Charlton, Wigan maintain great season

EPL Saturday Night Review

It was a day for the Athletic clubs as Charlton and Wigan maintained their excellent early season form.

Aston Villa's derby euphoria crashed as they lost 2-0 at home to Wigan Athletic.

The euphoria was punctured after half an hour when Henri Camara ran himself into space on the right before whipping in a cross that defender Aaron Hughes could only stab into the back of his own net.

Villa tried to peg Wigan back and should have when Luke Moore squandered a golden opportunity to level when he pushed his shot over the bar from an unmarked position.

David O'Leary's side were giving the Latics plenty to think about and Wigan keeper John Filan had to be at his best to hold his side's advantage.

With under ten minutes remaining, Aston Villa's chances were snuffed through sheer quality. Alan Mahon latched on to Jimmy Bullard's neat pass before ripping an unstoppable 25 yard shot past Thomas Sorensen to keep Wigan fourth on the table.

On the south coast, the pressure on Portsmouth manager Alain Perrin increased as Pompey fell victim to Charlton's 2-1 comeback win.

Brazilian striker Dario Silva scored his first for the club from a tight angle on 14 minutes and Portsmouth went into the break feeling comfortable.

On the hour mark, Charlton's comeback campaign kicked into action. It was again led by Danny Murphy, overlooked for the England squad, whose pinpoint passes split the Pompey defence.

Murphy found Darren Ambrose who dashed through a gaping whole in the home defence and slotted past Jamie Ashdown.

As Portsmouth defenders seemingly fell asleep, Jamie Ashdown was forced to prevent more scares created by good passing from Charlton.

Murphy's killer pass found Dennis Rommedahl on 77 minutes, who unleashed a rocket shot that thundered in off the underside of the bar to ensure Charlton's fifth straight away win.

At Old Trafford, Manchester United's patchy home form continued as they drew 1-1 with Tottenham.

Mikael Silvestre scored an unlikely opener for the Red Devils after a fumble by England keeper Paul Robinson allowed him to tuck the ball home.

Spurs were a different side in the second half and Jermaine Jenas stole the show with an outstanding free kick which left Edwin Van Der Sar rooted to his spot and ensured the points were shared.

Fulham scored an unlikely 2-0 win over Liverpool at Craven Cottage as the visitors slumped to 12th in the table.

Liverpool had most of the possession but were stung on 30 minutes when Claus Jensen's ball was chested down by Collins John who fired past Jose Reina.

Luis Boa Morte added to Liverpool's pain when he slotted a second in injury time.

At Highbury, Arsenal beat Manchester City 1-0 in a match that will be remembered for one of the strangest decisions made by a footballer.

Robert Pires put his side ahead on the hour mark from the spot and had a chance to double the advantage through a penalty ten minutes later, had it not been for an absurd decision.

Pires tried to set up Thierry Henry by passing from the penalty spot but fluffed the plan completely, as referee Mike Riley gave a free kick to City after players from both sides crashed in a heap to stop the shot.

Pires was thanking his lucky stars later when Darius Vassell's header was ruled marginally offside to deny City an equaliser.

In the earlier game, Birmingham's woes continued as they lost 2-0 on their travels at Blackburn.

Paul Dickov opened the scoring on 48 minutes from the penalty spot and Craig Bellamy polished off a dismal game with an 81st minute strike.

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