Chelsea 3 - 5 Arsenal

Chelsea 3 Arsenal 5
Scorer: Lampard (14) Scorer: Terry (45) Scorer: Mata (80)	Scorer: van Persie (36, 85, ) Scorer: Andre Santos (49) Scorer: Walcott (55)
Attendance: 41,801	FT (14:37)

Robin van Persie's hat-trick helped Arsenal to an amazing victory in a classic encounter against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Blues captain John Terry had given the Blues a 2-1 half-time lead but the Gunners staged a sensational second-half comeback to turn the match on its head and, though Juan Mata equalised at 3-3, a Terry mistake allowed Van Persie to make it 4-3 before the Dutchman completed his treble in stoppage time.

It handed the visitors their first Barclays Premier League away win since April and left Chelsea six points behind leaders Manchester City having played a match more.

Both sets of supporters were soon transfixed by a feast of attacking football.

After Ashley Cole twice got in behind the visitors' defence, Chelsea really should have scored when three of their players beat the Gunners' offside trap but Daniel Sturridge somehow sent his cross straight at Wojciech Szczesny.

The home side also looked vulnerable and Gervinho somehow scuffed a tap-in wide after Theo Walcott surged past Cole. The Arsenal winger also picked out captain Van Persie, who volleyed over.

It was the Arsenal defence which buckled first after 14 minutes, the outstanding Mata teasing Van Persie and swinging in a right-wing cross which the unmarked Frank Lampard stooped to head home.

EMPTY NET

Van Persie was robbed after again getting in behind before the goalmouth action finally relented until the 29th minute, when Lampard's flighted ball put Sturridge clean through but the forward got his left-footed finish all wrong.

And Arsenal made him pay seven minutes later when they equalised with the kind of goal they are all too often accused of trying to score.

Ramsey picked out Gervinho's brilliant run and the Ivory Coast striker drew Petr Cech and squared for Van Persie to slot into an empty net.

Sturridge thought he had put Chelsea back in front four minutes before the break but he was rightly ruled offside poking home Ramires' cross.

But they were gifted the lead on the stroke of half-time through Terry, of all people, who got in front of Per Mertesacker to cushion Lampard's corner in off the post right in front of the Arsenal fans.

Every one of Terry's outfield team-mates joined in the celebrations with their skipper.

Incredibly, the tables turned within 10 minutes of the restart as Arsenal scored twice to take the lead and Szczesny avoided a red card.

Van Persie and Ramsey both missed chances to level inside a minute but Andre Santos did three minutes later when his superb first touch onto Gervinho's ball gave him time to send a strike through Cech's legs and into the net.

Chelsea immediately went on the attack and Szczesny appeared lucky not to be sent off when he came rushing out of goal and tripped Cole on the edge of the box.

Referee Andre Marriner showed only a yellow card and Szczesny rubbed salt into the wound by tipping Lampard's resulting free-kick wide before Arsenal scored again, Walcott bundling his way through the home defence and lashing the ball past Cech at the near post.

RACE CLEAR

Both sides made a raft of changes as the end-to-end action continued, with Ramsey missing another good chance for the visitors who were looking the more dangerous.

Terry was forced to act as peacemaker after a clash between Van Persie and Branislav Ivanovic, both of whom were booked.

And there was a grandstand finish thanks to a wonderful strike from Mata, who let fly from 25 yards to beat the despairing Szczesny.

But like the first half, the second ended up being decided by Terry, who slipped chasing substitute Florent Malouda's backpass, leaving Van Persie to race clear, round Cech and make it 4-3.

Mata twice saw efforts blocked as Chelsea tried to level before Van Persie hit them on the break again by blasting left-footed past Cech.

Sunderland 2 - 2 Aston Villa

Sunderland 2 Aston Villa 2
Scorer: Wickham (38) Scorer: Sessegnon (89)	Scorer: Petrov (20) Scorer: Dunne (85)
Attendance: 37,062	FT (16:52)

Stephane Sessegnon snatched a point for Sunderland in a storming finish at the Stadium of Light which completely eclipsed the return of Darren Bent.

Benin international Sessegnon stooped to nod home a Sebastian Larsson free-kick with one minute left after Richard Dunne had appeared to win it for Villa.

