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AS IT HAPPENED

As they happened: Premier League 3pm kick-offs

Chelsea and Arsenal were just two of the sides in action on a busy day in the Premier League, while in-form Norwich had a tough assignment away at the Liberty Stadium.

CHELSEA AND ARSENAL are just two of the sides in action on a busy day in the Premier League, while in-form Norwich have a tough assignment away at the Liberty Stadium.

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Full-Times:

Arsenal 2-0 West Brom
Aston Villa 0-0 Stoke
Southampton 1-0 Reading
Sunderland 1-3 Chelsea
Swansea 3-4 Norwich
Wigan 2-2 QPR

No early or late games in the Premier League today – all our eggs are in the 3pm basket. Six games in the top flight, and here are the teams…

Arsenal v West Brom

Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Wilshere, Arteta, Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gervinho, Giroud
Subs: Martinez, Rosicky, Podolski, Ramsey, Squillaci, Coquelin, Jenkinson

West Brom: Myhill, Reid, Olsson, McAuley, Ridgewell, Brunt, Morrison, Mulumbu, Gera, Odemwingie, Long
Subs: Daniels, Popov, Rosenberg, Dorrans, Lukaku, Tamas, Fortune

Referee: Mike Jones (Cheshire)

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Aston Villa v Stoke

Aston Villa: Guzan, Lowton, Baker, Clark, Lichaj, Herd, Holman, Westwood, Bannan, Benteke, Agbonlahor
Subs: Given, Ireland, El Ahmadi, Bent, Delph, Weimann, Williams

Stoke: Begovic, Shotton, Huth, Shawcross, Cameron, Walters, Whitehead, Nzonzi, Whelan, Etherington, Jones
Subs: Sorensen, Palacios, Upson, Kightly, Crouch, Wilkinson, Jerome

Referee: Roger East (Wiltshire)

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Southampton v Reading

Southampton: Kelvin Davis, Clyne, Fonte, Yoshida, Shaw, Puncheon, Cork, Schneiderlin, Lallana, Rodriguez, Lambert
Subs: Boruc, Hooiveld, Steven Davis, Ramirez, Ward-Prowse, Do Prado, Mayuka

Reading: Federici, Cummings, Mariappa, Morrison, Shorey, Robson-Kanu, Leigertwood, Tabb, McAnuff, Roberts, Le Fondre
Subs: Taylor, Pearce, Hunt, McCleary, Guthrie, Harte, Samuel

Referee: Jon Moss

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Sunderland v Chelsea

Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, Cuellar, O’Shea, Rose, Johnson, Gardner, Larsson, McClean, Sessegnon, Wickham
Subs: Westwood, Campbell, Kilgallon, Colback, Vaughan, Bramble, Saha

Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Luiz, Cahill, Cole, Ramires, Romeu, Mata, Moses, Hazard, Torres
Subs: Turnbull, Lampard, Oscar, Ferreira, Marin, Azpilicueta, Bertrand

Referee: Mark Halsey (Lancashire)

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Swansea v Norwich

Swansea: Tremmel, Rangel, Chico, Williams, Davies, Dyer, Routledge, de Guzman, Ki, Michu, Graham
Subs: Cornell, Bartley, Monk, Shechter, Moore, Tiendalli, Agustien

Norwich: Bunn, Martin, Bassong, Whittaker, Garrido, Johnson, Snodgrass, Howson, Pilkington, Hoolahan, Holt
Subs: Rudd, Jackson, Fox, Morison, Elliott Bennett, Barnett, Tierney

Referee: Howard Webb

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Wigan v QPR

Wigan: Al Habsi, Boyce, Lopez, Jones, Stam, McCarthy, McArthur, Beausejour, Gomez, Di Santo, Kone
Subs: Pollitt, Maloney, McManaman, Boselli, Fyvie, Golobart, Redmond

QPR: Green, Bosingwa, Nelsen, Hill, Traore, Diakite, Derry, Mbia, Wright-Phillips, Mackie, Taarabt
Subs: Murphy, Ferdinand, Cisse, Granero, Da Silva, Hoilett, Faurlin

Referee: Phil Dowd (Staffordshire)

We have kick-off… And Chelsea are denied a clear penalty! Mata sets Hazard through with a fine ball and Sebastian Larsson clearly takes the Belgian out of it. The Swede is lucky to still be on the pitch.

