Torres double sinks Chelsea at Anfield

Fernando Torres made it seven goals in eight appearances against Chelsea as his stunning double gave a resurgent Liverpool a deserved 2-0 victory against the Premier League leaders.

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson was hoping to build on wins against Blackburn, Bolton and most recently Napoli and the Reds, inspired by star striker Torres, gave their manager some breathing space with a tremendous performance.

It didn't take long for Liverpool to grab the initiative, the returning Dirk Kuyt floating a glorious pass over the Chelsea defence for Torres to bring down and finish superbly past the advancing Petr Cech.

The second was a real sucker-punch for the visitors as, with half-time approaching, Ashley Cole was dispossessed by Raul Meireles, who then charged forward before feeding Torres in the penalty area. The Spaniard cut in from the left and then curled a glorious strike into the far corner.

Andy Carroll scored his sixth goal of the season as Newcastle upset Arsenal 1-0 at Emirates Stadium. Less than a fortnight after Arsene Wenger's side enjoyed a 4-0 win in the Carling Cup, Newcastle had their revenge as they moved up to fifth in the Premier League.

Carroll's header shortly before half-time condemned Arsenal to a second straight defeat in all competitions following their defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk in midweek.

With England manager Fabio Capello watching from the stands, Carroll did his chances of an international call-up no harm as he caused problems for the Gunners defence and used his aerial presence to good effect. Lukasz Fabianski came out to deal with Joey Barton's free-kick, but Carroll beat him to it to give the Magpies a half-time lead.

Marouane Chamakh had a chance to equalise for Arsenal shortly after the break, after Alex Song dragged the ball across the face of Tim Krul's goal, but Danny Simpson did enough to steer the ball out of the danger area. Andrei Arshavin crossed for Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas but his diving header was straight at Krul. The Gunners continued to press for an equaliser, but the Newcastle defence were well drilled.

Laurent Koscielny added to Arsenal's woes when he was shown a red card in stoppage time after bringing down the pacy Nile Ranger.

Mario Balotelli showed all parts of his game, scoring twice before seeing red, as Manchester City helped ease the pressure on Roberto Mancini with a much-needed 2-0 victory against West Brom at the Hawthorns.

The strain on Mancini has been gradually building after City lost for the third time in a row against Lech Poznan in midweek but his side stopped the rot with a workmanlike performance to move back up to fourth in the table.

With Albion unbeaten at home in the league, City faced an ominous task and the home side nearly made their fast start count when Chris Brunt almost forced an own goal from Kolo Toure. City soon found their rhythm, however, and, although their possession lacked penetration at times, they went ahead when Balotelli met the returning Carlos Tevez's low cross to steer home his first Premier League goal.

It wasn't long before City were two goals to the good, the impressive David Silva picking out Balotelli who, despite a poor first touch, held off Gabriel Tamas before firing past Scott Carson. City looked set to take three points back to Eastlands until Balotelli showed his dark side by kicking out at Youssuf Mulumbu to earn a straight red card. West Brom pressed hard for an opening but City were resolute in defence and Hart was rarely called upon.

West Brom lost their extra-player advantage when Mulumbu was dismissed for going through the back of Tevez and, consequently, they appeared rudderless for the remainder of the game.

Source: espn.co,uk