Thursday, 2 January 2014

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Football news, match reports and fixtures | theguardian.com

Hodgson vows to get England squad right for Brazil

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 03:21 PM PST

• Manager and coaches go to five or six matches a week
• 'I don't worry about not knowing enough about the players'

The England manager, Roy Hodgson, will leave no stone unturned over the next five months as he tries to get the best idea of whom he should take to the World Cup.

The clock is ticking for England's players to prove to Hodgson that they deserve to be in his 23-man World Cup squad when it is named on 2 June.

The next few months will be the most important period of Hodgson's professional life too. The former Liverpool and Fulham manager has had a near 40-year career in management but taking his own country to the World Cup is his biggest mission by far.

The 66-year-old therefore wants to cover the length and breadth of the country to assess the best players available to him. "We follow the games every week. There aren't any Premier League matches that are not covered," Hodgson told FA TV. "[Coaches] Ray Lewington, Gary Neville and myself in particular cover normally at least five or six of the top Premiership matches over the weekend, so I have no worries about not knowing enough about the players."

England have one friendly before Hodgson names his provisional 30-man squad on 13 May. That game against Denmark on 5 March will take place four days after a weekend of Premier League matches that include the Manchester derby.

"One of things that interests me more is trying to get more contact with the players," Hodgson said. "The game in March gives us only a couple of days. There are matches on the Sunday and we play on the Wednesday, so it doesn't exactly give us a lot of time then.

"One of our challenges is to try to make sure we liaise with the clubs, get around to the clubs and get a chance to meet the coaches, meet the players, just get an update and a chance to refresh the players' memories about what we look like and how we sound."

England start their World Cup campaign against Italy in Manaus on 14 June before they take on Uruguay and Costa Rica.

"I am very excited," Hodgson said. "It is the biggest tournament, really. It is every four years, an incredible world event, and this year, with it being in Brazil, with all that Brazil represents in football terms, it adds spice to the occasion. There is no question about that."


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David Moyes says Tottenham's Hugo Lloris should have been sent off

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 02:37 PM PST

• Manchester United manager upset by tackle on Ashley Young
• 'It's scandalous. It should have been a penalty and red card'

David Moyes branded Howard Webb's refusal to award a penalty for Hugo Lloris's challenge on Ashley Young and to send the goalkeeper off as "scandalous" following Manchester United's 2-1 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Goals from Emmanuel Adebayor and Christian Eriksen were answered only by Danny Welbeck to give United a reverse that leaves the champions 11 points behind Arsenal in what was a fourth home league defeat.

Moyes was angry at what he perceived as the injustice regarding the 87th-minute incident that occurred when Lloris charged out at Young who went down in the penalty area.

While replays appeared inconclusive Moyes was in no doubt. "I thought the team played really well, certainly should have had a penalty and a sending-off for the challenge the goalkeeper made on Ashley Young but I thought we created enough opportunities to get at least a draw. It was scandalous. If you follow through on a player anywhere else on the pitch with your foot high, it would be a red card. You couldn't do that anywhere else. The goalkeeper comes out, Ashley Young gets the ball before him and he follows through.

"It's an incredible decision which didn't go our way, in fact probably one of the worst, I think. All I can tell you is that it is a stonewall penalty kick."

Moyes stated that Webb had been sought out for an explanation. "I think some of the staff are going to speak to him," the United manager said.

Tim Sherwood agreed with Moyes. "I haven't seen it back but at the time as I saw it I thought it was a penalty," said the Spurs manager.

Moyes was equally incredulous of Webb's decision to book Adnan Januzaj in the closing moments. "Have you seen that decision? That is a terrible decision. Adnan has got bumped, the boy has tried to edge him off the ball, bumped him off the ball and it is a terrible decision."

Moyes suggested Webb's performance should be scrutinised. "You'd hope the people who put the referees out there would have a look at it and look to see if they think the referees are doing as well as they can be. If they are they keeping picking them."

Despite the deficit to Arsenal, Moyes refused to concede that United's title defence is over. "We will keep going try and win the next game and see how it goes. There is a long way to go," he said.

Tottenham joined West Bromwich Albion, Newcastle United and Everton as sides who have beaten United in the league at Old Trafford. Asked to explain these defeats, Moyes said: "We just didn't get the finishes we needed. We didn't play badly. We deserved to win, if not win it, at worst a draw."

Sherwood has guided Spurs to 10 points from his opening four games since replacing André Villas-Boas. "I think we've got good players and can affect any team we play against if we play right, whether it's United or Liverpool or Arsenal, I just think there's opportunities for our players if we play well and I think at times today we did that," he said.

Sherwood stated it was not clear yet what injury Adebayor had suffered before being taken off on a stretcher. "He's got ice on every part of his body so we can't tell what is wrong with him," the manager said.

Moyes was also uncertain if Robin van Persie will be available for Tuesday's Capital One Cup semi-final first leg at Sunderland. He did confirm that Wayne Rooney is carrying a groin problem. "The plan was to play Wayne 90 minutes. He has got a bit of a groin injury but the longer it went on, we had to get more attacking players on the pitch to find more ways to score.

"If I could [rest him], I would. The games are coming thick and fast. He has missed a couple of games with his groin and may well miss some more in the games coming up."

Jamie Jackson

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Western Sydney Wanderers stunned by Wellington Phoenix

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 02:35 PM PST

Tony Popovic has targeted the Sydney Derby as a chance for his team to atone for their first home defeat in almost a year

Mata's Chelsea future in question

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 02:01 PM PST

Perhaps these are the sort of afternoons that José Mourinho professed to miss so much during his absence from the Premier League. As the wind and rain swept in off the south coast it was Mourinho who stood tall amid the storm and masterminded his side to a fourth league victory in five with two decisive substitutions.

However, a convincing win ended with Mourinho fielding questions on Juan Mata's future at Chelsea. The Spaniard, whose withdrawal was met with despondency and an angry reaction when he reached the dugout, has been linked with a January transfer after falling down the pecking order and Mourinho did little to quell such talk by saying "the club's door is open".

It was Oscar, Mata's replacement, who brought Chelsea to life against a Southampton side who had threatened during periods. The Brazilian also caused controversy when he was booked for a dive after knocking the ball past Kelvin Davis but his impact overall arguably won Chelsea the match. Oscar scored and had a hand in the goals by Fernando Torres and Willian.

On Mata's reaction to being substituted, with the attacker hitting a seat in the dugout, Mourinho said: "Juan's reaction I didn't see. I think his frustration was because of the result, because we know we have to win. At the end of the game everybody including him was happy in the dressing room and everybody was celebrating the victory.

"I want to keep him, I don't want him to go. That's my wish but my door is open and the club's door is open too. When a player wants to speak with us we are there waiting for them."

Southampton enjoyed spells of dominance but were undone by a decisive double substitution. Oscar and Willian, introduced on 53 minutes, both scored after Torres had broken the deadlock but it was Oscar's dive that caused the greatest furore. He allowed his leg to drift into Davis's body as he tumbled to the turf with the score at 0-0.

