Arsenal’s Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky (L) celebrates scoring his second goal with Arsenal’s Ivorian striker Gervinho (R). -Photo by AFP

LONDON: Arsenal won 2-1 at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday to climb into the Champions League places at Chelsea’s expense, while Aston Villa claimed a precious win in their fight to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

A brace from Tomas Rosicky gave Arsenal victory at The Hawthorns, but they allowed West Brom to come back into the game after Per Mertesacker was sent off for bringing down Shane Long in the penalty area.

James Morrison drilled the resulting penalty down the middle to reduce the arrears, but Arsenal held on to move into fourth place above Chelsea, who welcome Sunderland and their newly appointed manager Paolo Di Canio to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Rosicky proved his worth in the early stages of the game when he cleared a header from Claudio Yacob off his own goal-line.

In the 20th minute he distinguished himself at the other end, adroitly heading Gervinho’s well-struck cross from the left past home goalkeeper Ben Foster.

The Czech Republic midfielder claimed his second five minutes into the second half, ramming home at the second attempt after Foster blocked his initial attempt from the edge of the box.

Mertesacker’s mistimed lunge granted West Brom a lifeline that Morrison duly grasped with 19 minutes left, but Arsene Wenger’s side survived a late onslaught from the home side as they closed to within a point of third-place Tottenham Hotspur.

“We now we have one target – to win our games,” said Arsenal manager Wenger.

“Then we do not have to look at Tottenham or at Chelsea. If we lose our games, you have always to look at the results of the others.”

Meanwhile, Matthew Lowton and Christian Benteke scored potentially crucial late goals to give Villa a 3-1 win at Stoke City that lifted Paul Lambert’s team out of the relegation zone and drew the hosts into trouble.

Gabriel Agbonlahor converted at the near post from Lowton’s right-wing cross to give Villa a ninth-minute lead, only for Michael Kightly to equalise for Stoke in the 80th minute.

However, with time running out, Lowton launched a magnificent 30-yard volley into the top-left corner in the 87th minute before Benteke added a third to send Villa three points clear of the bottom three.

Stoke, who have won just once in 13 games, are one point better off in 14th place.

“I don’t think you will see a better goal in Europe, let alone anywhere else, than Matt Lowton’s,” said Villa manager Lambert.

“The technique, chest control, and volley was outstanding. He has played every minute of every game in the league and he has been outstanding.

“We are playing well. There is a lot of momentum there and collectively the players are doing fantastically.”

Reading’s hopes of avoiding relegation were seriously compromised after a 2-0 loss at home to manager Nigel Adkins’s former club Southampton left them eight points from safety with only six games remaining.

Despite sustained early pressure from Reading, Southampton took a 34th-minute lead through Jay Rodriguez and completed victory with 18 minutes remaining when captain Adam Lallana coolly tucked away his 50th goal for the club.

Reading thought they had pulled a goal back moments later, but Saints goalkeeper Artur Boruc was adjudged not to have carried Adam Le Fondre’s header over his own goal-line in what was a very marginal call.

Adkins joined Reading last month after Southampton sacked him in January, but his bid to steer his new club off the foot of the table is beginning to look like an impossible task, particularly as the Royals have now played at least a game more than the three teams immediately above them.

“We needed a win today,” Adkins said. “We were up against a good team but we’re at home and we’ve got to win the game of football. We’ve not done that, that’s the reality of where we are. We’ve got to keep working hard.”

Southampton, meanwhile, are now seven points above the bottom three after their third consecutive victory and appear poised to secure their status among the elite for a second season.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Norwich City were denied only a second win in 15 games in an entertaining 2-2 draw at home to Swansea City.

Norwich came from behind to lead through Michael Turner after Robert Snodgrass had cancelled out Michu’s 35th-minute opener, but Luke Moore headed in a 75th-minute equaliser to prevent Swansea from slipping to a fourth straight defeat.

West Bromwich Albion’s Peter Odemwingie (R) celebrates his goal against Southampton. -Photo by Reuters

WEST BROMWICH: Peter Odemwingie scored twice as West Bromwich Albion’s superb start to the season continued with a 2-0 win at home to Southampton seeing them move into fifth in the Premier League on Monday.

But the result left basement club Southampton rooted to the foot of the table with eight defeats from just their first 10 league games.

