Jermain Defoe picked Scott Dann’s pocket for a poacher’s finish to seal Sunderland’s 1-0 Premier League victory at Crystal Palace.

Crystal Palace 0 Manchester United 0<br>While Louis Van Gaal continues to wrestle with the problem of how to get his Manchester United side scoring again, Alan Pardew offered a revealing perspective on the options available to the Dutchman.

Watford 0 Crystal Palace 1: Alan Pardew hailed the resoluteness of Wilfried Zaha, who was publicly rebuked by the Eagles boss after being hauled off at half-time in the defeat to Tottenham last week.

Tottenham 1 Crystal Palace 0: Tottenham earned their first home win of the Premier League season with a 1-0 defeat of Crystal Palace.

An unknown teenager overshadowed the £55 million new signing, but the less heralded aspect of Manchester City’s fifths successive victory was their increasingly impressive defence.

Chelsea 1 Crystal Palace 2: It might not be a fully-blown crisis at Stamford Bridge, but there are clearly problems for Jose Mourinho to address after Chelsea’s worst start in over a decade, and Crystal Palace skipper Damien Delaney agrees with the Portuguese that it is all about one thing — hunger.

Crystal Palace 2 Aston Villa 1: Bakary Sako gave Palace fans hope Alan Pardew’s side can flourish without Yannick Bolasie with a dramatic late winner against disappointing Villa.

Liverpool are in talks with Fiorentina over the transfer of Fabio Borini. 

Five Republic of Ireland players, including Kevin Doyle, Stephen Ward, Stephen Hunt, are the prospect of life in the third tier of English football today.

Nottingham Forest 3 Wolves 1

Luton 1 Wolves 0

Wolves 0 Millwall 1

Wolves 1 Nottingham Forest 2

Wolves 2 Bolton 2

Whilst club managers complained of a badly timed international break, Ireland striker Kevin Doyle believes his club form benefited from the two games with Kazakhstan and Oman.

Cardiff 3 Wolves 1

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani met with Pope Benedict XVI today, giving assurances that Christians and other religious minorities would have their rights guaranteed.