Premier League Boxing Day round up
For the third week in a row the Premier League fell foul to the weather, as two games on Boxing Day were called off due to arctic conditions in England, which have ruined more than a couple of fixtures in the last few weeks.
Two boxing day matches had to be called off due to frozen pitches, as Blackpool Vs Liverpool, and Everton Vs Birmingham could not take place this weekend. On the bright side however, both Manchester clubs notched up two impressive wins to claim the top two
spots in the league. Manchester United clinically dispatched Sunderland, while City beat Newcastle United to cement their position at the top of the table.
United are now two points clear at the top of the table with two games in hand. Manchester City however could slip down to third today, if Arsenal manage to beat Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium.
Dimitar Berbatov grabbed two goals at Old Trafford, as Manchester United gave an ominous performance at home to move clear at the top of the Premier League table with a couple of games in hand. United were up and running inside five minutes, when Ryan Giggs
and Rooney combined inside the box to play a pin point cross to Berbatov at the far post, and the Bulgarian made no mistake in giving United the lead.
Berbatov and Andersen then hit the upright, but the Red Devils had to go into the break leading 1-0. Berbatov however made sure there was not going to be any nervy last few minutes, as he doubled his side’s advantage in the second half. That took the Bulgarians
tally of goals to 14 in all competition, and 13 in the league.
Manchester City made sure the gap at the top remained only two points, as a brace from Carlos Tevez saw City claim all three points against Newcastle. City were gifted the first goal when a feeble clearence from Tim Krul was intercepted by Tevez, and the
Argentinean squared the ball to Gareth Barry, who made no mistake from an acute angle. Soon after the Citizens doubled their advantage, when Barry turned provider and Tevez provided the finish. Andy Carrol pulled one back for the Toons in the second half,
but Tevez scored another for his side to make sure City remained within touching distance of United.
Two goals from Carlton Cole helped ease some pressure on Avram Grant, as a 3-1 win over Fulham lifted West Ham United off the foot of the table for the first time in three months.
It was Fulham who took the lead at Craven cottage with a spectacular goal. Aaron Hughes rose above all in the box to head home a cross from wide left; it was his first goal for the club in more than thee years. A defensive error by Dickson Etuhu then allowed
the hammers to come back into the game , by gifting Carlton Cole the equaliser. Fredrick Piquionne gave his side the lead at the stroke of half time, with a beautifully taken goal from a cross. Cole made sure that the hammers gained their first away win of
the season, when he scored his second of the night on 74 minutes.
Wigan also celebrated Christmas with a 2-1 win over Wolves, which sees them climb out of the relegation zone. Hugo Rodellega and Tom Cleverly scored for the Latics. Stoke city also claimed a priceless away win at Ewood Park with goals from Robert Huth and
Mark Wilson.
Meanwhile Johan Elmander continued his impressive season, when he scored for Bolton in their 2-0 win over West Btomwich Albion. The results from Boxing Day are as follows:
Fulham 1 - West Ham 3
Blackburn 0 - Stoke 2
Bolton 2 - West Brom 0
Man Utd 2 - Sunderland 0
Newcastle 1 - Man City 3
Wolves 1 - Wigan 2
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