Premier League
Table
DIMITAR Berbatov hit five goals as Manchester United beat Blackburn Rovers 7-1 at Old Trafford to move to the top of a fascinating Premier League title chase.
The Bulgarian joined Andy Cole, Alan Shearer and Jermain Defoe in the record books as one of a select group of players to have hit five goals in a Premier League match.
Park Ji-Sung and Nani got the other two goals as Sir Alex Ferguson's men ripped apart Sam Allardyce's Rovers to go two points clear of Chelsea and Arsenal.
Manchester United have now enjoyed their best start to a league season in terms of being unbeaten since 1985/86, having won eight and drawn seven of their 15 matches.
But, while the number of draws had been holding them back, the Red Devils have now hit top form in an ominous sign for their title rivals.
In the meantime, defending champions Chelsea have been on a poor run, collecting just four points from their last five league matches.
On Sunday, the Blues dropped more points in a 1-1 draw at Newcastle United, having already lost to Liverpool and Birmingham City away.
But by far their worst game in the sequence came in a humbling 3-0 home defeat to Sunderland who had recovered well since their derby thrashing until a defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Arsenal are third, alongside Chelsea on 29 points, and briefly led the league after their early Saturday 4-2 win away at Aston Villa despite indifferent home form.
The Gunners had already lost 3-2 to West Bromwich Albion at the Emirates before two further losses this month: 1-0 to Newcastle and 3-2 to Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby.
Arsene Wenger's men were 2-0 at half-time against Spurs after goals from Sami Nasri and Marouane Chamakh but a stunning second half comeback was instigated by a 50th-minute Gareth Bale goal.
Rafael van der Vaart then converted a penalty after senseless Cesc Fabregas handball before Younes Kaboul's late winner for Harry Redknapp's men.
Spurs have hit a rich vein in form to lift their league position to fifth, just six points off the leaders.
As well as their victory at Arsenal, Spurs struck late through Aaron Lennon to beat Liverpool at home to make it three league wins in a row for the first time all season.
Just above Spurs in fourth by a point are the White Hart Lane club's adversaries from last season, Manchester City.
City had to settle for fifth last season behind Spurs but, for now, those positions are reversed as Roberto Mancini's men made it five league matches unbeaten.
However, three of those games - against Manchester United, Birmingham City and Stoke City - were draws and City have rarely sparked throughout this season.
They made an exception on their trip to Craven Cottage to meet previous manager Mark Hughes, now at Fulham.
Carlos Tevez scored twice as City beat the Cottagers 4-1 having been 3-0 up in 35 minutes.
The surprise package of the season is Bolton Wanderers who lie in sixth place on 23 points on the back of a five-match unbeaten run.
That sequence has included a 4-2 win over Spurs, a 3-2 win at Wolves and a 5-1 thumping of Newcastle but Owen Coyle's Trotters had to settle for a point in their 2-2 home draw with Blackpool.
Ian Holloway's men led that match 2-0 with 15 minutes left but even a point continues their hugely impressive start to the season. The Tangerines are 11th with 19 points from 15 games.
However, that is still just seven points off the bottom of the table after this season's pair of stragglers, West Ham United and Wolves, both claimed vital wins to close the gap on Saturday.
The Hammers beat Wigan Athletic 3-1 at home to record just their second league win of the season, and their first for nine games.
And Wolves are the team just above West Ham on goal difference, having recorded just three league wins all season.
Indeed, Mick McCarthy's men looked like heading to the bottom of the table having just gone 2-1 down against Sunderland with 13 minutes left.
But late goals from Stephen Hunt and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake turned the match around and prevented a fifth straight league defeat.
Wigan Athletic are third bottom on 14 points after that defeat to West Ham left Roberto Martinez's men with just one win in their last eight games.
However, the identity of those teams just above the drop zone is less predictable.
Birmingham City, Aston Villa and Everton all recorded top-half finishes last season while Fulham finished 11th and reached the Europa Cup Final.
Yet, it is indeed the two Birmingham clubs - on 17 points, the Toffees - on 16 points and the Cottagers, on 15 points, which occupy the four places immediately above Wigan.
The Championship
Table
QUEENS PARK RANGERS came from behind to beat Cardiff City in the top-of-the-table Championship clash at Loftus Road.
Craig Bellamy had given the visitors the perfect start, taking advantage of Kaspar Gorkss mistake to score after 11 minutes.
But Gorkss made amends just seven minutes later, glancing home a header from Tommy Smith's cross for the equaliser.
Adel Taarabt then scored his ninth goal of the season midway through the second period and it proved to the winner as a decent late Cardiff shout for a penalty was turned down.
The result means that unbeaten Rangers are now five points clear of Cardiff, and eight clear of third-placed Swansea City.
