Sergio Aguero explodes with four goals as Manchester City dominates Tottenham 4-0

FOUR-MIDABLE! Aguero runs riot as champions rock Spurs in match that has two missed penalties and a red card

In a game of four penalties – only two of them awarded correctly - Aguero scored four goals, might have had seven were it not for Hugo Lloris and dominated a game in which City chose to rest key men for their crucial Champions League clash in Moscow on Tuesday. Not content with that list of achievements, he also surpassed Carlos Tevez as City’s all time Premier League scorer.

And yet Pochettino’s despair was legitimate given that Tottenham played well, were the victim of some poor decisions, and had the opportunity to bring the the game back to 2-2 on 61 minutes when Roberto Soldado missed a penalty. Well though Soldado played up to that point, you fear that might represent the point of no return for his confidence as a Premier League player.

Instead of pushing City to the bitter end, Tottenham added yet another excruciating result to their recent run against Manchester City: 0-6, 1-5 and 1-4 runs the sequence since last November.

‘It was amusing game for the fans,’ said Manuel Pellegrini, in his precise but idiosyncratic English. ‘It was 4-1 but it could have been 7-3. It’s very important to be an attractive team but maybe it’s important also not to make as many mistakes, especially with excessive trust, with the ball at our feet.’

Indeed, were you inclined to picky, the laxity of City’s holding midfielders once Frank Lampard had gone off injured would be a major point of concern. Still, the brilliance of Aguero made it hard to dwell on negatives. ‘He is one of three of four best strikers in the world,’ dead panned Pellegrini, as excited as an accountant announcing mediocre end-of-year results.

‘I’m not just saying it after this game: It was not easy for him last year when he had so many injuries to produce these kind of performances when he’s not 100 per cent fit. Now he demonstrates how he can play. Maybe he won’t score four goals a game but he will demonstrate why everyone says he is one of the best players in the world.’

For Pochettino there were only regrets. ‘It’s tough to accept the result, because the performance was good,’ he said. The persistence and determination of Lee Mason and the guile of Christian Eriksen gave them a real opportunity to obtain points from this game; yet the rash decisions of Younes Kaboul and Federico Fazio would cost them. 

Tottenham should have taken the lead on eight minutes, Soldado playing in Mason, who should have scored from close range but was denied by Joe Hart. You suspected Tottenham would suffer for that and on twelve minutes Lamela lost the ball to Sagna who found Aguero in tight space in the penalty area.

Kaboul thought he had him covered, but there is no real containing the Argentina. He simply jinxed away to create space and shoot beyond Lloris. Yet Tottenham had legitimate cause for complaint, Lampard, preferred to the rested Yaya Toure, jumping over the ball in an offside position as it headed goal-wards.

No matter, for within a minute Spurs were level. Fernando lost the ball to the superb Mason, Soldado picking up the scraps and feeding Eriksen, who fired in off the cross bar. But they weren’t level for long. On 19 minutes Lamela attempted a clumsy but innocuous challenge on Lampard, who fell to ground in the manner of a seasoned professional and a penalty was awarded. It was barely a penalty but Aguero simply stroked the ball past Lloris.

The game threatened to run away from Spurs for the first time on 32 minutes. This time it was Kaboul committing a rash challenge on David Silva in the area and this time the penalty was legitimate. But this time Aguero proved fallible, allowing Lloris to save with his legs. Even then, such is his ability, Aguero almost scored anyway, leaping in the air to volley the impossibly-high rebound over. 

A Lloris versus Aguero side show was developing – the Frenchman produced excellent saves on 24 minutes and 49 minutes – but Tottenham stayed in the contest. Eriksen’s strike on 40 minutes tested Hart and the Dane set up Mason on 41 minutes, whose strike required excellent reactions from Hart.

It was on 61 minutes that Hart came into his own. Soldado spun his marker Martin Demichelis, and was clipped, crucially, outside the penalty area. Regardless referee Jonathon Moss awarded the spot kick. Soldado took the kick, lamely, and Hart, diving splendidly to his right, stretched out a hand to save.

Hart again was on hand to parry away a Soldado volley on 64 minutes, a key moment for Pochettino. However, Tottenham do have that innate capacity to self-destruct. Federico Fazio had performed competently on his Premier League debut until the 66th minute when the sight of Aguero rushing away on to a Navas cross proved too much and he and hauled the Argentine back, unnecessarily, as there was still plenty required of the Argentine to score.

