Manager Arsene Wenger admitted his side were vulnerable to Rory Delap's lethal long throw-ins as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat at Stoke City. The Frenchman revealed that plenty of thought had gone in to defending against it but conceded that the neutral fan would have been happy to see their attempts falter. "Yes we had a plan, of course," he said. "We worked on it a lot. But those kind of goals - straight into the box with 20 people there - it is not our greatest strength to deal with that. We were punished but very unlucky as well. But traditional people who love the traditional English game with a lot of fight and a lot of commitment, will have been happy because they got what they like. At the end of the day, Stoke deserved to win the game."

 Aston Villa have a doubt over midfielder Stiliyan Petrov for Monday night's trip to Newcastle United. The Bulgaria international picked up a hamstring injury during Wednesday's 3-2 win against Blackburn and will be given a late fitness test with Steve Sidwell on stand-by to replace him. Sidwell has yet to start a Barclays Premier League match for Villa having been troubled by injury since his £5m summer switch from Chelsea. Manager Martin O'Neill must also decide whether to recall striker John Carew to the starting line-up. The Norway international has started the last two matches on the bench after missing the UEFA Cup tie against Ajax through illness.

 Manager Paul Ince conceded his side had been fortunate to be awarded a penalty in the 2-2 draw at West Bromwich Albion. Benni McCarthy fired Rovers ahead from the spot after a challenge by Ryan Donk on Blackburn striker Jason Roberts. Ince said: "I was a bit surprised when the ref gave it. Nine times out of 10 people just let it go. It was a bit harsh on West Brom. I've got to be totally honest."

 Manager Gary Megson paid tribute to goal-hero Ricardo Gardner after he inspired a 2-0 victory over Manchester City to lift his side out of the Barclays Premier League relegation zone. The long-serving Jamaica international, 30, replaced the injured Mustapha Riga shortly before half-time and applied the finishing touch to a wicked low cross from Gretar Steinsson in the 77th minute. It was the Trotters' first goal for five hours and 50 minutes and Gardner then turned provider by crossing for City skipper Richard Dunne to put through his own goal with two minutes remaining. Megson said: "Bibi (Gardner) is one of the nicest people that you'll ever meet and the only reason he's not been in the side is that Matty Taylor's set-pieces are very good and he gives us a little bit more of a goal threat. Bibi came here and we put Matty on to the other side, and Bibi has scored the first goal and made the second. He wasn't out of the team through any other reason than we need to score goals but he's now come in and done that. I'm really pleased."

 Luiz Felipe Scolari insisted Frank Lampard was the best midfielder in the world after Chelsea had demolished Sunderland 5-0 at Stamford Bridge. Lampard scored the 100th league goal of his career with a second-half header, to go with an opening goal from Brazilian defender Alex and a hat-trick from Nicolas Anelka. But Chelsea manager Scolari tempered his disappointment at losing Ashley Cole with a first-half calf injury for next week's Champions League encounter against Roma by revelling in the form of Lampard. Scolari said: "Lampard can score 150 goals in his career. One goal every two or three games is fantastic for a midfielder. I think this season we need to think who is the best in the world. It is Frank Lampard."

 Manager David Moyes is hoping there is more to come from striker Louis Saha after he opened his account with the winner against Fulham. The French striker arrived at Goodison Park in the summer after his Manchester United career was blighted by constant injuries. But his late header against another former club gave Everton a 1-0 win over unlucky Fulham and will certainly boost his confidence. Moyes said: "Saha got his first goal after coming on as a late substitute, and I was pleased for him, hopefully that will help him. Goals bring confidence and hopefully he is off and running now for us. This is a new start for him. It was a terrific header after getting into a good position. In the last few games I haven't been seeing him get into those positions, but when he came on he made an impact. Louis will thrive on playing games. He has probably played as many matches in the last few weeks as he had played for the previous six months. That will also give him confidence after his injury problems."

