Premier League MatchDay 28 kicked off on Saturday at Chelsea who welcomed West Bromwich Albion ensured Rafa Benitez ended a difficult week on a high with a 1-0 win over West Brom at Stamford Bridge. All eyes before kick-off were on Benitez to see what reception he would receive from the Chelsea fans at the start of the game, but apart from a few banners being erected around Stamford Bridge calling for the Spaniard's head the expected backlash was quite muted.

Premiership MatchDay 28 Fixtures
Saturday 02nd March 2013
KO	Home		Away	Ref	TV
15:00	Chelsea	1-0	West Brom	K Friend
15:00	Everton	3-1	Reading	A Taylor
15:00	Man Utd	4-0	Norwich	N Swarbrick
15:00	Southampton	1-2	QPR	H Webb
15:00	Stoke	0-1	West Ham	J Moss
15:00	Sunderland	2-2	Fulham	M Halsey
15:00	Swansea	1-0	Newcastle	C Pawson
17:30	Wigan	0-4	Liverpool	M Atkinson	ESPN
Sunday 03rd March 2013
16:00	Tottenham	2-1	Arsenal	M Clattenburg	Sky1
Sunday 04th March 2013
20:00	Aston Villa	0-1	Man City	M Dean	Sky1

Steven Pienaar was in inspired form as Everton ended a run of three games without a win by sweeping aside a spirited Reading 3-1 at Goodison Park. After Marouane Fellaini put the hosts into a 1-0 half-time lead, Pienaar took control of the game. Hal Robson-Kanu netted a deserved consolation for Reading six minutes from time, but they were second best throughout.

Shinji Kagawa's first hat-trick for Manchester United inspired them to a 4-0 win over Norwich as they stretched their lead at the top of the Premier League to 15 points on Saturday evening. Wayne Rooney added a sweetly-struck effort late on to complete the rout.

QPR carved out just their third win of the Premier League season at Southampton to renew hope of avoiding relegation. Southampton were left to rue the fact that they did not capitalise on all their pressure on their bottom-of-the-table opponents, who lustily celebrated their first win in two months.

Premiership table - after 4th Mar 2013
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Man Utd	28	13	0	1	38	15	10	2	2	30	16	37	71
2	Man City	28	10	3	1	31	11	7	5	2	20	13	27	59
3	Tottenham	28	8	4	2	22	14	8	2	4	27	19	16	54
4	Chelsea	28	8	4	2	31	12	7	3	4	25	18	26	52
5	Arsenal	28	8	3	3	35	19	5	5	4	18	13	21	47
6	Everton	28	7	6	1	25	17	4	6	4	19	18	9	45
7	Liverpool	28	7	3	4	27	12	4	6	4	26	22	19	42
8	Swansea	28	6	6	2	27	19	4	4	6	12	15	5	40
9	West Brom	28	8	2	4	21	13	4	2	8	17	24	1	40
10	Fulham	28	6	3	5	22	17	2	6	6	17	27	-5	33
11	Stoke	28	6	6	2	18	15	1	6	7	8	18	-7	33
12	West Ham	28	6	4	4	23	17	3	2	9	9	24	-9	33
13	Norwich	28	6	5	3	16	15	1	6	7	11	30	-18	32
14	Sunderland	28	4	5	5	16	15	3	4	7	15	23	-7	30
15	Newcastle	28	7	1	6	21	20	1	5	8	17	29	-11	30
16	Southampton	28	4	5	5	19	17	2	4	8	20	34	-12	27
17	Wigan	28	2	4	8	17	31	4	2	8	16	24	-22	24
18	Aston Villa	28	3	4	7	11	20	2	5	7	15	33	-27	24
19	Reading	28	4	6	4	22	27	1	2	11	12	27	-20	23
20	QPR	28	1	7	6	8	21	2	4	8	13	23	-23	20

Jack Collison came off the bench to score the winner as West Ham beat Stoke 1-0 at the Britannia. The victory halted a run of five successive league away defeats and lifts the Hammers onto 33 points and further clear of the drop zone.

Sunderland came from two goals behind to claim a 2-2 draw with Fulham at the Stadium of Light. The Black Cats found themselves two down inside 35 minutes courtesy of a Dimitar Berbatov penalty and a first goal in English football for German international full-back Sascha Riether. The home side battled back before finally levelling matters with 20 minutes left but Fulham held on for the point they deserved which puts them into the top half.

A late goal by substitute Luke Moore was enough for Swansea to beat Newcastle 1-0 at the Liberty Stadium in the Premier League. Swansea, who have spent the last six days celebrating their Capital One Cup success, looked set to be frustrated after missing a host of excellent chances. Defeat continues the Magpies' miserable away record - they have won just once on the road in the league - and leaves Alan Pardew's side still glancing nervously over their shoulders.