A red card, a fourth penalty and a hat-trick for Aguero ensued. The contest ended there. Aguero added the fourth, simply finding space from a deep free kick, this time at the expense of Jan Vertonghen, and shooting low past Lloris on 75 minutes. Yesterday, there was containing his genius, not unlike that well-known Salzburg playmaker, Wolfgang Amadeus.

Southampton destroys Sunderland 8-0

Southampton 8-0 Sunderland: Ronald Koeman's side destroy hapless Black Cats to keep pace with Manchester City and Chelsea

Southampton steamrollered Sunderland by hitting eight goals past them for their biggest league win in almost a century.  The last time scenes like this were seen was when they scored eight away from home against Northampton Town in December 1921.

Ninety-three years later and Southampton repeated the feat in front of a home crowd for the first time. 

The home side were already cruising four goals ahead when they added four goals in 16 minutes of devastation to annihilate the visitors.

Only two teams have ever scored more in a single Premier League game; Manchester United hit nine past Ipswich in 1995 and Tottenham did the same against Wigan in 2009.

But this result added Ronald Koeman's Southampton into the pantheon of great performances.

Even the Southampton manager admitted he was surprised by the result. 'I'm still a little bit in shock,' Koeman said afterwards. 'That is not a normal result. I was surprised after 20 minutes about the score; 2-0 up and we didn't start the game well. Sunderland were dominating and we had problems.

'The first 20 minutes it was very flat. But that's football and sometimes you're surprised how the game is changing. If you're asking me after 15 mins if it will be an easy win my answer would be no.

'In the end we played great football, we scored great goals and it was a great afternoon.'

The tone was set for the afternoon when Santiago Vergini scored the own goal of the season in only the 11th minute.

Sunderland's defender can surely not have struck a sweeter volley and the ball flew into the bottom-right corner past his own goalkeeper Vito Mannone.

St Mary's Stadium was momentarily stunned into silence.

An incredulous Gus Poyet was the most shocked. 'Even if you watch that 20 times you don't know how it can happen,' the Sunderland manager said.

The home side doubled their lead on 18 minutes when Steven Davis ran down the left flank and sent in a low cross for Graziano Pelle, completely free, to continue his tremendous form with a tap in.

Then, with similarly sloppy marking, it was three on 37 minutes. Jack Cork made a late run into the box and was not picked up, Dusan Tadic picked him out with a clipped ball from inside the box on the left and he forced the ball in.

Substitute Liam Bridcutt added to Sunderland's embarrassment by sending the ball into his own net in the 62nd minute.

Pelle's shot was saved by Mannone but the ball squirmed into the path of Bridcutt, then squirmed between his feet, then squirmed over the line.

If only Poyet had pointed his players in the right direction.

It took only another seven minutes before Southampton made it five. This time Pelle made no mistake with his shot, running on to Tadic's through ball and sending a the ball across goal into the bottom left corner.

That was his sixth goal in eight Premier League games since signing in the summer, celebrating in fitting style his player of the month award and scoring on his Italy debut during the international break.

Southampton were as relentless as Sunderland were shocking and added another two goals in the space of a minute.

Mannone played his part in Sunderland's comedy show, passing the ball straight to Tadic who sent it back past him and into the open net on 78 minutes. 

Then almost straight from the kick off substitute Victor Wanyama fired first-time past the Sunderland goalkeeper.

And with four minutes remaining Tadic crossed low into the box for another substitute, Sadio Mane, to run in and place the ball into the net.

The result well and truly dispelled the myth that the winner of the manager of the month award goes on to have a poor result in their next game.

After the accolade was picked up by Koeman for leading Southampton to the top three in the opening part of this season, Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho reminded everyone of the that curse ahead of the weekend's fixtures. 

That he is even mentioning Koeman says a great deal about how much of an impression Southampton, in third, are making.

'Maybe I thank Mourinho for that,' Koeman joked. 'He gave my players motivation. I like Mourinho. I look forward to playing Chelsea.'

The game could have been different had referee Andre Marriner awarded Sunderland a first-half penalty when Steven Fletcher was played through on goal by Lee Cattermole, knocked the ball past the on-rushing Fraser Forster then tumbled over the Southampton goalkeeper.

