Premier League: Wolves 3 Wigan 1

Wolverhampton Wanderers ended their eight-game wait for a Premier League win, beating fellow strugglers Wigan Athletic on Sunday.

Goals from Jamie O’Hara, David Edwards and Stephen Ward gave Wolves three points for the first time since August and put more pressure on Latics manager Roberto Martinez.

The visitors looked several yards short of a team worthy of a place in the top flight and barely deserved the goal they scored from the penalty spot by Ben Watson.

The result cemented their place at the foot of the table and launched Wolves into 13th place.

If it had not been for the athleticism of Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi, Wolves would have netted more.

Wolves had conceded 16 goals in their previous seven league games and their defensive problems were highlighted when Adlene Guedioura was played into trouble by a poor pass from left-back Ward.

Again, Wigan failed to take advantage after Mohamed Diame’s tackle and the through ball was wasted by a Hugo Rodallega shot that lacked conviction.

The Colombian then missed a golden opportunity in the 31st minute after Di Santo robbed Richard Stearman on the right.

His inch-perfect long ball looped over Christophe Berra’s head but Rodallega casually sidefooted wide with Wayne Hennessey’s net at his mercy.

Boss Martinez had even more cause to put his head in his hands after the subsequent goal kick led O’Hara to punish Rodallega’s folly.

The clearance was nodded into Doyle’s path by Guedioura and his smart cross was blasted home by the on-rushing midfielder.

Wigan had rarely threatened but their right flank had looked the most likely to reap reward. Full-back Emerson Boyce drove on from deep to produce the penalty slotted home by Watson at the second attempt in the 42nd minute.

The ex-Crystal Palace defender’s charge into the box was ended by a block from Hunt that left referee Lee Probert with no choice but to point to the spot.

Watson’s poor shot was stopped easily by Hennessey, however, he then pushed the ball to the grateful midfielder to complete the job.

Wolves regained the lead 10 minutes after the interval.

Substitute Matt Jarvis drew out Boyce and then played in Henry. The midfield hatchet-man showed surprising grace to dance to the byline and cut back to Hunt.

The Irishman’s shot from point blank range was saved superbly by Al Habsi, but even better was to come, as he somehow clawed away O’Hara’s follow-up when prone on the ground.

Unluckily for the shot stopper, third time was the trick for Wolves as Edwards unleashed an unstoppable half-volley into the net as the stationery Wigan defence watched on.

Ward made the victory safe with Wolves’ third in the 66th minute.

Jarvis was the creator this time as he danced inside Boyce to find Edwards. Edwards’ scuffed effort was deflected into O’Hara’s path and his shot was save brilliantly by Al Habsi again.

Cruelly, history repeated itself and the rebound from Ward was deflected home via Alcaraz.

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Premier League: QPR 2 Manchester City 3

A Yaya Toure header gave Manchester City a 3-2 win at QPR to keep Roberto Mancini’s men five points clear at the top of the Premier League.

QPR started the better of the two sides with Heidar Helguson flashing wide in the opening minutes.

A deserved goal came for the hosts when Joey Barton played in a free-kick from the right, with Jay Bothroyd rising highest to bury the header from eight yards.

Neil Warnock’s men continued to apply pressure, with Jamie Mackie forcing a save from Joe Hart who also reacted well to block Helguson’s follow-up.

QPR’s failure to extend the advantage was soon punished as James Milner slid through a pass to Edin Dzeko who cut in from the left before coolly placing the ball into the bottom corner.

The visitors found a quick breakthrough after the interval as Dzeko fed David Silva, who glided past two defenders and finished from inside the penalty area.

Dzeko then burst through on the hour and let off a left-footed shot, but Paddy Kenny pulled off a smart save to keep it out.

City’s dominant spell was broken with just over 20 minutes left as Armand Traore’s cross was met by Bothroyd whose header deflected off Helguson and into Hart’s goal.

But Mancini’s side bounced straight back as an Aleksandar Kolarov cross swung precisely onto the head of Toure, who nodded home what proved to be the winner.

Helguson nearly registered another equaliser with 10 minutes remaining when he met Bartons free-kick and thumped a towering header against the top of the post.