A Luis Suarez hat-trick and a rare Stewart Downing header helped Liverpool thrash a distinctly below-par Wigan 4-0 at the DW Stadium. Liverpool had a number of chances to go further in front, but will be more than happy with the manner of their comprehensive win.

Premier League MatchDay 28 continued on Sunday when Tottenham moved seven points clear of Arsenal after they came out on top in a pulsating north London derby at White Hart Lane. Two goals in just over two minutes before the break sealed victory for Andre Villas-Boas' men thanks to a lax display at the back from the Gunners.

Premier League MatchDay 28 finished on Monday with Carlos Tevez keeping alive Manchester City's slim hopes of retaining their Barclays Premier League title with a first-half winner at relegation-threatened Aston Villa. Victory again cut runaway leaders Manchester United's advantage to a still formidable 12 points with only 10 games remaining. It also moved City five points clear of in-form Tottenham, but Villa's seventh home reverse of the season means they remain in the bottom three.




Rafa Benitez has endured a week to forget off the field but on it his Chelsea side did their 'interim' manager a favour by beating West Brom at Stamford Bridge.

It took the home side just under half an hour to find a breakthrough when a neatly worked short-corner culminated in David Luiz sneaking in at the back post to nod Oscar's looping cross into the path of Demba Ba, who had the simplest of jobs to steer in from close range.

West Brom kept at the task in hand and were it not for some profligacy in front of goal and a smart Petr Cech save, may just have left the capital with a point.

Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Cole, David Luiz, Azpilicueta; Ramires, Lampard, Mata (Mikel 90), Oscar, Hazard (Moses 80); Ba (Torres 87)
Subs not used: Turnbull, Cahill, Terry, Bertrand, Mikel.

Booked: Hazard

Goals: Ba 28

West Brom: Foster; Reid, Olsson, Ridgewell, McAuley, Yacob (Rosenberg 82); Morrison, Dorrans (Thomas 71), Mulumbu, Long, Fortune (Odemwingie 62).
Subs not used: Myhill, Jones, Tamas, Brown.

Booked: McAuley, Odemwingie

Attendance: 41,548

Referee: K Friend



Everton needed a hard-fought win to pull them out of a sticky patch of poor form as they beat Reading 3-1 at Goodison Park.

David Moyes' side survived an early scare when Adam Le Fondre rattled the woodwork before Marouane Fellaini's 12th goal of the season put them ahead before half-time.

After the interval it was all Everton as they added to their lead through a pair of fine efforts from Steven Pienaar and Kevin Mirallas.

Hal Robson-Kanu's late consolation proved to be no more than that for Reading as Brian McDermott's side were unable to stage a fight-back.

Everton: Mucha, Coleman, Jagielka (Heitinga 4), Distin, Baines, Mirallas, Gibson, Osman (Anichebe 73), Pienaar (Hitzlsperger 80), Fellaini, Jelavic
Subs not used: Springthorpe, Oviedo, Naismith, Neville.

Goals: Fellaini 42, Pienaar 59, Mirallas 66

Booked: Coleman

Reading: Taylor, Kelly, Mariappa, Pearce, Harte, Kebe (Robson-Kanu 18), Leigertwood, Akpan, McAnuff, Le Fondre, Hunt (Blackman 73)
Subs not used: Henly, Gunter, Karacan, Morrison.

Goals: Robson-Kanu 84

Booked: Le Fondre

Attendance: 35,244

Referee: A Taylor



Norwich never gave up the fight at Old Trafford but in Shinji Kagawa came up against a Manchester United player at the peak of his powers as he bagged himself an eye-catching hat-trick.

The Japanese schemer's first came on the stroke of half-time after Antonio Valencia's cross from the right was prodded into Kagawa's path by Robin van Persie and from close range he beat Mark Bunn.

His second of the afternoon, with 15 minutes left, Kagawa's calmest of finishes further cemented United's status as champions elect.

Kagawa's third was the pick of his haul as Danny Welbeck and Rooney combined to play him in for another delicate finish to round off another fine team goal.

The best was saved for last though as Rooney got in on the act with a spectacular effort from range that will be bettered by few this season, as he pinged in an absolute beauty from 25-yards.

