There were plenty of battles at both ends of the table this weekend and with tax evasion trials, a manger resigning, and racism rows, there was no shortage of storylines in England this week. Without further ado…

Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool

United came into this match with a chance to go to the top of the table with a win while Liverpool needed to get all three points to stay firmly in the hunt for 4^th place. However, this was not the biggest story in the lead up to kickoff. Luis Suarez was starting in his first Premier League match since his ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra in their meeting at Anfield in the fall. Of course Suarez’s opponent, and United captain, was one Patrice Evra. The controversy started when Suarez wouldn’t make eye contact or shake Evra’s hand before the match and Rio Ferdinand responded by not shaking Suarez’s hand later down the line. It was a poor gesture from Suarez and he was rightfully booed every time he touched the ball. Neither side created tons of chances in the first half, but there was more drama in the tunnel heading into the break when stewards had to break up a little skirmish between the two sides. Wayne Rooney then took over. He scored twice in four minutes to give United a commanding lead. Luis Suarez got his goal, unfortunately, but even a neutral should feel good for the revenge Evra got on the Uruguayan.

Blackburn 3-2 QPR

Two teams around the foot of the table met at Ewood Park and a good match broke out. Yakubu scored the opener in the 15^th minute for the lead, then Steven Nzonzi doubled, then David Hoilett’s deflected shot tripled that lead. QPR, well specifically Jamie Mackie, fought back with two good goals but it was all for naught.

Bolton 1-2 Wigan

This bottom of the table clash went to Wigan. Gary Caldwell got the first but Mark Davies tied it with a nice finish. James McArthur eventually got the winner for Wigan and a huge three points.

Everton 2-0 Chelsea

Another lackluster performance from Chelsea this weekend led to yet another three points dropped. You have to credit Everton in this match, however. They got up early with a Steven Peinaar goal and stayed on top all the way through. The Merseyside Blues looked better than their London counterparts all evening and added a second when Landon Donovan played in Denis Stracqualursi who finished past a struggling and unconfident looking, Petr Cech. Andre Villas-Boas’ days may be numbered.

Fulham 2-1 Stoke

Fulham leapfrogged Stoke in the table with this win over the Potters. New boy, Pavel Pogrebnyak got the first and a Thomas Sorensen own goal, thanks to a Clint Dempsey rocket, were the two goals that canceled out Ryan Shawcross’ late consolation. Fulham is really on a nice run at the moment.

Sunderland 1-2 Arsenal

The in form Sunderland met last week’s big scorers when Arsenal traveled north to the Stadium of Light. The match sat at 0-0 at haltime but James McClean changed that with a tidy finish. Arsenal responded with an Aaron Ramsey goal to level and then it was Thierry Henry who came on for the Ox and gave the fans a winner to remember.

Swansea 2-3 Norwich

Danny Graham gave Swansea the lead in this meeting of surprisingly good, promoted sides. Grant Holt tied on a freakish goal in the second half and Anthony Pilkington’s deflected shot then gave the Canaries the lead. Holt and Graham each added another to make it 3-2 but this thriller belonged to the away side. You have to hand it to both managers for the way they have managed their respective clubs.

Tottenham 5-0 Newcastle

The question coming in was how would Spurs respond with Harry Redknapp’s crazy week, and well they responded with quite a performance. 4-0 up at halftime thanks to Benoit Assou-Ekoto, two from Luis Saha, and one from Niko Kranjcar. Emmanuel Adebayor played a part in nearly every one of the goals and got his own in the second half to make it 5-0. This team seems to play at another speed than their opponents, and when they combine that speed with quality finishing, they are nearly unbeatable. 

Wolves 1-5 West Brom

This derby match clearly belonged to the away side in a match that they had to play well in. Wolves were awful defensively and let in five. Peter Odemwingie gave West Brom the lead but Steven Fletcher scored a brilliant goal to level before halftime. It was all West Brom after that with Odemwingie scoring two more for a hat trick and Jonas Olsson and Keith Andrews each getting one. This was a wild match that left the home fans booing and the away fans singing.

Aston Villa 0-1 Manchester City

This is the second week in a row that Man City got a grind it out win. This time it was Joleon Lescott who headed home a corner as the lone goal but City deserved the three points.

After a wild week and pretty eventful weekend, it is Tottenham that has come up trumps. Their 5-0 win over Newcastle earns them team of the week but player of the week comes from another match. Wayne Rooney wins player of the week for his captain-like performance. When he is in the mood he is a joy to watch.