Chelsea's Fernando Torres exploits late error to sink Manchester City It was about six seconds from the 90 minute-mark here, the fourth official preparing to hoist his board for added time, when Fernando Torres confirmed his revival by burying Manchester City's prospects in south-west London. A pinball in central midfield ended with Willian punting down-field over a back-tracking Matija Nastasic, the centre-half panicking and nodding back and over an on-rushing Joe Hart. There was Torres, sprinting beyond the visitors' confused last line of defence and away from Martín Demichelis, to convert into the gaping net. A man who has endured plenty of wretched luck in front of goal had his good fortune at last. This was a first Premier League goal of the season, and only a second of the calendar year, with its timing deflating their fellow challengers for the title at the last – sending out a thunderous message to the division. José Mourinho's celebrations suggested as much, the Portuguese charging manically past the away team's dugout and climbing steps to celebrate with supporters. This was the second week in succession he has ended up in the crowd following last weekend's dismissal to the standsbut this was less about him. Torres has rarely departed this arena with the crowd bellowing his name so vociferously. This was his contest, even if Sergio Agüero's own brilliance for the visitors had threatened to eclipse him until that late intervention. The striker maintained that fine form from Schalke in midweek. Indeed, the hosts' half-time lead had owed everything to Torres's revival. Chelsea had started brightly then faded as City, all power through the centre and trickery on the flanks, seemed to take a grip of the contest, driving the Londoners back into massed defence. For a while the visitors had swarmed all over the home side, David Silva and Agüero scuttling into dangerous territory, but their energy did not yield clear sights at goal and Chelsea, as they had proved in Gelsenkirchen in midweek, are happiest springing on the break. In that tactic, Torres's contribution was key. The Spaniard should have registered his second Premier League goal of the calendar year on the half-hour mark, Ramires' burst and angled centre collected by the striker alone near the penalty spot with time to consider his shot. The result was rather panicked, a ballooned effort high and wide that had Mourinho puffing his cheeks in disbelief on the bench. Yet, moments later, it was the 29-year-old's burst away from Gael Clichy, the full-back left gasping in his vapour trail, to the by-line and skimmed cross that presented André Schürrle, ignored by Martín Demichelis on his debut, with a tap-in for a first Chelsea goal. That was Torres's 13th league assist for the club, a fine tally and evidence that his all-round game, if not always his shooting, is on song. Within minutes he had gathered on the opposite side of the pitch and cut into the box before curling a delicious shot on to the far angle of bar and post. His manager's reaction was more pleading this time, a pained expression across his face as he slumped over the wall at the front of the dugout struggling to come to terms that his striker's luck was still out. That period had suggested City were creaking, the memories of defeats at Aston Villaand Cardiffthis term perhaps playing on their minds as they played catch-up against a fellow contender. Yet their response was a show of strength. Theirs was an urgency from the restart, stampeding forward and wresting back both control and parity. Samir Nasri's slipped pass sent Agüero into space at Gary Cahill's back, albeit at a tight angle from goal. The blistering finish, thumped high beyond Petr Cech at his near post, fuelled the visitors' conviction. City have never lost a Premier League game when their Argentine has registered and they should have tightened their grip here thereafter. Silva was guilty of being overelaborate, Garcia of a tame header down from the Spaniard's free-kick, with Agüero looping another shot from distance marginally wide. Chelsea, having reorganised and taken stock, threatened on the break when Hazard tumbling in the area under Pablo Zabaleta's challenge and Ramires, a blur of energy throughout, thrashing over from distance. When Willian's vicious free-kick veered just away from Branislav Ivanovic, City must have thought their point was preserved. Then came Nastasic's rush of blood and Torres' moment of glory: this time, the Spaniard really does feel back to his best. Man of the matchFernando Torres (Chelsea).