It was still only 2-0 at that point. 'If the ref did his job, it's a penalty and a red card and maybe 2-1 and then we're talking about a different game,' Poyet explained.

A Sunderland fan who had made the 650-mile round trip, across the whole country and back, was caught on camera sobbing by the end. No wonder, it was the first time they had conceded eight since September 1982 against Watford.

'I can't explain what happened,' Poyet added. 'I will let the players explain to you, maybe they will have better words. I don't.

'It's going to be a difficult week. The players who are on the pitch next week are going to do something about it.'

Iceland in huge upset versus Netherlands

Sigurdsson helps Iceland take historic Dutch scalp

Iceland enjoyed one of the most famous victories in their history as a Gylfi Sigurdsson double inspired the hosts to a first win against the Netherlands in Reykjavik.

Already on their best start to a qualifying campaign after opening with two Group A victories, Lars Lagerbäck's side had nothing to fear against the Dutch who sat three points behind them after two games. On 16 minutes Iceland were handed the chance to go ahead as Stefan de Vrij tripped Birkir Bjarnason in the area and Sigurdsson calmly stroked the resulting penalty to Jasper Cillessen's left.

The visitors did not panic and controlled possession as they tried to pick holes in the Icelandic defence. Robin van Persie did break through but was repelled by a good stop from Hannes Halldórsson before Arjen Robben headed a great opportunity over the bar from just five metres.

Having failed to find the net Guus Hiddink's men were punished further as a corner from the right could not be dealt with and it bounced up for Sigurdsson to rifle into the roof of the net from ten metres, showing outstanding technique to keep the effort under the crossbar.

The second half lacked the drama of the first as Iceland shored things up at the back and refused to give the Oranje the chance to get behind them. They even had the chance of a third at the other end, but Jón Dadi Bödvarsson could not find the target when ideally placed. The Nordic team nevertheless claimed a historic win which puts them level on points with the Czech Republic at the head of Group A, six points in front of the third-placed Netherlands.

Diego Costa scored his first international goal as Spain bounce back to beat Luxembourg 4-0

Spain bounce back with Luxembourg success

Spain bounced back from the disappointment of losing their first qualifying game in eight years with a convincing win away at Luxembourg in Group C.

Vicente del Bosque made four changes following Spain's defeat by Slovakia and goals from David Silva, Paco Alcácer, Diego Costa and Juan Bernat were enough for the youthful-looking European champions, who were captained for the first time by midfielder Andrés Iniesta.

The opening minutes set the tone for the rest of the match, with Spain dominating possession and Luxembourg intent on soaking up pressure. Goalkeeper Jonathan Joubert twice denied Costa early on as the visitors looked for the breakthrough, which eventually came through Silva, who fired an unstoppable drive into the top corner after 27 minutes from just outside the box.

The goal brought a sense of relief for Spain, who then stepped up a gear and played with more freedom. Costa was again involved shortly after, latching onto a long ball before miscuing his shot when one-on-one with Joubert. Strike partner Alcácer endured no such problems, though, firing in Silva's cutback five minutes from half-time to double the lead and give the forward three goals in three competitive games for La Roja.

The second half followed a similar pattern to that of the first, with Spain on the front foot, and 20 minutes from time Costa was eventually able to score his first international goal after a scramble in the box following a Koke free-kick. Juan Bernat, making his debut after coming on as a second-half substitute, rounded off the scoring on the counterattack with three minutes to go.

Poland shocks Germany 2-0

 Poland make history with Germany win

Poland defeated Germany for the first time in their 19 meetings to steal a march in UEFA EURO 2016 Group D and stun the world champions.

Germany had won 12 and drawn six of the previous fixtures between these two but almost all of a sell-out 56,934 crowd in Warsaw were willing that to change. Bundesliga-based Robert Lewandowski could have moved level with Zbigniew Boniek on 24 international goals had he scored, but in the end he did not need to beat club-mate Manuel Neuer.

It was tight early on, until Germany started to dominate possession and on 31 minutes a Jérôme Boateng long-range effort was deflected away. Thomas Müller was unable to beat Wojciech Szczęsny and was then thwarted by Kamil Glik when seemingly in the clear. Müller also headed over a 42nd-minute André Schürrle cross, before things turned after the break.

