The Hindu : Sport / Football : Anelka fires two to sink Arsenal

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Monday, Nov 27, 2006
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Anelka fires two to sink Arsenal

LONDON : Nicolas Anelka broke his duck for his new club with two goals against his former side as Bolton Wanderers beat Arsenal 3-1 on Saturday to move up to third in the English Premiership.

The Frenchman's brace and the opening goal from Abdoulaye Faye was too much for Arsenal, for which Gilberto Silva's strike in the end proved to be a mere consolation.

West Ham gave new owner Eggert Magnusson a winning start to his reign at the club as it beat Sheffield United 1-0, while Liverpool got back to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Manchester City, thanks to a Steven Gerrard strike.

Real drama

But the real drama came at the Reebok where Bolton ended a recent poor run with a deserved victory over Arsenal, which was without the injured Thierry Henry. Faye put the home side ahead on nine minutes and Anelka opened his account on the stroke of half-time, smashing the ball into the net from around 25 yards.

Gilberto gave Arsene Wenger's side hope within seconds of Anelka's goal as he pulled one back with a header. But though the Londoners hit the woodwork three times in the second half, it was the home side who scored again as Anelka outpaced the defence to score the third 14 minutes from time.

High-flying Aston Villa preserved its unbeaten record at home this season with a 1-1 draw against Middlesbrough at Birmingham.

Two goals

Meanwhile in the Spanish Primera Liga, Ronaldinho fulfilled a childhood dream by wrapping up Barcelona's 4-0 win over Villarreal with a spectacular overhead kick three minutes from time.

Lurking in the Villarreal area, the Brazilian controlled a lofted pass from Xavi with his chest, swivelled round with his back to goal and then fired a stunning bicycle kick over the head of keeper Mariano Barbosa and high into the net.

Striker Eidur Gudjohnsen and midfielder Andres Iniesta also scored for Barca.

The results:

EPL: Bolton Wanderers 3 (Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye 9, Nicolas Anelka 45+2 & 76) bt Arsenal 1 (Gilberto Silva 45+3); Aston Villa 1 (Barry 45-pen) drew with Middlesbrough 1 (Christie 43); Charlton 1 (Reid 68) drew with Everton 1 (Hreidarsson 52-og); Fulham 0 lost to Reading 1 (Doyle 17-pen); Liverpool 1 (Gerrard 67) bt Manchester City 0; West Ham 1 (Mullins 36) bt Sheffield United 0.

Primera Liga: Atletico Madrid 1 (Ansotegi 77-og) drew with Real Sociedad 1 (Gari Uranga 24); Barcelona 4 (Ronaldinho 35-pen, 88; Eidur Gudjohnsen 55; Andres Iniesta 70) bt Villarreal 0.

Serie A: AC Milan 1 (Paolo Maldini 13) bt Messina 0; Chievo Verona 2 (Victor Nsofor Obinna 31,72-pen) bt Udinese 0.

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