Mourinho said: "Oscar is a clean player that was waiting for the goalkeeper to come and smash him because that normally happens in these situations. But the goalkeeper was not coming or he was coming and then he stopped. I think it is a fair yellow card for a clean player. We know that he is clean.

"His explanation to me I accept. Oscar found himself in a moment of contradiction, speaking about fractions of seconds, where he thinks contact, penalty, red card."

Despite the atrocious conditions both sides were accomplished on the ball. Chelsea dominated in the opening 20 minutes, Torres darting inside off the left flank to beat two men before firing over, yet Southampton's cohesive attack soon clicked into gear.

Having been on the pitch for only three minutes, Oscar was slipped through one on one by Eden Hazard and knocked the ball past Davis before tumbling to the ground. The Brazilian did, however, play an integral part in Torres's goal soon after. The substitute received the ball on the left and struck a deflected cross that looped over Davis and on to the foot of his left-hand post, rebounding to Torres who finished with his head.

It was 2-0 11 minutes later as Oscar cut inside and fed Willian on the edge of the box to shoot low into the bottom corner. Oscar put the seal on an emphatic second half in the closing stages by firing low past Davis following a looping pass from Hazard.

Mauricio Pochettino said: "In the first hour we were playing quite well. We were quite unlucky with the first goal. When Chelsea brought on Willian and Oscar that completely changed the match.

James Riach

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Championship round-up: Derby beaten for first time in nine matches

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 01:08 PM PST

• Jean Beausejour scores as Wigan beat Derby 1-0
• Leicester go four points clear after beating Millwall 3-1

Derby County lost for the first time in nine Championship matches as resurgent Wigan Athletic claimed revenge for the 3-1 defeat at the DW Stadium a month ago that marked the end for the Latics' then manager Owen Coyle. His successor, Uwe Rosler – also out to settle a grudge after his Brentford side lost 5-0 at Derby in the Capital One Cup in August – had a lot more success as Jean Beausejour's 69th-minute goal earned Wigan a 1-0 victory at Pride Park.

Derby had climbed into the automatic promotion places after a run of eight wins from nine matches but they slipped to fourth as Leicester City, Burnley and QPR all won.

Leicester are four points clear at the top thanks to their 3-1 victory against managerless Millwall. Anthony Knockaert and David Nugent put Leicester two up and, although Richard Chaplow pulled one back, Jeff Schlupp made the away team's success certain with an injury-time third.

Burnley are back up to second after they beat Huddersfield Town 3-2. Danny Ings twice put Burnley ahead, with the former Claret Martin Paterson equalising between his goals. Kieran Trippier extended Burnley's lead in the 79th minute and that proved decisive, despite Paterson's late second.

QPR's struggle for goals looked set to cost them again as Theo Robinson gave Doncaster Rovers the lead at Loftus Road shortly before half-time. Matt Phillips levelled 10 minutes after the break and Charlie Austin struck in injury time to earn Rangers a 2-1 victory.

Nottingham Forest and Reading, two teams hoping to be in the promotion mix, had to settle for a point each in a 1-1 draw at the Madejski Stadium. The makeshift striker Greg Halford scored his third goal in three matches to put Forest ahead but Stephen Kelly headed the equaliser with the last play of the match.

The Championship's bottom side, Barnsley, fought back to earn a point at Birmingham City, Jacob Mellis cancelling out Nikola Zigic's 10th-minute opener. Barnsley are now level on points with Yeovil, whose match against Watford was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch.

Sheffield Wednesday climbed out of the bottom three with a 2-0 victory over Blackpool, who have picked up only one point from their seven games since beating Wednesday at the end of November. Connor Wickham, with his seventh goal in nine league games since returning to Hillsborough on loan from Sunderland, and Chris Maguire scored.

Blackburn Rovers moved to within four points of the top six with a 2-1 victory over Leeds United at Elland Road. Jordan Rhodes scored his 16th goal of the season in the 13th minute and Rudy Gestede added a second before Matt Smith pulled one back for the home side in the second half.

Bolton Wanderers fought back from two down to draw 2-2 at home to Middlesbrough. Mustapha Carayol and Curtis Main had put the visitors two up inside 20 minutes before Alex Baptiste and David Ngog, in stoppage time, brought Bolton level.

Seventh-placed Brighton also left it late to draw 1-1 with Bournemouth, Stephen Ward cancelling out Lewis Grabban's first-half penalty in the 89th minute.

It was the same score between Charlton Athletic and Ipswich Town, who paid for David McGoldrick's missed penalty. A Richard Wood own-goal put Ipswich ahead but McGoldrick saw his spot-kick saved by Ben Alnwick in the 79th minute and Johnnie Jackson struck in injury time to secure a point for the away side.


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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's eye for a chance sees him settle on Cardiff City | Stuart James

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 01:02 PM PST

Vincent Tan's ownership may have put off many potential managers, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has seen quality in Cardiff
• Solskjaer set to be Cardiff's new manager

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has already proved that he is his own man. The feeling in Norway, in particular among those close to Solskjaer, was that the 40-year-old would politely decline Cardiff City's interest on the basis that Sir Alex Ferguson has always preached the importance of choosing an owner rather than a club. Either Solskjaer does not hang on his former Manchester United manager's every word as some suspected, or he views Vincent Tan in a different light to the rest of the football world.

Courtesy of Tan's private jet, Solskjaer sat alongside the Cardiff owner in the director's box at the Emirates Stadium yesterday, when he watched the team he is expected to take over succumb to a 2-0 defeat against Arsenal that leaves them only one point and one place above the relegation zone. He has not been confirmed as Malky Mackay's successor just yet but all the indications are that an agreement is extremely close.

Whatever has been written and said about Tan – and the vast majority has not been particularly complimentary – the Malaysian businessman, aided by the help of the Cardiff chairman, Mehmet Dalman, has pulled off quite a coup by convincing the Molde manager to seriously entertain thoughts of replacing Mackay. Solskjaer, after all, has been courted by several Premier League clubs over the last couple of years. And he certainly does not need to do the job at Cardiff for the money.

What Solskjaer will need millions of pounds for if he takes over is to strengthen the Cardiff team – something that Tan has promised to back the new manager with over the next four weeks. The word is that Cardiff, who splurged more than £30m in the summer, will be among the biggest spenders this month, with Tan open to the possibility of bringing in more players in the same bracket as Steven Caulker.

How easy it would be for Solskjaer to spend that money on the right players remains to be seen. Cardiff had the financial wherewithal, both in terms of fees and wages, to compete for big-name players in the summer, but they found it extremely hard to convince their targets to join a newly-promoted club that had never been in the Premier League before.

Solskjaer, by virtue of his name and his status in the game, may well have more pulling power than Mackay when it comes to the hard sell but what he cannot promise is top-flight football next season, even if Tan is hell-bent on making sure that Cardiff survive.

Arguably what Solskjaer could do with on the pitch more than anything is a modern-day version of himself. Cardiff have badly struggled for goals this season – only Crystal Palace have scored fewer than the 15 the Welsh club have managed in 20 Premier League games. Great entertainers they are not. Pragmatism ruled the day under Mackay, which was why some fans had started to become frustrated with what they were seeing on the pitch, even if the Scot remained hugely popular among the majority of supporters.

