London: Manchester City passed the first big test of their "big four" credentials with flying colours on Saturday as, with a another goal by Emmanuel Adebayor, they beat Arsenal 4-2 to make it four wins out of four.
Chelsea also maintained their record with their fifth win but needed a last-minute Florent Malouda goal for a 2-1 victory at Stoke City. Yossi Benayoun scored a hat-trick as Liverpool ended their sticky run by thrashing Burnley 4-0 at Anfield.
Champions Manchester United visit Tottenham Hotspur, who have won their opening four games, later on Saturday.
They are chasing Chelsea who have moved on to 15 points, three ahead of Tottenham and Manchester City. Big-spending City had beaten Blackburn Rovers, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Portsmouth but knew things would not be so easy when Arsenal came calling. They went ahead with a soft own goal after 20 minutes when a looping Micah Richards header rebounded off a post against the head of goalkeeper Manuel Almunia and into the net.
Arsenal barely threatened in a poor-qualify first half but improved markedly after the break. They got their deserved equaliser after 62 minutes when Robin van Persie shot on the turn from the edge of the box - the first goal City have conceded this season. City recovered brilliantly though to take command with three goals in 10 minutes.
They regained the lead after 74 minutes when Richards surged into the box and squared for Craig Bellamy to finish well. Adebayor, City's 25 million pounds summer signing from Arsenal, headed the third and Shaun Wright-Phillips then finished off a great breakaway.
Quick apology
Adebayor's decision to run the length of the pitch to celebrate his goal in front of the Arsenal fans did not go down well and earned him a booking but the Togo international, who has now scored in all four of City's league games, was quick to apologise.
"I shouldn't have done what I did but the emotion took over me and I'm sorry for what I've done," he told Sky Sports News. "Scoring today made me feel freedom but I'm sorry, it was a big mistake and these things won't happen any more."
Adebayor was more interested in his new team's battling qualities. "We showed good character today, we showed personality and when Arsenal came back to 1-1 we showed can fight," he said.
Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky, making his first club appearance after 20 months out with a knee injury, got Arsenal's late second. Last season Chelsea scored twice in the last three minutes to claim a 2-1 comeback win over Stoke at Stamford Bridge and the Londoners left the Stoke fans fuming again with a repeat performance.
The Londoners, who had 20 players away on international duty in midweek, understandably looked sluggish in the early stages but after Abdoulaye Faye had put Stoke ahead when he was left unmarked to head in, Didier Drogba equalised with a well-taken shot in lengthy first-half injury time.
It was all Chelsea in the second half but they had to wait until the last minute for Malouda to snatch the winner. Burnley's hopes of adding the scalp of Liverpool to those of Manchester United and Everton were swept aside at Anfield as Liverpool found their form after a stuttering start to the season.
Benayoun got things moving and Dirk Kuyt made it 2-0 at halftime after Benayoun's shot was parried by goalkeeper Brian Jensen. The Israeli got the third after an hour and completed his hat-trick eight minutes from time.
Portsmouth and Bolton Wanderers, without a point between them at the start of play, produced a thriller at Fratton Park with Bolton snatching the points in the last few minutes when Gary Cahill gave them a 3-2 victory. In other games Blackburn Rovers beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-1, Sunderland thumped Hull City 4-1 while Wigan Athletic edged West Ham United 1-0.
Comments
0 comment