Football round-up - Saturday, 28 & Sunday, 29 September

By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

It was a miserable weekend for the two Manchester clubs with both sides losing ground on the early pacesetters as September concluded in the Barclays Premier League.

The malaise continues around Manchester United as they tripped up badly at home to West Brom.  The Baggies shocked the champions with a 2-1 victory to record their first win at Old Trafford in 35 years.  United looked a pale shadow of the side that cruised to a 20^th league title last season and once again, only Wayne Rooney looked fit enough to wear the shirt.

England’s number one striker scored a free-kick for the third successive domestic match, cancelling out Morgan Amalfitano’s opener for the visitors early in the second half.  However it was another young English talent who settled the outcome, as Saido Berahino struck his first goal in the top flight on 67 minutes to seal a memorable and richly deserved victory for Steve Clarke’s side.

Some of David Moyes’ team selection was very questionable.  Robin van Persie was left on the bench, along with main summer signing Marouane Fellaini and Shinji Kagawa was sacrificed at half-time for youngster Adam Januzaj.  The facts don’t lie though, as this is United’s worst start in the Premier League era and their lowest points tally after six games since the 1989-90 campaign.  There are some worried faces around the Theatre of Dreams.

Manchester City’s troubled away travels continued on Saturday at Villa Park as they were gazumped 3-2 by Aston Villa despite outplaying their opponents for the majority of the match.  They led twice through Yaya Toure’s fourth goal of the term and Edin Dzeko, but a resilient Villa fought back well and showed they can win without star asset Christian Benteke.  Austrian Andreas Weimann capitalised on some suspect defending from Matija Nastasic and City skipper Vincent Kompany to beat Joe Hart to a loose ball and give the Midlands side a priceless and memorable victory. 

This meant Arsenal had the chance to extend their advantage over the Manchester rivals and they did in the Saturday evening kick-off, winning well at Swansea City.  Aaron Ramsey found the target once again in the 2-1 victory at the Liberty Stadium.  Arsenal’s other goal came from the impressive Serge Gnarby, filling in for an injured Theo Walcott.  That was the Gunners fifth successive victory and leaves them two points clear of Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.

The Reds recovered from a difficult week with a fine counter attacking display to defeat bottom club Sunderland 3-1 on Sunday.  Luis Suarez marked his Premier League return from a 10-game suspension with two goals and Daniel Sturridge also found the net for the fifth time in six games, making him the joint leading scorer in the division with Ramsey.  The Black Cats showed some fight in the second half and Emanuele Giaccherini gave them hope after he pounced on a rare error from returning visiting goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, but they need points and fast.

Tottenham drew 1-1 in a feisty London derby with Chelsea on Saturday lunchtime.  Spurs played brilliantly in the first half and deserved their half-time lead, given to them by Glyfi Sigurdsson.  The introduction of Juan Mata at the interval turned the match almost on its head.  The Spaniard created an assist for the equaliser, scored by Blues captain John Terry.  In fact, Chelsea looked like they might be able to win the game until Fernando Torres received a red card in the final 10 minutes for a clash with Jan Vertonghen.  Jose Mourinho branded Vertonghen ‘pathetic,’ after his acting got the striker dismissed but Torres was lucky to stay on the field for attempting to scratch Vertonghen in the face in the first half.  He might face further sanctions from the FA later in the week.

The pressure continues to increase on Martin Jol after his Fulham side were beaten at home by Cardiff City.  Jordon Mutch scored a cracking winner in stoppage time for the Bluebirds as they left west London with a 2-1 win, and kept the Cottagers in the bottom three.  Crystal Palace lost their fifth match in six as they sank to a 2-0 reverse at Southampton who now sit an excellent fifth in the table.  Pablo Osvaldo scored his first goal for the Saints since his record £15m move from AS Roma last month and Rickie Lambert grabbed his first domestic goal since the opening weekend.

Norwich City earned a valuable three points on Sunday as Jonny Howson’s first half strike settled a scrappy clash with a below-par Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium and an early Robbie Brady penalty shot Hull City into the top seven with a 1-0 triumph against goal-shy West Ham United.

In the Women’s Super League decider, it was Liverpool Ladies who came out on top and became the first team since Fulham in 2002 to break Arsenal’s 10-year stranglehold on the title.  The Reds (players celebrating pictured) only needed a draw to clinch the WSL against nearest rivals Bristol Academy but did it in style with a 2-0 victory.  The investment into the team from Fenway Sports Group has turned around the club’s fortunes, as they had finished bottom of the WSL in the first two seasons of competition since the reformation in 2011.  Arsenal Ladies had to settle for third place despite winning on the final weekend away at Everton.

In the Sky Bet Championship, Derby County sacked manager Nigel Clough after slipping to a third defeat in the past seven days.  Derby lost the East Midlands derby to Nottingham Forest 1-0 on Saturday lunchtime and the board decided a change was needed after four years in the role with stable, but limited progress by the former Liverpool midfielder.  Ex-Derby County midfielder Steve McLaren is the bookies favourite to replace Clough, with Tony Pulis, Alex McLeish and Michael Appleton also believed to be serious contenders for the vacancy at Pride Park.

Derby are now 14^th in the table, but still well clear of the drop zone.  Barnsley dropped to the foot of the table after a 2-1 defeat to high-flying Leicester City and the pressure increased on Dave Jones at Sheffield Wednesday and Dougie Freedman at Bolton Wanderers after dismal results again at the weekend.  Wednesday were beaten 1-0 at home by Doncaster Rovers, with Federico Macheda collecting his third goal in two games since joining on loan from Manchester United.  Bolton needed an injury-time header by Matt Mills to rescue a 1-1 draw with Yeovil Town but neither club has still managed to register a victory in the Championship this season.

In League One, Leyton Orient’s perfect record came to an end, but they stayed unbeaten after Walsall pegged them to a 1-1 draw at Brisbane Road.  Chesterfield held onto top spot in League Two despite slipping to a 1-0 home defeat against Mansfield Town, surrendering their unbeaten record in the process.

In Scotland, two more goals from Billy McKay helped Inverness stay top of the Premiership on goal difference.  Caley Thistle crushed Hibernian 3-0 after Celtic had briefly gone top with a 5-2 drubbing of Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

Rangers kept their unbeaten record going in League One after Stenhousemuir got an 8-0 thumping at Ibrox and in La Liga; Gareth Bale was only a half-time substitute as Real Madrid lost the Madrid derby 1-0 at home to Atletico.