Man Utd: De Gea, Evra, Evans, Smalling, Vidic, Valencia, Anderson (Cleverley 74), Carrick, Kagawa, Rooney, Van Persie (Welbeck 66)
Subs not used: Lindegaard, Rafael, Nani, Young, Hernandez

Goals: Kagawa 45, Kagawa 76, Kagawa 87, Rooney 90

Norwich: Bunn, R Martin, Bassong, Turner, Garrido, Johnson, Snodgrass (E Bennett 73), Howson, Pilkington, Hoolahan (Kamara 72), Holt (Becchio 90)
Subs not used: Camp, Whittaker, R Bennett, Fox

Booked: Snodgrass, Garrido, Johnson, Turner

Attendance: 75,586

Referee: Neil Swarbrick



Harry Redknapp was not awarded the warmest of receptions on his St Mary's return but will care not one iota as his QPR side eked out a 2-1 victory over Southampton.

QPR constructed a fine counter-attack to take the lead on 15 minutes as Loic Remy found a deft finish from a tight angle after being played through, despite Danny Fox's best efforts to keep the ball from crossing the line. It was a lead they relinquished before half-time though.

Jay Rodriguez's shot from distance should have been dealt with but when QPR goalkeeper Julio Cesar spilled into the path of Gaston Ramirez, the talented Uruguayan pulled off an outlandish dinked finish to level. QPR's winner on 77 minutes owed much to Park Ji-Sung's industry.

The Hoops midfielder won a ball he had no right to win before feeding in a low cross for forgotten man Jay Bothroyd to convert from a couple of yards.

Southampton: Boruc, Clyne, Fonte, Yoshida, Fox (Shaw 57), Puncheon, Ramirez (Ward-Prowse 74), Cork, Schneiderlin, Lallana (Rodriguez 43), Lambert.
Subs not used: Kelvin Davis, Steven Davis, Do Prado, Richardson.

Booked: Fonte.

Goals: Ramirez 45.

QPR: Julio Cesar (Green 74), Bosingwa, Samba, Hill, Traore, Park, Granero (Jenas 53), Mbia, Hoilett, Bothroyd, Remy.
Subs not used: Taarabt, Mackie, Onuoha, Da Silva, Townsend.

Booked: Bothroyd, Mbia, Traore.

Goals: Remy 14, Bothroyd 77.

Attendance: 31,728.

Referee: Howard Webb.



West Ham substitute Jack Collison was his side's hero at the Britannia Stadium as he had the Stoke fans groaning on the stroke of half-time, when he angled home from fellow replacement Ricardo Vaz Te's cute reverse ball.

Stoke rallied after the interval and went close to levelling late on when Charlie Adam struck the bar but it was Sam Allardyce's side who stood strong to claim what could prove to a massive three points for the Hammers.

Stoke: Begovic, Shotton, Shawcross, Wilson, Wilkinson, Walters (Jones 74), Whelan (Adam 77), Nzonzi, Kightly (Shea 66), Jerome, Crouch.
Subs Not Used: Sorensen, Cameron, Palacios, Whitehead.

Booked: Nzonzi.

West Ham: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Collins, Reid, O'Brien, Jarvis (Pogatetz 83), Joe Cole (Vaz Te 11), O'Neil, Diame, Taylor (Collison 10), Carroll.
Subs Not Used: Spiegel, Carlton Cole, Maiga, Chamakh.

Booked: Collins, Carroll.

Goals: Collison 45.

Attendance: 22,690

Referee: Jon Moss (W Yorkshire).



It proved to be some game at the Stadium of Light as Sunderland and Fulham shared four goals on a glorious afternoon in the North East.

Fulham took the lead in controversial circumstances when Mark Halsey changed his mind to award a penalty after ruling Craig Gardner to have clipped Ashkan Dejagah. Dimitar Berbatov converted with customary ease before on 35 minutes Fulham's lead was extended when from a break Dejagah made rapid strides before feeding in a perfect cross for Sascha Riether to convert.

Sunderland reduced the arrears just a minute later when they were awarded a soft penalty of their own, after Philippe Senderos was adjudged to have pushed Danny Graham. Set-piece expert Gardner made no mistake from 12 yards.

The comeback was complete with 20 minutes left when Stephane Sessegnon drilled home after Senderos could only clear into the path of the Sunderland playmaker.

Sunderland: Mignolet, Gardner, O'Shea, Bramble, Colback, Sessegnon, N'Diaye, Larsson, Johnson, Fletcher, Graham (McClean 76).
Subs Not Used: Westwood, Bardsley, Vaughan, Mangane, Cuellar.

Booked: N'Diaye.

Goals: Gardner pen 37 , Sessegnon 70.

Fulham: Schwarzer, Riether, Senderos, Hangeland, Riise, Duff (Emanuelson 80), Sidwell, Karagounis (Frimpong 64), Dejagah (Rodallega 85), Ruiz, Berbatov.
Subs Not Used: Etheridge, Petric, Richardson, Hughes.

Booked: Hangeland, Sidwell, Riether.

Goals: Berbatov pen 16, Riether 35.

