Norwich 1-0 Stoke

Bradley Johnson's first goal for over a
year earned Norwich a 1-0 win over
Stoke which lifted them above their
opponents in the Premier League.
Stoke were aggrieved that they had not
been awarded a free-kick for a foul on
Charlie Adam in the build-up to the
goal and felt the free-kick which then
was awarded to the hosts was harsh,
but in a game of few chances,
Norwich's spirit ensured the result was
a deserved one.
The home side had made a decent
start, with Robert Snodgrass to the
fore, but the first shot in anger came
from Stoke as Adam curled one just
wide from 20 yards after a loose
clearance from Javier Garrido.
Anthony Pilkington had the first clear
sight of goal for the home side after
good work by Wes Hoolahan but Asmir
Begovic was able to block his low eight-
yard effort with his legs.
Adam went into the book for
simulation after it appeared he had
received a shove, but the Scottish
midfielder was seen to better effect
when he drilled one into John Ruddy's
midriff.
After Andy Wilkinson was booked for
bringing down Snodgrass, the visitors
claimed harshly, Johnson (44) rose
highest to meet Snodgrass' free-kick
and flick the ball into the top corner to
give the home side the lead.
Pilkington then skipped to the byline
and cut the ball across for Snodgrass
who could not provide the crucial
touch with the goal gaping.
Early in the second period, Michael
Turner missed his clearance to present
Jon Walters with a glorious chance but
the Stoke man, under pressure from
Sebastien Bassong, could not beat
Ruddy from 10 yards.
Pilkington volleyed over on the stretch
while Alexander Tettey, a powerhouse
in the home midfield, drilled one wide
from 23 yards as Norwich looked to
earn some breathing space.
One of Tony Pulis' two substitutes
Kenwyne Jones headed Adam's free-
kick straight at Ruddy and Peter Crouch
hooked one volley over the top as the
pressure mounted.
Jones again drilled wide as he muscled
past Ryan Barnett but Norwich were
able to hold firm to record only their
second home win of the season.

Spurs 1-1 Wigan

Ben Watson's goal early in the second-
half was enough for Wigan to claim a
surprise 1-0 win over below-par
Tottenham at White Hart Lane.
A second away win of the season for
Roberto Martinez's side was
completely deserved as Spurs
struggled to make the most of a
positive start and had to listen to the
jeers of their own fans for long spells
of the game.
They controlled the early tempo but
had only a Clint Dempsey shot,
deflected behind for a corner, to show
for their almost complete dominance
of possession.
Spurs came closest to taking the lead
on 20 minutes when a corner fell for
Jan Vertonghen, but the Belgian
defender's sweet volley was well held
by Ali Al-Habsi.
Wigan grew into the game and had a
decent chance of their own just before
the half-hour when Arouna Kone and
Shaun Maloney linked up well and
Kone forced Brad Friedel into a fine
reaction save.
Friedel came to the rescue again
moments later when Maloney beat the
offside trap only to see his shot
bounce back off the keeper as he
spread himself as wide as possible.
Watson wasted a decent chance just
before the break, firing over after more
good work from Kone, and the jeers
from sections of the home support
when the half-time whistle went told
the story from Spurs' point of view.
The goal Wigan threatened as the
opening half wore on came 11 minutes
after the break when Friedel failed to
clear a Maloney cross under pressure
from Kone and Watson volleyed home
from six yards.
Spurs upped the pace, as they clearly
had to, and almost forced an equaliser
on 68 when Steven Caulker headed a
corner back across goal but James
McCarthy headed off the line with Al-
Habsi beaten.
The home side continued to struggle in
the final third despite bringing on
some fresh blood and Wigan
threatened on the break with Kone's
greediness costing them a chance and
Maynor Figueroa not far off target with
a long-range free-kick.
Gareth Bale curled a set-piece of his
own just wide as the seconds ticked
down, but despite plenty of late
pressure an equaliser was not
forthcoming and Wigan headed back to
Lancashire with three valuable, and
hard-earned, points.