Fernando Torres scored a stoppage time goal to see Chelsea defeat Manchester City 2-1 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday evening. Sergio Aguero cancelled out Andre Schurrle’s first-half strike to level the game but the Spaniard couldn’t be stopped in the dying minutes of the game. There was a good ebb and flow between both teams in the opening stages of the game and Fernando Torres came close with a header in the seventh minute which looped into Joe Hart’s hands. Manuel Pellegrini’s men were the ones dominating play on the set-pieces, winning corner after corner. In the 23rd minute Ramires won the ball in the middle of the field to feed Torres, but his pass had far too much on it and went out for a City throw. Just before the half hour mark Frank Lampard supplied a free-kick into the box which Gael Clichy dealt with, but a pass played back in by Ramires caught Torres offside. But Chelsea grabbed the lead just minutes later with some great work by Torres down the right. He hit the byline and sent in a low cross to Andre Schurrle, who simply needed to tap it into the City net. Chelsea bombed forward for a second goal but Torres’s effort smashed onto the City crossbar after cutting in on the left. At the restart, City came back with an immediate response to find the equalizer through Sergio Aguero. Nasri slipped a pass through to Aguero and he took Petr Cech by surprise with a first-time strike which flew high into the net at the near post. And even as the game approached its final ten minutes, the result was very much in the balance and anyone’s for the taking. It proved to be the case as Torres topped off his impressive display with a stoppage time goal to hand Chelsea a late 2-1 victory. Hart came out to meet a high ball on the edge of the area but Matija Nastasic attempted a header back towards his own goal, which Torres gladly took by running and tucking it into the empty net from a tight angle.

Sunderland 2 Newcastle United 1 - Late strike by Fabio Borini secures Tyne-Wear derby victory Fabio Borini wrote himself into Wearside folklore as he came off the bench to fire Sunderland to derby victory over Newcastle and lift them from the foot of the Premier League table. The 22-year-old Italian, signed on loan from Liverpool, struck with an 85th-minute piledriver to secure just a second home league win for the Black Cats over their neighbours since 1980 and a first in the league this season. His intervention came as the Magpies looked for a winner of their own after Mathieu Debuchy had dragged them back into the game with a 57th-minute equaliser, his first goal for the club. Steven Fletcher had headed the home side in front with just five minutes gone as Gus Poyet's men made light of their recent difficulties in his first home game at the helm in front of a crowd of 46,313. But their commendable efforts to deny Newcastle time and space dwindled as they rather ran out of steam and with Cheick Tiote and Yohan Cabaye finally starting to get to grips with the central midfield battle, it was the visitors who looked the more likely winners as time ran down. However, Borini thought otherwise and his timely intervention handed Poyet a derby victory in his second game in charge to match predecessor Paolo Di Canio's achievement. It was a match Sunderland simply could not afford to lose for a variety of reasons and they went about their task with some relish. The absence of a recognised centre-half pairing for the Magpies - neither Fabricio Coloccini or Steven Taylor was able to plug the gap left by the suspended Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, placing the onus on specialist left-back Paul Dummett - gave the Black Cats an opportunity, and it was one they were to exploit within minutes. Poyet opted to pair Fletcher with summer signing Jozy Altidore and the pair caused Dummett and partner Mike Williamson all kinds of problems in a high-octane start by the home side. They needed just five minutes to force their way in front, and the goal came straight from the training ground. Adam Johnson played a corner short to Sebastian Larsson and then delivered the return pass to the far post for Fletcher to climb high above Dummett and head home. It was the perfect start to Poyet's first game at the Stadium of Light and for 20 heady minutes or more, Sunderland dominated proceedings with Lee Cattermole leading the fight from central midfield and his team-mates following suit. Johnson repeatedly made ground down the left and delivered a series of telling crosses, Fletcher glancing a 14th-minute header wide from one of them three minutes before forcing Tim Krul into a save with a well-struck effort from distance. Magpies boss Alan Pardew, who had started as he did against Liverpool last week with Hatem Ben Arfa at the pinnacle of 4-2-3-1 formation, was forced to abandon Plan A with his team simply not competing, and with Loic Remy moved into an advanced position and the former Marseille man dropping deeper, Newcastle were far more effective. However, all their better attempts came from distance with Cabaye prompting Keiren Westwood to make his only real first-half save with a dipping 16th-minute free kick, but both he and Ben Arfa were significantly more wayward thereafter. Perhaps the Magpies' most promising attack of the opening 45 minutes came eight minutes before the break when left-back Davide Santon picked out right-back Debuchy with an elegant pass and Larsson had to head his dangerous cross away with black and white shirts arriving in numbers. Pardew opted for further change at the break, sending on striker Papiss Cisse for midfielder Moussa Sissoko, but the Magpies were able to create little during the opening exchanges of the second half despite enjoying a wealth of possession. But they were back in it 12 minutes after the restart when Ben Arfa, who had been infuriatingly ineffective until that point, accepted Cabaye's pass and drove a low cross across the face of goal for Debuchy to convert at the far post. Cabaye fired just wide after good work by Santon and Ben Arfa with 63 minutes gone with the visitors starting to turn the screw. However, Borini almost made his name on Wearside within seconds of his arrival as a 69th-minute replacement for Johnson, blasting a shot through Krul, only to see the Dutchman gratefully grab the ball at the second attempt. Davide Santon drilled a skidding effort just wide with 14 minutes remaining and derby specialist Shola Ameobi, on as a 70th-minute replacement for Remy, went just as close two minutes later. But the decisive moment came at the other end five minutes from time when Borini ran on to Altidore's lay-off and smashed an unstoppable shot past Krul to win it.