No goals yet, though Chelsea are piling on the pressure. Carlos Cuellar heads the ball against team-mate John O’Shea but Simon Mignolet gets to the ball before Fernando Torres, who should have been sharper.

Nothing to do with these matches, but we couldn’t agree more with the following…

An early change for West Brom. Money’s Liam Ridgewell has been forced off and replaced by Goran Popov.

It’s Sunderland 0-1 Chelsea!

Eden Hazard bends a cross in and finds 2008′s Fernando Torres, who confidently sidefoots the ball home. That’s three goals in a week for the ‘baby-faced Giroud.’

Interesting that that Chelsea goal was set in motion by Victor Moses. The former Wigan starlet has gone under the radar at Chelsea, but has been exceptional whenever he has played and has ousted Oscar for this match.

The Brazilian might have a job getting back into the team.

Goal at the Liberty Stadium!

Steven Whittaker has made it Swansea 0-1 Norwich – that’s the former Rangers defender’s first goal as a Canary. He carries the ball forward and easily cuts inside Ashley Williams before unleashing a low shot.

Poor defending from the Wales international there.

Wigan 1-0 QPR!

Goal at the DW Stadium as James McCarthy’s deflected volley beats Julio Cesar in the QPR goal for the Irish international first goal in 61 games.

You have to go back to February 2011 for McCarthy’s last goal for the Latics.

Jeff Stelling wrongly accredits the goal to James McArthur. It happens.

Substitution at the Stadium of Light as Oriol Romeu, injured in a clash with Connor Wickham, is forced off to be replaced by the aforementioned Oscar. Attacking move by Rafa.

Meanwhile, it Arsenal 1-0 West Brom!

An absolutely shocking dive from Santi Cazorla under a fresh air kick by Steven Reid. Somehow, referee Mike Jones falls for the Spaniard’s theatrics and awards a penalty. Mikel Arteta does not miss those. Unless he’s playing Fulham.

Winless QPR have equalised against Wigan at the DW Stadium – Ryan Nelsen with his first goal for the club since joining in the summer.

The veteran defender headed in at the near post from an Adel Taarabt corner.

File this one under ‘priorities’…

It looks like Olivier Giroud is in trouble – the Arsenal striker has hurt his lower back against West Brom.

Almost another goal at the Emirates. Gervinho is looking, looking, looking as he gets to the by-line. He eventually fizzes it across the goal and Jack Wilshere JUST fails to connect properly.

Yes.

How good are Norwich?

It’s now Swansea 0-3 Norwich!

Swansea may have beaten Arsenal last weekend but they’re second best at the Liberty Stadium today.

Sebastien Bassong has a claim for ‘most improved player in the Premier League,’ having been ignored at Spurs, and he heads in a cross from Grant Holt.

That’s Bassong’s third goal in four games and it’s soon followed by Holt’s first in nine, after he heads in a perfect cross by Robert Snodgrass. What the hell has happened to Swansea?

Shocker here – it’s Aston Villa 0-0 Stoke at half-time. Same with Southampton and Reading.

Elsewhere, half-time at the DW Stadium and at the Emirates.

Meanwhile, Fernando Torres has just scored his first penalty in English football to make it Sunderland 0-2 Chelsea. It came for a foul on Ramires by Larsson, who was lucky to escape an earlier incident.

Strange to see Torres finally taking a penalty in the Premier League. He used to take them for Atletico Madrid but decided he didn’t want the pressure when he moved to Liverpool. Obviously, given his recent form, needs must.

We’ve finally found footage of that Santi Cazorla dive to win Arsenal’s penalty.

It’s appalling…

(YouTube credit: FootballGols1)

Unwieldy sentence of the day: Not a single Reading player on the field of play against Southampton has scored a second half goal this season.

