Premiership round up - Week 30

Chelsea v West Ham - 4:1 - Despite the score this game never really got going. West Ham missed the first real chance of the match but Alex made no mistake when he headed home the first goal without being challenged (16). The first half jogged along at the gallop of a snail’s pace until Parker tucked in a nice shot over Turnbull’s head (30) to a silent crowd, even the West Ham supporters were surprised and incredulous. Chelsea pressed ahead for the rest of the half but without making any real impression. Terry made his mark by falling over unassisted in the Hammers’ box. Somehow this seemed to put off the West Ham defence and Drogba scored Chelsea's second in the same way and as easily as Alex got their first (56). Malouda had an excellent game and scored Chelsea’s third with a good solo effort (77). Anelka also had a good game and was cheered off, but Joe Cole came on for him and lifted Chelsea’s performance. Chelsea finished in style when Lampard shot hard at the keeper and Green failed to hold it, allowing Drogba a tap in for his second and Chelsea’s fourth (90). Chelsea finished well in this game but West Ham lost the match in the midfield, where they failed to make any mark. And although Parker scored his goal he made a half dozen bad passes or more. Ancelotti - ‘It’s important for us to stay at the top of the list…’ How true. Zola - ‘After the second Chelsea goal we went flat and conceded too much space. Chelsea took advantage of that space.’ Even more true.

Hull v Arsenal - 1:2 - Hull started well enough but Arshavin did the first damage by slipping through the Hull defences and poking a shot low past the keeper (14). Arsenal continued to attack, but Hull made a breakthrough when Vennegoor of Hesselink was bundled over by Campbell. The man was offside (not given) and fell over a tad easily (although Campbell is a big bloke) but Bullard scored from the spot (29). Boateng was sent off for a second yellow for a high tackle. Why Boateng poked Bendtner in the face to earn his first yellow is a mystery, but the second might have been a straight red. Finally Bendtner scored on a rebound from Denilson (90+3). Wenger - ‘In the end we got the three points through our desire and our mental strengths.’ Brown - ‘If the linesman’s flag doesn’t go up, he (Vennegoor of H) is not offside and Campbell should have been sent off.’ Sorry, don’t like your logic, Phil.

Burnley v Wolves - 1:2 - Other than a goal the most memorable incident in the first half was the sight of Jensen outside his area, heading an opponent in the buttocks. What was he trying to do? You get scrum-pox for that sort of thing in rugby (Your Ear has it on good authority). Back to the game - Jarvis walked round the keeper to score the first (26). They doubled their lead two minutes after half-time when Guedioura's angled shot took a decisive deflection off Carlisle and beat Jensen (o/g, 47). Burnley pulled one back with a headed goal (substitute Thompson, 73). McCarthy - ‘We’re not staying up on that result, but I feel a hell of a lot better than I did last week.’ Laws - ‘It was a poor mistake which gave them the first goal but nobody goes out there and deliberately makes a mistake - sometimes a judgement call can cost you. It's a huge knock but the season doesn't end today and there are still eight games to go.’ Your Ear wonders whether Laws will survive those eight games.

Spurs v Blackburn - 3:1 - Bale ran Zelgardo ragged down the left wing and provided all the early chances. Pavlyuchenko wasted most of them. Finally Defoe got Spurs off the mark with a tap in off Corluka’s flick from a corner (45+1). Pavlyuchenko made good in the second half, with a long-range shot which bounced underneath the keeper (55). Samba got one back for Blackburn with an open header (80), but Pavlyuchenko scored again late in the game with a simple tap-in (85). Kalinic seemed to have pulled a goal back with a great turn and shot into the top corner, but the referee disallowed it for a foul on Dawson in the build-up. Redknapp - ‘I felt coming here was going to be a very difficult game, people expect you to win and it doesn't always work out that way. They're a difficult side, they're in good form so to pick up three points is great for us. Gareth Bale is such an outstanding player. People forget he's only a boy. When I came here I felt he needed to learn the game, I didn't feel he'd really been taught the game. He had natural ability, but there was so much of his game that needed working on. I feel he's matured, he's progressed, he's got stronger and he just looks a fantastic player.’ He certainly does. Allardyce - ‘We've been very generous to Tottenham and unfortunately that generosity has cost us getting anything out of this game. It really was disappointing because overall we had the lion's share of the play. When we review the game and review the decisions, we have to work as hard as we can to make them right because it's committing hara-kiri almost. It's gifting them the goals rather than them using their ability and their talents to get the ball in the back of the net.’

Bolton v Wigan - 4:0 - Wigan normally look a resilient side, especially against the big teams, but today was not one of those days. Elmander got Bolton ahead early on (10) after defensive errors let him through for a simple push shot. Davies got their second with his first ever Premiership penalty take (48) after a foolish challenge by Caldwell on Cohen. Muamba slid a nice shot across the keeper for his first goal in two years (53) to make it three and Taylor got Bolton’s fourth from a similar position as Muamba (69). Job done. Coyle - ‘When I took the job I believed I could keep Bolton in the league. The short-term aim was to do that. We have taken a step along that road.’ Martinez - ‘It was a huge, huge shock because the nature of the goals were really soft. That is the top and bottom. You can't win football games if you concede the nature of the goals we did.’

