Wolves shock City as Nani strikes for United

Roberto Mancini handed a first Premier League start to Mario Balotelli in the absence of Carlos Tevez, and the former Inter Milan man was heavily involved early on, missing two hugely presentable chances before getting into a couple of hot-tempered clashes with the opposition.

When the opener came, it was David Silva who provided the magic as he fooled Richard Stearman with a faked attempt to cross, drawing the penalty for Emmanuel Adebayor to convert. However, Wolves were level by the interval as Ninad Milijas sent a low drive out of the reach of Joe Hart.

Such was the back-and-forth nature of the game that Wolves, despite their failure to win a league match since the opening day of the season, were no longer the second class citizens in the match. And that fact became clear when David Edwards, latching onto a loose ball, steered home the winner from the edge of the box just before the hour.

A controversial late goal from Nani sealed a 2-0 win for Manchester United against Tottenham Hotspur in a hugely entertaining Premier League match at Old Trafford.

Both sides struck the woodwork before United captain Nemanja Vidic opened the scoring with a first-half header from a Nani freekick.

After the break, Nani went down in the box looking for a penalty and handled the ball as he fell. Tottenham goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes appeared to put the ball down for a free-kick that had not been given but, amid the confusion, the Portuguese winger nipped in to put the ball in the net.

Carlo Ancelotti demanded an improvement from his Chelsea side following dropped points at Manchester City and Aston Villa in recent away day outings, and his players delivered a result - if not a performance - as Blackburn were beaten 2-1 by a late goal at Ewood Park.

Having kept five consecutive clean sheets, Ancelotti's men fell behind to Benjani's first-half header as Blackburn were rampant in front of their home crowd. However, Nicolas Anelka provided a response for Chelsea five minutes before half time, and Branislav Ivanovic headed home with six minutes remaining to ensure their five-point lead at the top of the table remains intact.

The champions were second best all over the pitch for the opening half hour, with Petr Cech working overtime to deny Mame Biram Diouf, who's mishit cross almost lobbed the giant goalkeeper. Benjani, starting in place of Nikola Kalinic, was also a constant threat, and after twice testing Cech's reflexes, he rose highest to glance home El-Hadji Diouf's inswinging cross for a deserved Blackburn opener.

Again missing the calming presence of Ramires in midfield, Chelsea were rattled, but they found a leveller before the break, with Didier Drogba nodding down Florent Malouda's diagonal ball for Anelka to marginally ease Ancelotti's visible anger.

Things did not get much better for Chelsea after half-time though, and Blackburn should have stolen it inside the last ten minutes when Jason Roberts found himself one-on-one with Cech, but rolled his opportunity wide. Within minutes the error was punished, with Yuri Zhirkov crossing impressively for Ivanovic to win it for the Blues.

Arsenal also left it late as they broke West Ham's hearts with two minutes remaining to stay within five points of Chelsea at the top of the table. Alex Song was the unlikely hero as he converted Gael Clichy's cross in the dying moments.

The Gunners have saved the majority of their goals for the second half of games this season, and so it proved against their London neighbours as Robert Green excelled in the West Ham goal. With Frederic Piquionne putting in an excellent shift up front, the Hammers limited Arsenal to only a handful of first-half chances, and Green was equal to anything Samir Nasri and Marouane Chamakh had to offer.

The West Ham 'keeper could only stand and marvel as Nasri so nearly found an unlikely way through ten minutes into the second period, clattering the bar with a free kick from 35 yards. It looked like it would be a frustrating day for Arsene Wenger's men, but Song was one of three Arsenal players queuing up to meet Clichy's late cross. Fulham enjoyed a comfortable afternoon as they defeated Wigan 2-0 at Craven Cottage. Wigan came with an intention to frustrate their opposition in west London, knowing Fulham had only won one league match all season.

That tactic initially seemed to be working, but as soon as Carlos Salcido's superb cross found the head of Clint Dempsey for the breakthrough, the visitors looked all at sea. Zoltan Gera could and should have doubled the lead when he headed over in front of an open goal, but Dempsey ensured that miss did not matter as his cool finish chalked up goal number five of the American's season.

In the other game of the day, Everton moved into the top half of the table with a controversial 1-0 victory over Stoke at Goodison Park.

Tony Pulis has suggested in recent weeks that the smaller sides get less of the big decisions, and he was left with his head in his hands as Tuncay Sanli had a goal harshly chalked off for the slightest of nudges in the act of scoring. Pulis' frustration was elevated ahead of full time, as Yakubu guided home a smart finish after Tim Cahill's strike rebounded of an upright.

Source: espnsoccernet.com