Norwich miss an opportunity to make it 4-0. Bradley Johnson picks it up from Angel Rangel and exchanges passes with Snodgrass, but Tremmel tips the ball over.

At the Stadium of Light, it’s Sunderland 0-3 Chelsea!

Juan Mata with a superb finish after Torres hit the bar. Could the Blues fans be chanting Rafa’s name by the end of the day.

At the DW Stadium, meanwhile, James McCarthy has missed a gilt-edged chance to put his side ahead once again. He is one-0n-one with Robert Green (not, in fact, Julio Cesar) but drills the ball straight at the QPR ‘keeper.

Michu has made it Swansea 1-3 Norwich!

The Spaniard scores his 12th goal of the season as he sweeps home a low cross from Ben Davies. It’s still early enough in the second half for Swansea to get something out of this.

Wigan are all over QPR. Jordi Gomez has hit the bar, while Green has saved smartly from Arouna Koné.

Jason Puncheon has made it Southampton 1-0 Reading!

It’s another excellent finish from, arguably, Southampton’s player of the season so far after good work from Nathanial Clyne. If the Saints win this, they will be replaced by Sunderland in the relegation zone.

And the comeback is definitely on – it’s now Swansea 2-3 Norwich at the Liberty Stadium.

Norwich fail to clear a cross and the ball drops for Jonathan De Guzman close to the edge of the box.

The midfielder drops his shoulder and shows excellent technique to release a first-time volley which beats Mark Bunn at the near post. Fine strike.

Arsenal have been awarded a second penalty against West Brom, as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain goes down under a Chris Brunt challenge, and Mikel Arteta scores his second spot-kick of the game.

The decision to award the penalty is, once again, ridiculous as the Arsenal winger clearly fouled Brunt in the build-up.

Sunderland have pulled a goal back against Chelsea – Adam Johnson bends his shot in and Petr Cech seems to pull his hand away at the last minute. It was a fine strike from the winger, who has only sporadically looked like a footballer for the last two years, but poor from the Blues’ ‘keeper.

‘Stoke Nil’ would be a good name for a rock band.

That is all.

Djibril Cissé has just scored his third goal of the season and it’s Wigan 2-2 QPR.

Adrian Lopez gives the ball away to Shaun Wright-Phillips and the former England winger crosses for Cissé to slot home.

The Londoners’ lead lasts all of two minutes before Wigan equalise, and James McCarthy has his second goal of the season/game. The 22-year-old exchanges passes with Jean Beausejour and has time to look up before picking his spot.

Norwich have scored again!

Ashley Williams is having a nightmare. The defender takes down Grant Holt and Norwich are awarded a free-kick. Up steps the man with the ugliest surname in football, Robert Snodgrass. Goal.

Guly do Prado misses a great chance for Southampton. Puncheon finds the Brazilian on the penalty spot but he shoots straight at Adam Federici.

Meanwhile, Chris Kamara looks depressed for, possibly, the first time in his life. He’s at Villa Park.

Lukas Podolski – on for Cazorla – wastes a glorious chance to put his side 3-0 up but blasts over the bar.

Sending off - Stoke defender Ryan Shotton has been sent off for two bookable offences. It’s finished Aston Villa 0-0 Stoke.

All over at Southampton – Southampton 1-0 Reading.

It’s all over at the Emirates Stadium and at the DW Stadium. An absolute shocker from referee Mike Jones as two contestable Mikel Arteta penalties beat West Brom, while Wigan and QPR has finished 2-2.

Michu scores his 13th goal of the season for Swansea, who still lose 3-4 to Norwich City.

What else?

Fernando Torres is one of the best strikers in the world again (thanks Twitter). The Spaniard scored his third and fourth goals this week as Chelsea beat Sunderland 3-1 at the Stadium of Light. One of Torres’ goals was his first penalty in English football.

That’s everything from the Premier League today, with Norwich the big winner of the day with a great performance at the Liberty Stadium.

Thanks for keeping and we’ll be back tomorrow. Manchester derby, anyone?

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