 Roy Hodgson felt his side were unlucky to come away with nothing from their trip to Everton. The Cottagers twice hit the woodwork in the second half through Zoltan Gera and Bobby Zamora. And they were heading for what would have been a deserved point until Andrew Johnson failed to close down Leon Osman quickly enough, allowing the cross into the box for Louis Saha to bury past Mark Schwarzer. Hodgson said: "I felt we had done enough to get a point, obviously it is goals that matter and we had two gilt-edged chances in the second half to take the lead and didn't manage it. Jimmy Bullard's free-kick created the chance for Bobby Zamora, and he hit the post. While Gera rattled the crossbar with a header. We missed them both, but we were still defending very well and contained Everton's growing threats when they kept putting on strikers.Unfortunately they found a way to get in a cross and Louis produced an excellent header, and there was not much time for us after that."

 Manager Phil Brown claimed "pride" was the only thing he could take from the 4-3 defeat at Manchester United. City became the first visiting side since Chelsea in 2005 to score three times at Old Trafford, and Brown said: "It's mixed emotions. We can take a lot of pride from the game but nothing else. That is disappointing when you consider we scored three times. I wasn't happy at half-time but we got in their faces a lot more in the second half and really battled hard. In some ways, I have more belief in this team than they have in themselves. But I feel we have proved we are capable of competing at this level. Hopefully it continues for a long time yet."

 Manager Rafael Benitez bemoaned his side's finishing at Tottenham and felt the better team had lost. There appeared to be only one winner midway through the second half with Dirk Kuyt's tremendous third-minute strike the pick of a dominant Liverpool display. But wasteful finishing proved the Reds' downfall and when Jamie Carragher nodded into his own net in the 69th minute the stage was set for Spurs to complete their comeback. Benitez said: "I can't believe we lost that game, it's as simple as that. We hit the crossbar and had a lot of opportunities. It's always important to create chances but it's more important to score. We're really disappointed, it was really bad luck. Conceding those two goals is difficult to explain. We were controlling everything so I was pleased. We knew we'd have to score the second goal. If we'd scored that they were beaten. We had four clear chances in the second half but you have to take your chances. We could easily have been 4-0 up after 60 minutes."

 Mark Hughes could not hide his dismay at his side's 2-0 defeat at Bolton Wanderers. City have not won away from home in the Barclays Premier League since August and this latest defeat on the road came hot on the heels of their 2-0 reverse at Middlesbrough. Hughes said: "We're disappointed because we had hoped to pick up points from these last two away games. We've not done that and it's an issue for us. Obviously our home for is excellent but away from home we're finding it more difficult."

 Sir Alex Ferguson admitted Manchester United nearly ended up being embarrassed by Hull City at Old Trafford. At 4-1 up and cruising with an hour gone, Bernard Mendy's goal and a Geovanni penalty left United clinging on in the final frantic minutes to claim a 4-3 win from which they took the points - but Hull will get most of the plaudits. Ferguson said: "I feel a bit low. We should have won by 10 or 11 and we ended up scrambling for a victory. We might have been embarrassed at the end. Cristiano Ronaldo could have had four or five on his own and I don't know how many chances Dimitar Berbatov created. I suppose the only thing to take out of it, apart from the win, is the fact we are creating so many opportunities for ourselves."

 Manager Gareth Southgate was pleased with his side`s response after Justin Hoyte had seen a goal ruled out for offside against West Ham United. Boro had put the ball in the net four minutes prior to Mido's equaliser in the 1-1 draw when Hoyte had headed past Robert Green from close range. However, the assistant referee raised his flag to rule it out for offside, and Southgate said: "It was a very tight call - it might have altered the rest of the half. It was a tough call for the linesman but we had one that went for us the other week and these things tend to even out of the season. The pleasing thing was that we didn't let our heads drop even though it was chalked off. Overall I'm really pleased with the point - we were really flat in the first half and the response from the players was great."

 Captain Michael Owen is poised to return to action in Monday's Barclays Premier League match against Aston Villa. Owen and vice-captain Nicky Butt are both back in contention to feature for Joe Kinnear's side at St James' Park. Striker Owen has missed the last three fixtures with groin trouble, while midfielder Butt, who has had an ankle problem, sat out Tuesday's victory over West Bromwich Albion.

 New manager Tony Adams admitted he "kicked a few bottles and went berserk" in the dressing room after his side were beaten by Emile Heskey's stoppage-time goal for Wigan Athletic at rain-drenched Fratton Park. Adams admitted: "I was so angry. I went berserk at the players and then realised I shouldn't have done that because they had given me so much - so much passion. Despite the result I think the crowd enjoyed it. But I kicked a few bottles in there because it seems too much is happening to me in such an early stage of management. We had the late equaliser by Fulham last Sunday and Liverpool's late penalty on Wednesday when we had done so well."