Neil Warnock's men have won 11 and drawn eight of their 19 league games so far, just one game short of the club's all-time record which was set in 1972.
But the result was a worrying confirmation for Cardiff that their form has deserted them, as it has done at the vital stages of past seasons.
The Bluebirds have just one win and four points from their last five games although the fixtures have not been too kind.
As well as the table-topping clash with QPR, Cardiff's other recent games have come against Swansea, Reading and an in-form Nottingham Forest.
Swansea deservedly won 1-0 in the South Wales derby which was screened by the BBC but the Swans are again struggling for goals this season with only four in their last five games.
A lack of goals cost Swansea their playoff place last season and, while they remain firmly in the automatic promotion chase this time, more home defeats like those against Bristol City and Portsmouth will soon see that change.
Behind Swansea, the battle for the playoffs is predictably as tight as ever with just six points separating Derby County, on 30 points in fourth place, and Ipswich Town, on 24 in 17th.
The fourth-placed Rams under Nigel Clough have put themselves in a handy challenging position with six successive home wins pleasing the Pride Park faithful.
And Norwich City are fifth, also on 30 points, after Grant Holt's hat-trick demolished local rivals Ipswich in the East Anglian derby.
The 4-1 victory, screened live on the BBC, ended a run of four successive draws and five matches without a win for the Canaries.
It also left visiting manager Roy Keane considering his position at Portman Road after four successive defeats have seen the Tractor Boys plummet down the league.
Coventry City are a third team on 30 points in sixth place in the league after successive wins over Burnley and Scunthorpe United brought to an end a run of three straight defeats.
The teams currently best-placed to challenge the top six are Burnley who moved 7th win a fine 2-1 win against Derby, and Leeds United who are eighth after a 0-0 draw with Reading, their third tie in four games.
Last season's third-placed finishers Forest are unbeaten at home but lie ninth on 27 points after losing 1-0 in tonight's East Midlands derby at Leicester City.
In better news for Forest fans, the talented Aaron Ramsey has just arrived on a short loan from Arsenal until January as Billy Davies looks to spark another promotion push.
But, for several clubs, a promotion push is already out of the window with Preston North End ailing most of the 24 in the second tier.
Preston have won just four times from 19 games and they are five points adrift of safety with just 15 to their name.
At least, the weekend's 0-0 draw with Millwall brought to an end a run of three successive defeats but it also means Darren Ferguson's men have won just once in their last ten matches.
The blank score against the Lions was also only the Lilywhites' second clean sheet of the season - 38 goals conceded in the other 17 league matches tell its own story.
Second-bottom Middlesbrough are having more bother at the other end with just 19 league goals all season leaving them second-bottom of the scoring charts as well.
Only 19th-placed Hull City, with 17 goals, have hit the net fewer times than Boro but the pair produced an entertaining encounter at the Riverside on Saturday.
The match finished 2-2 with Boro showing some mettle to come from behind twice but the main talking point was the state of the pitch which looked more like a rink after the recent wintry weather.
The point left Boro two points adrift of safety with fourth-bottom Scunthorpe just above Crystal Palace on goal difference.
However, Palace are in rather better form with three wins from their last four games while the Iron have lost five of their last six to slip down the division.
Early season strugglers Bristol City have lifted themselves off the foot of the table and up to 18th on 23 points, having lost just once in their last eight games.
Keith Millen's Robins are a point above Hull in 19th and the hugely-disappointing Sheffield United in 20th.
League One
Table
BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION sailed into November with an eight-point lead at the top of League One but that advantage has now been cut to four points.
The Seagulls have suffered a lack of form with only two points taken from their last three league games, putting them on 36 points altogether.
At least Brighton fans can be consoled that their team has still only lost twice in the league this season - at Sheffield Wednesday and Hartlepool United - and a points gap remains at the top.
The challengers are lining themselves up, though. Second-placed Charlton Athletic, who lost 4-0 at home to Brighton in October, have reacted to that loss with their best form of the season.
A 1-1 draw with Bristol Rovers brought to an end a run of five successive league wins which has seen the Addicks climb from midtable obscurity to the second automatic place.
Bournemouth, in third, are just two points behind Charlton and they have also improved their form.
Two comfortable home wins have complemented two away draws from their trips to the Brentford and Leyton Orient in the capital and the Cherries are a threat.
Sheffield Wednesday also look as if they will there or thereabouts now that their financial concerns have been eased by Milan Mandaric's takeover.
The former Portsmouth and Leicester City chairman has arrived at a good time with Wednesday moving up to fourth, level on points with Bournemouth, after three straight league wins.
Huddersfield Town beat Milton Keynes Dons 4-1 to regain their place in the playoff positions which they had lost after successive 1-0 losses to Oldham Athletic and Exeter City.