Attendance: 39,312

Referee: Mark Halsey (Lancashire).



There were fears in the Swansea camp that their players might just suffer a hangover from their Capital One Cup heroics at home to Newcastle United, but such reservations were allayed with just five minutes left as substitute Luke Moore scored the game's only goal at the Liberty Stadium.

It was a scuffed finish that claimed Michael Laudrup's side a maximum haul but one which was good enough to move them ten points ahead of their visitors in the table.

Swansea: Vorm, Rangel, Williams, Monk, Davies, Hernandez (Tiendalli 88), Britton (Moore 76), Routledge, De Guzman, Dyer (Ki 60), Michu.
Subs not used: Tremmel, Bartley, Lamah, Shechter.

Goals: Moore 85.

Newcastle: Elliot, Debuchy, Steven Taylor, Yanga-Mbiwa, Santon, Gouffran, Cabaye, Sissoko, Tiote (Ameobi 90), Gutierrez (Marveaux 90), Cisse.
Subs not used: Alnwick, Anita, Perch, Haidara, Obertan.

Booked: Cabaye, Tiote.

Attendance: 20,405.

Referee: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire).



The final game of Saturday proved to be a miserable one for Wigan as they were easily brushed aside by Liverpool to the tune of a 4-0 home defeat. Suarez's well taken hat-trick and a rare Stewart Downing header did the damage at the DW Stadium.

Liverpool needed just two minutes to take the lead through Downing's effort after good work from Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian was the architect of Liverpool's second too, as his pass picked out Suarez for the Uruguayan's first of the day.

He then got his second via a deflected free-kick off the head of the unfortunate Shaun Maloney before rounding off the most comfortable of afternoons with his third, and Liverpool's fourth, in the 49th minute.

Wigan: Al Habsi, Scharner, Caldwell (Espinoza 51), Figueroa, Boyce, McCarthy, McArthur, Beausejour (McManaman 61), Kone, Di Santo (Alcaraz 52), Maloney.
Subs not used: Robles, Henriquez, Gomez, Stam.

Booked: Caldwell, McArthur.

Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Jose Enrique, Gerrard, Lucas, Allen, Downing, Suarez, Coutinho (Henderson 70). Subs not used: Gulacsi, Assaidi, Coates, Suso, Shelvey, Wisdom.

Goals: Downing 2, Suarez 18, Suarez 34, Suarez 49.

Booked: Lucas, Allen.

Attendance: 20,804.

Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).




Tottenham Hotspur boosted their hopes of Champions League qualification and dealt a blow to Arsenal's chances of another top-four finish as they ran out 2-1 winners in an absorbing North London derby at White Hart Lane. Gareth Bale continued his superb form with the opening goal on 37 minutes and Aaron Lennon made it 2-0 before the interval as Arsenal's defensive deficiencies were ruthlessly exposed. Both teams have tricky games still to play this season and Villas-Boas knows that Tottenham's win over Arsenal will mean little if they do not push on and remain consistent.

Tottenham: Lloris, Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Assou-Ekotto, Dembele (Livermore 87), Parker, Lennon (Gallas 90), Bale, Sigurdsson, Adebayor (Defoe 66).
Subs not used: Friedel, Naughton, Holtby, Carroll.

Goals: Bale 37, Lennon 39.

Booked: Vertonghen, Adebayor, Walker.

Arsenal: Szczesny, Jenkinson (Rosicky 60), Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Monreal, Ramsey, Arteta (Podolski 77), Walcott, Wilshere, Cazorla, Giroud.
Subs not used: Mannone, Koscielny, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Coquelin, Gervinho.

Goals: Mertesacker 51.

Booked: Ramsey.

Attendance: 36,170.

Referee: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear).




Manchester City maintained their slim hopes of retaining the Premier League title with a 1-0 win at Aston Villa on Monday evening. But Carlos Tevez's winning goal in first-half stoppage time means Villa remain in the relegation zone and in danger of being relegated for the first time since 1987. City were able to reduce the gap on leaders Manchester United to 12 points - while leaving Villa supporters fearing the worst.

Aston Villa: Guzan, Clark, Bennett, Baker, Lowton, N'Zogbia (Holman 65), Westwood (El Ahmadi 86), Delph, Agbonlahor, Benteke, Weimann (Dawkins 84)
Subs not used: Given, Lichaj, Sylla, Bowery

Booked: Benteke, Delph

Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Clichy, K Toure, Nastasic, Milner, Garcia, Rodwell (Dzeko 25), Silva (Barry 90), Y Toure, Tevez (Nasri 75)
Subs not used: Pantilimon, Lescott, Kolarov, Sinclair

Goals: Tevez 45

Referee: Mike Dean

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