The home team began to produce quick counterattacks and from one they took a 51st-minute lead. Borussia Dortmund defender Łukasz Piszczek sent a great pass into the box which Arkadiusz Milik, himself on loan to AFC Ajax from Bayer 04 Leverkusen, rose high to nod in.

Germany looked to respond but Szczęsny and the Polish defence held firm while Karim Bellarabi shot over. Then, as time ran out, Lewandowski broke into the area and cut back for substitute Sebastian Mila to seal a famous victory.

Slovakia stops Spain 2-1

Slovakia's Stoch strikes late to end Spain run

A late goal from Slovakia substitute Miroslav Stoch ended Spain's eight-year, 36-match unbeaten run in qualifying and secured a famous Group C win.

Not since a 2-0 reverse in Sweden in October 2006 had Spain lost a qualifying fixture in either the UEFA European Championship or the FIFA World Cup, and it looked like that fate had been avoided when substitute Paco Alcácer cancelled out Juraj Kucka's first-half effort with eight minutes left. Five minutes later, however, Slovakia's own replacement Stoch converted a Michal Ďuriš cross to clinch a memorable Slovak victory.

The first half was the epitome of UEFA European Championship qualifying. Slovakia weathered shrewd Spanish play, aiming to first avoid conceding before taking the battle to the European champions. Iker Casillas's early save, remarkable for his instant reaction from Róbert Mak's point-blank volley, made it seem it might be his night – an impression shattered pretty promptly.

Although Diego Costa's header shaved the post and Andrés Iniesta shot narrowly past the other side of Matúš Kozáčik's goal, Slovakia suddenly led. After a Sergio Busquets foul, Vladimír Weiss tapped the free-kick to Juraj Kucka whose strike swerved beyond Casillas with the keeper moving right and the ball going left. 

Spain moved up a gear but Slovakia's hard work gave them the edge, although before the interval they needed two fine Kozáčik stops, first from Costa's header then from Busquets's volley, to stay in front.

After half-time the home custodian did equally brilliantly to divert good shots from Costa and Cesc Fàbregas before repelling Costa again after the striker had broken through. Kozáčik was finally beaten eight minutes from time, Jordi Alba's cross to Alcácer proving deadly, and it appeared Spain would escape with a point.

Slovakia, and Stoch, thought differently. Substitute Ďuriš played a lovely one-two with Marek Hamšík on the right before curling an ideal ball to the back post where Stoch nodded in to crown a remarkable evening in Zilina.

Late Bonucci goal gives Juventus a massive win over Roma in a highly explosive game 3-2

Bonucci saves Juve in bad-tempered win over Roma

Turin (Italy) (AFP) - Leonardo Bonucci struck at the death as Juventus claimed the bragging rights from a bad-tempered 3-2 win over Roma that saw three expulsions and at least one dubious penalty in Turin on Sunday.

Garcia said midweek the top-of-the-table clash would be a "great advert" for Italian football.Roma coach Rudi Garcia was sent off in the first half, while Juve striker Alvaro Morata and Roma defender Konstantinos Manolas saw red in the closing minutes after the match's final, angry exchange.

And there was no lack of drama at a packed-out Juventus stadium as Roma, despite their first defeat of the season, further underlined their status as the biggest challengers to Juve's three-year grip on the Italian championship.

"It was a crazy match," admitted Juve 'keeper Gianluigi Buffon, who refused to be drawn on the controversy surrounding three penalty awards which shone the spotlight on match referee Gianluca Rocchi and left Roma icon Francesco Totti claiming Juve already had the title sewn up.

"Credit to Roma, they showed they are a very strong side. But the result doesn't reveal anything as regards the league title. It's far too early yet."

Juve midfield great Andrea Pirlo returned for his first match of the season following his recovery from injury, with Garcia preferring Greek defender Jose Holebas to Ashley Cole at left back.

The match turned in the 26th minute when Juve were awarded a freekick following Totti's foul on Pirlo, whose subsequent freekick hit the arm of Maicon in the defensive wall.After seeing an early chance expertly blocked by Seydou Keita, Carlos Tevez scored the first of a brace of penalties just before the half hour.

Players from both sides immediately surrounded referee Rocchi, who wavered before giving in to Juve's demands for a penalty.

Moments later, Tevez stepped up to beat Lukasz Skorupski to give the champions a 27th-minute lead.