QPR pushed for another chance but City shut the game down effectively enough to see it out and retain their comfortable advantage at the top of the table.

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Premier League: Bolton 5 Stoke 0

Bolton Wanderers grabbed their first home win of the season beating a Stoke City side that have now lost their last two league games.

Two goals in the first half from Kevin Davies and Chris Eagles proved a taste of things to come for the Trotters fans who went on to see an inspired performance from their players against an insipid Stoke side.

Eagles got his brace during an outstanding man-of-the-match display from the winger, with Ivan Klasnic also grabbing two goals to give the Lancashire outfit a much needed lift in their first home league win since April.

Bolton briskly took the lead with the game’s first action following a pass-back handled by Asmir Begovic.

The free kick just inside the Stoke box was taken immediately by a sharp minded Klasnic and put through skipper Kevin Davies with an open goal to put the ball past a bemused Potters keeper.

Peter Crouch was given a great chance to equalise just minutes later as strong running from Jermaine Pennant allowed the former Liverpool man to pop in a low ball across the Bolton area.

The Stoke forward got a slight touch on the cross to poke it towards Jussi Jaaskelainen, but the Finnish keeper got just enough on it to deflect it clear.

Stoke enjoyed their fair share of possession after the game had calmed down, with the ever threatening long-throw from Rory Delap entering the Bolton box on numerous occasions within the first 25 minutes.

However, the Potters were eventually punished for not spending their time on the ball more wisely after a stunning strike from Eagles doubled the Trotters’ lead with less than half an hour played.

A hesitant clearance from Begovic found the winger and the former Burnley man blasted the ball from around 30 yards.

Eagles again got himself in the mix for the move that led to Bolton’s third after 61 minutes, with the midfielder putting the ball into Robinson’s feet, and the full-back then proceeding to lay the ball perfectly for Klasnic to sweetly thunder past Begovic.

It was four for Bolton after Eagles again put himself into the heat of the action, this time as the goalscorer, popping the ball past Begovic after being put through by Klasnic.

Stoke’s efforts to even grab a consolation were bettered by the Bolton defence who constantly kept on top of their game to keep them from getting even a sniff at goal.

The result was put beyond even further doubt after Klasnic scored his second from a close-range effort in the Stoke box, with a floundering Begovic failing to get a proper touch on the ball, sending the Bolton faithful into raptures.

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Downing calls for Liverpool improvement

Stewart Downing says Liverpool should be winning home fixtures against newly promoted sides after their disappointing 0-0 draw with Swansea.

Brendan Rodgers’ men are the fourth visiting team to grab a point at Anfield this season in just six games, damaging Kenny Dalglish’s side’s push for a Champions League spot, and Downing said Liverpool needed to lift their game.

“Swansea are a good footballing team and they’ve played well this season, but with no disrespect to them we need to be winning games like that at home if we want to get to where we want to be,” Downing told Liverpool’s website.

“It was a bit disappointing for us not to get the three points.”

“It was disappointing to draw, but although Swansea played quite well, if we had put our chances away and scored early it might have been different.”

“Probably the pleasing thing for the manager and the team is that we are creating chances. But we’re not putting them away.”

“We’ll just have to keep working on it and keep getting ourselves in the right positions and hopefully they’ll turn into goals soon.”

The winger pointed to several key chances the Reds failed to finish and hailed the form of Swans goalkeeper Michel Vorm after he made two crucial late stops to keep the scores level.

“If Andy (Carroll) had scored with that early chance, it may have been a different game – Swansea might have had to change the way they played,” he said.

“It was a brilliant save from Glen’s (Johnson) shot. I think the goalkeeper has probably been their best player this season, which shows how well he’s done.”

“But we had chances through Daniel (Agger), Glen as well as Andy’s right at the start, and I’m not sure if Dirk’s (Kuyt) goal was offside or not.”

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Premier League: Bolton 5 Stoke 0

Bolton Wanderers grabbed their first home win of the season beating a Stoke City side that have now lost their last two league games.

Two goals in the first half from Kevin Davies and Chris Eagles proved a taste of things to come for the Trotters fans who went on to see an inspired performance from their players against an insipid Stoke side.

