Arsenal 3 - 0 Aston Villa

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas came off the bench to inspire his side to a victory over Aston Villa.

Fabregas picked himself up after being fouled by Richard Dunne and curled in a 25-yard free-kick with aplomb.
The goal came after Villa keeper Brad Friedel had denied William Gallas from point-blank range and kept out an Andrey Arshavin shot.
A first-time finish from Fabregas after a Theo Walcott pass and an Abou Diaby strike wrapped up the win for Arsenal.
Fabregas had started as a substitute because of a hamstring problem and was brought on after 57 minutes to give his side extra impetus in beating a stubborn Villa side.
The move paid off for manager Arsene Wenger but he will be concerned that his skipper aggravated his injury in sprinting on to Walcott's ideally weighted pass and had to be replaced on 84 minutes.

However, the victory moved the Gunners to within four points of Premier League leaders Chelsea with a game in hand over their London rivals.
Villa had already beaten Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United so far this season to show encouraging signs that they are mentally tougher and have a stronger squad to avoid the same collapse as last season in the chase for a top four place.
Their credentials for another top four assault were under the microscope at the Emirates and they were found wanting ahead of another stern test of their resolve and depth when they play Liverpool on Tuesday.

Birmingham 0 - 0 Chelsea

Premier League leaders Chelsea failed to score for the first time in 34 games as they were frustrated by Birmingham.

Joe Hart made two stunning first-half saves to keep out Daniel Sturridge's low shot and Frank Lampard's drive.
Alex smashed a 35-yard free-kick against the bar, while Sturridge steered Didier Drogba's cross wide.
Chucho Benitez had a goal ruled out for offside and Sebastian Larsson's free-kick was saved by Petr Cech before Florent Malouda was sent off late on.
The Frenchman was shown a second yellow card for a challenge on Stephen Carr and his early exit summed up Chelsea's disappointment.
The visitors created enough chances to win the game and will feel they have dropped two points - handing rivals Manchester United and Arsenal a chance to make up ground when they play on Sunday.
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has now seen his side win only once in their last seven games.

And with the likes of strikers Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou now heading to the Africa Cup of Nations, the Italian will be concerned that their poor run could continue for a while yet.

In contrast, Birmingham have now stretched their unbeaten run to 10 matches - courtesy of yet more resolute defending and their eighth clean sheet of the season.

However, at times they were hanging on as Chelsea craved out chances to score.

Branislav Ivanovic headed over from a corner, Juliano Belletti nodded a chance into the side netting and Drogba fired over as Chelsea dominated early on.

And it took a superb save from Hart, diving to his left, to prevent Sturridge from scoring his first goal for Chelsea on his first Premier League start.

Burnley 1 - 1 Bolton

Bolton remain in the relegation zone as Burnley fought back to earn a draw in a spirited Lancashire derby at Turf Moor.

After Steven Fletcher had missed a golden chance for the home side Matt Taylor deservedly put Wanderers ahead with a stunning 25-yard free-kick.

Both sides hit the woodwork, before Bolton's run of failing to keep a clean sheet since May continued when David Nugent headed in Wade Elliott's cross.

There were chances at both ends in a tense finish to an entertaining match.

So Burnley are still without a league win over Bolton since the teams met in the old fourth division in 1987.

More significantly for their first top flight campaign in 33 years the Clarets are now without a Premier League victory in eight matches.
The strong home record, which had yielded 18 of their 19 points prior to this fixture and seen only Wigan triumph at Turf Moor this term, will be tested in contrasting fashion by Stoke and Chelsea during January.

Fulham 0 - 0 Tottenham

A string of fine saves from Tottenham keeper Heurelho Gomes earned his side a point against Fulham.

Gomes was in impressive form with the best of his efforts coming when he palmed a Bobby Zamora header wide.
The Spurs keeper was beaten by a Clint Dempsey free-kick but that was kept out after it came back off the crossbar.
Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer was rarely called upon but, when he was, he brilliantly kept out a Peter Crouch shot and Jermaine Jenas's follow-up.
Schwarzer's double save came late on and made sure his side did not lose a game they had dominated for large spells.
But Spurs, who started with top scorer Jermain Defoe on the bench, racked up a third clean sheet in a row for the first time since August 2005.

Liverpool 2 - 0 Wolverhampton

Liverpool's players handed boss Rafael Benitez a welcome Christmas tonic with a battling win against 10-man Wolves.

The hosts were poor throughout but forced their way into the game after Wolves controversially had Stephen Ward sent off for two yellow cards.
The numerical advantage allowed Steven Gerrard to powerfully head home an Emiliano Insua cross after the break.
Yossi Benayoun doubled the lead with a deflected effort from close range to hand the hosts an unconvincing victory.
Liverpool went into the match having won just two of their previous eight league games and in the unusual position of being mid-table at the mid-way point of the season. And while fans will not be convinced they have turned the corner after another stuttering display, the cheers around at Anfield at the final whistle will at least offer Benitez some festive cheer.
Wolves were the better side at times and manager Mick McCarthy will surely point to the dismissal of Ward as the turning point.

Referee Andre Marriner showed the defender a second yellow card - but only after being surrounded by Liverpool players for incorrectly cautioning Christophe Berra.
McCarthy had clearly fancied his side's chances of causing an upset by fielding a full-strength team - a very different approach to Wolves' recent outing against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
But the decision to field an attacking 4-4-2 formation allowed Liverpool to take control of the game in the early stages.

Man City 2 - 0 Stoke

Roberto Mancini calmed the turbulence around Eastlands as he started his reign as Manchester City manager with a comfortable victory against Stoke City.