And that win by Oldham at Boundary Park is part of a decent run by Paul Dickov's men who are still unbeaten in the league at home.
Eight points from their last four matches - two wins and two draws - has lifted the Latics up to sixth on 29 points, the same as Huddersfield above them and Colchester United below them in seventh.
Colchester had lost only once in the league in their first 15 matches and they went third earlier this month after a 3-2 win against Leyton Orient.
But two losses out three league games now leaves the Us just outside the playoffs on goal difference, though with a long way to go yet.
One of those losses for Colchester came at Swindon Town who, nevertheless, remain a surprise struggler at the bottom.
The Robins were playoff finalists in May but have just two wins and three draws in their last 10 games, enough just to keep them above the relegation zone on 21 points.
Swindon are joined on 21 points by Leyton Orient, and the pair are just behind a whole clutch of clubs on 22 points including Tranmere Rovers, Bristol Rovers, Plymouth Argyle and Rochdale.
For promoted Dale, their current position of 15th place will be seen as an achievement but last season's League Two champions Notts County will be less happy about their start.
The Magpies saw plenty of turmoil in that promotion campaign and decided on another change at the end of last month when Craig Short was sacked and Paul Ince brought in.
Ince looks to have a tough assignment at Meadow Lane. County are fourth-bottom with 19 points, two points adrift of safety, but only after a 1-0 home win over Swindon brought to an end a run of four consecutive league losses.
At least they are not being cut off unlike the three other teams in the relegation zone, Dagenham & Redbridge, Yeovil Town and Walsall.
The Daggers have won only one league game since the start of October to lie third-bottom on 15 points, already six points adrift.
Meanwhile, Yeovil - also on 15 points - are on the worst run in the division, with just one point from their last seven matches, dropping them from mid-table into real trouble.
And then there is bottom-placed Walsall whose 14 points already leaves them seven adrift of safety.
A surprising 2-1 win over Carlisle two games ago brought to end a run of just one point from five games but the Saddlers returned to type in their 3-0 defeat to Wednesday.
League Two
Table
PORT VALE won 5-0 away at Stockport County to extend a fine recent run which has lifted them back up to the top of the table.
Marc Richards scored twice as the Valiants ran riot at Edgeley Park to make it eight league matches unbeaten.
Micky Adams' men have won three of those games to reach 36 points, one point ahead of their nearest challenger Chesterfield.
The Spireites were at the top themselves last month, having lost just once in their first 15 games.
But, since then, successive home defeats against Burton Albion and Oxford United may have somewhat doused the growing excitement at the new B2net stadium.
Of course, John Sheridan's side remain well in contention, as do third-placed Bury who turned on the style on their travels.
The Shakers beat Burton 3-1 and then followed that up with a 5-0 thrashing of Lincoln City to occupy the final automatic promotion spot (third) on 34 points.
That is two points ahead of Shrewsbury Town in fourth, the Shropshire side enjoying a decent unbeaten run of five games.
Meanwhile, fifth-placed Rotherham United are unbeaten in four matches - two wins and a draw - and the Millers look good bets for the playoffs if they keep hold of hot-shot Adam le Fondre.
Torquay United are in sixth, and the Gulls are another League Two club on a welcome unbeaten run at present.
United have won three and drawn three of their last six games to reach 28 points, level with seventh-placed Wycombe Wanderers.
But the Chairboys have gone backwards in recent weeks, losing 2-1 to Port Vale and 3-1 at home to Torquay.
Cheltenham Town, on 26 points, will be looking to take advantage of any further slip-ups from Wycombe as they lie just outside the playoffs two points behind with a game in hand.
Meanwhile, ninth-placed Crewe Alexandra are also a dangerous lurker for the current playoff-occupants, given their current goal difference of +12, mainly thanks to a 7-0 battering of Barnet.
That horrendous loss for Barnet came back in August but it would be fair to say it has put Mark Stimson's men on the back-foot since.
Barnet are second-bottom with 16 points, just one ahead of basement side Hereford United, although the Bees did lift themselves off the bottom with a 4-1 thrashing of Northampton Town.
And it was a vital win with the Cobblers also struggling, now third-bottom 18 points, level with last season's playoff contenders Morecambe.
The Shrimps look unlikely to repeat their fourth-place finish from last season, having taken just five points out of their last seven games.
At least Morecambe can console themselves that they are not Hereford who prop up the 92 league clubs at the end of November after falling to a 4-0 loss at Shrewsbury.
Carling Cup quarter finals results
Arsenal 2-0 Wigan Athletic
West Ham United 4-0 Manchester United
Birmingham City 2-1 Aston Villa
Ipswich Town 1-0 West Bromwich Albion
Semi Final draw (two legs; teams drawn first at home in 1st leg):
Ties played w/c 10 Jan and 24 Jan
Ipswich Town v Arsenal,
West Ham United v Birmingham City
WEST HAM UNITED beat a weakened Manchester United team 4-0 at Upton Park to make it to their first League Cup semi final in 20 years.