Eagles got his brace during an outstanding man-of-the-match display from the winger, with Ivan Klasnic also grabbing two goals to give the Lancashire outfit a much needed lift in their first home league win since April.

Bolton briskly took the lead with the game’s first action following a pass-back handled by Asmir Begovic.

The free kick just inside the Stoke box was taken immediately by a sharp minded Klasnic and put through skipper Kevin Davies with an open goal to put the ball past a bemused Potters keeper.

Peter Crouch was given a great chance to equalise just minutes later as strong running from Jermaine Pennant allowed the former Liverpool man to pop in a low ball across the Bolton area.

The Stoke forward got a slight touch on the cross to poke it towards Jussi Jaaskelainen, but the Finnish keeper got just enough on it to deflect it clear.

Stoke enjoyed their fair share of possession after the game had calmed down, with the ever threatening long-throw from Rory Delap entering the Bolton box on numerous occasions within the first 25 minutes.

However, the Potters were eventually punished for not spending their time on the ball more wisely after a stunning strike from Eagles doubled the Trotters’ lead with less than half an hour played.

A hesitant clearance from Begovic found the winger and the former Burnley man blasted the ball from around 30 yards.

Eagles again got himself in the mix for the move that led to Bolton’s third after 61 minutes, with the midfielder putting the ball into Robinson’s feet, and the full-back then proceeding to lay the ball perfectly for Klasnic to sweetly thunder past Begovic.

It was four for Bolton after Eagles again put himself into the heat of the action, this time as the goalscorer, popping the ball past Begovic after being put through by Klasnic.

Stoke’s efforts to even grab a consolation were bettered by the Bolton defence who constantly kept on top of their game to keep them from getting even a sniff at goal.

The result was put beyond even further doubt after Klasnic scored his second from a close-range effort in the Stoke box, with a floundering Begovic failing to get a proper touch on the ball, sending the Bolton faithful into raptures.

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Premier League: Newcastle 2 Everton 1

Ryan Taylor scored a phenomenal volley to help Newcastle United continue their unbeaten run in the Premier League on Saturday.

Taylor struck in the 29th minute after Everton defender John Heitinga had scored an own goal in the 12th minute.

Jack Rodwell reduced the arrears on the stroke of half-time in a thrilling encounter at St James’ Park.

The first real chance of the game fell to the Merseysiders on 10 minutes, as Royston Drenthe crossed from the left and Louis Saha’s flick on fell to Seamus Coleman at the far post.

The young midfielder should have done better, but hit his shot wide, failing to test Tim Krul.

Newcastle took the lead when right-back Danny Simpson whipped in a dangerous cross from the right wing, and a mis-communication between Heitinga and goalkeeper Tim Howard saw the Dutch centre-back slice the ball into his own net.

Against the run of play, Everton then managed to manufacture three chances in quick succession. The best by far fell to Saha who ran free of the home defence after an aerial ball beat the Toon defence.

However, the Frenchman dwelt on the ball, allowing Steven Taylor to pressure him into squandering his shot.

Moments later, David Moyes’ men were made to rue their missed chances after a failed clearance from a Newcastle throw-in fell to Ryan Taylor on the edge of the area.

The left-back had no right to score, but after Drenthe failed to close him down the he smashed an unstoppable volley, leaving Howard helpless.

Minutes later, the Toffees defence again failed to clear the ball, leaving Danny Guthrie with a chance to volley from the edge of the box.

The ball took a long time to fall for the midfielder, giving Heitinga time to get a block in.

On the stroke of half-time, Everton won their first corner of the match after a strong run down the right flank. Jack Rodwell ran to the front post to meet the ball and nod it past Krul.

Newcastle continued to pile the pressure on Moyes’ men after the interval. The first chance came as the ball fell to Guthrie on the edge of the box, but the midfielder did not have time to settle and shot high and wide.

Moments later, Saha hit a powerful, low shot but Taylor managed to deflect it wide.

On the 60-minute mark the end-to-end nature of the game was perfectly illustrated, with Tim Cahill getting a shot on target which Krul saved comfortably, before Sammy Ameobi smashed high and wide at the other end.