Dunne had risen highest to head the visitors back in front five minutes earlier after Connor Wickham had cancelled out Stilyan Petrov's stunning 20th-minute opener.

Bent had missed a fine chance in the 70th minute when he shot straight at substitute keeper Kieran Westwood.

And the striker was a virtual passenger in much of the early action with the main threat coming from Sunderland's Sebastian Larsson, who fired a pair of dangerous free-kicks.

Bent got the chance he had been waiting for in the 16th minute when Emile Heskey's cross found the striker at the far post but he prodded wide under pressure from Keiran Richardson.

STUNNING SHOT

And Villa snatched the lead in stunning fashion in the 20th minute when Petrov was fed by Alan Hutton and lashed a stunning shot for only his sixth goal in 167 Villa appearances.

Sunderland came close to grabbing an equaliser within two minutes, when Bendtner found the head of Turner in front of goal but the defender headed inches over.

And they fashioned another chance in the 27th minute when Wickham headed goalwards in a crowded box but Stephen Warnock headed clear with keeper Shay Given stranded.

The home side snatched their equaliser in the 38th minute when Sessegnon turned Hutton and fed Wickham, who drove home a fine left-foot shot from 10 yards.

The Black Cats defence was still giving cause for concern and they had a mighty let-off in the 42nd minute when Petrov's free-kick trickled unchallenged across the face of goal.

Westwood got his first taste of Premier League action five minutes into the second half when Mignolet appeared to suffer a broken nose in the course of flapping away a Petrov corner.

DANGEROUS POSITIONS

The home side enjoyed their best spell of the match with James Collins twice forced to clear from dangerous positions, and Bendtner heading just over on the hour.

The home side had a penalty appeal turned down by referee Chris Foy in the 63rd minute when Bendtner met Larsson's cross from the right with a header which struck Hutton at close-range.

Larsson came close in the 70th minute after Chris Herd fouled Bendtner on the edge of the box and the midfielder's curling free-kick was well saved by Given.

And moments later Bent almost caught Sunderland out at the other end when he charged onto Herd's long ball before being pulled back for fouling Wes Brown as he wriggled clear.

As the match exploded into life, Westwood had his moment of glory when he got down to deny Bent from close-range after the striker had been put through by Gabriel Agbonlahor.

But Villa snatched back the lead in the 84th minute when Petrov lofted a free-kick from the left side of the box and Dunne climbed to head home.

Just when it seemed Villa had done enough to snatch the points, the home side roared back and Sessegnon headed home an 89th-minute equaliser from Larsson's free-kick

Everton 0 - 1 Manchester United

Everton 0 Manchester United 1
	Scorer: Hernandez (19)
Attendance: 35,494	FT (13:56)

Javier Hernandez grabbed the only goal as Manchester United started to put their derby mauling behind them with a laboured victory at Everton on Saturday afternoon.

The Mexican tapped in after 19 minutes to get the champions back on track in the Barclays Premier League after last week's 6-1 thrashing by Manchester City.

Yet it was a far from convincing performance by United and Everton twice went close to equalising as Leighton Baines hit the bar and David de Gea saved brilliantly from Jack Rodwell.

Everton also had plenty of possession in the closing stages of each half but lacked the cutting edge to truly worry the visitors.

The Toffees were the first side out of the blocks as Seamus Coleman burst down the right, cut inside Patrice Evra and fired a shot at David de Gea with just 15 seconds on the clock.

The visitors started brightly too with Welbeck jinking into the area and pulling back for Park Ji-sung at the near post, but the Korean's effort was blocked by former United keeper Tim Howard.

A chance appeared to open up outside the box for Rooney, whose reception from the Goodison crowd was not too bitter, but referee Mike Halsey got in the way and he stabbed wide.

United claimed the lead when an Evra cross found its way to Hernandez in front of goal.

Jagielka was unable to reach the ball from the left and Hernandez tapped in unmarked.

ONE-TOUCH PASSING

Welbeck almost sneaked in on goal when Jagielka headed back towards Howard after an awkward bounce but the American just beat the striker to the ball.

Everton responded as Leon Osman first won a free-kick off Vidic on the edge of the box after beating the Serbian with a nice piece of skill.

Another former United player, Louis Saha, shot into the wall and Osman forced De Gea to save when the ball was eventually worked back in. Moments later Rodwell seized possession but drove wide.

