Tottenham and Chelsea came out as the big winners with all of the teams around them drawing. Those teams around them, Man City, Liverpool, Man. United, and Newcastle, played each other and drew 1-1 in the two big matches of the weekend. Here is a recap of those two and the others.

Stoke 3-1 Blackburn

Rory Delap scored a typical Stoke goal to give the Potters the lead. Glen Whelan then Peter Crouch made it a three-goal lead that Blackburn could only make one better. This was a much needed league win for Tony Pulis and Stoke.

Manchester United 1-1 Newcastle

The last 15 minutes of this game was one of the most exhilarating stretches of Premier League action I have ever seen. It got to that point thanks to two, well, interesting goals one could say. United scored on a strange deflection after a Rooney free kick that caromed off of Chicharito. Just a few minutes later Newcastle had their equalizer on a very dubious penalty that Demba Ba put away. Rio Ferdinand apparently brought down Hatem Ben Arfa and the linesman apparently was the only one who saw it. Bedlam then ensued. Jonas Gutierrez was sent off before United had at least seven chances that were cleared, scuffed, or saved by the impressive Tim Krul. It was great stuff that actually had me laughing at the Red Devil’s poor luck. 1-1, somehow.

Chelsea 3-0 Wolves

Chelsea returned to relative normalcy after a few poor weeks of football. Manager Andre Villas-Boas is under pressure and his captain got the club up and running with a headed goal. Daniel Sturridge scored on a Juan Mata cross then Mata got one himself when Ashley Cole set him up. It was 3-0 at halftime and domination for Chelsea. The scored stayed the same and the three points were all AVB’s.

Bolton 0-2 Everton

Everton has slowly worked their way up the table after yet another slow start. David Weater was sent off for Bolton and goals from Marouane Fellaini and Apostolos Vellios gave the away club the win.

Norwich 2-1 QPR

Both of these new clubs have over-achieved so far this season and this meeting at Norwich saw the home side take the points. Russell Martin gave Norwich the lead but Luke Young tied it for QPR. Super sub, Grant Holt, gave Norwich the win as he scrambled home a Wes Hoolahan cross.

West Brom 1-3 Tottenham

Oh, when the Spurs go marching in. Tottenham jumped up the table another spot with a game still in hand as they won at West Brom after being down a goal. That goal shocked Spurs as Yusef Mulumbu headed home to give Roy Hodgson’s side the improbable lead. Emmanuel Adebayor then scored off a rebound of his own penalty to make it 1-1. Both teams continued to create chances but the class of Tottenham shone through at the end. Jermaine Defoe gave them the lead on a solo run and shot then Gareth Bale played in Adebayor to seal it.

Sunderland 1-2 Wigan

This was not necessarily a glamorous tie but Wigan got a massive three points, on the road no less. Seb Larrson gave Sunderland the lead but it was Larrson who brought down Victor Moses, which gave Jordi Gomez the chance to level. He took that chance and it was improbably 1-1 at halftime. In the final minutes, Wigan’s Franco Di Santo got the winner on a tap in after some awful defending and goalkeeping. Steve Bruce left the pitch to a chorus of boo’s once again.

Arsenal 1-1 Fulham

It was a London derby at the Emirates in which both teams showed fairly well. Thomas Vermaelen was unlucky to score in his own net but made up for it when his header tied it and saved a point for Arsene Wenger’s men.

Swansea 0-0 Aston Villa

All you need to know about this one is that the Michel Vorm all-stars kept another clean sheet and held Villa to a scoreless draw.

Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City

It was a great first half and good second half at Anfield in the first meeting between probably the two most talked about teams this offseason. Both have spent money on talent and both are fun to watch for the most part. City struck first on a Vincent Kompany header from a corner, but literally two minutes later Charlie Adam hit a shot that was going wide but a deflection fooled Joe Hart and he had no chance as it rolled in for one each. The second half wasn’t played at quite the same level of pace as the first but it was still great entertainment. No goals would come but Liverpool probably had more chances later in the match. It would finish 1-1, and oh ya Mario Balotelli was sent off after coming on as a sub.

Team of the week will go to Chelsea for the first time in a while it seems. They played like a team, which hasn’t been the case in about a month or so. This week’s player of the week is City’s keeper, Joe Hart. His saves kept the score level at Anfield and kept the talks of an invincible season alive a third of the way through the campaign.