Manchester United apologises over 'swastika' logo Manchester United has apologised after a 'swastika-style' logo was sent out to fans in a newsletter alongside the Nazi affiliated title "New Order". The similarities between the logo, which spelt out the letters MUFC, and the Nazi symbol were pointed out after United Uncovered was issued via email. Manchester United said any offence caused was "entirely unintended". It said the title related to the band New Order, and that the feature was about the club's young players. The statement, which was emailed to fans, said: "In this week's United Uncovered email newsletter, a graphic spelling the letters MUFC ran alongside a feature about Manchester United's younger squad members entitled New Order. "While the headline was intended to reference the band of the same name, it has been pointed out that the graphic had design similarities to a swastika which, combined with other connotations of the phrase 'new order', has caused offence which was entirely unintended. "For this, United Uncovered unreservedly apologises." The club's head of media David Sternberg responded to a number of complaints over Twitter. He tweeted: "The creative is completely inappropriate; we apologise unreservedly and are taking appropriate internal action."

Napoli's Higuain scores controversial brace from spot Gonzalo Higuain scored twice from the spot after seemingly generous penalty decisions to hand Napoli a 2-0 win over Torino and close the gap to Serie A leaders Roma to two points on Sunday. Roma travel to Udinese in one of six afternoon fixtures looking to secure an all-time league record of nine consecutive opening wins, a feat that would restore their five-point lead over Rafael Benitez's men. Napoli, meanwhile, provided further proof they are likely to be among the biggest challengers to champions Juventus this season. But, fresh from a precious 2-1 Champions League win away to Marseille on Tuesday, the hosts benefited from two generous penalty decisions. Torino finished the match with 10 men after second-half substitute Migjen Basha saw red in the closing minutes after hauling down Goran Pandev, but by then the damage had been done. Higuain opened the scoring in the 14th minute when he smashed his spot kick past Daniele Padelli after Dries Mertens tumbled all too easily when his trailing leg made slight contact with Nicola Bellomo in the area. Five minutes later the Argentinian tested Padelli again when he picked up Blerim Dzemaili's pass to send a low drive from 20 metres just wide of the post. Higuain's snap shot from 10 metres was then expertly stopped by Padelli, but the keeper soon found himself facing Higuain from 11 metres out again just after the half hour. Federico Fernandez smashed his shot off the arm of defender Kamil Glik and at first Torino appeared to have been given the benefit of the doubt, only for the referee to point to the spot following consultation with his assistant. Higuain made no mistake, smashing his second attempt low past Padelli to hand the hosts a 2-0 lead and take his tally for the season to five goals. Napoli spurned the chance for a 3-0 half-time lead when Lorenzo Insigne's chip was headed to safety by Danilo D'Ambrosio after Padelli had panicked and come rushing out of his goal. Pepe Reina had had little to do in the Napoli goal but palmed an Alessio Cerci free kick over the bar before the interval. A visibly angry Giampiero Ventura made a double substitution for the visitors with Basha replacing Alessandro Gazzi and Cerci making way for Riccardo Meggiorini at the restart. Napoli, however, only grew in confidence and Reina coped easily with shots from Basha and Paulo Vitor Barreto. In the closing period Meggiorini forced a superb diving save from Reina with an angled drive although on the counter-attack Napoli were denied a third goal when Jose Callejon's low effort was palmed away by Padelli.

