Stoke win thriller against Arsenal, Newcastle shock Chelsea

Ten-man Arsenal fell just short as Stoke City clinched a 3-2
victory in an entertaining game at the Britannia Stadium.
Peter Crouch had Stoke ahead inside the first minute after a
slip from Hector Bellerin, and they doubled their advantage
on 36 minutes when Bojan Krkic netted from a Jonathan
Walters cross.
Walters then scored from Bojan's corner just before the break
to leave the visitors with a huge task for the second half.
Bojan thought he had made it 4-0 only to see the goal ruled
out, and Arsenal then sparked into action, with Mathieu
Flamini winning a penalty that Santi Cazorla converted.
Aaron Ramsey added another for the visitors following a
corner, but Calum Chambers then received a second yellow
card and the 10 men were unable to find a third goal.
Chelsea suffered their first defeat of the season as Papiss
Cisse's double condemned them to a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle
United.
Newcastle took the lead in the 57th minute when substitute
Cisse diverted the ball home after Gary Cahill had failed to
clear a cross, and he added his second on the counter on 78
minutes after Eden Hazard had hit a post at the other end.
The match then took a dramatic twist as first Steven Taylor
collected a second yellow card for a foul on Andre Schurrle
and then Didier Drogba headed home from Cesc Fabregas'
free kick, but the 10 men held on for a memorable victory.
Liverpool were unable to secure a third Premier League win
in succession as they were held to a goalless draw at home to
Sunderland.
Brendan Rodgers' decision to rest Steven Gerrard failed to
pay dividends as the Reds struggled to live up to expectations.
Although Gerrard's appearance with 23 minutes to go lifted his
teammates, particularly Raheem Sterling, they still could not
find the breakthrough and had to settle for a point in a 0-0
draw.
Tottenham Hotspur were held to a goalless draw at home to
London rivals Crystal Palace.
Mauricio Pochettino's side looked to have turned a corner
when they overcame Everton last weekend, yet that was
followed by a heavy defeat to rivals Chelsea and things did not
get much better against the Eagles.
Only wayward finishing and saves from the ever-impressive
Hugo Lloris thwarted Palace in their bid to win at White
Hart Lane for the first time since 1997.
Charlie Austin scored his eighth goal of the season as Queens
Park Rangers beat fellow strugglers Burnley 2-0 and climbed
out of the bottom three for the first time since September.
Austin's close-range finish sealed a valuable three points after
Leroy Fer had earlier opened the scoring. Burnley were
given hope when Austin was shown a second yellow card with
15 minutes to play, but they could not find a leveller.
West Bromwich Albion's sluggish run of form continued in a
tepid 0-0 draw against Hull City at the KC Stadium.
A ninth-minute penalty miss from Graham Dorrans summed
up another frustrating afternoon for the Baggies which Saido
Berahino -- introduced for the final 18 minutes in place of
Victor Anichebe -- failed to salvage.
If the result will do little to ease the pressure on their under-
fire boss Alan Irvine, neither will it work wonders for Hull,
who slid into the relegation zone after this stalemate, which
extended their own winless run to eight games.
Information from the Press Association was used in this
report.