Tottenham adds to United's home woes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Manchester, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Manchester United dropped another home match on Wednesday, falling to Tottenham in a 2-1 loss at Old Trafford to open 2014 on a disappointing note.
The Red Devils have tasted defeat six times under David Moyes, four of which have come at the Theater of Dreams.
Wednesday's affair began in alarming fashion as Emmanuel Adebayor put visiting Spurs in front in the 34th minute, and things got worse in the 66th minute when Christian Eriksen doubled Tottenham's advantage. Danny Welbeck managed to get United back to within one, but the home side failed to find an equalizer in the final 23 minutes of play.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tottenham improves to 37 points to move three points clear of United as Spurs add to their impressive record under Tim Sherwood.
Adebayor has been rejuvenated under the new boss and the Togo international continued his fine run of form by opening the scoring at Old Trafford on Wednesday. The lanky striker got on the end of a chipped cross from Eriksen and nodded the delivery just inside David De Gea's far post just after the half-hour mark.
Eriksen got himself on the scoresheet in the second half when he connected on Harry Kane's low cross to stuff the ball past De Gea.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}United immediately cut the deficit back to one goal when Welbeck latched on to Adnan Januzaj's well-weighted through ball and chipped a shot past the on- rushing Hugo Lloris, but it would not be enough to see the home side take a share of the spoils.
Arsenal 2, Cardiff City 0
London, England - Arsenal left it late but managed to take three points at the Emirates on Wednesday thanks to a 2-0 defeat of Cardiff City.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Gunners were held scoreless until the 88th minute when Nicklas Bendtner rescued the home side with the game-winning goal. Theo Walcott tacked on an insurance goal in stoppage time to make sure of the victory.
Arsenal has won three straight to remain at the top of the Premier League table with 45 points. Cardiff City has managed just one point from its last four league contests, leaving the club just one point clear of the relegation zone.
Liverpool 2, Hull City 0
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Liverpool, England - Liverpool bounced back from a two-game slide to take maximum points at Anfield on Wednesday with a 2-0 defeat of Hull City.
The Reds scored on both sides of halftime as Daniel Agger's opener in the 36th minute was supplemented by a fantastic free kick from Luis Suarez five minutes after the break.
The win sees Liverpool improve to 39 points to bring the Reds back into the top-four. Hull City remains on 23 points after dropping its second match in its last three outings.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Manchester City 3, Swansea City 2
Swansea, Wales - Manchester City kept pace with Arsenal on Wednesday by getting a 3-2 win over Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium.
Fernandinho's opener in the 14th minute was canceled out by Wilfried Bony in first-half stoppage time, but second-half goals from Yaya Toure and Aleksandar Kolarov put the Citizens in a comfortable position.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bony added another for Swansea in the dying minutes, but it failed to spark a comeback as Manchester City marched on to collect all three points and improve to 44 points on the season.
Chelsea 3, Southampton 0
Southampton, England - A second-half push helped Chelsea collect three points at St. Mary's on Wednesday as the Blues netted three goals after the break in a 3-0 defeat of Southampton.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fernando Torres put Chelsea in front with a fortuitous finish at the hour mark while Willian and Oscar added a goal apiece to complete the comfortable victory for the visitors.
The Blues climb to 43 points on the season to stay in third place while Southampton falls for the second consecutive match to stay on 27 points.
Stoke City 1, Everton 1
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Stoke-on-Trent, England - Leighton Baines converted a late penalty to help Everton salvage a point with a 1-1 draw at Stoke City on Wednesday.
Oussama Assaidi had put the Potters in front in the 49th minute, and just when it appeared as though the home side had done enough to claim maximum points, Baines turned in a spot kick to see the Toffees avoid defeat.
It was still a costly result, though, as Everton drops to fifth place in the English top flight in favor of Liverpool. Stoke, meanwhile, sees its losing skid halted at two games.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}West Bromwich 1, Newcastle 0
West Bromwich, England - West Bromwich Albion brought an end to its run of three successive draws by getting a 1-0 victory over 10-man Newcastle at the Hawthorns on Wednesday.
The Magpies went down a man in the 62nd minute when Mathieu Debuchy was sent off, and West Brom took advantage late in the contest with Saido Berahino converting a penalty three minutes from time.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The result sees the Baggies climb to 21 points and keeps Newcastle in eighth place on 33 points.
Aston Villa 1, Sunderland 0
Sunderland, England - Aston Villa earned a 1-0 win at Sunderland on Wednesday to bury a five-match winless run.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The lone goal of the affair came in the 15th minute by way of Gabriel Agbonlahor's third league goal of the campaign, which proved to be enough to bring the Villans up to 23 points.
Sunderland's four-game unbeaten run comes to an end, keeping the Black Cats at the foot of the Premier League table on 14 points.
Fulham 2, West Ham 1
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}London, England - Dimitar Berbatov notched a second-half goal at Craven Cottage on Wednesday to lead Fulham to a 2-1 win over 10-man West Ham.
Mohamed Diame got the Hammers off to a flying start with the opening goal in the seventh minute, but Steve Sidwell managed to get the Cottagers on level terms in the 32nd minute. Kevin Nolan was sent off for the visitors just before halftime, and Fulham capitalized in the 66th when Berbatov turned in a loose ball from close range.
Fulham has won two of its last three league matches to improve to 19 points, bringing the club four points clear of West Ham.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Crystal Palace 1, Norwich City 1
London, England - There was no separating Crystal Palace and Norwich City at Selhurst Park on Wednesday as the two sides played to a 1-1 draw.
Bradley Johnson put the Canaries in front in the 39th minute, but the lead was short-lived as Jason Puncheon equalized five minutes later from the penalty spot.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Leroy Fer was handed his marching orders in the 82nd minute, but Palace failed to take advantage of the extra man in the final eight minutes.