There were nine Premier League games this weekend due to the Carling Cup Final, and all of them had an impact on one of the races in the table. Then there was the Final itself, which saw Liverpool take home their first trophy since 2006. So, ten games to recap, here we go.

Chelsea 3-0 Bolton

Chelsea, and more importantly their manager, had to get all three points on Saturday. Luckily for them, Bolton was in town and wouldn’t provide much of a challenge. It was 0-0 at the break but that would change quickly in the second half. David Luiz scored the opener to further the belief that he may be playing out of position. The old boys, Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard, scored the second and third to collect the much needed points.

Newcastle 2-2 Wolves

This is a disappointing draw for Newcastle and their hopes of staying with the London clubs for the Champions League spots. The Geordie’s looked great in the first half with Papiss Demba Cisse and Jonas Gutierrez giving them a two-goal lead but things would change after halftime. Matthew Jarvis got one back for Wolves before Kevin Doyle leveled in the 66^th minute. Well done to new manager Terry Connor for getting a big away point.

QPR 0-1 Fulham

Mark Hughes was facing one of his old clubs when his QPR hosted Fulham on Saturday. Pavel Pogrebnyak scored in the 7^th minute for Fulham then, to make matters worse for the home side, Samba Diakite was sent off for his second yellow. QPR did well to hold Fulham to the one goal but it wasn’t enough as they dropped another home match.

West Brom 4-0 Sunderland

The new manager shine may just be coming off of Sunderland’s Martin O’Neill. His side was smashed at the Hawthorns on Saturday by a below average West Brom. On this day, the Baggies were more than average and got off to a great start when Peter Odemwingie scored in the 3^rd minute. He added another one between James Morrison and Keith Andrews strikes to make it five in two matches. After their last two matches I can’t see this club going down.

Wigan 0-0 Aston Villa

A poor side and a mediocre side met for this scoreless draw. Neither team could afford a loss, so both go home with a point.

Manchester City 3-0 Blackburn

The sky blue side of Manchester is starting to look strong again. Mario Balotelli got back on the scorers sheet to give City the advantage that they would never give up. Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko each added one in a strong, well rounded, second half performance.

Norwich 1-2 Manchester United

Yes, United picked up three points and kept pace with City, but Ryan Giggs 900^th appearance and game-winning goal was the story here. Paul Scholes gave United the lead but Grant Holt tied it up in the 83^rd minute. Then it was Giggs’ turn to steal the show. His stoppage time finish, thanks to a brilliant ball from Ashley Young, capped off his landmark appearance.

Arsenal 5-2 Tottenham

What a wild match this was. The North London derby usually provides us with entertaining football and goals but this match was just crazy. Tottenham started on the front foot and took the lead very early when Luis Saha’s deflected shot fell in. Spurs continued to look confident and doubled that lead when Emmanuel Adebayor converted a rather soft penalty drawn by Gareth Bale. It was then that Arsenal, seemingly pissed about the penalty, grabbed the game by the throat. They started moving the ball with precision and actually started looking like the team they can be. Bacary Sagna rose high and headed home for the first and Robin van Persie scored a beauty for the second, and this was all before halftime. Harry Redknapp, for some reason, took off Niko Kranjcar and Luis Saha at halftime for Rafa van der Vaart and Sandro. This instantly made them more narrow and predictable, and Arsenal took advantage. The Gunners scored three straight goals and somehow outpaced the pacy Tottenham. Thomas Rosicky actually scored a Messi-esque goal before Theo Walcott scored two in three minutes to finish it off. The Emirates was rocking, and for good reason, this was a massive win for Arsenal.

Carling Cup Final- Liverpool 2-2 Cardiff (Liverpool wins 3-2 on penalties)

There is another trophy in the Liverpool cabinet today, but it really did not come easily. Cardiff started off poorly but got a goal against the run of play when Joe Mason cooly finished. There was a confidence about the Welsh club but Liverpool got their deserved goal when Martin Skyrtel poked home after a scramble in the box. Both teams had a couple of chances but extra time would be needed. It looked like the match was going in the Reds favor when Dirk Kuyt’s second chance shot snuck home to give his side the lead, but Cardiff wasn’t done yet. On one of their only corners of the match, Ben Turner scored to tie it at 2-2. It was on to penalties. The shootout started with three misses two on the Liverpool side (including Steven Gerrard). After Kuyt, Stuart Downing, and Glen Johnson all scored it was up to Steven’s cousin, Anthony Gerrard, to keep the thing going. Unfortunately for Cardiff though, he missed and Liverpool and their traveling fans celebrated at Wembley for the first time in awhile.