Sunderland down rival Middlesbrough

EPL Weekend Review

Middlesbrough vs Sunderland

Sunderland's first Premiership win since 2002 came at the expense of Middlesbrough as The Black Cats secured a much needed 2-0 win in the first North East derby of the season.

After seeing their chances of ending their 26 game winless streak ended in such cruel circumstances against West Brom, Mick McCarthy's men witnessed their fortunes change at The Riverside in a game they rarely dominated.

Goalkeeper Kelvin Davis was the hero of the first half as a string of saves preserved Sunderland's advantage after Tommy Miller scored early on, whilst Julio Arca free kick sealed the win Sunderland had been waiting for, for so long.

Birmingham vs Liverpool

Liverpool and Birmingham played out an entertaining 2-2 draw at St Andrews on Saturday.

After a dull first half, substitute Luis Garcia put The Reds ahead on 68 minutes, before two errors from Rafa Benitez's side saw them 2-1 down.

Stephen Warnock firstly headed into his own net just four minutes after going in front, and then Pepe Reina's bad mistake in spilling Emile Heskey's header allowed Walter Pandiani to prod home from close range.

However, the final period of the game saw Neil Kilbenny sent off for handball on the line allowing Djibril Cisse to level from the penalty spot.

Chelsea vs Aston Villa

Aston Villa proved that Chelsea's defence can be breached but a Frank Lampard double saw Chelsea come from behind to win 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.

Villa had the temerity to take the lead in the 44th minute through Luke Moore but Chelsea still went into the interval level, when Lampard responded with a direct free kick.

In the second period Chelsea proved they are the masters of grinding out results, as a Lampard penalty with 15 minutes remaining earned the West Londoners their seventh win of the season.

Everton vs Wigan

Wigan Athletic heaped more misery on Everton and continued their bright start to the season with a 1-0 win at Goodison Park.

Following an even first half, The Latics caught David Moyes' side cold after the interval with Damien Francis netting from close range.

Manchester Utd vs Blackburn

Blackburn recorded their first win at Manchester United in The Premiership with Morten Gamst Pedersen scoring both goals for Mark Hughes's men in a 2-1 win.

Hughes returned to his former club to inflict a massive blow to any title pretensions United may have had as Sir Alex Ferguson made the puzzling decision to leave Wayne Rooney on the bench until the second half.

Blackburn led at the break courtesy of Pedersen's free kick and, although Ruud van Nistelrooy equalised after Brad Friedel spilled Rooney's shot, a mistake by Paul Scholes allowed the Norwegian to hand the points to Blackburn.

Newcastle vs Manchester City

Michael Owen's first ever goal for Newcastle at St James' Park gave The Magpies a 1-0 win over Manchester City.

Newcastle were impressive early on and Owen poked home early on after getting the better of City's defence.

That proved to be enough for Graeme Souness's side who held on despite some intense pressure late on.

West Brom vs Charlton

A superbly adept first half performance from Charlton was enough to record a 2-1 win at West Brom with Danny Murphy scoring a brace of goals.

The initial breakthrough arrived after less than ten minutes, Jerome Thomas wriggled free down the left and he sprinted past Steve Watson only for the full back to bring Thomas down a yard inside the box.

Referee Chris Foy correctly adjudicated and awarded the penalty, with Murphy sending Chris Kirkland the wrong way from the spot to give the more assured side a ninth minute lead.

The score was doubled, and deservedly so, on the half hour mark. Rommedahl's pace once again caused consternation in the Albion backline and after dashing past Jonathan Greening his cross found Murphy seven yards out who made no mistake.

West Ham vs Arsenal

Arsenal are still looking for their first away win of the season after they were held to a 0-0 draw by West Ham.

Arsene Wenger's side picked up a point at Upton Park for the third successive game as they drew blank in a capital clash that failed to sparkle, despite plenty of effort from both sets of players.

With 19 goals between them in the top flight so far, a goalless draw was not on the cards, yet clear-cut chances were few and far between in a battle between East and North London clubs.

Bolton vs Portsmouth

A wonder goal from Kevin Nolan was enough to give Bolton a 1-0 victory over Portsmouth at the Reebok Stadium.

Nolan's sublime overhead kick was good enough to win any game, even if it had the whiff of offside about it, and it proved to be the decider for the hosts in an energetic match.

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