This fifth successive away defeat can only increase the pressure on Southampton manager Nigel Adkins and the Saints boss had to endure mocking taunts of “you’re getting sacked in the morning” from the home supporters.

Odemwingie had enjoyed several chances before the Nigeria international opened the scoring in the 36th minute when his left-footed shot deflected off Maya Yoshida and went past Saints keeper Paulo Gazzaniga.

Southampton started the second half well with a shot on the turn from striker Rickie Lambert hitting the crossbar with Albion keeper Ben Foster beaten.

But Odemwingie doubled the Baggies lead after the hour when, having made good ground to outpace his marker, he headed in a superb cross from Shane Long.

Darren Bent celebrates scoring a goal. -Photo by AP

BIRMINGHAM: Darren Bent came off the bench to rescue a point for Aston Villa in their 1-1 Premier League draw at home to Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.

Bent, Villa’s club record signing, was among the substitutes as Paul Lambert started with Gabriel Agbonlahor and Christian Benteke up front.

The England striker, with national manager and ex-Baggies coach Roy Hodgson watching from the stands at Villa Park, had only been on the pitch 11 minutes when he cancelled out Shane Long’s opening goal.

“Obviously it would have been nice to play from the start, but I managed to score the goal to get a point,” Bent told Sky Sports.

“It’s obviously been a difficult couple of weeks, losing the captaincy first off, then finding out I wasn’t playing today. But we battled all the way through and we got the point.

“The start of the season’s been up and down. Obviously we had a good result against Swansea, but then we got beaten 4-1 by Southampton before getting a great result against Manchester City (in the League Cup).

“Today we showed signs that we are heading in the right direction and we’ve all got faith in the manager.”

The under-pressure Lambert added: “Darren’s a big part of (this squad) – everybody knows he’s a goalscorer.

“I decided on the lads up front but I don’t value anybody higher than anybody else. To do well we need everybody.”

Sunday’s result left Villa two points clear of the bottom three.

Long missed a chance to give West Brom – who have lost just once in their first six league games this term – an early lead when he headed wide from close range.

But Villa eased their way into the match and it needed a finger-tip save from Albion goalkeeper Ben Foster to divert Brett Holman’s long-range shot over the crossbar.

Foster then made another good save when he turned away a Holman shot that deflected off Billy Jones.

However, it was the visitors who broke the deadlock in the 51st minute when Long turned in James Morrison’s low cross for his fourth goal of the season.

Bent came on mid-way through the second half, in place of Benteke, and 10 minutes from time the striker turned in a loose ball after Ciaran Clark’s volley from a Barry Bannan corner was blocked.

Albion almost won the match late on when substitute Roman Lukaku twice went close to regaining the lead for the Baggies.

The striker, on loan from Premier League leaders Chelsea, first saw a shot deflect off Clark onto a post and then saw another effort come off the legs of Villa keeper Brad Guzan.

Podolski curled home a superb free kick from 30 yards in Arsenal’s 6-1 win over Southampton. -Photo by AFP

LONDON: Manchester United veteran Paul Scholes marked his 700th appearance for the club with a goal in a 4-0 Premier League win over Wigan on Saturday as champions Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw by Stoke.
Elsewhere, Arsenal thrashed bottom of the table Southampton 6-1 to leave the promoted Saints still searching for their first points of the season.

At Old Trafford, Scholes got the ball rolling for United before debutants, Alex Buttner and Nick Powell, completed the scoring as the home side went second in the table, a point behind Chelsea who were held 0-0 by Queens Park Rangers.
United missed the chance to take an early lead when Wigan’s Ali Al Habsi saved Javier Hernandez’s weak penalty.

It was a controversial spot-kick, won after Danny Welbeck dived in the box.

But after half-time Al Habsi could only weakly palm away Nani’s cross, allowing Scholes to score his 163rd goal for United.

Hernandez then atoned for his spot-kick error by making it 2-0.

Dutch left-back Buttner, signed from Vitesse Arnhem, then scored a superb goal, beating three men before his shot from a tight angle went in off Al Habsi.

And eight minutes from time, midfielder Powell made it 4-0.

“We always remember Paul Scholes as someone who arrives late in the box,”said United manager Alex Ferguson. “But his role has changed over the years,
playing a holding role.