As ever, the Merseysiders refused to give up and were relentless in attacking the Magpies’ goal. But the equaliser failed to materialise, with Louis Saha missing a late chance and Tim Cahill failing to connect with a cross.

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Serie A wrap: Roma on the rise

Goals from Bojan Krkic and Dani Osvaldo saw Roma defeat Novara 2-0 away from home in Serie A, while Palermo beat Bologna.

Roma began strongly in Saturday’s match at the Stadio Silvio Piola, with Erik Lamela looking dangerous.

It was the Argentine who enjoyed Roma’s first sight of goal six minutes in, finding space on the edge of the box before unleashing a powerful drive, but his effort flew straight at Novara goalkeeper Alberto Fontana.

The hosts had the ball in the back of the net on 18 minutes, as a great cross from Marco Rigoni was met by Francesco Marianini.

But the former Empoli midfielder’s header was ruled out for offside.

And Novara went close again when Rigoni’s neat ball found Takayuki Morimoto on the edge of the box, but the Japan international was denied by a good save from Maarten Stekelenburg.

On the stroke of half time Rodrigo Taddei almost gave Roma the lead.

The Brazilian winger cut in from the left flank before trying to curl one past Fontana, but his effort sailed just wide of the top corner.

The second half began with the visitors still struggling to break down their stubborn hosts.

In the 67th minute, Fontana was forced into a great save to deny a long-range effort from substitute Bojan.

Novara should have taken the lead moments later.

Riccardo Meggiorini beat Marco Cassetti on the right flank, leaving the striker with a one-on-one chance, but Stekelenburg rushed off his line to make a great save.

In the 73rd minute the away side finally broke the deadlock, taking the lead through former Barcelona man Bojan.

A beautiful chip from Miralem Pjanic was met by the young Spaniard, who made no mistake, putting Roma 1-0 ahead.

After battling for much of the match to force a goal, Roma managed a second just two minutes later.

Fernando Gago’s corner found Osvaldo in the centre of the area, and the Italy international’s powerful header left Fontana with no chance.

The win sees Roma climb to seventh place on the table, five points back from leaders Juventus.

Promoted Novara are 18th, inside the relegation and one point from safety.

Also on Saturday, Palermo eased to a 3-1 win at home to Bologna.

Eran Zehavi gave hosts Palermo the lead 13 minutes from kick off at the Stadio Renzo Barbera.

Matias Auguste Silvestre and Josip Ilicic were on target to increase the margin in the second half, before Gaston Ramirez netted a consolation goal for Bologna with three minutes remaining.

The win lifts Palermo up to fifth, three points back the league leaders, while Bologna are 14th.

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Kolarov hails ´important´ win

Manchester City’s Aleksandar Kolarov has talked up the importance of beating Wolves following Saturday’s 3-1 win at the Etihad Stadium.

Goals from the Serb, Edin Dzeko and Adam Johnson ensured the hosts would claim all three points and maintain their five-point gap at the top of the table and Kolarov insists Roberto Mancini’s side deserved the result.

“We played well, we deserved to win,” he told talkSPORT. “They came here just to defend and in this kind of game you need to be patient and keep the ball.”

The left-back said the victory would hold them in good stead in the race for the Premier League title.

“These types of games are important if you want to win the title. It is difficult but we need to improve every game and to work hard. We know that every game is very hard,” he said.

“We are in a good moment now but we need to work hard every day and to keep our feet on the ground.”

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Brazilian Serie A wrap: Corinthians go top as Vasco draw

Corinthians came from behind to beat Avai 2-1 on Sunday, taking the lead in Brazil’s Serie A after Vasco de Gama drew with Sao Paulo.

Visitors Avai led through Robinho’s goal in the 12th minute of the match at Estadio Municipal Paulo Machado de Carvalho.

Already trailing, the outlook became bleaker for Corinthians when they had defender Leandro Castan sent off five minutes into the second half.

But despite playing a man down, they managed to force an equaliser with Emerson making it 1-1 two minutes past the hour mark.

And former Sporting Lisbon favourite Liedson struck the winner with 12 minutes to go, completing the comeback for the home side.

Corinthians now top the table courtesy of their superior record to Vasco, who could only draw 0-0 at home to Sao Paulo.