Solskjaer will be going down a more expansive tactical path if he signs on the dotted line. In an interview with the Norwegian magazine Josimar in 2012, Solskjaer revealed that he had modelled his coaching at Molde "a bit on the United way of playing. So it's a kind of 4-4-2, but with a striker up front and one player who drops behind the striker. A winger that runs up and down all the time, which Giggsy did, and one that goes a little bit more in and out, as Becks did." He also talked about "a lot of position-swapping in the middle".

Before Cardiff fans start to get excited, it is worth bearing in mind that Solskjaer made those comments in 2012, when he was in his second season at Molde, after winning the title in his first campaign. It would, in other words, be naive to think that he would try and turn Cardiff into "a mini Manchester United" – which is how Solskjaer described Molde – mid-season and when they are scrapping for their lives at the foot of one of the most competitive leagues in the world.

Get through this season, however, and Solskjaer may well view Cardiff as a club that can establish itself in the Premier League if – and it's a big if – he can work under Tan, a man about whom one suspects the Norwegian will have learned as much during the game at Arsenal as the players he could soon be managing.

Stuart James

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Swansea City 2-3 Man City

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 12:52 PM PST

The Manchester City juggernaut rolls on. Another three goals and another three points for Manuel Pellegrini's team, who survived a late scare to rack up a fifth straight Premier League win to strengthen their title challenge on a wet and blustery afternoon in south Wales.

It was the first time that City have won back-to-back away games in the league under Pellegrini and, although the excellent Wilfried Bony's second goal of the afternoon, in the 91st minute, led to an anxious final few moments for the visitors, the result was never really in doubt.

City, who have now scored a remarkable 57 goals in 20 Premier League matches this season, are playing with the confidence of a team who believe they will score whenever they set foot on the pitch. It says everything about the depth of the goalscoring potential in Pellegrini's team that, on a day when Sergio Agüero, their prolific striker, was again absent through injury, Älvaro Negredo was substituted and Edin Dzeko frustrated in his attempts to add to his record, City still scored three times away from home.

Fernandinho, who waited until the middle of December to register his first for City, has now scored three in his last five matches; Yaya Touré took his Premier League tally for the season into double figures to restore the visitors' lead, after Bony had equalised for Swansea on the stroke of half-time; and Aleksandar Kolarov provided the gloss with a superb individual effort.

It was the sort of game that Manchester City might have lost away from home earlier in the season, when they were defeated 3-2 by Cardiff City and Aston Villa in August and September, but there is greater resilience about Pellegrini's team now.

The manager insisted that nothing has changed in terms of the way City are approaching matches on the road but instead suggested that his team are benefiting from no longer committing the sort of defensive errors that Cardiff and Villa took great pleasure in punishing.

"It's very important, that character [we showed today], because at the beginning of the season we dropped too many points away," Pellegrini said.

"I think it's not good for this team to win just 11 points out of 27 [from the away games] we played in the first half of the season. Winning here, the first game away [of the year], is very important for us.

"I think the key [to better away form] was to continue playing exactly the same way we did at the beginning. We didn't lose the games against Cardiff and Aston Villa because we didn't play well; we made a lot of mistakes and conceded easy goals."

Michael Laudrup had no complaints about the result but the Swansea manager was understandably bitterly disappointed with the first and third goals his team conceded. The opener came about after Samir Nasri's corner bounced off Jonathan de Guzmán and ran through to the edge of the penalty area, from where Fernandinho, completely unmarked, lashed a low shot into the net.

Swansea, to their credit, never allowed the visitors to take a stranglehold on the match and equalised through Bony in first-half injury-time. Having twice drilled narrowly wide of Joe Hart's far post, Bony found his range with a well directed – albeit marginally offside – header from De Guzmán's cross.

Buoyed by that goal, Swansea started the second half with renewed belief but were behind again when Touré thrashed an angled drive beyond Gerhard Tremmel via a deflection off the sole of Ashley Williams's right boot.

Within eight minutes City had a third. Kolarov dispossessed Wayne Routledge close to the touchline and ran from inside his own half to the edge of the Swansea penalty area without being challenged. After stepping inside Chico Flores's half-hearted attempt to stop him, the left-back hit a right-footed shot that brushed off José Cañas en route to the back of the net.

Hart, coming off his line for a corner he had no chance of getting, almost handed Williams a goal in the 73rd minute before Bony got his and Swansea's second with a 30-yard raking drive in injury-time.

The two goals were no more than the Ivorian deserved.

"It was by far the best performance from Bony while he was a Swansea player," Laudrup said. "That's the way we want to see him. If he can do it against [Vincent] Kompany and [Matija] Nastastic, he can do it against anyone."

Stuart James

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Man Utd 1-2 Tottenham

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 12:49 PM PST

These are the moments when Manchester United must realise their grip on the Premier League title is slowly being released, finger by finger. They subjected Tottenham to some intense pressure in the final exchanges but the time has passed since Sir Alex Ferguson used to boast that no other side in the world scored more late goals and ultimately they were left to stew on their fourth league defeat at Old Trafford this season. Three have come within the last four weeks and teams with genuine title aspirations surely cannot be so careless.

The champions are now seventh, 11 points off the lead, and David Moyes must feel as if he has been offered the keys to a millionaire's pad, only to discover nobody had told him it had rising damp. United at least showed great spirit in that dramatic final push for an equaliser but they really had no choice but to throw everything into attack after going 2-0 behind midway through the second half. They have already lost on their own ground to Everton, Newcastle and West Brom and it is clear that opposing teams no longer consider Old Trafford to be the formidable place it once was.

Certainly it is starting to feel like a trick of the imagination that Spurs went 23 years without winning at this ground before André Villas-Boas's team managed it last season. Tim Sherwood has now pulled it off in his fourth league game in charge, taking his points tally to 10 out a possible 12 since taking the job. He has rejuvenated the career of Emmanuel Adebayor, the first Spurs scorer, and could probably be entitled to think his team should have spared themselves the late onslaught once Christian Eriksen made it 2-0 midway through the second half. They played with great togetherness to withstand plenty of early pressure and benefited again from Sherwood's switch to an old-fashioned, yet hugely effective, 4-4-2 system.

Daniel Welbeck scored within a minute of Eriksen and at one point Moyes was three yards on the pitch, howling for a penalty after Hugo Lloris had charged from his goalline and lost a chase of the ball to Ashley Young. United had a legitimate grievance and maybe Young's reputation went against him. Welbeck had already been culpable of what looked suspiciously like a dive and Adnan Januzaj, another repeat offender, was involved in an incident of the same type later on, albeit attracting a robust defence from his manager. United had a slightly dishevelled look, however much Moyes tried to butter up their performance, and nobody should think this was a smash-and-grab win for Spurs.