“Buttner was rash at times but he has great enthusiasm and he is a great finisher.”At the Britannia Stadium, England striker Peter Crouch gave Stoke a 15th-minute lead when he bundled the ball in from close range, having appeared to handle in the build-up.

But Manchester City were level 10 minutes before half time when Javi Garcia scored on his debut after heading in Carlos Tevez’s free-kick.

Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross’s goal-line clearance late on ensured a point for the Potters.

“It was basketball — not football,” said City manager Roberto Mancini of Crouch’s goal.

Arsenal, who are now third in the table, struck in the 11th minute at the Emirates when Kieran Gibbs’s cross was turned in to his own net by Southampton defender Jos Hooiveld.

Lukas Podolski’s long range free-kick then made it 2-0, Gervinho added Arsenal’s third 10 minutes before half-time and another Gibbs-inspired own-goal, this time by Nathaniel Clyne, made it 4-0.
There was still time in the half for Saints to pull one back, through Danny Fox, after Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny dropped a cross.

But Gervinho struck again in the 71st minute when he tapped in from close range after substitute Aaron Ramsey’s cross hit the post.

And, two minutes from time, Theo Walcott scored against his old club to make it 6-1.

“We moved the ball at a very high pace and gave Southampton lots of problems,” said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, while rueful Saints counterpart Nigel Adkins added: “If you give quality players time they will hurt you and that’s what happened.”At Loftus Road, there was no pre-match handshake from Anton Ferdinand for Chelsea captain John Terry in what turned out to be a goalless draw.

The match was the first between the clubs since since Chelsea and England defender Terry was found not guilty of using a racial slur against the Hoops’ Ferdinand in the corresponding fixture last October.

“As far as we are concerned, our player offered it (a handshake) and if the other player doesn’t want to receive it, then we move on,” said Chelsea manager Roberto di Matteo.

Saturday’s late game left Liverpool still searching for a first win under manager Brendan Rodgers after a 1-1 draw at Sunderland.

Steven Fletcher gave Sunderland a 29th-minute lead before a late equaliser from Luis Suarez rescued a point for the visitors in a match that came at the end of a week where an independent report exonerated Liverpool fans of any involvement in the death of 96 supporters during the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.

“I was very pleased with the performance,” Rodgers told ESPN. “The balance of the team was very good and it bodes well going forward.”

Aston Villa won their first league match under new manager Paul Lambert as they ended Swansea’s unbeaten start to the season with a 2-0 home win thanks to a goals from Matthew Lowton and a late own-goal by Christian Benteke.
Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov scored twice as Fulham beat West Brom 3-0.

Either side of Berbatov’s first-half goals, the Baggies were reduced to 10 men when Peter Odemwingie was shown a red card for lashing out at Fulham defender Sascha Riether.

Steve Sidwell completed the scoring a minute from time.

Norwich and West Ham shared the points in a goalless draw.

Luis Suarez reacts after the end of the match against West Brom. -Photo by AP

LONDON: Liverpool crashed to a shock 3-0 defeat at West Brom in Brendan Rodgers’ first Premier League match as Reds boss, while Arsenal started life without Robin van Persie with a dour 0-0 draw against Sunderland on Saturday.

Rodgers took over from Kenny Dalglish after Liverpool finished eighth last season, their worst final position for 18 years, and on the evidence of a shocking result at the Hawthorns the former Swansea manager still has plenty of work to do.

Rodgers, who gave debuts to new signings Joe Allen and Fabio Borini and left unsettled striker Andy Carroll on the bench, might have feared the worst when he saw Zoltan Gera blast Albion into the lead with a stunning 43rd-minute strike.

It was a sweet moment for Albion manager Steve Clarke, who was sacked by Liverpool at the end of last season after spending 18 months at Anfield as Dalglish’s assistant.

Pepe Reina kept Liverpool in the match when he saved Shane Long’s woeful second half penalty after Reds defender Daniel Agger was sent off for a professional foul.

But Albion won another penalty in the 64th minute and this time Nigerian striker Peter Odemwingie stepped up to blast home.

And Romelu Lukaku, on loan from Chelsea, rubbed salt into Liverpool’s wounds when he marked his West Brom debut with a 77th-minute strike.

“Some decisions went against us. The sending off and penalties were very, very harsh I felt,” Rodgers said.

“We will have more days like this along the way, that is the reality, but I could not ask any more from the players.”