 Manager Tony Pulis hailed a "first class" performance from his side as they claimed a 2-1 win against Arsenal. The Potters prospered against a Gunners side missing Theo Walcott, Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie - all dropped to the bench as Arsene Wenger changed things in the aftermath of the thrilling midweek draw with Tottenham Hotspur. Pulis said: "It was a fantastic result for this football team, for the squad and the city. Arsenal are a good team. Actually, good team? They are a great team with a great manager. The togetherness we showed, working so hard off the ball, was first class. The midfield four blocked things up for them, the two up front worked so hard and Mama (Sidibe) was so important. We knew we couldn't get outnumbered in midfield and he worked so hard, he was so unselfish. It wasn`t just him though, they all had a go."

 Roy Keane accepted that his young side had been beaten by much the better team following the 5-0 drubbing at Chelsea. Keane said: "Don't take anything away from Chelsea. There is no shame losing to a team like that. I've never had a problem in my career in praising the opposition. I wouldn't say I'm happy, I'm just not as angry. I'm relaxed. It has been a tough start to the season for us, a lot of new players. Chelsea would beat most teams coming here. It is a big ask and there's no harm and no shame losing to a top, top football team. Good players like Deco and Frank Lampard open you up because they've got good touch and pace. They will be winning titles and European Cups over the next few years."

  Harry Redknapp insists restoring his players' confidence levels has been the key to Tottenham Hotspur's stunning revival. Spurs moved off the foot of the Barclays Premier League table with a 2-1 victory over title contenders Liverpool secured by Roman Pavlyuchenko's last minute winner. Redknapp said: "I have just got in amongst the players, talked to them and tried to be a part of them. I have encouraged them. I have always said everything in life is about confidence. If I am playing golf and I go to the first tee and play a poor shot the chances are I will have a bad round. If I can hit a good shot then my confidence will be high and football is the same. It's better to keep telling people what they can do well rather than what they can't do well. That's all I'm trying to do with them."

 Tony Mowbray feels his side are not getting the rub of the green at the moment after they were pegged back by Blackburn Rovers. Benni McCarthy had given the visitors a first-half lead from the penalty spot but was then dismissed by referee Mike Jones for two bookable offences before half-time. Albion dominated the second period and Roman Bednar brought them level before before Ishmael Miller struck for the second time in five days. It looked as if the Baggies were going to gain a precious win after a run of three successive defeats had sent them veering towards the relegation zone - but Keith Andrews' clean hit spoilt their day. Mowbray said: "It feels like two points lost. Over the 90 minutes we did enough to win the game and yet disappointing defending at the death allowed them to sneak a point. We have been there before this season. I don't think we are getting that bit of fortune at the moment but there are enough good players here."

 Manager Gianfranco Zola hailed the impact of his young players after they helped West Ham dominate the match for long periods at Middlesbrough. Hayden Mullins' first-half strike was cancelled out by Mido's drilled free-kick, but the Hammers had enough chances to have claimed victory. Zola said: "I was very pleased with some of the young players. Freddie Sears and Jack Collison were really good. It was a tough match for experienced players so imagine for the younger players. But in this game they didn't look like young players and that is a big compliment for them. Jack almost got the winner and he had another great opportunity earlier in the game when he was through on goal but I can't complain because he has played very well. Results wise I hope we have turned the corner. Despite losing four games we weren't playing badly so now we need to carry on playing well and getting results. It might be a huge point for us."

 Steve Bruce admitted his side rode their luck as they ended a barren run of four consecutive defeats with a 2-1 win at Portsmouth. Pompey hit the woodwork four times, while Emile Heskey snatched the points for the Latics with a last-gasp winner. Bruce said: "We had more luck than in any of the previous four games but I'm delighted how we've come back after a poor display at Fulham in midweek. You will go a long way to see a match like that. I think a lot of it was down to the wet conditions. People were sliding all over the place. Both sets of players deserved a pat on the back. But to be fair we could have won it even before we did. (Antonio) Valencia had two great chances at the end but I was delighted to see Emile get his 100th goal. He made another great contribution."