Aaron Lennon, who seems to reserve his best performances for United, will reflect he should already have scored when clean through on goal from Roberto Soldado's exquisite pass before Adebayor opened the scoring on 34 minutes. Soldado had a wonderful chance to make it 2-0 within five minutes and at one point late in the first half Adebayor could be seen sprinting back to the left-back position tussling with Wayne Rooney for the ball. When the resultant corner came over it was Adebayor with the clearance and, again, when the ball was returned to the penalty area. That little passage of play encapsulated their attitude. Adebayor was taken off on a stretcher in the second half and Sherwood said he was not even sure where the injury was. "He's got ice on everything down there," he said.

Adebayor's goal had its origins in the kind of swift counterattacking football to which United have been vulnerable too often this season. Januzaj's loose pass created the problems for United from an encouraging attacking position of their own. Kyle Walker turned defence into attack with a clever piece of skill and perfectly measured ball to Eriksen and United, with Patrice Evra out of position, were in trouble from that moment. Eriksen exchanged passes with Soldado, darted to the right and the nearest defender, Chris Smalling, barely moved as Adebayor expertly guided the Dane's cross just inside the post. From one end to the other it was a goal of fine quality.

United had begun the game brightly. Januzaj showed early flashes of his talent but their most penetrative attacks in those moments mostly originated on the right. Antonio Valencia was a difficult opponent for Danny Rose and Smalling's overlapping runs from full-back added to the danger.

Yet there were only brief passages when United produced the fluency for which they are known. Rooney's desire to give everything to his team will always be a quality but a striker of his ability should not be trying to run the game from every part of the field. Valencia's early promise tailed off and he was switched to right-back when Moyes tried to shake up his team, at 2-0, by taking off Smalling and Michael Carrick and bringing on two more attack-minded players in Javier Hernández and Shinji Kagawa.

It was a bold move from Moyes but Valencia was at fault for Eriksen's goal, far too slow to react once Lennon had sped to the outside of Nemanja Vidic and clipped the ball across the penalty area. Eriksen showed far more commitment to getting there first, darting in to send a stooping header past David de Gea.

Welbeck's goal was a lovely, dinked finish over Lloris from Januzaj's pass but the Spurs goalkeeper was superb thereafter. Moyes, reflecting on the Young incident as a "scandalous" decision, made no attempt to conceal his frustration.

Daniel Taylor

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Arsenal 2-0 Cardiff City | Premier League match report

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 12:47 PM PST

For so long this had looked like being Arsène Wenger's nightmare: first half good; second half not so good. Arsenal had entered the new year on top of the table after an excellent opening 19 Premier League matches and they had been consistently good throughout 2013. The last thing the manager wanted was a stuttering start to the season's second half.

But Arsenal got there in the end. Cardiff had defended for each other, showing their discipline, and they had refused to wilt in the face of mounting pressure. Yet Arsenal had the hero in Nicklas Bendtner, who appeared as a second-half substitute to provide the decisive moment.

The cameo was underpinned by drama. From Nacho Monreal's cross, Bacary Sagna forced the Cardiff goalkeeper David Marshall into a save but Bendtner was on hand to lash the rebound high into the net. He promptly fell on Marshall, turned his ankle and was forced off. As he limped round the fringes of the pitch, he was afforded a gladiator's reception. The same crowd had booed him in the Capital One Cup against Chelsea on 29 October. Bendtner will be out for weeks, rather than days, according to Wenger.

Theo Walcott gave the scoreline a more presentable look with the second, a lovely chip over Marshall from the outstanding Jack Wilshere's flick, and Arsenal could exhale, as they jumped back to the summit. It was tight but they deserved it.

Cardiff gave their all, even if their offensive ambition was limited, but the action for them came in the directors' box, where Vincent Tan sat alongside Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the man he has wooed into becoming his new manager. He whispered into Solskjaer's ear and the most fun to be had during a boring first half was to guess what particular pearls of tactical wisdom he was imparting. Solskjaer looked suitably engaged.

Arsenal made a meal of their task, particularly in the first half when, Wilshere apart, they had no tempo to their play. There was an impression that not only those in the stands were contending with hangovers. Arsenal's passing was frequently careless.

Cardiff were compact, keen to protect rather than push, neat and tidy without quickening the pulse. Their wide midfielders dropped deep and there was chuntering from the home crowd about Marshall's perceived time-wasting as early as the 20th minute. The goalkeeper was eventually booked for the offence, on the hour.

They created precious few chances, with Jordan Mutch's 27th-minute effort on the counter-attack standing out. He escaped Laurent Koscielny's attentions to get his shot away from a tight angle but Wojciech Szczesny saved. At 2-0 Szczesny blocked from the captain, Steven Caulker, at close quarters.

Arsenal dominated in territorial terms and Wilshere worked to inject urgency but the end product was erratic. Walcott had three first-half efforts but none of them troubled Marshall, while Lukas Podolski, playing at centre-forward in place of the injured Olivier Giroud, struggled to make an impression.

He dropped deep in search of the ball, which did little to advance his candidacy as the leader of the line, and his performance was rather summed up when he got in the way of a goal-bound Santi Cazorla shot. He was replaced by Bendtner.

Wilshere had appealed for a penalty on 25 minutes after Gary Medel's challenge, while Cardiff felt aggrieved when Craig Noone's cross early in the second half clearly struck Monreal's hand on the very edge of the area. The officials were unmoved. Walcott later felt that Ben Turner had gone into the back of him inside the box. Turner and Caulker gave towering displays in central defence.

The second half was more impassioned as the home crowd came to confront the possibility of costly dropped points. Wilshere embossed his status as the game's most eye-catching player when he wriggled through to explode a shot off the outside of the near post before Per Mertesacker fluffed two glorious chances.

The first one was the howler and everybody connected to Arsenal did howl, especially the big German. Mertesacker was completely unmarked from Walcott's cross but he headed past the post. Minutes later, again unmarked, he rose to nod Walcott's corner off the outside of the post. Again he sank to his knees in disbelief.

Arsenal camped inside the Cardiff half and, when Caulker cleared Sagna's header off the line in the 83rd minute and Marshall then denied the substitute Tomas Rosicky, it seemed the visitors would hold out. Bendtner had other ideas.

David Hytner

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Crystal Palace 1-1 Norwich City | Premier League match report

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 12:46 PM PST

This match could not have been more Tony Pulis if it tried. It was wet, windy and agricultural, not that anyone associated with Crystal Palace would have cared if they had managed to grind out a fourth win in Pulis's first eight matches in charge.

Yet Palace did not play with enough wit, even after Norwich lost Leroy Fer to a late red card, and a frustrating draw meant they dropped back into the bottom three. If Palace are to stay up, they must win their home matches against teams as ambition-free as Chris Hughton's Norwich.

For Hughton the disappointment was that Norwich could not hold on to the lead given to them by Bradley Johnson and he felt that Mike Dean should have sent Marouane Chamakh off for pushing Wes Hoolahan in the face.

"The letter of the law as far as I know is that, if somebody raises their hands, it is a sending-off offence," Hughton said.

