Liverpool Beat West Brom, Man City Lose To Sunderland.

(Pic from Euro-Sport)

Liverpool beat West Bromwich Albion who were in no charitable mood at Anfield 1-0. They pushed Liverpool to the limit, pinning them against the wall. Nigerian international Odemwingie kept Skrtel on the back foot all the time.

For Liverpool, Steven Gerard, who played from a left midfield position, and Fernando Torres were prominent in their sporadic attacks. Javier Mascherano's void was clearly visible as West Brom curved a pathway in the middle of the central midfield position.

Kuyt played from right midfield area, supplying all attack launches and then pushing forward with play. The Reds were stretches several times, defending very far apart from each other and too close to Pepe Reina's goal.

On the offensive, Liverpool could only afford counter attacks which were definitely dangerous, but the strikers were always a shade too slow to convert the chances that came their way. Only after Torres' goal did Liverpool look like a team playing at home, taking control of the game.

Money-bags, Manchester City, got beat by Sunderland 0-1, in a surprise performance that will make Tottenham Hotspurs feel better. Micah Richards felled Darren Bent, who rose up, dusted off the dust and converted the resultant penalty in injury time. Sunderland pur a spirited 2nd half fight that deserved the reward.

The Black Cats were responding to a 0-1 West Brom defeat last week, taking advantage of a Tevez gilt edged miss at the Stadium Of Light to stun Championship pretenders. Roberto Mancini will be surely feeling the heat as the air of expectation from the fans and Abu Dhabi billionaires expect returns for their investment.

Aston Villa bounced back from an embarrassing 0-6 defeat to Newcastle United last week to a fine performance against Everton, in a match in which Steven Pienaar was superb. The fast paced match was a fast-forwarded affair, Ashley Young in red-hot form, action swinging from one American goalkeeper to another. Tim Howard and Bradley Friedel had to be in tip-top form to keep the marauding strikers at bay.

Everton brought in Louis Saha to step up their fire power. Fellaini was ever dangerous, coming close several times. The action-packed was a thriller of the highest order, the best we have seen this season so far, keeping fans on their feet.

Both teams converted with pace from defence to attack, being incisive in penetration and making it a nail-biting affair. The final ball was not perfect as expected of a high-paced match, but the movement off the ball was enterprising. Everton became more anxious in their build-ups and Villa came off in counter attacks that were fluffed by Reo-Cocker or Ashley Young who either ran out of options or got surrounded by defenders.

Luke Young scored the all important goal in the 9th minute.