Manchester City maintained their one hundred percent Premier
League home record this season after a hard-fought 4-2 win over
Bolton on Saturday.
Their ninth successive league victory at Eastlands saw City
overhaul Liverpool into the fourth spot ahead of Sunday's clashes
between the "Big Four", with champions Manchester United playing
Liverpool at Anfield before leaders Arsenal host third-placed
Chelsea.
Portsmouth missed the chance to go fourth after losing 1-0 to
Tottenham Hotspur at Fratton Park. They are now level on 30 points
with Liverpool and Everton, who won 2-0 at West Ham United, but
have to stay seventh on goal difference.
Marcus Bent scored a hat-trick to help Wigan beat Blackburn 5-3
in an eight-goal thriller at the JJB Stadium.
The result ended a run of 13 games without a victory for the
struggling Wigan and marked Steve Bruce's first win as manager.
Blackburn remain ninth in the league but coach Mark Hughes will
be under pressure with only one win out of their last seven
games.
Strikes from Denny Landzaat and Bent, as well as a bullet header
by Paul Scharner, saw the hosts open up a 3-0 lead after 37
minutes.
But Roque Santa Cruz produced a hat-trick, with a half-volley,
tap-in and header, to draw Blackburn level. Unfortunately, they
lost Brett Emerton to a red card before Bent completed the win with
a close-range header and easy finish.
City, the only club in the top flight to have won all nine of
their home league games this season, went ahead just seven minutes
into the Bolton clash when a Ricardo Gardner error saw Rolando
Bianchi gleefully open the scoring.
Goals from El Hadji Diouf and Kevin Nolan left Sven Goran
Eriksson's men stunned before half-time.
City drew level three minutes after the break when Lubomir
Michalik diverted Dietmar Hamann's shot into his own net.
Vassell gave City the lead 13 minutes from time with his first
goal of the season and Etuhu made the game safe in the dying
seconds.
Elsewhere, Derby lost their seventh consecutive Premier League
match with their 1-0 home defeat to Middlesbrough while Sunderland
had to settle for a point in their game against Aston Villa, as a
stunning Shaun Maloney free-kick cancelled out Danny Higgnbotham's
opener.
An injury-time spot-kick from Joey Barton ensured Newcastle came
away from Fulham with three points and Reading drew 1-1 at
Birmingham City.
(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2007)