The atrocious conditions made this pure Pulisball and defenders were best advised to locate Row Z. Yet after 39 minutes of tedium Danny Gabbidon dithered while trying to deal with a long ball and Hoolahan and Gary Hooper combined to set up Johnson, who clipped his shot past Julián Speroni and in off the inside of the left post from 20 yards. The lead lasted five minutes. After Cameron Jerome's header was cleared off the line by Martin Olsson Fer stupidly pushed Mile Jedinak from the following corner and Jason Puncheon sent John Ruddy the wrong way with his penalty. Fer, booked for giving away the penalty, would later crunch into Jedinak and earn a straight red card, completing an inauspicious afternoon's work.

Other than that five-minute spell, chances were in short supply. Speroni denied Nathan Redmond with his legs and Jerome shanked two excellent opportunities. Palace might also have had a second penalty when Johnson handled Joel Ward's cross with 15 minutes left.

The next month could be pivotal for them as Pulis looks to improve his squad in the transfer window. "The next two or three weeks are very big for this club," he said. "The window opens so it gives you an opportunity to wheel and deal."

Jacob Steinberg

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Possible moves for Socceroos in the transfer window

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 12:39 PM PST

Kieran Pender: The World Cup is on the horizon, and the January transfer window could be a busy one for several Australia internationals

Kieran Pender

Solskjaer set to be Cardiff manager

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 12:31 PM PST

• Norwegian courted by Vincent Tan in his private jet
• Solskjaer will be given a £25m transfer kitty

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is set to be appointed as Cardiff City manager after a whirlwind day of negotiations with the club's owner, Vincent Tan. Solskjaer flew from Norway to London with Tan on the businessman's private jet on Wednesday and took his place alongside him in the Emirates Stadium directors' box in the afternoon to watch Cardiff's 2-0 Premier League defeat by Arsenal.

Nicklas Bendtner was the Arsenal hero, coming off the substitutes' bench to break Cardiff's resistance with an 88th-minute goal. The striker injured his ankle after scoring, as he fell awkwardly, and he will be out for "weeks, not days", according to Arsène Wenger. The Arsenal manager was already without his other recognised No9, Olivier Giroud, because of ankle trouble, although Giroud is expected to be fit next week. Arsenal remain on top of the table.

It was Solskjaer's appearance next to Tan and with the Cardiff chairman, Mehmet Dalman, in the seat to his other side that provided the most intriguing sub-plot. Solskjaer, the former Manchester United striker and Old Trafford youth coach, has carved his managerial reputation at Molde in his native Norway, where he has won two league titles and one cup in three seasons.

He is set now to take on the job at Cardiff, working for the notoriously demanding Tan, who took the unpopular decision to sack Malky Mackay last Friday, despite the Scot having won the club's first promotion to the top-flight in 51 years. Cardiff sit 17th in the table, one point above the relegation places. As an aside, Dalman is the banker who introduced the Glazers to Manchester United while Solskjaer is a patron of the Manchester United Supporters Trust.

It had been suggested that Solskjaer had reservations about taking the job after Tan's numerous disputes with Mackay over recent months. But Dalman remained confident he could persuade the 40-year-old with the promise of £25m to spend in the January transfer window and reassurances over the working structure at the club.

Solskjaer turned down the chance to become the Aston Villa manager before the appointment of Paul Lambert and had also been linked with the current vacancy at West Bromwich Albion. His first game will be the FA Cup third round tie at Newcastle United on Saturday.

Solskjaer and Tan arrived at the Emirates in a black Rolls Royce and they watched a spirited Cardiff performance under the caretaker charge of David Kerslake, who said he had not spoken to Tan and would continue in the role until told otherwise.

"Coaches and managers in football know that it's a precarious job and we just get on with it," Kerslake, Mackay's former No2, said. "Although Joe [McBride], myself and the rest of the staff know it's only temporary, the last thing I said to the players was that they made me feel immensely proud of the performance they put in.

Kerslake and the midfielder Aron Gunnarsson said that Solskjaer had not been discussed before the game. "He's played for one of the biggest teams in England, a lot of people know who he is and I've heard he's done a good job at Molde," Gunnarsson said, when questioned afterwards.

"If he gets the job, hopefully he can take us further and we can progress as a team because we need that at the moment. It will be something new but it won't be to do with his name. He's done well with Molde and if he comes in, I'm sure he'll bring something fresh. Everyone wants to carry on and get more points on the board. When the owner sorts a new manager out, we can get on with things."

Wenger said he had seen Solskjaer before the game and he suggested afterwards that Cardiff had "played like they knew he was in the stands".

"What you want when you're young is a chance and he [Solskjaer] has that luck," Wenger said. "He has already experience as a manager in Norway so he has learned his job. He was an intelligent player and an intelligent boy as well and that will help him to be successful. He will do well."

David Hytner

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Celtic 1-0 Partick Thistle | Scottish Premiership match report

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 12:27 PM PST

Neil Lennon has revealed that Joe Ledley has "intimated" that he wants to sign a new contract at Celtic. The Wales international, like Georgios Samaras, is in the last few months of his deal and in the 39th minute against Partick Thistle, Ledley showed why his manager is so keen to keep him by driving in from 25 yards for the only goal.

Lennon, whose Celtic side extended their unbeaten league run to 19 games, said: "I want Joe to stay. He has intimated that he would like to stay and we are hoping that we can speak to his representatives this week and get that finalised.

"You are never confident but hopeful. I have spoken to Joe over a number of weeks but it certainly hasn't affected his performances, I thought he was our best player by a considerable margin. Joe has showed great mental strength, it must be a very unsettling period for him and for Georgios as well.

"Joe has been an important player for me and the club and he gives us stability. You can't have all the players leaving for big money, or bringing in players to develop for a couple of years.

"I need a spine to stay together, the likes of Scott Brown, Ledley, Kris Commons, Samaras – if we can get him – and a few others, because they have been big players for us."

On Samaras, linked with a move to Hull City , Lennon said: "Again, we need to speak to his representatives and see how the land lies."

It was Celtic's third successive win by the same result to keep them 11 points clear of second-placed Motherwell. Lennon, though, admitted his side were "flat" and in desperate need of their break in Turkey which will come after the game against St Mirren on Sunday. "We lacked spark, particularly in the final third. There were some good bits of play but I and the supporters expect better. That's two our of the last three games we have been flat and it looked like things are catching up with us. We need this break.

"We looked heavy-legged and mentally tired. We also need an injection of new blood. There is no question that the squad needs freshening up. We are starting to look laboured."

The Partick manager Alan Archibald claimed his side should have been awarded a penalty in the second half when Ledley tangled with Christie Elliott, only for the referee Kevin Clancy to take no action.

Archibald, who thought his side "deserved something, at least a point" said: "I didn't know at the time he was in the box but I thought it was a foul and I didn't know why he didn't give it.

"But I know now, it was in the box and that is why he didn't give it here. I am not surprised by that. Anywhere else on the pitch it is a foul. It is one of those ones you would say was a soft penalty but it was definitely a push, it was clear to see."