To rub salt into Roma wounds, Garcia was sent off for dissent after playing an imaginary violin.

The Frenchman later said the match was a good example of why football should adopt video replays, but he admitted Roma were to blame for their first defeat of the campaign.

"We've dropped our first points of the season, so now we have to pick ourselves for our next game.""The first people to blame are ourselves, we had chances we didn't put away," said Garcia.

Five minutes after Juve had taken the lead, Rocchi awarded Roma a spot-kick after Totti was brought down in the box by Stephan Lichsteiner, despite being nowhere near the ball.

Totti stepped up to send Buffon the wrong way to level on 32 minutes.

The goals set in motion a series of dubious challenges, but Juventus Stadium was stunned into silence when Gervinho ran into the area and laied off a sublime angled pass for Juan Iturbe to run in and slide the ball past Buffon.

Roma's joy was short-lived, however. When Paul Pogba tried to gallop into the Roma area on the stroke of half-time, he fell under a soft challenge from Bosnian midfielder Miralem Pjanic.

Despite television pictures showing the challenge to be just outside the area, Rocchi pointed to the penalty spot and Tevez stepped up to beat Skorupski for the second time.

For Totti, the decision raised an age-old belief that Juventus routinely benefit from favourable refereeing decisions.

"Juventus should have a championship of their own because they always manage to win," Totti told Sky television.

He pressed home the point when it was stressed Roma would be Juve's biggest challengers this season.

"Yes, but it doesn't matter because we'll still finish second. All three of Juve's goals were invalid."

Pirlo made way for Arturo Vidal with 11 minutes remaining, but as the hosts pressed Juve's salvation came when Roma's defence failed to deal with a corner which fell to Bonucci on the edge of the area.

The Italy defender smacked a volley through a crowded defence and past the outstretched Skorupski to give Juve an 86th-minute lead, although at least two Juventus players looked offside.

The match ended on an ugly note when Manolas was victim of a tough sliding tackle by Morata, prompting the intervention of Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri, practically both sets of players and forcing the expulsion of the players involved.

Borussia Monchengladbach, FSV Mainz share points 1-1

GLADBACH AND MAINZ SHARE THE POINTS TO STAY UNBEATEN

 Mönchengladbach - Borussia Mönchengladbach and 1. FSV Mainz 05 both maintained their unbeaten starts to the 2014/15 Bundesliga campaign after sharing the spoils in a 1-1 draw at Borussia Park on Sunday eveningMax Kruse put the hosts in front with a well-taken finish as Gladbach controlled the early exchanges, but Jonas Hofmann levelled from the spot shortly before half-time to ensure the visitors remain just two points behind in the standings. 

Strong start 

Following Gladbach’s energy-sapping draw in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday evening, Foals coach Lucien Favre rotated his attacking options by leaving Andre Hahn, Ibrahima Traore and Thorgan Hazard on the bench, instead fielding Fabian Johnson and Patrick Herrmann on the wings. The changes failed to disrupt the hosts’ rhythm though and they began the brighter of the two, with Raffael testing Loris Karius in the visiting goal with a smart shot from ten yards after just four minutes. It was not long before Gladbach did take the lead though. A well-worked team move down the left culminated with the ball falling to Johnson just inside the Mainz penalty area. The USA international swiftly found Kruse hovering around the penalty spot, and after taking a touch to control the ball, the forward flicked his left boot and directed it into the net. 

Hofmann replies 

The home team continued to attack and given their dominance all over the pitch, Mainz’s equaliser came against the run of play. After right-back Julian Korb was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the box, Hofmann sent Gladbach keeper Yann Sommer the wrong way from the ensuing penalty. Raffael had a chance to restore his side’s lead just before the break following another flowing Gladbach move, but his left-footed shot flew over to allow Mainz to remain on level terms at half time. After the restart the Foals initially set about flexing their muscles once more and pressed Mainz deep into their own half, at times committing six players forward to close down the opposition. It failed to force any errors though, with a couple of long-distance Granit Xhaka strikes as close as they came to scoring again. Having withstood that early barrage, Mainz took control of the game for the first time, keeping hold of the ball and dictating the pace of the encounter. 