Mancini was warmly greeted by City's fans after taking charge following the controversial sacking of Mark Hughes - and his opening victory will have been greeted with relief by watching chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak and chief executive Garry Cook.

The pair have been heavily criticised following the removal of Hughes and the hasty succession of the former Inter Milan coach, but they will now hope focus can return to events on the field at Eastlands and the pursuit of fourth place in the Premier League.

Martin Petrov, restored to the side by Mancini, scored the first goal under the Italian's stewardship with a far-post finish after 28 minutes and Carlos Tevez turned in the second in first-half stoppage-time.

City's victory was workmanlike as opposed to spectacular, and even in defeat Stoke were occasionally able to hint at the defensive vulnerability that did much to undermine Hughes's reign before his ruthless dismissal.

Hughes has left one major dilemma behind for the Italian to solve - and it was in evidence as Craig Bellamy was greeted by a standing ovation when he replaced the disappointing Robinho with 20 minutes left.

It was an obvious message to Mancini about Bellamy's approval rating inside Eastlands, and a sign that his tireless efforts are preferred to the more fleeting glimpses of the Brazilian's genius.

This is for the future however, perhaps the January transfer window, and all City and Mancini required was the triumph to start yet another new managerial era.

Mancini, resplendent in sky blue scarf and enthusiastically welcomed by those gathered inside Eastlands, was able to reflect on a job well done after his first 45 minutes in charge as City established a two-goal lead.

Stoke, if anything, were quicker to settle than City and in the early stages had the game's brightest performer in Tuncay. He forced Shay Given into a brave block after 20 minutes and the keeper needed lengthy treatment after colliding with team-mate Kolo Toure after making the save.

Sunderland 1 - 1 Everton

Marouane Fellaini's equaliser five minutes from time earned Everton a deserved point against Sunderland.

The hosts took the lead in the 17th minute when Darren Bent combined brilliantly with Kenwyn Jones to head past keeper Tim Howard from 10 yards.

Bent came close to adding a second minutes later but saw his shot cleared on the goal-line by Johnny Heitinga.

But sustained second-half pressure from Everton saw Fellaini convert Tony Hibbert's cross from 10 yards.

The Belgian midfielder was among a number of Everton players to impress during a second-half renaissance orchestrated by the endeavour and invention of Steven Pienaar.

The South Africa midfielder was at the centre of Everton's most promising moves, constantly tormenting full-backs George McCartney and Phil Bardsley.

However, neither team will be satisfied with a point - with only one victory in their previous 10 matches apiece, both Sunderland and Everton were in desperate need of three festive points to reinvigorate their rapidly deflating league campaigns.

With Michael Turner unavailable because of a four-match suspension, Sunderland boss Steve Bruce turned to Paulo da Silva to partner John Mensah in central defence, while captain Lorik Cana replaced the injured Lee Cattermole in midfield.

Everton boss Dave Moyes had no such concerns, naming an unchanged XI from the team that started in the 1-1 draw against Birmingham.

The continuity in selection clearly benefitted the visitors, with Pienaar and Tim Cahill in particular dictating the tempo of the early exchanges with a series of neat interchanges and intelligent runs.

The duo were involved in the build-up as Leon Osman struck the outside of Marton Fulop's left-hand post with a sweetly struck, right-foot curling effort from the edge of the area.

West Ham 2 - 0 Portsmouth

West Ham hoisted themselves out of the bottom three with a hard-earned victory over fellow strugglers Portsmouth.

After a tense opening, Alessandro Diamanti scored from the spot for his third in as many games after Hayden Mullins fouled substitute Luis Jimenez.
Pompey were more positive in the second half with Kevin Boateng and the lively Frederic Piquionne both going close.
But the Hammers held firm at the back and Radoslav Kovac nodded in Jimenez's curling free-kick to secure the points.
Following their excellent point against leaders Chelsea last week, it was three deserved points for manager Gianfranco Zola's men to claim only their fourth league win of the season and their first clean sheet in 16 league games.
It was a strangely timid opening for the table's bottom two clubs with any sign of forward movement soon quelled by two very congested midfields.

After two wins in five league games for new boss Avram Grant, the Pompey camp would have been a happy one in the build-up to Christmas but it was the home faithful who were singing on 23 minutes.

opening goal after being hacked down by former Hammers midfielder Mullins.

Wigan 1 - 1 Blackburn

Benni McCarthy scored his first league goal of the season but it was not enough for Blackburn to edge their derby clash with Wigan.

Hugo Rodallega levelled for the home side just after the break with a powerful close-range header.
Neither team were prepared to settle for a point though and a frenetic second-half ensued.
But Jason Scotland fluffed a one-on-one with Paul Robinson and McCarthy had an overhead kick saved by Chris Kirkland.
With both sides desperate for points in a congested bottom half of the table, the result did not deliver the three "precious" points that Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce had sought ahead of the match.
Lining up to face a Wigan team that had conceded 38 goals in 17 games, Allardyce was conscious of his own side's inability to both score and keep a clean sheet.

Blackburn had managed to score only once in six matches and were without a win in 12 away league games.

McCarthy quietened some of his manager's qualms when he made the most of Wigan's woeful marking to place Ryan Nelsen's header-on beyond Kirkland.

But Blackburn blotted their manager's copy book in the second period when they allowed the in-form Rodallega to score.

Displaying all the confidence that has seen him notch up six league goals this season, Wigan's leading scorer rose above the defence to power the ball beyond Robinson.

Own goals had almost proved the difference early on with Wigan surviving a scare after Titus Bramble threw himself in the way of a Junior Hoilett cross.