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Manchester United 1 Tottenham Hotspur 2: Five talking points | Jamie Jackson

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 12:19 PM PST

Does Spurs' win at Old Trafford mean Manchester United's title challenge is over, and what effect has Tim Sherwood had?
• Read Daniel Taylor's match report here

1 Manchester United need to buy in the transfer window

After Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool all won earlier on New Year's Day the champions started this one 11 points behind Tottenham meaning a win was imperative to maintain any kind of challenge.

During the buildup David Moyes had insisted: "We're still in it." After this defeat – a fourth in the league already at home – the manager may cling to the mantra but the truth is that qualifying for the Champions League is now the big challenge.

Reflecting on a first six months in charge Moyes also said: "It would have been a hard job at United for anybody and it's been a hard job for me." What will also prove very tricky is strengthening this month, which is what Moyes needs to do to have the best chance of leading the club to fourth position, at least.

2 The Tim Sherwood factor

The evidence of the failures at first Chelsea then Tottenham Hotspur showed that André Villas-Boas has a deficit in the art of man-management, the asset most required in an age of millionaire players.

These are early days in Tim Sherwood's tenure, though to witness Emmanuel Adebayor tussling with Wayne Rooney near his own corner flag towards the end of the first half was to view a prime illustration of how Villas-Boas's replacement is motivating the same group. Since Sherwood reintroduced Adebayor as a starting striker he has scored four times, the last of which was the opener here: the way he rose majestically then placed the header to the left of David de Gea oozed class and indicated Sherwood can spot – and inspire – a player.

3 United are too open

Having been left out of the previous five match-day squads Rio Ferdinand did find himself in this one as he was named a substitute. The dimming of the light on the 35-year-old's career has opened a vacancy for one of Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling to shine and finally establish themselves as a first choice. Yet the way they were sliced through for Adebayor's finish will concern Moyes, with Smalling in particular unable to deal with the delivery that created it.

After the box-to-box sequence of slick passing that took in Kyle Walker, Christian Eriksen, Roberto Soldado and Eriksen again that gave Spurs the lead the visitors should have been two up almost instantly. Again, United were splayed too easily, this time by the pace of Aaron Lennon whose raking delivery had the defence flat-footed only for Soldado to miss from close in.

4 Moussa Dembélé reprises his Theatre of Dreams act

Before kick-off Sherwood said: "We'd like Wayne Rooney to be still injured, to be honest, but he's not so we just have to get on with it. We have players who can hurt them."

Into this category fell the Belgian central midfielder whose barracking performance, especially before the break, recalled his display in the visitor's 3-2 win here at the start of last season.

Then he bossed the game, allowing Spurs to take the contest to United and, while on Wednesday Dembélé's impact was not as great, he again showed up the glaring hole in Moyes's midfield resources.

The Belgian continually picked up Rooney whenever the forward dropped deep to outmuscle and frustrate United's totem. This drew a booking for him during the opening stanza and, when the Liverpudlian was deployed permanently alongside Tom Cleverley, it was Dembélé who once again stifled him expertly.

5 United's home a fortress yet to be rebuilt

"Now at Old Trafford we need to start making home advantage count. Manchester United are traditionally very strong at home and I am confident that we will put that right over the course of the remaining games we have at Old Trafford this year."

These pre-match words from Moyes proved wishful thinking as the defeats to Newcastle United and Everton at the start of December were repeated in a reverse in which United started well and proceeded to get poorer and poorer.

The sense that the Old Trafford factor is fading was strengthened when Howard Webb turned down two second-half penalty appeals as Danny Welbeck and Ashley Young took a tumble: despite the fury that met Webb following the latter of these the official was unmoved. In the not so distant past of United's dominance he may have awarded at least one of them.

Jamie Jackson

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Manchester United 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur - as it happened

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 11:39 AM PST

Minute-by-minute report: Tim Sherwood's Spurs travel to Old Trafford for what promises to be lively contest. Follow the action with Barry Glendenning

Barry Glendenning

West Bromwich Albion 1-0 Newcastle Utd | Premier League match report

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 09:39 AM PST

It was perhaps as well that Nicolas Anelka should have squandered one of the best chances of what had been a relentlessly disappointing game before Saido Berahino's late penalty saw Albion record their first win in ten Premier League matches.

While even Anelka would surely have not been so ignorant as to repeat his appalling quenelle celebration, a goal would have refocused attention on the controversial French striker at a time when it would be better for everybody if the spotlight was elsewhere.

Such as on Newcastle's Matthieu Debuchy for one of the most ludicrously stupid and potentially dangerous "tackles" of this or any other season, a both feet off the ground two-footed lunge on Claudio Yacob. Reduced to ten men for the best part of half an hour, Newcastle dug in but just when they looked to have saved a point, Albion substitute Matej Vydra was brought down by United goalkeeper Tim Krul after the striker had pushed Chris Brunt's pass past him.

It made for an excellent start to 2014 for the Baggies, after a 2013 during which only four clubs in the country had a worse return than Albion's 34 points from a possible 111. Since head coach Steve Clarke was dismissed, caretaker Keith Downing has overseen three draws and now a win.

The announcement of an FA investigation into Anelka's gesture after scoring at West Ham notwithstanding, Downing chose to name Anelka in his starting line-up. Subsequent reaction has made it abundantly clear that many thousands of people, both in France and elsewhere, regard what French interior minister Manuel Valls described in an interview on Tuesday as a cross between an inverted Hitler salute and a traditional, obscene French hand-signal as unquestionably antisemitic.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew made just one change, bringing back Shola Ameobi up front at the expense of Vurnon Anita. It meant a change of formation, Ameobi starting as the central striker with Loïc Rémy and Yoan Gouffran playing on either side of him in a 4-3-3 system.

While Newcastle looked the more comfortable side in possession in the opening quarter, however, it was Albion, playing largely on the break, who looked the more dangerous. Newcastle's narrow midfield meant Chris Brunt and Morgan Amalfitano were finding space out wide, and the Frenchman twice came close to taking advantage, most notably when he skinned Davide Santon down the right before over-hitting his cross.

From the other wing Liam Ridgewell's low cross looked perfectly placed for Stéphane Sessègnon to turn home, but the stretching Sessègnon failed to make contact. Newcastle's first clear-cut chance saw a patient move end with Yohan Cabaye volleying wide after Mike Williamson headed the ball back to him on the edge of the Albion penalty area, but Albion should have gone into the break ahead.

Amalfitano created four opportunities for them to do so, but Jonas Olsson headed his corner wide and Chris Brunt did likewise from a cross before the Marseille loanee drove into the Newcastle penalty area and cut the ball back low to the feet of Anelka.

From no more than four yards Anelka scooped the ball over the bar, and the half ended with yet another Amalfitano cross being squandered, this time when Sessègnon attempted an unnecessarily ambitious volley. Pardew replaced Yoan Gouffran with Hatem Ben Arfa, Downing the struggling Billy Jones with Saido Berahino, but both sides continued to struggle and fail to find any sort of attacking rhythm. Rémy curled wide from a good position, but just as the game was becoming more open, Debuchy gave referee Lee Mason absolutely no alternative other than to dismiss him.