In other matches, Flamengo gave up a 2-0 lead to lose 4-2 away to Gremio.

The visitors were in front courtesy of goals from Deivid and Thiago Neves in the first half at Estadio Olimpico Monumental.

Andre Lima pulled one back for Gremio to make it 2-1 going into the break.

Striker Lima, on loan from Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin, found the net again to equalise five minutes into the second half.

Douglas put Gremio ahead on 79 minutes and Ezequiel Miralles completed the transformation when he made it 4-2 with six minutes remaining.

In other matches, a Fernandes brace helped Figueirense come from a goal down to win 2-1 at home to Bahia, who had led through Diones’ strike.

Palmeiras’ dire season continued when they went down 2-1 away to struggling Atletico Mineiro.

The visitors, already trailing to goals from Neto Berola and Fillipe Soutto, had two men sent off in the space of a minute midway through the second half.

Mauricio Ramos was shown a straight red on 67 minutes and Jorge Valdivia followed him when he received a second yellow just 60 seconds later.

Elsewhere, Coritiba came from a goal down to win 3-1 at home to bottom side America Mineiro.

And Internacional climbed to sixth after they defeated Atletico Goianiense 1-0 away from home.

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Higuain calls for Real calm

Real Madrid striker Gonzalo Higuain has called on his team-mates to remain calm in their goal of taking the La Liga title from Barcelona.

Los Blancos sit a point clear of Barca in the table after 10 games and the 23-year-old has urged his colleagues to stay grounded, despite their early form setting the pace to wrench the league trophy away from the Catalans for the first time since 2009.

“This is when we have to be more relaxed than ever. We are first as a result of our hard work, but there’s a long way to go. We have to continue with humility, perseverance and a cool head,” he said, according to Marca.

The Argentine, who has scored 10 La Liga goals this season, added that his return from a career-threatening back injury put his work into perspective.

“I am very grateful that I can continue with football, which is what I like. It was a very difficult injury, but now I feel great and am enjoying being part of the group again,” he said.

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Wenger: Only way is up for Gunners

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says his side can continue to climb the table after a string of good results.

The Gunners seem to have turned around their poor start to the season with a run of five wins and a draw in the past month.

That has seen them rise from the bottom of the Premier League table to seventh, claim a place in the League Cup quarter-finals, and put them top of their Champions League group.

Arsenal beat Chelsea 5-3 last Saturday in a thrilling game at Stamford Bridge, with Robin van Persie scoring a hat-trick, and Wenger believes his side can still challenge for the title if they maintain their momentum.

“If we are capable of maintaining our run we will come back up quickly,” he told Arsenal’s official website.

“I think we have made a big improvement in recent weeks by bridging the gap and I am personally convinced that the teams ahead of us will drop points.”

“If we are capable of maintaining the pace in the league that we have shown recently then we will come back.”

Arsenal host West Bromwich Albion in Saturday’s Premier League match, and they will be hoping to avoid a repeat of last year when the newly promoted Midlands team won 3-2.

“It was a big setback on the day,” Wenger said.

“We didn’t turn up. That was a good lesson for us. Overall I feel we are in a completely different state of mind now. We have a desire to do well and I am convinced we will.”

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Three points the aim for Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson says that Manchester United are treating their midweek Champions League clash with Otelul Galati as a must-win encounter.

The Red Devils shaded the Romanian club in the reverse fixture 2-0 a fortnight ago thanks to two Wayne Rooney penalties, but Ferguson is not taking Wednesday’s clash at Old Trafford lightly.

“We have to win on Wednesday, without doubt,” Ferguson told United’s official website.

“We’re at home and I expect us to win and, if we do that, (qualification) is in our hands when we play Benfica at home.”

“We’ll hopefully win our game and, when we play Benfica at home, it’ll be the decider in our section.”

United sit in second place in the Group C standings, two points behind leaders Benfica who play Basel in the other fixture.

And Ferguson is not content with merely qualifying for the knockout stages, underlining the importance of winning the group to avoid some of Europe’s biggest clubs in the next round.

“It’s always better to finish first than second,” Ferguson said.

“After getting the first result against Galati and then playing them again at home, we’ll hopefully go into the Benfica game with eight points. That will be an important match.”

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