By IANS
London : The new English Premier League season is now well underway but unfortunately it is the referees rather than the players who are continuing to grab the headlines.
Tottenham Hotspur was left ruing its luck after being denied what it thought was a certain penalty as Manchester United recorded its first win of the new season.
As with last week, it was the final fixture of the weekend that threw up the biggest talking point as the match officials again took centre stage.
A Nani strike earned United the victory but Sir Alex Ferguson’s side was fortunate it did not fall behind prior to the Portuguese midfielder’s winner.
Spurs were certain referee Howard Webb denied them a penalty when Wes Brown contentiously blocked a Dimitar Berbatov effort in the 18-yard area.
Meanwhile, Chelsea has quietly moved to the top of the Premiership standings after stretching its unbeaten home record to 65 games.
Chelsea went top after a less than impressive 1-0 win over Portsmouth where David James was seemingly intent on dragging out the England goalkeeping debate with a blunder to let Frank Lampard’s 18-yard winner sneak in.
Liverpool got the weekend underway with a professional 2-0 win over Sunderland and is increasingly looking capable of mounting a serious title challenge.
The only negative for Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez was that Fernando Torres seemed to have forgotten his shooting boots for the trip to the Stadium of Light. The Spanish striker could easily have sat atop the scoring charts were it not for some inconsistent finishing.
Arsenal brought Manchester City’s winning start to an end when Cesc Fabregas became the first player to beat Kasper Schmeichel this season.
Despite the defeat, the City goalie continues to look more and more like his famous father, Peter, with every game.
The Dane saved a Robin van Persie penalty before, like father like son, he went on a late venture into the opposition box to almost play a role in conjuring an equaliser.
Blackburn Rovers manager Mark Hughes continues to show his eye for a striker as Roque Santa Cruz put the side ahead but James McFadden earned Everton a point.
A 3.8 million-pound signing, Santa Cruz already looks another shrewd purchase by Hughes, following last season’s success of Benni McCarthy, and the Welsh tactician deserves honourable mention for his transfer market wheeling and dealing.
The diehards at the Reebok Stadium heaved a collective sigh of relief after Bolton Wanderers picked up their first points of the season with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Reading.
Bolton manager Sammy Lee will now be counting down to Friday and the closure of the transfer window as he desperately hopes to hang on to strikers Nicolas Anelka and El Hadji Diouf.
Derby County continue to prop up the table after stumbling to a 1-2 defeat to Birmingham City. Derby have the work ethic but if manager Billy Davies cannot bring in his targeted new faces, trouble may not be too far away.
Wigan Athletic were written off as relegation fodder before the start of the season but they continue to prove the sceptics wrong as Paul Scharner’s overhead strike came within nine minutes of securing victory against West Ham United, but Lee Bowyer rescued the 1-1 draw.
Neighbours Newcastle United and Middlesbrough served up an entertaining 2-2 draw Sunday afternoon, but alarm bells will be ringing for the St James’ Park faithful following the injuries sustained by Stephen Carr and Peter Ramage to add concerns to what already looks a lightweight defence.