Fulham 2-2 Everton

Steve Sidwell's last-minute equaliser
salvaged a most unlikely point for
Fulham in a pulsating 2-2 draw against
Everton.
It was harsh on the Toffees and in
particular the brilliant Marouane
Fellaini who scored two second-half
goals to help his side as they recovered
from their early set-back and utterly
dominate until the final few seconds.
With the spoils set to be heading for
Merseyside, the ball was hooked into
the box and as defender Seamus
Coleman dithered, Dimitar Berbatov's
fumble allowed substitute Sidwell to
slide in at the back post and steal a
point for Martin Jol's men.
It was a breathtaking finish to a very
lively contest that had begun so well
for the hosts, albeit in slightly fortunate
circumstances.
After just seven minutes Phil Neville
carelessly chopped down Berbatov on
the edge of the box, leaving Bryan Ruiz
to curl in a free-kick from his cultured
left foot that crept in off the diving Tim
Howard and the post.
The goal meant the Toffees had
conceded the first goal in each of their
last five league games and having
rescued at least a point on each
previous occasion, they had every
reason to attack more adventurously.
Fulham's reluctance to press on merely
invited danger and Nikica Jelavic,
Coleman and Phil Jagielka all went
close with rasping shots.
There was new fire burning in the
visitors after the break and having
narrowly failed to connect to Jagielka's
flicked header, Fellaini grabbed a
deserved equaliser.
The Belgian burst through the middle
and after the rampant Kevin Mirallas
pulled the ball back from the right, the
midfielder blasted home (54).
Everton were flying and it was not long
before they had the advantage when
Jagielka's long ball was chested down
on the edge of the box and Fellaini
fired in low past Mark Schwarzer after
bustling past Aaron Hughes.
The Fulham defence was crumbling
and Fellaini had a shot deflected onto
the post before Steven Naismith fluffed
the follow-up and Schwarzer then
palmed away a stunning Fellaini volley.
That save proved to be crucial as
Sidwell's late stab earned a last-gasp
point for the Cottagers, leaving Everton
boss David Moyes distraught on the
sidelines and reflecting on a fourth
successive draw.

Sunderland 0-1 Aston Villa

Gabriel Agbonlahor lifted the gloom at
Aston Villa and piled the pressure on
Sunderland with a second-half winner
in a 1-0 success at the Stadium of Light.
The forward's well-taken volley just
before the hour mark was enough to
settle a forgettable skirmish between
two of the Premier League's lowest-
scoring sides and give Paul Lambert
just a second league win since his
summer appointment.
Victory took Villa level on points with
their hosts, whose supporters have
had just three home goals to cheer
since August.
Two of those came from Steven
Fletcher and the Scotland striker was
denied a sixth of the season by a
correct - if marginal - offside call as he
clipped Stephane Sessegnon's pass
over Brad Guzan.
Adam Johnson was the home side's
likeliest source of opportunities, the
winger teeing up Sessegnon for a
blocked shot and Lee Cattermole for a
curler feathered a foot past the angle
of post and crossbar.
But clear chances were hard to come
by at either end before the break,
Simon Mignolet's only involvement a
routine stop from Andreas Weimann's
20-yarder.
That changed after half-time, Guzan's
misjudgement going unpunished as
Seb Larsson failed to control a header
from Phil Bardsley's cross.
And the goal came in similar
circumstances at the other end,
Christian Benteke heading down Matt
Lowton's floated centre for Agbonlahor
to finish ahead of Carlos Cuellar.
Martin O'Neill sent on Louis Saha,
whose flicked header cleared the bar,
and home penalty appeals were given
short shrift after John O'Shea's effort
struck Benteke's arm.
Villa might have added a second on
the break but for Weimann's weak
finish, and Sunderland's last chance to
grab a draw went wide of the post with
Fraizer Campbell's injury-time header.

