Manchester United close in on Chelsea lead in Week 9 of the English Premier League

Javier Hernandez celebrates his late game-winner against Chelsea. Shaun Botterill / Getty Images.

Manchester United won at Stamford Bridge this weekend for the first time in a decade, tightening the gap between league leaders Chelsea and the rest of the pack.
The Red Devils jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 15 minutes, when Robin van Persie ricocheted a shot off David Luiz into the net before slotting home minutes later. Despite United’s early momentum, the Blues seiged the United goal in the last few minutes of the first half, coming to a crescendo with a curled Juan Mata free kick that David De Gea couldn’t keep out.
The greatest controversy came in the second half. Ramires’ header drew the West London outfit level, but in the space of six minutes, Roberto Di Matteo’s hopes of completing his comeback were dashed. Chelsea
were reduced to nine men when Branislav Ivanovic who was sent off for tripping Ashley Youngâ€"who was through on goalâ€" before Fernando Torres received his second caution for simulation.
Second-half substitute Javier Hernandez took advantage of the two-man advantage five minute after Torres was given his marching orders. The officials are already receiving abuse after Chicharito appeared to be in an offside position in the buildup.
The other headliner of the weekend, the Merseyside derby, ended in a draw.

Luis Suarez heads in Liverpool's second goal of the afternoon against Everton. Chris Brunskill / Getty Images.

Everton and Liverpool put on a controversial show that ended up with both sides sharing the spoils 2-2. Luis Suarez forced Leighton Baines into scoring an own goal before finishing a chance of his own, celebrating with an overly-exaggerated mock dive in front of David Moyes, who had spoken on the Uruguayan’s melodramatics midweek.
Leon Osman got Everton back into the game just two minutes after Suarez’s second, before Steven Naismith latched onto a Marouane Fellaini cross to draw the home team level. Suarez had the chance to finish with a hat-trick four minutes into extra time, but he was ruled offside and his last-gasp winner was disallowed.
The weekend began in rather dull fashion with Aston Villa playing hosts to Norwich, as Paul Lambert faced his old side after leaving Carrow Road earlier in the year. Despite scoring first through a cool Christian Benteke finish, Villa were unable to retain the lead, and Joe Bennett’s sending off was too much of a disadvantage for the Villans to handle.
In truth, Norwich dominated the encounter for vast periods and, despite equalising through Michael Turner’s header on 79 minutes, the Canaries might feel unlucky to not have come away from Villa Park with all three points. Both clubs remain just outside the relegation zone, but judging by the quality of football displayed, could find themselves fighting against the drop unless they improve drastically.
Meanwhile, Sam Allardyce led West Ham to the DW Stadium hoping to record back-to-back victories in the English top flight. Regardless of the 10-place void that existed between the pair prior to kickoff, it was Wigan Athletic who looked more likely to score early on. Ivan Ramis made sure the hosts went into halftime with a one-goal lead with a thunderous volley from an eighth minute corner.
The Latics emerged from the halftime break as they had gone into it, taking a firm grasp of the game and piling on the pressure to allow James McCarthur to power home from 10 yards. James Tomkins grabbed a consolation goal in the 93^rd minute, but it was a case of too little, too late for West Ham. The Hammers dropped from 6^th to 9^th place.
At the Brittania Stadium, Stoke City and Sunderland displayed possibly the dullest 98 minutes of football a fan will be put through all season. The Potters have developed a reputation for being hard to break down at home, while the Black Cats are also somewhat resilient when away, making for an incredibly uneventful 0-0 draw.
Neither of the two deserved to take all three points, and Stoke and Sunderland remain positioned in 13^th and 14^th, respectively. Were a player to be picked out as man of the match, Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet saved his side on several occasions and did exceptionally well to keep a clean sheet.

Carlos Tevez dribbles before unleashing his 30-yard thunderbolt that proved the difference against Swansea City. Clive Brunskill / Getty Images.

When Swansea City travelled to the Etihad Stadium last season, they succumbed to a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Manchester City. But Saturday saw the Welsh outfit put up a far stronger fight against the defending Premier League champions. Through a mixture of the hosts’ inefficiency and some stern Swans defending, it took City until the 61st minute to break the deadlock courtesy of an earth-shattering 30-yard strike from Carlos Tevez.
City’s win means Roberto Mancini’s men stay within reach of defending their Premier League title and are just a single point behind Chelsea in first place and level on points with Manchester United in second.
Arsenal also struggled in their game against QPR, and only when Stephane Mbia was sent off for the visitors in the 80th minute did the Gunners make the breakthrough. Arsene Wenger’s side have lost some of their shine in October, but managed to win on a scrappy goal from Mikel Arteta.
Even with the three points, Arsenal remain two points outside the top four and a daunting seven points off the pace set by Chelsea. QPR are now three points away from safety, adding fuel to the fire of claims that Mark Hughes’ sacking is imminent.
Saturday’s best match of the day, however, came at the Madejski Stadium where Reading and Fulham exchanged the lead numerous times in a 3-3 draw. The score seemed highly unlikely considering Mikael Leigertwood’s opener was all that separated the two side at halftime. However, the introduction of Bryan Ruiz in the 58th minute sparked the Cottagers into revival mode and three minutes later, the Costa Rican drilled Fulham level.
Fulham’s Chris Baird then poked home for the second week in a row to put Fulham ahead for the first time, before Garath McCleary pulled the hosts level with just five minutes left to go. With two minutes of normal time left, Dimitar Berbatov showed composure to curl his effort into the far right corner of the Reading goal, leading Fulham to believe they had won.
But the Royals launched an assault on Mark Schwarzer’s net, and even after Hal Robson-Kanu made the score 3-3 with a dogged finish, Reading were unlucky not to score a last-gasp winner.
Newcastle and Tottenham won 2-1 against West Brom and Southampton, respectively. Senegalese pair Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cissé played the roles of hero for the Magpies while Spurs relied on goals from Gareth Bale and summer signing Clint Dempsey to give them all three points.
So, with as much controversy and action as any, Week 9 of the Premier League presented viewers with their regular dose of thrills and spills, with changes aplenty at both ends of the English top flight.


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