Gladbach wasteful 

That was obviously not to Favre’s liking and after witnessing his side struggle to muster the dynamism and energy of the first half, he brought on Hahn and Hazard in an effort to inject new vigour into the Foals’ play. The former went close within moments of taking to the pitch but his shot lacked accuracy and failed to test Karius, while Hazard had a gilt-edged opportunity to snatch the victory when played through by Xhaka, but Karius was once again able to block. The clearest chance fell to Raffael late on after another superb team move, but the Brazilian could not squeeze his close-range effort over the line after Hazard’s cut-back had taken Karius out of the game. Gladbach will likely view the draw as two points dropped, but the match nevertheless offered further evidence of their strength this term as a team to be reckoned with in the top third of the table.

Chelsea masters Arsenal in London derby 2-0

Costa is embraced by John Obi Mikel after scoring his goal. The Spanish striker was a peripheral figure but scored when it mattered at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal: Gunners undone by Eden Hazard as Arsene Wenger continues to suffer against Jose Mourinho 

A one-man team? Chelsea are so much more than that this season. Those who believe the title race rests on the hamstrings of Diego Costa may have to reconsider after this.

For a good 75 minutes, Arsenal snuffed out Costa’s threat. It did not matter. Chelsea were still on course for victory, through the quite brilliant Eden Hazard.

Just when Arsenal began imagining they might get a point from the game, a perfect long pass by Cesc Fabregas killed them. 

Outstanding at the back, tireless through midfield, this Chelsea team is the real deal.

They are five points clear of their nearest rival, Manchester City, after seven games going into the October international break and if that margin is repeated through the season the title comes to Stamford Bridge before the first blossoms of spring.

As the Premier League does not get won by gaps of 25 points, that is unlikely to happen, but finding a way of stopping Chelsea in this form is easier said than done.

Not least because when Thibaut Courtois, arguably the best goalkeeper in the League, gets injured, his replacement is Petr Cech, arguably the second best goalkeeper in the League. Chelsea’s strength in depth sets them apart.

Jose Mourinho has built a powerful squad, full of options and nuance. This was not the 6-0 monstering of Arsenal from last season, but it was impressive nonetheless.

Aside from a Jack Wilshere shot that struck Fabregas’s hand, inspiring a penalty shout, Arsenal did not really threaten. They had good possession, minus the cutting edge, and Danny Welbeck was made to work too hard to have an impact. He ran and ran, but barely got a touch in an area that mattered.

Chelsea cut to the heart of the matter at least twice. Once, when Hazard burst into the penalty area, again when Fabregas set up Costa for his ninth goal in seven Premier League games.

There were two other occasions when Chelsea could have extended their lead, and both were Hazardous. In the 58th minute, the Belgian broke down the left and hit a cross which Mathieu Flamini almost deflected into his own net but for the outstretched hand of Wojciech Szczesny.

Although his goal was a penalty, what preceded it was quite lovely, the breakthrough coming in the 27th minute with a touch of the mazy Maradonas.

Hazard jinked his way through Arsenal’s defences before Laurent Koscielny dashed across and felled him with a clumsy tackle that earned a booking and the inevitable gesture towards the spot by referee Martin Atkinson. Hazard slipped the ball low to the right as Szczesny dived the wrong way.

And then, with 12 minutes remaining, came the moment every Arsenal fan had dreaded. Fabregas, playing his first game for his new English club against the one that made his name, struck the sort of pass that used to define matches in the red and white of the Gunners.

It wasn’t a long ball. That sounds too crude. It was accurate and intelligent and left Costa (left) free of Arsenal’s attention for once, setting him up for a chance that was only ever going to end with the ball in the net. On Costa ran, outstripping the defence before drawing Szczesny and lobbing him, deftly, to put the result beyond doubt.

A lesser team than Chelsea might have been rattled by the misfortune of goalkeeper Courtois after 10 minutes. Then again, a lesser team than Chelsea would not have been summoning Cech from the bench. Arsenal’s stand-in, for instance, was Emiliano Martinez, a 23-year-old Argentinian who spent much of last season on loan at Sheffield Wednesday. Cech spent it being the Premier League’s best goalkeeper.

Arsenal were rumoured to have wanted him this summer, but Chelsea would not sell to a rival on this occasion. This match showed why. Losing Courtois proved no loss at all. His replacement was as good, just older.