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger saw his Gunners team fail to break down Sunderland at the Emirates Stadium in the first game since Dutch striker van Persie’s 24 million pound move to Manchester United.

Wenger gave debuts to Germany striker Lukas Podolski and Spain midfielder Santi Cazorla, while French forward Olivier Giroud, another new signing, came off the bench.
But the new boys were underwhelming, with Giroud missing the best chance of the afternoon.

“Playing three strikers didn’t work. We had no space, and the passing was not quick enough so it was difficult for them,” Wenger said.

“But it’s one game and it’s too early to draw definitive conclusions.”

New Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas suffered a losing start as Newcastle won 2-1 at St James’ Park in the day’s late game.

Villas-Boas, sacked by Chelsea last season, saw Newcastle take the lead through Demba Ba’s superb 54th-minute goal.

Jermain Defoe equalised with a close-range effort in the 76th minute, but Hatem Ben Arfa was hauled down by Aaron Lennon four minutes later and the French midfielder picked himself up to score the spot-kick.

West Ham enjoyed a winning return to the top flight as Sam Allardyce’s side beat Aston Villa 1-0 at Upton Park in Paul Lambert’s first game as Villa boss.

The Hammers, promoted via the Championship play-offs, took the points when Kevin Nolan sidefooted home in the 40th minute.

Swansea manager Michael Laudrup savoured a five-star debut as new boy Michu inspired a 5-0 demolition of QPR at Loftus Road.

Michu, signed by Laudrup from Rayo Vallecano for 2 million pounds, took just eight minutes to score and the Spaniard struck again in the 53rd minute.

Nathan Dyer netted in the 63rd and 71st minutes and Scott Sinclair scored in the 81st minute.

Championship winners Reading rescued a 1-1 draw against Stoke at the Madejski Stadium on their return to the Premier League after a four-year absence.

Debutant Michael Kightly put Stoke ahead in the 34th minute thanks to a howler from Reading’s Australian goalkeeper Adam Federici.

But Adam Le Fondre earned a point with a penalty in the 90th minute after Stoke midfielder Dean Whitehead was sent off.

At Craven Cottage, Fulham striker Mladen Petric showed there is life without Clint Dempsey as his debut double clinched a 5-0 win over Norwich.

With American forward Clint Dempsey reportedly on strike after his fall-out with the club over his desire to join Liverpool, Damien Duff set the ball rolling with the first goal in the 26th minute.

Petric, signed from Hamburg, increased the Cottagers’ lead four minutes before half-time and he netted again with a deflected 54th minute strike.

Alex Kacaniklic struck in the 66th minute and Steve Sidwell’s 87th minute penalty completed the rout.

On Sunday champions Manchester City host Southampton and Champions League winners Chelsea face Wigan at the DW Stadium.

Everton entertain Manchester United on Monday.

West Bromwich Albion's Northern Irish defender Gareth McAuley (L) scores the opening goal.-Photo by AFP

LONDON: West Bromwich Albion piled the pressure on Chelsea with a 1-0 victory on Saturday as Premier League leaders Manchester City downed Bolton to open up a five-point lead at the top of the table.

An 82nd minute strike from Gareth McAuley secured all three points for West Brom at the Hawthorns to deal a fresh blow to under-fire Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas, reportedly battling to hang on to his job.

The defeat left Chelsea three points adrift of the top four after Arsenal’s push for Champions League qualification was given fresh momentum following a dramatic 2-1 win over Liverpool in Saturday’s early kick-off.

Elsewhere, leaders City cruised to a straightforward 2-0 win over Bolton at Eastlands courtesy of an own goal from Gretar Steinsson and a Mario Balotelli strike at Eastlands.

The win preserved City’s 100 percent home record and left second-placed Manchester United needing to get a result at Tottenham on Sunday to reduce their rivals’ lead at the top.

Earlier, Robin van Persie struck an injury-time winner as Arsenal shattered Liverpool’s hopes of Champions League qualification at Anfield.

Dutch international van Persie volleyed home magnificently in the third minute of stoppage time to claim his second of the match and take his season’s tally to 31 in all competitions.

Van Persie had earlier equalised for Arsenal after a Laurent Koscielny own goal had given Liverpool the lead.

But the defeat has left Liverpool with a mountain to climb if they are to secure a return to Europe’s elite next season, with 10 points now separating them from Arsenal in fourth.
Van Persie admitted Liverpool had been unlucky to lose.

