Chelsea 0:0 Fulham
Rafa Benitez was still under pressure even before the local derby against Fulham and he is still waiting to win his first game since taking the manager position at Chelsea. Benitez was welcomed just like the Sunday game – with everyone booing. Benitez also decided once more to leave crowd favourite Mata on the bench. Fulham sat very deep and handed the midfield to Chelsea. Chelsea had a lot of possession straight from the beginning, but couldn’t create anything significant. Ramires and Torres had some had small opportunities, but nothing remarkable. Nothing changed after the half-time. Ivanovic had a great header after the half but didn’t score. Fulham’s confidence grew in the last minutes and Riise had two great opportunities to secure 3 points, but failed. The game finished in a draw and Chelsea’s winless streak continues. Chelsea hasn’t won in 6 games. However, they overtook West Brom in the table, but only because they lost against Swansea.
Wigan 0:2 Manchester City
ManCity needed to win in order to close the gap to Manchester United. However, City has trouble scoring in their away games. In the last 6 away games, City only scored 7 goals. However, City started well and Aguero and Maicon straight away missed good opportunities in the opening minutes. Wigan, on the other side didn’t hide as well. Kone header missed just inches and Jordi Gomez had a great free-kick which was just a fraction wide. However, it was Balotelli in the 69th minute that scored the lead for ManCity. Al Habsi saved a great Barry shot from the edge of the penalty box and also saved Balotelli first follow-up, but wasn’t able to save the second one – 0:1 Manchester City. Milner scored the final 2-0 with a great shot into the top corner. ManCity is now only 1 point behind Manchester United in the table.
Everton 1:1 Arsenal
ManUnited 1:0 West Ham
Robert von Persie secured the 3 points for Manchester United with the fastest goal of the season. Von Persie beat Jaaskelainen after only 32 seconds with a deflection off James Collins. West Ham played better in the second half, but failed to challenge ManUnited. United secured 3 important points in the title race and remains on top of the table with 1 point ahead of City West Ham will face a tough December program with matches against Chelsea, Liverpool, West Brom, Everton, Arsenal and Reading.