Courtois soldiered on for 13 minutes before conceding that, yes, an earlier collision with a charging Alexis Sanchez had affected his vision. He took the full weight of Sanchez’s thigh to the head and at first looked out cold, splayed like a boxer on the receiving end of a sucker punch. Revived, Courtois continued, but a break in play saw him sit down and call for treatment, and there appeared to be evidence of bleeding in his right ear. 

There has been much discussion of late about the treatment of head injuries, but one of the complications is that players tend to disguise the extent of any problem.

Courtois would no doubt have been asked whether he had lost consciousness and whether he could see straight, and would have replied to the medical team’s satisfaction, either being too brave, too foolhardy, or both.

Are football’s rules sufficient? As medical staff are club employees the suspicion will always be that they are under pressure to keep the team at its strongest, although this is a grave slur against any professional carer. A compromise would be to have independent doctors, appointed by the League, at each game making the call on head injuries, and for replacements to be provided without this counting as a substitution. Yet how long before that advance was abused by an unscrupulous coach looking to make a change without cost?

It could happen. Put it this way: who would have believed the circumstances of rugby union’s Bloodgate scandal before it occurred? 

He marched down the touchline towards the incident, encroaching on Chelsea’s technical area in the process. This upset Mourinho, who attempted to stop him, at which point Wenger placed both hands on the Chelsea manager’s chest and gave him a shove.

For a split second, Mourinho seemed a little concerned, as if he might have to summon John Terry or Didier Drogba as back-up. Instead, the fourth official stepped in and restored order, although Wenger did seem keen to go back for seconds. He retired to his corner, an amused smile on his face, with the look of a man who had taken round one on points.

Wenger later said if he had wanted to properly push Mourinho, he would have gone at it a lot harder. He doesn’t know his strength, that boy. Worryingly, Chelsea probably do.

Radamel Falcao scores his first Premier League goal as Manchester United survives Everton 2-1

Manchester United 2-1 Everton: Radamel Falcao opens his account as Louis van Gaal's men cling on against Toffees... but they have David De Gea to thank for series of world class saves

De Gea looked rather lost in English football for quite some time but at United they always recognised the talent.

They recognised the problems of physique, judgement and confidence, too, but never lost sight of the fact they had signed a goalkeeper about whom Spanish No 1 Iker Casillas famously commented ‘one day he will retire us all’.

Maybe now, three years on, that time has come. Yesterday at a relieved Old Trafford, De Gea earned his team victory with an outstanding performance. As United clung on in the face of Everton’s energy and ambition, De Gea, 23, produced two saves of the highest quality in injury-time.

More than that, he completed his own transformation from greenhorn to a goalkeeper of genuine Old Trafford stature. When you consider some of those who have gone before, that is quite something.

There was a penalty save, too, yesterday. Oddly, though, his plunging save from Leighton Baines’ poorly struck effort was rendered insignificant when compared to his contribution at the back end of the second half.

Leading from just after the hour, United had once again found themselves treading water late on. Just as they had against West Ham a week earlier, Louis van Gaal’s team were unable to keep the ball well enough to see the game through comfortably.Instead they found themselves hanging on.

Leon Osman was the first Everton player thwarted by De Gea. Making good contact with a volley after a corner had been cleared to the edge of the penalty area, De Gea not only saved Osman’s shot as the ball flew between Antonio Valencia’s legs, he also held onto it.

Certainly that was good goalkeeping. What followed in was somewhat better.

In the 92nd minute, Osman was played clear by Everton goalscorer Steven Naismith. The midfielder was not clean through but had daylight ahead of him and his right-foot shot seemed set for De Gea’s net until the goalkeeper turned it aside with a strong hand.

Better was to come. 

Moments later, a Baines delivery to the far post was headed down into the melee around the six yard line. Young Tyler Blackett’s bravery in repelling Gareth Barry’s subsequent half-volley was commendable but the save De Gea then produced to touch Bryan Oviedo’s follow-up shot into the Stretford End will rarely be bettered at this famous stadium.

Had De Gea’s gloves been a slightly tighter fit he certainly wouldn’t have saved it and Everton would have had the draw they perhaps deserved.

Afterwards, Van Gaal was honest enough to say De Gea had saved his team. The goalkeeper had not masked United’s deficiencies in terms of ball-retention but he had done enough to ensure they didn’t cost his team the points that have seen them slip almost unnoticed into the top four.