With Fabricio Coloccini going off injured at the same time, Newcastle had no choice other than to sit back, and in the end paid the price.

Ridgewell had already missed an absolute sitter when Brunt picked out Vydra's run, Krul brought him down, and Berahino made no mistake from the spot.

Richard Rae

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Sunderland 0-1 Aston Villa | Premier League match report

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 09:26 AM PST

Lee Cattermole likes to portray himself as Sunderland's "Mr Indispensable" but, not for the first time, he self-destructed on New Year's Day.

The midfielder's alarming loss of concentration and concession of possession precipitated Gabriel Agbonlahor's winner, crushing already cautious Wearside optimism and ensuring Gus Poyet's side remain stuck to the bottom of the table.

Cattermole's mistake presented Agbonlahor with the goal that enables a youthful Aston Villa and their under-scrutiny manager Paul Lambert to approach 2014 with a modicum of renewed hope.

"We've got a platform to build on," said Lambert. His opposite number proved a little more downbeat. "It was not a good day," acknowledged Poyet. "I'm disappointed."

The freezing New Year rain drove into the dug-outs in such torrential fashion that he initially sheltered in the tunnel but such inclement weather quickly proved the least of his problems.

When Cattermole miscontrolled a routine ball on the edge of his area, he was quickly dispossessed by Agbonlahor, who rounded Vito Mannone before shooting home left footed.

Seemingly oblivious to the cold and wet Lambert stood doggedly in his technical area. Visibly tense, Villa's manager was apparently feeling the heat to such an extent that, at one point he, bizarrely, discarded his coat.

Stress does strange things to people and Cattermole appeared badly affected by his earlier error. Paolo Di Canio's nemesis had an infinitely forgettable, extremely one paced, afternoon punctuated by subsequent forfeitures of possession and appalling first touches.

Lambert's decision to combine Agbonlahor's pace with the newly fit Christian Benteke's power as Villa reverted to 4-4-2 seriously troubled Sunderland on the counterattack. "Benteke's back," said Villa's manager. "And back on song."

Poyet withdrew the off-key Cattermole at half-time as Sunderland switched from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2. They had Mannone to thank for brilliantly repelling Leandro Bacuna's deflected shot but bad luck when Emanuele Giaccherini had a "goal" disallowed for a very tight offside.

Sunderland appealed for a penalty when the ball hit Matthew Lowton on the arm but Mike Jones, the referee, detected no intent. In a game of rising tensions and spiky challenges reflected by a late bout of mass push and shove, Agbonlahor looked fortunate to escape unpunished after seeming to elbow Ki Sung-yueng in the chin. When Ki complained Jones booked him.

Even so Sunderland's principal problem was a failure to test Brad Guzan. Arguably their best chance went wide after falling to Steven Fletcher's weaker right foot but they would have lost more heavily had Phil Bardsley's header off the line not prevented Benteke scoring.

The final whistle provoked resounding boos. "It's better," said Poyet, who has cancelled a players' day off on Thursday, "that I don't say too much."

Louise Taylor

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Liverpool 2-0 Hull City

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 09:21 AM PST

The comforts of home will determine Liverpool's fate in 2014, according to Brendan Rodgers, and they made a convincing start against Hull City. The performance was not the finest served this term at Anfield but it mattered not as Luis Suárez invariably eased the pain of two successive defeats on the road.

Suárez continued where he left off in 2013, a calender year that brought a remarkable 33 goals in 33 appearances for Liverpool, with a stunning free-kick that sealed his team's return to the Champions League places. The striker now has 20 goals from only 15 appearances this season, a Premier League record, and has scored in his last seven outings at Anfield, although statistics do not illuminate his contribution against Steve Bruce's side. More impressive was that he excelled on one foot.

"Luis will get the plaudits because he is a world-class player but nine out of 10 players would not have played today," revealed the Liverpool manager. "He had a real bad knock on the top of his foot from the Chelsea game. I know from working with and managing players that most footballers wouldn't have played with that. He had a big strapping on it and put himself out there for the team and that is why he gets the goals he does because he is so determined."

Rodgers hailed the result as "our best win of the season". He was not talking in terms of a display that dropped below the levels given in defeat at Chelsea and Manchester City, and that saw Aly Cissokho and Iago Aspas struggle to seize their opportunities to impress. The manager's satisfaction lay in Liverpool's reaction to their Christmas toils and their energy levels that ensured Hull did not register one shot on target all afternoon. The added disappointment for Bruce was his team's weakness at set pieces.

Suárez converted Liverpool's first chance of the game but was adjudged fractionally offside as he headed home an inviting free-kick from the right by Philippe Coutinho. Hull's goalkeeper Allan McGregor then denied the lively Raheem Sterling after he was sent clear by Liverpool's leading marksman.

That was the sum total of incident until Daniel Agger broke the deadlock. Hull had not been troubled when David Meyler conceded a corner with a block tackle on Suárez. Liverpool's fortunes had appeared increasingly reliant on a moment of magic from the Uruguay international – and that was to come – but Hull's aerial vulnerability was also decisive when Coutinho swung the corner over from the right. Agger, Liverpool's captain for the day until Steven Gerrard returned from injury in the second half, escaped his marker too easily and headed into the bottom corner despite the goalline presence of McGregor and Maynor Figueroa.

Bruce gave his opinion on Hull's performance after the interval with a triple substitution but by then it was too late. Liverpool were already coasting towards three points courtesy of the latest sublime goal from their irrepressible No7. "I don't have the luxury of making five or six changes," said the Hull manager. "Three games in six days was a bit much for us and we didn't have the energy to compete with them by the end."

Suárez was upended 25 yards from McGregor's goal by James Chester while Hull were appealing for a foul by Sterling. The call went Liverpool's way and despite Suárez's obvious intent, his technique with a dead ball throughout the season and McGregor's best endeavour, the outcome was predictably brilliant. The Hull keeper could only grasp thin air as Suárez swept the free-kick into his top corner.

Andy Hunter

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Stoke City 1-1 Everton | Premier League match report

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 09:13 AM PST

Just when Everton thought they might start 2014 by keeping Liverpool out of the Champions League positions, they came close to failing the wet Wednesday at Stoke test thanks to a goal from an Anfield loanee.

Roberto Martínez watched his emergency centre-half pairing of John Stones and Antolín Alcaraz cope reasonably well with Peter Crouch and Stoke's supposed aerial threat, but the whole Everton defence were guilty of ball-watching when Oussama Assaidi gave his side a lead that lasted until the 90th minute with a shot along the ground. Everton only got back into the game when Jermaine Pennant carelessly gave away a penalty in stoppage time, allowing Leighton Baines to equalise from the spot.

Stoke should have taken the lead with the first really penetrative attack of the game after quarter of an hour, when enterprising first-time passing by Steven Nzonzi and Jon Walters down the right produced a cross that Charlie Adam tried to reach and inadvertently helped the ball on to Assaidi in an even better position. The winger shot with power and accuracy but Tim Howard reacted well to get a firm hand to the ball and prevent a goal.

