Van Persie’s killer blow
Winner against Arsenal means Man U knocks Chelsea off summit
LONDON — Robin van Persie helped Manchester United to the top of the English Premier League on Saturday, punishing former club Arsenal with a goal in a 2-1 win as Chelsea’s 10-week stay at the summit came to an end.
Chelsea was held to a 1-1 draw at Swansea after conceding an 88th-minute equalizer to Spanish winger Pablo Hernandez, falling a point behind United after 10 games.
United is the form team of the three expected title contenders, and in Van Persie it now has the league’s top scorer after the Dutchman grabbed his eighth goal of the campaign to set the hosts on their way to a comfortable win at Old Trafford.
Chelsea flat
Chelsea hasn’t been headed in the league since Aug. 22, but Hernandez’s low strike means the team has won just one of its last four matches in all competitions.
After two straight draining matches against United, Chelsea lacked spark, especially with Juan Mata out injured and captain John Terry serving the final match of his four-game suspension for racially abusing an opponent.
City scoreless
Manchester City could have joined United in leapfrogging the European champions but stayed third after failing to turn dominance into goals in a frustrating 0-0 draw at West Ham.
City, which is a point behind Chelsea, failed to score in a match for the first time since December last year and could even have lost the match had Kevin Nolan’s fourth-minute volley not been ruled out for a dubious offside decision.
Fans rip spurs
Tottenham lost touch with the leaders by slumping to a lacklustre 1-0 loss to Wigan, leading to the home supporters venting their anger toward the team and manager Andre Villas-Boas.
Ben Watson scored the winner in the 56th minute for Wigan, which could easily have won by a bigger margin. Having lost to Chelsea in the league two weeks ago, Spurs have lost back-to-back Premier League games at White Hart Lane for the first time in four years and is nine points off United.
Everton ‘sick’
Steve Sidwell scored Fulham’s last-gasp equalizer at Everton, pulling the visitors back to 2-2 and negating a double from Marouane Fellaini. “It feels like a defeat ... we’re as sick as it gets,” Everton manager David Moyes said.