Everton maintained the pressure as Marouane Fellaini won another free-kick in a good position five minutes before the interval when felled by Darren Fletcher.

Baines, who missed a penalty in the Carling Cup in midweek, stepped up and curled a superb effort against the crossbar.

Saha had another couple of opportunities before the break but failed to trouble De Gea.

Some intricate one-touch passing from United put Welbeck through in the opening moments of the second half but the striker was unable to control the final ball.

GOALMOUTH SCRAMBLE

Rodwell extended De Gea for the first time when he cut inside onto his left foot from the right but the Spaniard produced a fine save to his right.

United immediately countered as Tom Cleverley, making his first Barclays Premier League appearance in seven weeks after recovering from a foot injury, released Hernandez with a brilliant long pass.

Hernandez came inside but lacked options and slowed, allowing Everton to come clear.

That proved to be Cleverley's last major involvement as he limped off shortly afterwards to be replaced by Nani.

Hernandez then picked out a charging Welbeck with a crossfield pass but Howard reacted quickly to palm out his volley.

Everton pressed again with Saha twice having shots blocked in a goalmouth scramble before Rodwell blazed over. Coleman got an attempt on target but again failed to trouble De Gea.

The match went into six minutes of injury time, caused in part by an injury to an assistant referee which forced fourth official Phil Dowd into emergency action on the line.

Home fans wanted a penalty when Saha went down in the area but replays showed the Frenchman slipping and colliding with Evra.

After that United held firm. They may have beaten Aldershot in the Carling Cup on Tuesday but this victory, in spite of the performance, will do much more for their confidence as the shockwaves from Old Trafford last week continue to reverberate

Wigan 0 - 2 Fulham

Wigan Athletic 0 Fulham 2
	Scorer: Dempsey () Scorer: Dembele ()
Attendance: 15,796	FT (16:54)

Wigan Athletic suffered their eighth successive defeat to slump to the bottom of the Barclays Premier League table as goals from Clint Dempsey and Moussa Dembele earned Fulham a precious three points at the DW Stadium.

The Latics had more than enough chances to win the match but just could not find the net, with Gary Caldwell heading over in the first half and Victor Moses and Maynor Figueroa both hitting the woodwork in the second.

Fulham were much more clinical, Dempsey finishing off a break in the 41st minute to put them ahead before Dembele clinched a first away victory of the season four minutes from time.

It was the visitors who started the brighter, with Andrew Johnson and Dembele looking dangerous, while the visitors were forced into an early change, bringing on James McArthur after Mohamed Diame came off worst in a challenge with Steve Sidwell.

Having repelled the Fulham attacks, Wigan slowly began to exert some pressure of their own, with David Jones seeing a shot saved by Mark Schwarzer before guiding another effort past the post.

Approaching the half-hour mark, the home side really should have gone ahead.

First, full-back Figueroa rampaged through the Fulham defence before setting up Albert Crusat for a cross that was only cleared as far as Ben Watson, whose volley was expertly tipped over the bar by Schwarzer.

LEFT UNMARKED

From the resulting corner, captain Caldwell was left unmarked eight yards out but could only head over.

After an uninspiring beginning, the match had opened up, and Johnson might have done better than shoot weakly at Ali Al Habsi when he found himself in space on the right of the area.

There was a heart-in-mouth moment for Schwarzer when he fumbled Moses' low cross-shot but, with Rodallega waiting, the ball bounced just past the post.

Wigan had paid for a failure to turn their dominance into goals at Newcastle last week, and so it proved again in the 41st minute when Dempsey put Fulham ahead.

Danny Murphy launched a quick break by finding Bobby Zamora out on the left and his low cross was perfect for Dempsey, whose shot bounced into the net despite the best efforts of Al Habsi.

Still Wigan could have been level at half-time as Moses got a foot to Watson's shot but, with Schwarzer struggling, the ball flew just the wrong side of the post.

DESERVED BETTER

Wigan began the second half fuelled by a sense that they deserved better. But still the clear-cut chance would not come and at the other end Figueroa had to be alert to deny Johnson after Zamora broke away down the left.