“I don’t think we deserved it if I’m being honest because Liverpool played better but to nick it like we did – we can only be pleased,” the striker said.

Arsenal boss Wenger hailed the contribution of his match-winning striker.

“When you see the ball land at the feet of Van Persie you know what he can do,” Wenger said.

“We cannot afford to lose him. Overall you have to give him credit because in every match he does something special.”

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish was struggling to come to terms with defeat after a match which saw the Reds miss their sixth penalty of the season and a string of clear scoring opportunities.

“It’s difficult to believe but that’s the way it goes, we played some fantastic stuff and came away with nothing,” Dalglish said.

“The scoreline doesn’t reflect the game. We showed what we are capable of in the first half.

In other games Saturday, Wigan’s problems worsened as they were beaten 2-0 at home by Swansea.

Two goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson set up the victory for the Welsh side as Wigan remained firmly rooted to the bottom of the table.

Swansea finished the game with 10 men after Nathan Dyer was sent off in the second half but Wigan were unable to mount a fightback.

Queens Park Rangers came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against Everton at Loftus Road.

Royston Drenthe gave Everton the lead, punishing slack play by QPR midfielder Adel Taarabt to open the scoring on 31 minutes with a long-range effort.

But QPR hit back through transfer window signing Bobby Zamora, the former Fulham striker heading in Akos Buzsaky’s free-kick to level in the 36th minute.

Blackburn meanwhile scrambled a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa at Ewood Park after David Dunn’s equaliser five minutes from time cancelled out Charles N’Zogbia’s first half opener.

Meanwhile Stoke beat Norwich 1-0 at the Britannia Stadium after Matthew Etherington’s second-half strike settled a drab encounter.

Fulham's Bryan Ruiz, left, competes with Blackburn Rovers' David Goodwillie. -AP Photo

LONDON: West Bromwich Albion grabbed their first points of the season with a 1-0 victory over promoted Norwich, while Blackburn also got off the mark in the Premier League at the fourth time of asking by holding Fulham to a 1-1 draw on Sunday.

Nigeria striker Peter Odemwingie pounced on a defensive error to clip home a third-minute winner at Carrow Road for West Brom, which ended a run of three straight losses to climb into midtable.

“I think there will be a new atmosphere in the dressing room now,” said Odemwingie, who was making his first start of the season after injury.

“It was very important to win away, especially after three defeats.”

Blackburn hung on for a draw at Craven Cottage after surrendering a lead given to the visitors by Spanish youngster Ruben Rochina, who smashed an unstoppable shot in off the underside of the bar from the edge of the area in the 32nd minute.

England striker Bobby Zamora equalized five minutes later for Fulham, leaving both teams stuck in the bottom three. Blackburn remained bottom, however.

“We’ve got spirit, we’ve got togetherness. We didn’t sit back and just defend, we came with quite an attacking threat,” said Blackburn manager Steve Kean, who has come under fire from supporters after the team’s sluggish start to the season.

While Blackburn could be destined for a long season at the foot of the table, West Brom have finally earned the win the team has deserved after unfortunate defeats to Manchester United, Chelsea and Stoke previously this season.

Roy Hodgson’s side held on grimly after Odemwingie’s early goal, which came when Ritchie de Laet failed to deal with Nicky Shorey’s long ball forward, succeeding only in heading the ball into Odemwingie’s path.

West Brom’s top scorer last season showed great composure to guide his shot past goalkeeper Declan Rudd.

“I’ve been injured for a few weeks so I’m happy,” Odemwingie said.

“It’s my first goal of the season and I am where I need to be, mentally.”

The former Lille and Lokomotiv Moscow forward had a penalty saved in the 76th minute following Steve Morison’s clumsy challenge on Steven Reid and was relieved that the miss didn’t affect the result.

“In the last 10 minutes, I was praying they didn’t get an equalizer,” said Odemwingie.

Late pressure, including a couple of penalty appeals of their own, failed to yield an equalizer for Norwich, which is still looking for its first win back in the top division.

“I could not fault the lads for the way they played,” said Norwich manager Paul Lambert.

“We are still learning, but I am not despondent about the level of performance.”

