Game Week 31-Review

Manchester United were the biggest winners of Grand Slam Sunday as they moved five points clear at the top of the table with a controversial win over arch-rivals Liverpool.Goals from Wes Brown, Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani helped United to a 3-0 success at Old Trafford, but the headlines were dominated by Javier Mascherano's sending off.Mascherano was handed a second yellow card for dissent towards referee Steve Bennett as the focus again shifted towards player respect to officials.

In the second instalment of Grand Slam Sunday Chelsea fired themselves back into title contention as they came from behind to beat faltering Arsenal.Bacary Sagna gave Arsenal the lead just before the hour mark with his first goal for the club as The Gunners threatened to end Chelsea's four-year unbeaten home record.However, Chelsea showed all their title credentials as they battled back with two quick-fire goals from Arsenal's nemesis Didier Drogba turning the game on its head.The win helped Chelsea leapfrog Arsenal into second place and leave them as United's closest challengers with seven games of the season remaining.

On Saturday, Kevin Keegan finally celebrated his first win as Newcastle boss following his return to Tyneside with a 2-0 victory over fellow strugglers Fulham.Mark Viduka put reports of a rift with Keegan behind him to open the scoring and Michael Owen made the game safe with a late second goal to lift the gloom at St James' Park and push Fulham closer to the relegation trapdoor.

Sunderland eased their relegation worries as they recorded their first win away from home this season with a shock 1-0 success at Aston Villa.Michael Chopra came off the bench to grab the winner for Sunderland and in the process score his first goal in open play in seven months.

Everton dropped two points in the race to finish fourth after being held to a 1-1 draw by West Ham at Goodison Park.Yakubu Aiyegbeni continued his rich vein of form in front of goal with an early opener for Everton, but the home side could not build on their lead as Dean Ashton drew West Ham level with a towering second half header.

Blackburn boosted their European aspirations with a 3-1 win over Wigan in an eventful Lancashire derby at Ewood Park.Roque Santa Cruz gave Rovers an early lead only for Wigan to win a penalty when Emile Heskey was brought down in the box by Christopher Samba.To compound Rovers' woes Samba was sent off and Marlon King scored from the spot to net his first goal for Wigan.Jason Roberts came back to haunt his old club to restore Blackburn's lead on the stroke of half-time with a well-taken strike and Santa Cruz added a third just past the hour mark to leave Wigan nervously looking over their shoulders.There was still time for Wilson Palacios to see red for Wigan as both sides ended the game with ten men.

Andre Bikey was the unlikely hero for Reading as they secured a vital 2-1 win over fellow strugglers Birmingham City at the Madejski Stadium.The Cameroon defender opened the scoring with a header just past the half hour mark only for Argentinian striker Mauro Zarate to draw Birmingham level in the 64th minute with his first goal for the club.Bikey had the last word for Reading as he scored the winner 12 minutes from time with almost a carbon copy of his first strike to hand Steve Coppell's men their third victory in four games.

Substitutes were the order of the day at White Hart Lane as Darren Bent and Jamie O'Hara helped Tottenham to a 2-0 win over Portsmouth.Spurs boss Juande Ramos earned his money as his tactical changes in bringing on Bent and O'Hara turned the game in Tottenham's favour.Bent broke the deadlock ten minutes from time to see 100 goals notched up at White Hart Lane this season.A minute later Bent turned provider as he teed up O'Hara to score and end Portsmouth's stubborn resistance.

Tuncay proved to be the architect of Derby's downfall against Middlesbrough as the Turkish star scored the winner at The Riverside.The skilful forward, who scored the only goal in the reverse fixture earlier in the campaign, repeated the trick on Teesside with a fine individual goal.The win helped Middlesbrough move further clear at the wrong end of the table, while for beleaguered Derby it was their 23rd defeat of a miserable season.

Bolton remain third from bottom after being held to a goalless draw by Manchester City at the Reebok Stadium.The Trotters' old goalscoring problems were evident again as they struggled to break down a stubborn City defence.Both sides had chances to win it, but they could not find the crucial finishing touch to grab a winner.