The Latics' luck was certainly out in the 54th minute when Moses let fly from 25 yards with a stunning volley that had Schwarzer well beaten but bounced off the angle of post and bar. Rodallega was first to the rebound but was flagged offside.

Fulham were struggling to get out of their own half but they remained a threat on the break and in the 62nd minute Zamora got on the end of a long ball and smashed a volley off the top of the bar.

More and more there was a sense that, again, this was just not going to be Wigan's day. Fulham appeared to have ridden out the storm and threatened themselves when Zdenek Grygera played in Johnson down the right, but the angle was tight and he shot wide.

At the other end, Rodallega was given a chance from 25 yards out after Dickson Etuhu fouled substitute Di Santo but his effort was straight at Schwarzer.

The goalkeeper needed the help of his woodwork again in the 84th minute when Figueroa drove forward and struck a swerving shot that Schwarzer thought was going well wide but in fact bounced off the post.

And Wigan's fate was sealed two minutes later as the defence backed off and allowed Dembele the freedom to run to the edge of the area and place his shot wide of Al Habsi

Swansea City 3 - Bolton Wanderers

Swansea City 3 Bolton Wanderers 1
Scorer: Allen (49) Scorer: Sinclair (57 pen.) Scorer: Graham ()	Scorer: Graham (73 o.g.)
Attendance: 19,477	FT (16:51)

Swansea City maintained their unbeaten Barclays Premier League home record as three second-half goals saw off 10-man Bolton Wanderers at the Liberty Stadium.

The match was turned decisively in the hosts' favour early in the second half as Bolton had Ricardo Gardner sent off after collecting a second booking and Joe Allen gave Swansea the lead from the resulting free-kick.

Scott Sinclair got the second as he converted his third spot-kick of the season in the 57th minute after Darren Pratley, formerly of Swansea, had fouled Angel Rangel in the area.

Bolton were given a lifeline when Swansea conceded at home for the first time this term as Graham put through his own net, but the club record signing redeemed himself by slotting his fourth goal in four matches in added time as Swansea claimed a vital three points ahead of upcoming fixtures against Liverpool and Manchester United.

Bolton had defended obdurately during the opening half, and came close to taking a first-half lead through David Ngog, but this defeat will only increase the pressure on manager Owen Coyle with his side ensconced in the relegation zone.

Swansea had made a typically fluent opening but became frustrated by a well-organised visiting defence as the half wore on.

VOLLEY WIDE

They came close to an opener when Sinclair just failed to get a touch on Nathan Dyer's inviting ball across the box, while Mark Gower sliced a volley wide following assured build-up between Neil Taylor, Sinclair and Allen.

Gardner had dragged an early effort well wide at the other end after Dyer had been robbed by Mark Davies.

And it was Bolton who had the best effort of the opening 45 minutes as Ngog's smart turn and volley forced Michel Vorm to acrobatically tip the ball over the bar.

But Swansea received a huge boost within four minutes of the restart as they took the lead moments after Bolton were reduced to 10 men.

Graham had come within inches of finding the opener as he shot wide from a Sinclair pass before the match was turned on its head.

Gardner was dismissed after he picked up a second booking for a cynical tug on Dyer, and from the resulting free-kick Allen was afforded far too much room by Gary Cahill and Gretar Steinsson to shoot low into Jaaskelainen's bottom right-hand corner.

INTELLIGENT CUTBACK

Dyer almost added a second after 50 minutes as he jinked his way into the box to force Jaaskelainen to block with his legs.

Coyle withdrew Martin Petrov to bring on Paul Robinson as a defensive reinforcement but it made little difference as Jaaskelainen was again called into action to parry an angled Sinclair drive behind.

But the resulting corner saw Pratley bring down Rangel and concede a penalty, which Sinclair planted into the right-hand corner for a 2-0 lead after 57 minutes.

Sinclair then shot just wide of the post with Bolton in disarray before Graham headed onto the bar with Jaaskelainen rooted to the spot.

But Wanderers were then given an unlikely avenue back into the match as Graham's attempt to block a Chris Eagles shot only succeeded in deflecting the ball beyond Vorm and into the net.

Sinclair had a great chance to seal the win with eight minutes left but could only hit the bar after being picked out by Dyer's intelligent cutback.

Coyle threw skipper Cahill up front for the final minutes but he had little impact and Graham wrapped up the win in injury time as he was given the freedom of the Bolton half to race clear and beat Jaaskelainen.

