EPL 09/10: Portsmouth add more misery to Liverpool, Fulham trash United and round-up

Fulham took apart Manchester United’s makeshift defence to inflict a fifth Premier League loss of the season on the champions as Liverpool crashed to defeat at lowly Portsmouth.

Aston Villa enhanced their UEFA Champions League hopes with a battling victory over Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur did likewise with success at Blackburn Rovers.
Mark Hughes, with former Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini reportedly in the stands, boosted his prospects of hanging on to the Manchester City job after a seven-goal thriller against Sunderland.

Liverpool found precious little festive cheer on the South Coast in slumping to a seventh league defeat as Portsmouth were dominant in claiming a 2-0 victory.

Rafa Benitez’s side travelled to the Premier League’s bottom club on the back of a midweek win but experienced that familiar losing feeling as goals in either half from Nadir Belhadj and Frederic Piquionne did the damage.

A miserable day for Liverpool and Benitez was exacerbated by a red card dished out to Javier Mascherano before half-time for a reckless challenge on Tal Ben Haim. Had Liverpool played with 12, though, they would still have lost.

Portsmouth were aggressive from the onset and while chances were at premium in the opening period few would begrudge their opener, a stunning angled strike from Belhadj after 33 minutes that whistled past Pepe Reina.

Liverpool’s search for an equaliser was largely restricted to a deflected Steven Gerrard effort that Asir Begovic clawed off the line, before Piquionne added a sumptuous second on the volley after the break.

Arsenal have moved to within two points of second-placed Manchester United with a game in hand after getting the better of Hull City with a 3-0 Emirates success.

Arsene Wenger’s side took the lead just before half-time when Denilson stroked home a delightful free-kick after Abou Diaby was deemed to have been brought down by George Boateng.

The visitors had the perfect chance to equalise after the interval, but Geovanni saw his spot-kick saved by Manuel Almunia after Mikael Silvestre needlessly hauled down Craig Fagan.

Fulham ruthlessly capitalised on Manchester United’s defensive crisis after a commanding 3-0 win over the Premier League champions at Craven Cottage.

Danny Murphy enjoys scoring against United and he broke the deadlock on 22 minutes with an expertly placed shot beyond Tomasz Kuszczak from 25 yards after he robbed the dithering Paul Scholes of possession.

Fulham increased the lead barely 20 seconds after half-time when Clint Dempsey nodded down a cross for the in-form Bobby Zamorato prod home in predatory fashion.

Zamora was involved in Fulham’s third goal on 75 minutes as he superbly controlled a deep free-kick before laying the ball off on the edge of the box for Damien Duff to rifle a volley beyond Kuszczak.

Roque Santa Cruz scored a goal in each half to lift his under-fire manager Hughes as City enjoyed a roller-coasted 4-3 home triumph over Sunderland.

City enjoyed a dream start when Roque Santa Cruz side-footed home on four minutes after a low cross from Craig Bellamy, who was then brought down in the box for Carlos Tevez to score from the spot on 12 minutes.

Yet City’s defensive frailties came back to haunt them on 16 minutes when John Mensah headed home Andy Reid’s cross after the hosts failed to deal with a corner.

Sunderland levelled on 24 minutes through Jordan Henderson only for City to regain the lead before half-time through Bellamy’s precise finish.

Poor defending from City again allowed the Black Cats to equalise on 62 minutes as Henderson was afforded time and space to pick out Kenwyne Jones to glance home.

The hosts were back in front on 69 minutes when Pablo Zabaleta picked out the unmarked Gareth Barry in the box and he steered the ball across goal for Santa Cruz to nudge over the line.

The Black Cats finished the match with 10 men when Michael Turner was sent off for a challenge on Barry much to the ire of visiting boss Steve Bruce.

Aston Villa continued their good run of form as John Carew’s second-half header kept the hosts in the top-four positions after a 1-0 win over Stoke.

Stoke thought they had taken the lead just past the half-hour mark only for Mamady Sidibe’s effort to be ruled out for a push on Villa full-back Stephen Warnock.

And Villa capitalised on that reprieve on 61 minutes as Ashley Young played in a dangerous cross from the right which Carew nodded past Thomas Sorensen.