Earlier, United had seemed as though they might stroll away with the game. Van Gaal’s team began with purpose and energy and by the time they took the lead in the 27th minute Radamel Falcao had headed one clear chance straight at Tim Howard while Robin van Persie had volleyed another over the bar.

Most of the early danger had come down the left as Angel di Maria and Luke Shaw combined to terrorise Tony Hibbert. The goal arrived down the right, however, as Phil Jagielka could not clear Rafael’s cross far enough and Juan Mata set up Di Maria to finish astutely with his right instep.

Soon after, Di Maria had Howard scrambling across goal to touch over a deflected free kick and it briefly appeared that United may go on to seal the game efficiently.

That is not the United way at the moment, though, and Everton would have been back in the game sooner had Baines not made a mess of the 45th-minute penalty given for a reckless Shaw challenge on Hibbert. 

As it was, parity for Roberto Martinez’s team arrived in the 52nd minute as Baines earned some kind of redemption by planting a typically accurate cross on to the head of Naismith. He found the roof of the net from seven yards.

Jagielka then saw a header cleared from the line by Falcao as United threatened to implode. A rash Howard clearance gave United unexpected possession just after the hour and when Di Maria dragged a shot from 25 yards across goal, Falcao was alert enough to divert it past the Everton keeper for his first United goal.

Di Maria and Falcao were excellent at times on Sunday. If they remain fit, we will see more of that. How Di Maria was given the man-of-the-match award by TV was a mystery, though. This was David’s day.

Late Elche goal deny Almeria the full points 2-2

Almeria 2 Elche 2

Almeria took the lead through Victor Rodriguez before Jose Antonio Verza made things level at the break.

Jonathas put the visitors back in front 10 minutes after the interval before he saw red for a second bookable offence and Tomer Hemed rescued a point for Francisco Rodriguez's men late on.

The result moves Elche up three places into 16th, while Almeria moved into eighth with nine points from their opening seven matches.

The away side started well and got on the scoresheet after just six minutes with the first real chance of the game as Rodriguez headed home from Jonathas' cross in the centre of the box to hand his side the lead.

Elche continued to press and Damian Suarez tested Ruben with a long-range drilled shot, but the home goalkeeper held his effort out.

Edgar Mendez had a chance to bring Almeria back on level terms but his shot from just outside the 18-yard box sailed round the post.

Moments later Jonathas had the opportunity to double his side's tally but his thunderbolt from 35 yards out powered over the bar and into the stands.

The home side looked likely to pull a goal back with a series of Verza corners midway through the first half with Fernando Soriano unfortunate not to score with his close-range header on the end of one of them.

However, their pressure paid off with less than 10 minutes of the half to go as Edu Albacar conceded a penalty which Verza did well to convert to level the score at the break.

The second half started at a slower pace but Edgar had a chance to hand the home side the lead, forcing visiting keeper Manu Herrera to tip his effort around the post.

But it was the visitors that went ahead for the second time in the match as Pedro Mosquera set up Jonathas and he made no mistake with his well-placed volley landing in the top left of the Elche goal.

Deep into the second period, Jonathas received his marching orders after he was shown his second yellow card, this one for handball to leave his side with 10 men and fighting to hold onto their narrow lead.

The home side began to press for an equaliser as Wellington Silva and Jonathan Zongo came close before Verza's corner found the head of second-half substitute Hemed, who clinched a point with five minutes remaining.

Bayern Munich too much for Hannover 96 4-0

Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben star as Bayern Munich beat Hannover

Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben scored twice each as the champions crushed Hannover 4-0 in the Bundesliga on Saturday to go four points clear at the top of the table as rivals Borussia Dortmund lost to Hamburg.

The Bavarians needed only 13 minutes to tighten their grip on the game, scoring first through Poland’s Lewandowski after only six minutes and doubling their lead seven minutes later as Robben pounced on a Hanover mistake.

Lewandowski, who joined from Dortmund this season, benefited from a superb through ball in the 38th minute form Juan Bernat, for his fourth league goal of the campaign. Robben also go this second goal, slotting in 11 minutes from time as undefeated Bayern moved up to 17 points.

“Maybe it was our best performance yet [this season],” said Robben, who now has 59 goals and 42 assists in 110 Bundesliga games. “We had fun on the pitch and it was also great for our fans. We played very aggressively up front and created a lot of chances. We should have scored even more but 4-0 is good enough.”