Norwich City 3 - 3 Blackburn

Norwich City 3 Blackburn Rovers 3
Scorer: Morison (53) Scorer: Johnson (82) Scorer: Holt ( pen.)	Scorer: Hoilett () Scorer: Yakubu (62) Scorer: Samba (64)
Attendance: 26,440	FT (16:57)

Norwich City captain Grant Holt came off the bench to net a stoppage-time penalty as Blackburn Rovers were denied a much-needed win in an entertaining 3-3 draw at Carrow Road.

The Barclays Premier League's bottom club Rovers, who beat Newcastle United to reach the Carling Cup quarter-finals in midweek, took the lead on the stroke of half-time through Junior Hoilett.

Although Wales striker Steve Morison levelled with a well-taken strike on 53 minutes, two quick goals from Ayegbeni Yakubu and captain Christopher Samba looked to have secured a much-needed first away win for Steve Kean.

However, the Canaries grabbed a lifeline with eight minutes left through Bradley Johnson's deflected effort.

Substitute Holt, who scored in last week's battling 1-1 draw at Anfield, earned the never-say-die Canaries a point in stoppage time from the spot after Steven Nzonzi handled at the far post.

LATE SAVE

Rovers, clearly boosted by their midweek cup win, created the first opening as Mauro Formica fired a dipping 20-yard drive over.

The visitors continued their early pressure. Norwich keeper John Ruddy, who made a fine late save to earn a point at Liverpool, dropped a corner which Yakubu flicked goalwards and hit Kyle Naughton who was on the post.

The Canaries eventually opened up Rovers down the left through Marc Tierney and Anthony Pilkington, with Morison knocking the ball over from close range under pressure from Gael Givet.

Rovers should have been in front on 12 minutes, but Yakubu blazed an angled drive over after a pass from Ruben Rochina split the Norwich defence.

Slowly Norwich settled and Pilkington's fierce volley from Elliott Bennett's right-wing cross was knocked behind before David Fox was denied by a fine save at full stretch from Paul Robinson.

The home side broke through again through Morison and Pilkington down the left to cut the ball back across the face of goal. However, the on-rushing Bennett could only smash his shot into the sidenetting.

With five minutes to half-time, Blackburn won a free-kick in a dangerous position when Hoilett cut inside for the left and was tripped by Fox.

LOOPED OVER

Pedersen whipped the ball towards the far post, which looped over Ruddy, but the Norwich keeper managed to recover and claim the catch before it squirmed over the line.

In stoppage time, Rovers snatched the lead when Canada-born youngster Hoilett cut in from the left again, before whipping an 18-yard effort over Ruddy into the far corner.

There was more urgency about Norwich at the start of the second half, and Morison levelled on 53 minutes with a fine finish.

Wes Hoolahan knocked the ball back into the Rovers box and an attempted clearance dropped to the Wales striker on the edge of the penalty arc. The former Millwall frontman calmly controlled the bouncing ball with his left foot before then dispatching it back with his right over Robinson.

As Carrow Road suddenly found its voice, Johnson should have done better when he met a looping cross from Pilkington in the six-yard box but his header lacked power.

NEAR POST

Rovers, though, refused to roll over and were back in front after 62 minutes.

Yakubu got ahead of the Norwich defence on to a pass from Formica to drill the ball past Ruddy at the near post.

Before Norwich could regain their composure they were 3-1 down.

Pedersen's free-kick from the left was allowed to fly right across the six-yard box, where Samba headed in at the far post.

Lambert made some attacking changes as he sent on both Holt and Simeon Jackson.

The Canada forward broke down the left and centred for Morison, who in turn fed Holt on the overlap, but the striker's cross through the six-yard box was hacked clear by Givet.

Norwich, though, had a lifeline with eight minutes left when Johnson's deflected 20-yard shot looped up off Jason Lowe and over a stranded Robinson.

Just when Blackburn, who let in two stoppage time goals as their Carling Cup tie went into extra time, looked to have held out for a much-needed first away win, Nzonzi handled a high ball at the far post to concede a penalty.