Assaidi showed up well in Stoke's early forays, seeing another goalbound effort blocked by Alcaraz just before the interval, though Everton came closest to a first-half goal when Kevin Mirallas cut in from the wing to unleash a shot from the angle of the area that rattled Thomas Sorensen's crossbar. Mirallas also created a decent shooting chance for Ross Barkley on the stroke of half-time, only to see the England striker spoon the ball over the bar, then struck the woodwork again when his free-kick from 20 yards thumped Sorensen's right-hand upright with the goalkeeper a mere spectator. The home side had managed to look the more dangerous in the first half, with Crouch causing more problems than an isolated Romelu Lukaku, yet there was no doubt they were fortunate to turn around still on level terms.

That did not prevent Stoke taking the lead within five minutes of the restart, however, Assaidi drilling home a low shot past Seamus Coleman's slightly hesitant challenge after picking up a half-clearance on the edge of the area. Sorensen failed to come out for the second half, allowing Jack Butland to make his Premier League debut, and the highly-rated 20-year-old was soon in action, making his first Premier League save from a weak Lukaku shot.

Everton kept looking for an equaliser, with Martínez sending on Nikica Jelavic to beef up the front line, but mostly thanks to Erik Pieters, who made superb challenges to deny Mirallas and Barkley opportunities in the area, Stoke were standing firm until Pennant came on to have not one but two penalty area hacks at his fellow substitute Leon Osman. The referee Andre Marriner penalised the second one, and Baines sent Butland the wrong way to make Stoke pay for defending too deep in the later stages.

The home side put themselves under so much pressure it was almost inevitable they would crack before the end, yet without Pennant's indiscretion they might have held out. Everton could have no complaints about sharing the points. Faced with a rookie goalkeeper for the whole of the second half they barely tested his shot-saving ability.

Paul Wilson

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Fulham 2-1 West Ham United | Premier League match report

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 09:11 AM PST

The last thing a manager needs when he is fighting for survival is for his most trusted lieutenant to shoot his team in the foot. So Sam Allardyce was dismayed when West Ham's captain, Kevin Nolan, earned a senseless red card in this bottom of the table battle and, in doing so, helped Fulham to prevail as West Ham were plunged deeper into trouble.

Nolan was sent off in the 44th minute with the score at 1-1 and a makeshift West Ham side still confident of ekeing out a win. That prospect receded when Nolan, frustrated at having a run blocked off by Fernando Amorebieta, booted the defender to the ground, obliging the referee Mark Clattenburg to reach for the red. Fulham dominated thereafter and secured victory through Dimitar Berbatov.

Allardyce's fondness for Nolan is such that he has signed him for three clubs – Bolton Wanderers and Newcastle United as well as West Ham – so he was as perplexed as he was vexed by the 31-year-old's folly, especially as it came only three weeks after Nolan was sent off at Liverpool for an equally foolish tackle on Jordan Henderson. He faces a four-match ban.

"I don't quite understand why he's lost his cool," Allardyce said. "I know the centre-half has obstructed him and Mark Clattenburg didn't give a free-kick but it's still not an excuse for what Kevin Nolan did. He is responsible for us losing the game … and it has happened straight after what happened at Liverpool. There's certainly something wrong with his mentality at the minute. I haven't seen this type of reaction [from him] before … We'll deal with the situation internally."

The match had started well for West Ham even though a long casualty list forced Allardyce to field an unfamiliar three-man central defence featuring no specialist central defenders, the deal to sign Jonny Heitinga from Everton not having been completed. Fulham have defensive frailties too, and they were exposed in the seventh minute when Mohamed Diamé was allowed to take down a long free-kick from Jussi Jaaskelainen, turn 10 yards from the home goal and lash into the net. Although Fulham enjoyed the majority of possession Nolan nearly made it 2-0 with a close-range header in the 23rd minute but David Stockdale saved superbly.

Jon Arne Riise and Adel Taarabt threatened from long range for the hosts before Jasskelainen was forced into his first difficult save, clutching a volley from Berbatov. Moments later Modibo Maïga cleared a header by Amorebieta off the line. West Ham's injury woes worsened when Mark Noble suffered a calf strain and had to be replaced by Razvan Rat in the 32nd minute.

The visitors were still adapting to that change when Fulham equalised, Sidwell heading a Damien Duff corner into the net. Taarabt struck the post from 18 yards as Fulham threatened to take total control. The last thing West Ham needed was for their captain to lose his head but that is precisely what Nolan did.

The pressure from Fulham became relentless and in the 66th minute West Ham's defences burst. The substitute Alexander Kacaniklic delivered a low cross from the left and Scott Parker helped it on to Berbatov, who gleefully tapped into the net at the back post.

The result hoists Fulham out of the bottom three, four points ahead of West Ham in 19th place, for whom the urgency of recruiting well during this month's transfer window has just been underlined.

Paul Doyle

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Premier League clockwatch – as it happened | John Ashdown

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 09:06 AM PST

Minute-by-minute report: Arsenal left it late, Chelsea purred to victory and there were red cards aplenty as 2014 got under way in the Premier League

John Ashdown

Southampton v Chelsea – as it happened | Nick Miller

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 08:56 AM PST

Chelsea ease to a 3-0 win over Southampton with a clinical second-half display, with goals from Fernando Torres, Willian and Oscar.

Nick Miller

Swansea City v Manchester City - as it happened

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 06:40 AM PST

Manuel Pellegrini's side go top of the table, temporarily, after coming out on top in south Wales

Sachin Nakrani

Premier League: New Year's Day action – in pictures

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 05:59 AM PST

Another packed fixture list, here's our selection of the best images from the first top-flight games of 2014

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer set to become new Cardiff City manager

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 05:03 AM PST

• Norwegian arrives with owner Vincent Tan at Emirates
• First game in charge would be against Newcastle in FA Cup

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appears set to become the new manager at Cardiff City.

After Malky Mackay's sacking on Friday the former Manchester United striker and current Molde manager quickly emerged as the Cardiff chairman Mehmet Dalman's No1 target to replace the Scot.

His appointment now looks increasingly likely having arrived at the Emirates for Cardiff's game against Arsenal on Wednesday alongside City's owner Vincent Tan.

Earlier this week it had been suggested Solskjaer, 40, had reservations about taking the job after Tan's numerous disputes with Mackay over recent months. But Dalman remained confident he could convince the Norwegian to take over at Cardiff City Stadium, with the promise of money to spend in the January transfer window and reassurances over the working structure at the club.

Solskjaer has enjoyed a successful spell in charge of Molde, guiding them to two Norwegian titles and a Norwegian Cup. He turned down the chance to become Aston Villa manager prior to the appointment of Paul Lambert at Villa Park, while he had also been linked with the current vacancy at West Bromwich Albion.

Tan was not initially due to attend Wednesday's game, but it had been reported he and Solskjaer had agreed a deal in Norway before flying into London to watch the fixture together.

If Solskjaer takes the job his first game in charge would be the FA Cup tie away to Newcastle on Saturday.


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