Former Red Devil Jonathan Spector was in inspired form, scoring twice and having another goal ruled out as the Hammers ran rampant.
Manchester United started brighter and Robert Green was forced to make a good save by Gabriel Obertan but the home side settled after that early scare.
Avram Grant's men thought they had taken the lead when Spector hit a shot of Obinna into the net, wrong-footing goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak.
But, although the goal was correctly ruled out for Obinna being offside, it took more than a minute for referee Mark Clattenburg to come to his decision, infuriating the home fans.
It mattered little a few minutes later as Spector beat Darren Fletcher to loop a near-post header past Kuszczak.
And Spector made it 2-0 as half-time approached, taking advantage of Fabio da Silva's slip on an icy pitch to fire home.
If the first half was about Spector, then the second period belonged to Carlton Cole who also scored twice, although both benefited from excellent work by Obinna.
Cole's first was his 50th career goal and he could not have asked for a much easier chance, heading Obinna's cross past the stranded Kuszczak.
West Ham then completed the rout after Obinna tricked his way down the left past Rafael da Silva before centring to Cole who stroked home a confident finish into the corner.
The rest of the match passed without incident as the snowy conditions worsened.
Manchester United were just glad to get out of east London without further damage to their reputation while West Ham were left dreaming of a first Wembley appearance since 2006.
Standing in West Ham's way are Birmingham City who beat Aston Villa 2-1 in a Second City derby at St Andrew's.
The Blues took an early lead when Sebastian Larsson stroked home an 11th-minute penalty after Richard Dunne clumsily fouled Richard Dunne.
Alex McLeish's men could have gone further ahead but Nikola Zigic missed his kick when unmarked in the middle.
Birmingham then had a goal ruled out for offside, Zigic having prodded home the ball in a goal-mouth scramble, only for Scott Dann to be standing on the goal-line and judged to be interfering with play.
But, sensing their rival's disappointment at that outcome, Villa went up the other end and scored, Gabby Agbonlahor turning neatly on the edge of the box before firing past Ben Foster.
The second half saw Villa control possession but Gerard Houllier's team made few clear-cut chances and a period of extra time looked likely.
However, Zigic prevented the freezing night being extended further by popping up with a winner just six minutes from time, squeezing the ball past Brad Friedel off Luke Young's deflection.
The goal gave Birmingham a first win over Villa in six attempts and leaves them with a first chance of major silverware since the 1963 League Cup - when they beat Villa in a two-legged final.
Unfortunately, the match may be most remembered for the violent scenes that followed the final whistle as Blues fans spilled out onto the pitch and flares were thrown into the Villa end.
Villa fans appeared to respond by ripping seats out and throwing them back and the FA has already announced that an investigation will take place.
It was hardly what the governing body wanted to be doing with the fate of England's World Cup bid in 2018 just hours away*.
The other semi-final tie will feature the odds-on favourites Arsenal and the last representative from the Football League, Ipswich Town.
Arsenal are looking for their first trophy in five years and fielded a strong team in their quarter final to beat Wigan Athletic 2-0 in front of a crowd just short of 60,000.
But Arsene Wenger's men needed a helping hand to get going, Antolin Alcaraz gifting the Gunners the lead with an own goal just before half-time.
From then, it looked as if there was only going to be one winner and Nicklas Bendtner's tap in confirmed Arsenal's passage midway through the second half.
To make matters worse for Wigan, forward Victor Moses was stretched off in the first-half with a dislocated shoulder.
Arsenal last won the League Cup in 1993 but they will be huge favourites to reach the final after being drawn against second-tier Ipswich Town.
Ipswich took advantage of West Brom's baffling decision to make nine changes to their starting line-up, winning the match 1-0 at Portman Road.
Despite their encouraging start to the Premier League, Roberto di Matteo still obviously considered putting a strong team out for a place in the League Cup semis was not a risk worth taking.
And the Italian paid the price when Grant Leadbitter scored from the penalty spot on a bitterly cold night in Suffolk to give Roy Keane's men a deserved win.
There was some controversy about the spot-kick decision with Graham Dorrans claiming his foul on Carlos Edwards was outside the box.
But the weakened Baggies were second-best throughout the night and Ipswich can look forward to a first semi final appearance in over a decade early in the new year.
*FIFA decision on hosting bids for World Cup 2018 and 2022 will be made at 3pm GMT.
World Cup 2018 bids: England, Netherlands/Belgium, Russia, Spain/Portugal
World Cup 2012 bids: Qatar, United States, Australia, Japan, South Korea
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