Holt stepped up to ram the ball into the bottom left corner and earn Lambert's battling side a share of the spoils

Manchester City 3 - 1 Wolves

Manchester City 3 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1
Scorer: Dzeko (52) Scorer: Kolarov (67) Scorer: Johnson ()	Scorer: Hunt (75 pen.)
Attendance: 47,142	FT (16:53)

Manchester City overcame Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Etihad Stadium despite having Vincent Kompany sent off to restore their five-point advantage at the top of the Barclays Premier League.

City went ahead early in the second half when Edin Dzeko converted the loose ball after Sergio Aguero had pounced on some hesitant play by the previously impressive Wayne Hennessey, and the Wanderers goalkeeper then palmed David Silva's shot into the path of Aleksandar Kolarov, who made it 2-0 in the 67th minute.

Stephen Hunt pulled back a goal from the penalty spot with 15 minutes remaining following Kompany's dismissal for bringing down Kevin Doyle, but substitute Adam Johnson wrapped up the victory for the hosts in stoppage time.

It means it is a case of as you were at the Barclays Premier League summit after second-placed Manchester United had cut the gap earlier in the day with their 1-0 win at Everton.

Struggling Wolves, meanwhile, are now winless in eight league fixtures.

City boss Roberto Mancini recalled most of the players who had started last weekend's 6-1 derby win at United, although Mario Balotelli was only named as a substitute.

EIGHT CHANGES

It amounted to eight changes from the 5-2 Carling Cup victory over Wolves on Wednesday, with Kolarov, Samir Nasri and Dzeko the survivors from that match and the likes of Joe Hart, Yaya Toure, Silva and Aguero returning to the team.

Wanderers manager Mick McCarthy made six alterations from the cup tie, Doyle one of those keeping his place and midfielder Jamie O'Hara among the men coming back in.

Given what had happened when the sides met in midweek, many were expecting a comfortable afternoon for free-scoring City, but they endured a frustrating first half as they failed to make the most of the chances that came their way thanks both to Hennessey's efforts and their own poor finishing.

Wolves were only able to partially clear a corner from Kolarov in the second minute and the ball came to Nasri, who unleashed a volley which Hennessey tipped over the bar.

At the other end, Hunt picked up possession following a mistake by Micah Richards and teed up Doyle, but the Republic of Ireland frontman could only flash his effort across the face of goal.

Aguero, having played a one-two with Silva, scuffed a shot high into the stands and Dzeko put the ball over after Wanderers skipper Roger Johnson had intercepted Richards' cross into the danger zone.

GOOD SAVE

City continued to break forward and Aguero was just unable to meet a cross from the left after it took a deflection.

The Argentina forward then drew a good save out of Hennessey with a turn and strike from outside the box.

Moments later Aguero looked set to put City in front, but miskicked as he attempted to stroke home Richards' delivery and the shot went off-target.

Nasri showed little accuracy when trying his luck from distance and the same applied to an effort from O'Hara.

Silva saw his strike blocked after Nasri's cross came to him and City fans felt Richard Stearman had fouled Dzeko in the area as the ball came over, but referee Stuart Attwell waved for play to continue.

Four minutes before the break Silva put Dzeko through on goal, but the Bosnian's shot was turned around the post by Hennessey.

City kept the pressure up after the restart, with Nasri sending in a cross that bounced out off Silva, and with seven minutes of the second half gone, the hosts made the breakthrough as Hennessey - so dependable before the break - made a hash of dealing with a backpass.

SLICED WIDE

Aguero came in to challenge the goalkeeper and the ball spun out to Dzeko, who lofted it into the net for his fifth goal in three matches.

Wolves looked to respond but there was no-one to get on the end of Hunt's cross, and after Adam Johnson had come on to replace Dzeko, Aguero sliced wide following good link-up play with Silva.

Two minutes later City had their second, Hennessey parrying Silva's shot from the edge of the box and Kolarov tucking away an easy finish.

Mancini brought on Balotelli for Nasri and the Italian youngster sidefooted over the bar.

City appeared to be cruising, but they were then reduced to 10 men when Hart spilled a shot from Adlene Guedioura and Kompany was adjudged to have impeded Doyle as the forward attempted to get to the rebound.

Kompany was shown a straight red card and Hunt dispatched the resulting spot-kick to set up a nervy finale, but City made sure at the death as Adam Johnson collected Toure's pass and fired in