Birmingham v Everton - 2:2 - Pienaar looked dangerous early on but failed to capitalize. Anichebe slapped home his opportunity (19) and Yakubu got another three minutes later with a simple header. Far from being fazed Birmingham came back at Everton and Jerome scored an unlikely goal, rolled in from distance to everyone’s surprise, probably including his own (26). Everton pressed more strongly and had close misses and a good handball penalty shout denied, but Birmingham scored the equalizer with a route one goal (Hart - Jerome - Gardner, 52). Cahill almost got Everton’s noses back in front but shot too straight. Birmingham did well but Everton should have got the result.

Stoke v Aston Villa - 0:0 - Stoke have lost only one game, and Villa none, in 2010. Watching this game one can see why, with resilient, strong defences in both teams. But it was a boring game. Villa was the more threatening side but the first half produced no goals. The second half saw strong attempts on goal at either end but to little avail and the game ended in a goal-less draw. Pulis - ‘It was two honest, committed teams who went at it right from the start. We've had a three-game week and when you catch one of the top teams in the league as your third game, it is hard.’ O'Neill - ‘We would love to have won the game but it was never going to be easy. There weren't many chances in the game and the wind didn't help matters. I was hoping we would get the ball down, but that is easier said than done.’ Stop feeding your players so much roughage, Martin.

Man United v Fulham - 3:0 - United, seeking revenge for their loss 3:0 to Fulham last time out, nearly sliced Fulham open early on, but the ball did not fall well for Rooney, who missed, and Rooney was then denied a good penalty shout for being held. Berbatov also missed one, and an opportunity he laid on for Rooney might have been handball (but was not judged so). The breakthrough came 31 seconds into the second half (Rooney, a placement shot off Nani’s cross, 46). That’s 23 Rooney goals in 23 games, excellent by any standard. He made it 24 with six minutes to go, after Berbatov coshed a pair of Fulham defenders, walking through them to lay off a cross, the sort of pass from which Rooney rarely misses. Berbatov got the third after Rooney passed the ball 50-60 yards to Park who crossed the ball for Berbatov to head home (89).

Sunderland v Man City - 1:1 - Sunderland set their stall out early when Kenwyne Jones placed a nice header over the City keeper after good midfield work by Meyler and Malbranque (9). For most of the rest of the game City entirely failed to look like the side that won at Stamford Bridge, despite a close effort by Barry. Sunderland continued to advance for the rest of the first half but seemed to run out of steam in the second. Various City players began to threaten (Wright-Phillips, Bellamy, Tevez) in pouring rain, but City had to wait until extra time to get their equalizer, which came when Johnson curled the ball tidily into the top left hand corner of the net (90+1). After their good victory over Chelsea, City look their old, unconvincing selves once more. Mancini - ‘I was frustrated at half time because we didn't play like we did against Chelsea. Sunderland played well but if you want to reach fourth spot you have to win these games. The race for fourth is still the same, though. We have one game in hand, we must play Tottenham, Aston Villa and Arsenal, so we have many important games. We have a chance.’ Not playing like this you don’t.

Liverpool v Portsmouth - 4:1 - Liverpool stay in touch with fourth place in the League after thumping struggling Pompey. It was never really a contest after Liverpool scored three times in quick succession. Torres got the opener, side-footing the ball in after a mistake by Ashdown (26), Babel got the second , shooting into the corner of the net (28), and Aquilani swept in the third for his first Liverpool goal (32). In the second half Torres scored again, powering the ball into the corner of net (77). Portsmouth finally got a consolation goal through Belhadj (88). Liverpool go fifth on 51 points from 30 games, a point behind Spurs, who have a game in hand on them. Liverpool face Manchester United in their next Premiership game on Sunday.

Wigan v Aston Villa - 1:2 - McCarthy gifted Villa the lead with a strange own goal (25) when he volleyed into his own net without seeming to be under pressure. Soon after Caldwell equalized with a header (27), but Milner’s well-taken shot in the second half won the game (63). Villa are the only unbeaten side in the Premiership in 2010, while Wigan remain just four points shy of the relegation zone. Martinez - ‘We wanted a reaction after our defeat to Bolton and we got that. Both sides had good chances, and I thought it was very even. I'm just disappointed for the players that their effort, work-rate and determination has gone unrewarded - a draw would've been the fair result.’ O'Neill - ‘It was a very important win for us, away from home and against opposition who only a week ago beat Liverpool, so I'm pleased. We're hanging in there for the chase for fourth spot. It's a difficult run-in for us but we're excited by it, we're going for it and we're going to try to achieve it. We knew our runs in the cups would lead to a packed schedule come the end of the season, but we'll face the challenges as they come.’