Liverpool, Sunderland and Aston Villa all recorded victories, while Bolton and Birmingham drew.
In the opening match of the day, Bolton came from two goals behind to snatch a draw with Birmingham City. The match was notable for Bolton goalkeeper Jusi Jaaskelainen’s red card, when the Finn was sent off for slapping Roger Johnson for no apparent reason.
Roger Johnson opened the scoring for the Blues in the fourth minute, before Craig Gardner doubled their lead in the 50th minute. Bolton got one back in the 21 minutes later, when he converted a penalty. The comback was completed when substitute Robbie Blake scored a terrific freekick in the 81st minute.
A 65th minute volley from Fernando Torres spared Liverpool blushes, as they made hard work of newly promoted West Brom in a 1-0 win at Anfield. Aston Villa banished the memories of their 6-0 loss at the hands of Newcastle last week with a 1-0 win over Everton. Luke Young scored the only goal of a game that the Toffees mostly dominated.
In the day’s final game, Sunderland shocked big spending Manchester City by snatching a 1-0 win at the death thanks to a Darren Bent penalty. Carlos Tevez had the best chance for the visitors, only to miss a virtually open goal.
