Barcelona 3 Newcastle 1

Howard Wilkinson has admitted that he under-estimated the task ahead of him when he took over at Sunderland.

Arsenal 3 Aston Villa 1

Shamrock Rovers 2 St Patrick's Athletic 1

Arsenal defender Ashley Cole insisted that the Gunners’ Champions League victory in Rome had proved they can beat any side in Europe on their day.

Sunderland 0 Manchester City 3

Celtic 1 Dunfermline 0

Newcastle United 2 Tottenham 1

Nicolas Anelka made amends for an incredible miss by bagging a late winner for Manchester City in today’s thrilling match at Loftus Road.

An uncharacteristic error by Russell Hoult extended Charlton’s impressive Premiership run at The Valley.

David Beckham capped his return to Barclaycard Premiership combat with a majestic chip to finish off Birmingham at Old Trafford.

James Milner added to his new-found burgeoning reputation with a goal to remember as Leeds ended title-chasing Chelsea’s unbeaten run with a first Elland Road win for more than three months.

Dion Dublin’s deflected shot earned struggling Aston Villa a crucial three points against 10-man Middlesbrough who had midfielder Mark Wilson harshly sent off as they suffered another bout of away-day blues.

Supersub Ali Benarbia snuffed out Villa’s hopes of ending their away-day blues at Maine Road this afternoon.

Paul Devlin’s penalty rescued a point for 10-man Birmingham – but their disciplinary problems are beginning to mount after striker Geoff Horsfield collected his second straight red card of the season.

Eidur Gudjohnsen inspired the victory over Aston Villa which cranked up Chelsea‘s title challenge up a gear.

Six more players have been called up to the All-Stars football tour.

West Ham 2 Newcastle 2

Liverpool 1 Aston Villa 1

Thomas Sorensen returned from injury to help Sunderland snatch a precious Premiership point by holding Blackburn in a gritty battle.