While Blackburn will be relieved to have ended its points drought, Fulham will wonder what might have been after failing to make the most of the team’s second-half dominance, when midfielders Danny Murphy and Clint Dempsey went close to grabbing a winner.
“I’m really disappointed. I felt we dominated that match and we should have won it easily,” Fulham defender Brede Hangeland said.

“We lacked a little bit of skill and a little bit of luck.”

There was drama in second-half injury time when Blackburn striker Junior Hoilett broke onto a long clearance upfield and collided with Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who had rushed to meet the ball just outside the box.

Schwarzer was booked for the clumsy challenge and the game was stopped for several minutes while Hoilett was treated and taken off the pitch on a stretcher.

Kean said the forward had lost consciousness and would need three or four stitches to a head wound.

Hargreaves endured a miserable four-year spell at Old Trafford as tendinitis in both knees left him l anguishing in the treatment room for long spells. -AP Photo

LONDON: Owen Hargreaves has revealed he offered to play for Manchester United for free before finally accepting that his injury nightmare would bring an end to his miserable spell at Old Trafford.

Hargreaves joined United for 17 million pounds from Bayern Munich in 2007, but managed just 39 appearances for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side over four seasons as he battled persistent knee problems.

Even when the England midfielder made his comeback against Wolves last season, he was forced off with a hamstring injury only minutes into the game and United decided to release the 30-year-old at the end of last season.

Hargreaves tried everything he could to persuade Ferguson to let him stay with the Premier League champions and even agreed to play without any pay.

“At one stage I did offer to play for nothing this season, just to stay on,” Hargreaves told the Daily Mail.

“But they said, ‘You don’t want to do that’ and they were probably right.

“I don’t blame them for letting me go. I can understand it. There comes a point when you have to say this hasn’t worked out. The game has moved on. See you later, all the best.”

Hargreaves has travelled the world to receive treatment on his knee, and famously published videos on YouTube to try to demonstrate his fitness to play.

He insists he used the internet because he does not employ an agent and found it to be the easiest way to pass information to clubs who might be interested in him.

“It ended up on YouTube because the files were too big to email to specific people, specific clubs,” he said.

“So I put them on YouTube so they could see it. I know it became a bit of a story when people found it in the public domain but I don’t really care. No big deal.”

The videos seem to have worked, however, as Hargreaves has now attracted interest from Premier League club West Brom and he believes he can play his way back into England contention once he does sign for a club.

“I’m going to blow people away,” he said. “I’m coming back believing I can return to the level I was at before. My body feels great and my knees are perfect.

“I’ve just got this huge chip on my shoulder because I’ve been out for three years and people think I’m dead and buried.

“But right now I’d like to think I can play 40 games this season and with the right care, I believe I can train every day. I hope to be back in the England side for the European Championships next summer. You have to have ambition.”

Chelsea's manager Andre Villas-Boas celebrates Florent Malouda's goal. -AFP Photo

LONDON: Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has told the club’s supporters they must be more tolerant with the players to have a chance of taking the Premier League trophy back from Manchester United.

The former Porto manager, who is hoping a deal for Valencia forward Juan Mata is near completion, tasted competitive victory for his new club for the first time on Saturday when Chelsea came back from behind to beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.

Albion had led 1-0 at half time thanks to an early goal from Shane Long, the Republic of Ireland forward, and many Chelsea supporters booed the home team off at the break.

Chelsea revived to win the game through goals from Nicolas Anelka and substitute Florent Malouda, moving to third in the table as one of four teams with four points from two games.

Villas-Boas called upon the people he calls ‘the public’ to be more supportive in future however.

“For us to go through an intense Premier League season we need support, a good environment and good commitment from the public,” he said.

“We need a good empathy from the public to this team to be champions again.

“This team wants to be champions again and the public demands it. We are listening to their demands and we want to perform but we need the full support.”

Chelsea had been poor in the first half, especially for a team with so much Champions League experience, and the goal they conceded in the fourth minute was certainly avoidable.

Ramires, the midfielder, played a sloppy pass to centre-back Alex, who was robbed by Long, who sprinted away to score.

Anelka’s equaliser was helped past goalkeeper Ben Foster via a deflection off the leg of defender Jonas Olsson in the 53rd minute but Chelsea were already looking more cohesive by that point.