Man Utd 2-1 Arsenal

Arsenal's worst fears were realised as
Robin van Persie inspired Manchester
United to a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford.
The £24million striker took just three
minutes to score against the club he
left in the summer, and the hosts
could even afford the luxury of a
missed Wayne Rooney penalty as
Patrice Evra's second (67) and a red
card for Jack Wilshere made it another
dismal day in Manchester for Arsene
Wenger despite Santi Cazorla's late
reply (90).
The scoreline may have lacked the
ruthlessness of last season's 8-2, but
with 10 games gone Arsenal are worse
off than in any previous season under
Wenger - nine points behind United,
who moved a point clear at the top
thanks to Swansea's draw with
Chelsea.
It took until injury-time for the visitors
to bring a first save out of David De
Gea, a lack of bite which was brought
into painful focus by the menace of
their former captain.
Van Persie had scored nine in 12
appearances for United so he scarcely
needed the invitation to shoot
provided by Thomas Vermaelen,
whose miscued clearance from Rafael
da Silva's innocuous cross fell perfectly
for his former team-mate to bobble a
20-yard shot beyond Vito Mannone.
The goal left Arsenal chasing for the
eighth time in 11 games, and an
obvious lack of confidence in
possession allowed United to wait for a
mistake, Aaron Ramsey's dithering on
halfway inviting a break which ended
with Mannone keeping out Van Persie
at his near post.
And when the Gunners defence was
slow to follow out Bacary Sagna's
headed clearance Michael Carrick
returned the ball for Wayne Rooney,
whose left-footed drive brought a
more convincing stop from the Italian.
United should have put it to bed either
side of half-time, but Rooney dragged
his penalty wide after Cazorla had
handled in the box and Antonio
Valencia miskicked in front of goal after
another Vermaelen blunder put Van
Persie in.
Arsenal briefly threatened to cash in,
Olivier Giroud spinning onto Cazorla's
pass and clipping the outside of the
near post, but only a fingertip stop
from Mannone denied Van Persie a
second and when the resulting corner
was played short Rooney's cross was
headed in by Evra.
Any realistic chance of a comeback
disappeared down the tunnel with
Wilshere - given a second booking for
catching Evra on the overstretch - and
Cazorla's fine injury-time goal was a
barely relevant footnote.

Lionel Messi becomes a Dad

Lionel Messi girlfriend Messi’s girlfriend, Antonella Roccuzzo delivered a baby boy today and which was named Thiago Messi.

This is what Messi wrote on is facebook page

"Today, I am the happiest
man in the world. My son
was born, and I thank God
for this gift! Thanks to my
family for the support. A
hug to everyone."

A big Congrats to both of them!

Contract deadline for Walcott

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has urged
the club to sort out Theo Walcott's
contract within the next two months.
The forward's current deal expires at
the end of this season and talks with
the Emirates outfit have stalled in
recent months.
The player and club have been at
loggerheads over salary negotiations
while Walcott has also sought
assurances that he will be used as a
striker rather than a winger.
Wenger has said in the past that he
sees Walcott in a more central role in
the future and he told a press
conference on Thursday that he is
ready to meet his positional demands.
The England international underlined
his credentials as a striker with a hat-
trick in the 7-5 Capital One Cup win
over Reading.
When asked about the 23-year-old's
contract, the Frenchman said: "There is
urgency. I want it resolved by
Christmas. At the moment I think we
will still manage to make a deal with
him.
"I always said it is important that he
plays in the right position and that
certainly would be through the middle
in the future, he showed that again on
Tuesday night.
"The positions on the flanks are
changing, you need to do a lot of
defending. He should be dedicated
more to offensive work.
"He loves to score goals, Theo. He has
good pace, makes excellent, intelligent
runs, and what has changed with Theo
is he's become a very good finisher."