wise not to over-celebrate the win over Stoke - just eight sides that were top at Christmas have gone on to win the Premier League title.

After a drab opening, Johnson's strike that deflected away off the bar was the first effort of note - but City were ahead soon after thanks to Aguero. The Stoke defence failed to close down Yaya Toure at a short corner, and his cross found Vincent Kompany - whose effort was pushed away by Thomas Sorensen as the Argentine, with suspicions of offside, made no mistake.

Johnson then got on the scoresheet himself, taking just one touch before lashing home a great effort from all of 25 yards to ease Mancini's mind - not that it needed too much easing, as an abject display from Stoke barely saw them escape their own half in the opening 45.

Shortly after the break the game was well and truly killed off, as Aguero got himself a second goal after Samir Nasri's low cross found him unmarked inside the box. The home side did not need to exert themselves further after that, preserving their energy as they claimed a victory that also ensured they have gone the entirety of 2011 without tasting defeat at home.

Arsenal snatched a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa, as Yossi Benayoun headed home minutes from time to claim all three points after Robin van Persie's early penalty was cancelled out by Marc Albrighton's opportunistic goal - the 20,000th in Premier League history.

It did not take long for Arsenal to open the scoring, and it was no surprise that Van Persie got the goal. His 34th strike of 2011 in the league came from the penalty spot - with the Dutchman firing high into the right hand corner after Theo Walcott had been tripped by Ciaran Clark following a clever turn.

Villa struggled to create chances during the remainder of the first half, as Arsenal remained well on top. But it did not take long for McLeish's side to find a leveller in the second stanza, and it came in historic fashion. A long ball caught Thomas Vermaelen dithering, and Albrighton took full advantage to steal in a curl the ball past Wojciech Szczesny - in the process netting the 11th goal of the night and the 20,000th in Premier League history.

That looked to have ensured Villa yet another draw for the season as the game edged towards the final few minutes, but that was before their well-documented inability to defend from set pieces reared its head once again. This time it was the unlikely figure of Benayoun who profited, finding himself free in the box to steer his header beyond Brad Guzan to claim victory.

At the death Alan Hutton was then dismissed after picking up a second yellow for a foul on Thomas Vermaelen, as Arsenal held on to gain a valuable win.

Manchester United romped to a comfortable 5-0 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage to keep the pressure on their cross-town rivals, with Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov adding gloss to the scoreline in the closing stages.

United took an early lead thanks to Danny Welbeck, as Fulham paid the price for some inattentive defending. Nani had the freedom of west London to storm towards the box, and laid the ball on perfectly for the England international to stroke home.

The game was all-but killed off not long later, with Nani this time taking advantage of some great service to nod past David Stockdale. This time it was Ryan Giggs providing the ammunition, although Rooney - celebrating his 300th Premier League appearance - came close to stealing a touch as the ball headed goalward.

Giggs took advantage of more lacklustre defending to add a third before half-time, and then Rooney (with a 30-yard belter that glanced in off the far post) and Berbatov (with a casual back-heel) notched in the last two minutes. It was not all good news for United, however, as Phil Jones was forced off in the opening stages with a facial injury that early reports suggest could see him ruled out for six weeks.

Ryan Giggs watches his deflected effort head for goal © PA Photos
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Elsewhere, Ali Al Habsi denied Charlie Adam from the penalty spot to ensure Wigan claimed a deserved point after an entertaining 0-0 draw with Liverpool at the DW Stadium.

Kenny Dalglish opted to start forward Luis Suarez despite the controversy surrounding him, with Liverpool players all donning t-shirts in support of the Uruguayan during their pre-match warm-up.

Suarez may have been the centre of attention but he was not the focus of matters on the pitch - with Wigan arguably unlucky not to get a penalty after Victor Moses was tripped by Martin Skrtel, before Skrtel, Jordan Henderson and Glen Johnson all tested Al Habsi with good efforts.

Mohamed Diame remained a threat for the hosts, however, and worried Pepe Reina twice with strikes before the half-hour mark.

If Suarez had been quiet in the first half he sparked into life in the second, as his speculative bicycle kick earned a penalty after Gary Caldwell stopped it heading at goal with an outstretched hand. The forward wanted to take the spot kick but was overruled by Adam, who was then denied by Al Habsi - who guessed the right way and parried the powerful strike wide with a strong right arm.

The final half-hour saw a plethora of chances for both sides, but Al Habsi in particular stayed on his toes to somehow ensure the game finished goalless, as Liverpool found no respite from their current off-field issues.

Newcastle's recent slump also continued as they were beaten 3-2 by West Brom - with Paul Scharner finding the winner with hardly any time left on the clock, just minutes after Demba Ba thought he had grabbed his side a share of the points.

The opening goal of the game took 20 minutes to arrive - and it came to the visitors after Chris Brunt's great through ball was latched onto by Peter Odemwingie, before the revitalised Nigerian prodded it beyond Tim Krul.

Newcastle almost equalised immediately - Ba's finish ruled out for offside almost before it crossed the line - but the forward would restore parity 15 minutes later with a wonderfully curled free-kick that gave Ben Foster no chance.

A set piece put West Brom back ahead on the stroke of half-time, however, as Brunt found the Gareth McAuley inside the box, with the former Ipswich defender managing to direct his header on target and past Krul. Ba then found the back of the net once again in the final ten minutes, but Scharner was on hand to end the celebrations almost before they began as Roy Hodgson was able to savour an important win.

Leon Osman savours his goal © Getty Images
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Leon Osman's solitary goal enabled Everton to snatch a nervy 1-0 win over Swansea City at Goodison Park.

The first half saw few chances, with substitute Magaye Gueye forcing a spectacular save from Michel Vorm, before his follow-up appeared to be stopped by Ashley Williams' arm - although no penalty was forthcoming.

It took until the hour-mark before the Toffees finally found the lead, and it came through Osman - who nipped in front of Steven Caulker to flick a header into the corner, a passage of play that would ultimately decide the direction of the points.

Finally, Sunderland had Wes Brown to thank as they stole a 3-2 victory against QPR despite throwing away a two-goal advantage midway through the second half.

Nicklas Bendtner opened the scoring for the visitors, finding himself free in the box to head home from Kieran Richardson's corner. Stephane Sessegnon then doubled the advantage early in the second half, running clean through on goal after Danny Gabbidon had headed backwards under pressure before fooling Paddy Kenny with a dummy and tapping home.

QPR soon roared back into the match, with a quick-fire double stunning Martin O'Neill's men. Heidar Helguson halved the deficit after Keiran Westwood failed to deal with a cross, before Jamie Mackie latched onto Helguson's headed pass to get back on level terms.

It was Brown who would then be the unlikely hero for his side to stun the Loftus Road crowd - powering a header home from another Richardson corner for his first goal in a Black Cats shirt as Alejandro Faurlin's desperate attempt to clear came up short - both literally and figuratively.

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