Albion continued to create occasional chances themselves but were undone seven minutes from time by a fine move from Jose Bosingwa, who cleverly beat two opponents in one go and crossed to the back post where Malouda, who had come on before half time for Salomon Kalou, applied a cool finish.

“Today was a very emotional game and the emotional part of the game was the main difference between the first half and the second,” Villas-Boas explained.

“In the first half we suffered a little bit from anxiety.

“The players couldn’t express themselves to their full talent and I don’t think that was anything to do with the changes that we made. Our half-time talk was to free them from the anxiety.

“The public was anxious, the players were anxious but there was still 45 minutes to play and anything could happen. And when you do find the back of the net then the emotional impact on the opponent is tremendous. We felt very confident to go in search of the second goal.”

The result was a second successive defeat for Albion, who had played well against Manchester United on the opening day only to be beaten by an own goal.

Long also scored in that game, which also finished 2-1.

“It feels like a little bit of deja vu as we didn’t do badly against Manchester United, when we played some good football but conceded a late goal,”said Albion manager Roy Hodgson.

“There were times in the game when the team looked solid but you get punished at the highest level for errors you make and we made two very bad defensive ones down the left side.”

“De Gea is only 20 and he is very much a work in progress.” -Reuters Photo

BIRMINGHAM: Sir Alex Ferguson insists that 18.3 million pound goalkeeper David De Gea will become a Manchester United sensation despite the Spaniard’s howler which allowed West Brom to creep back into Sunday’s Premier League clash.

De Gea, signed from Atletico Madrid in the summer, was responsible for allowing Shane Long to mark his Albion debut with an equalising goal after Wayne Rooney’s opener at the Hawthorns before the champions clinched a 2-1 win.

De Gea let Long’s timid shot pass under his arms and immediately generated comparisons with Massimo Taibi – United’s error-prone former Italian goalkeeper – as well as raising further questions over whether he is capable of handling the pressure at Old Trafford.

However, Ferguson believes it will be the perfect character test to see if the 20-year-old can fill the void left by retired star Edwin van der Sar.

“I said welcome to English football to him at half-time. We lost a goal that David should have done better on. Maybe it was a lack of concentration,” Ferguson said.

Ferguson also laid down a marker with referees after Mike Jones of failing to give De Gea sufficient protection.

“He took a bit of a battering in the second half and he should have been protected better by the referee, but he was not,” Ferguson said.

“It was good experience for him and if my recollection serves me correctly, coming from European football is a learning process for a goalkeeper.

“Peter Schmeichel’s first game was on a wet Wednesday night against Wimbledon and he had a difficult time.

“His following game was against Leeds when he let in a poor goal. He went on to be arguably one of the greatest goalkeepers in the club’s history in my opinion.

“De Gea is only 20 and he is very much a work in progress.”

Meanwhile, Ferguson faces a defensive injury crisis just one match into the new season after Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic limped out of Sunday’s victory.

Ferguson confirmed England defender Ferdinand is likely to be out for six weeks with a hamstring problem, while Serbian centre-back Vidic suffered a calf injury.

Ferdinand will almost certainly be out of England’s Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Wales but more crucially the 32-year-old appears to be facing a fitness struggle to avoid being absent for the vital trip to face joint group leaders Montenegro at the start of October.

Vidic is awaiting checks on a calf problem could keep him sidelined for two weeks and on top of that double blow, Ferguson also discovered on Sunday that Brazilian right-back Rafael da Silva will be out for 10 weeks with a dislocated shoulder.

“We think it is a nerve problem with Vidic and he could be out for two weeks,” Ferguson said.

“We have had a torrid two or three days. Rafael will be out for 10 weeks and he will need an operation on his shoulder.”

Meanwhile, West Brom manager Roy Hodgson was hugely disappointed not to be able to hang on to a share of the points and felt the football gods were against his side for the cruel deflection off Steven Reid which gave United victory nine minutes from time.

“Let’s hope the sporting gods are on our side, because we feel there weren’t on this occasion,” he said.

Hodgson also admitted his side are still some way from signing Owen Hargreaves, but he has condemned Wigan chairman Dave Whelan for an insulting bid for Peter Odemwingie believed to be in the region of 3 million pounds.

“Peter is not for sale and if you had seen the size of the bid you would be laughing all the way here,” he said.

“I don’t know what provokes teams to put in a bid which is so ludicrously low. I could put in a bid for Wayne Rooney.”