Crystal Palace 0 Arsenal 2: Arsene Wenger says the next run of games will be a difficult test, but his side are confident Arsene Wenger wants his Arsenal side to focus on strengthening their own belief in the quest for a sustained assault on the Premier League title. The Gunners consolidated their position at the top of the table by securing a 2-0 win at managerless Crystal Palace, where captain Mikel Arteta was sent off not long after scoring a penalty at the start of the second half. It was the ideal response from Wenger's men to the midweek Champions League home defeat to Borussia Dortmund, which had seen questions raised about how far Arsenal could go this season. "It is people who do not believe that we have a chance, but the only thing we can do is win our games," Wenger said. "The only thing which is important is every win makes you a bit stronger and strengthens the belief. "We have difficult games coming up, and that will be a good test, but I am confident." Arsenal had started brightly at Selhurst Park, where England midfielder Jack Wilshere was put on the bench as a precaution after aggravating his troublesome ankle on Tuesday night. However, the Gunners were made to work for their victory, and there were long spells where Palace pressed the league leaders onto the back foot. Arsenal's breakthrough came at the start of the second half when Serge Gnabry - on as an early substitute for Mathieu Flamini, who limped off with a groin problem - was taken out by a rash challenge from Adlene Guedioura to concede a needless penalty, which Arteta coolly dispatched. However, just after the hour mark, the Spaniard was off back down the tunnel when referee Chris Foy brandished a red card after he had clashed with former Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh some 35 yards out, the pair falling in a heap following what looked like a 50/50 challenge. Following consultation with his assistant, Foy viewed it as denying a clear goalscoring opportunity and the midfielder must now serve a one-match ban, the midweek Capital One Cup tie against Chelsea he was unlikely to be involved in anyway. Nevertheless, Wenger still disagreed with the decision. He said: "It has to be the last man and that is not proven to me - also the foul was not obvious." Arteta also felt he had been hard done by, telling Arsenal Player: "It was a very harsh decision to send me off. Chamakh kicks my fight foot. I have seen it on television. It is 40 yards away from goal too. "It is true that I tried to block him with my hand but then he came with his left foot into my right calf and then we were both on the floor. It was never a tackle from me." Palace briefly rallied as they looked for a positive end to a week which started with a 4-1 home defeat by Fulham that resulted in the departure of Ian Holloway. Defender Joel Ward saw his shot from 20 yards tipped onto the bar by Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who quickly produced an even better save to deny Mile Jedinak from the resulting corner. It was, though, the Gunners who went onto to secure all three points with a second goal on 87 minutes when Aaron Ramsey broke down the left, his perfectly timed cross headed past Julian Speroni by the hard-working Olivier Giroud. Wenger said: "Crystal Palace put a shift in, they were determined to fight very hard, we needed to be patient and we were. "Many times now this season away from home we have won the game in the second half because we are mature, do not make a mistake and we do not rush our game." The full extent of Flamini's injury is yet to be assessed, but there have been suggestions it could sideline the industrious French midfielder - who had missed the Dortmund game as a precaution following concussion - for up to a month. For Palace, top of the agenda for Monday's debrief will be the search for a new manager. Caretaker boss Keith Millen, who made six changes to Holloway's final starting XI, feels the Eagles remain an attractive proposition despite the fact they have lost eight of their opening nine games back in the top flight. "It is a great club in a good financial position with four great owners who really want to achieve something at this club," he said. "But also when you look at the group of players against Arsenal, people that are interested in the job would look at that and think 'I've got something to work with there'." "However, the players know if they keep going like that they will get points. "Whether they can get enough points you don't know, do you? But you have to just work from week to week and enjoy what you are doing."

Arsene Wenger satisfied with victory at Crystal Palace. Arsene Wenger was satisfied with victory at Crystal Palace. Mikel Arteta and Olivier Giroud struck for the 2-0 win. It is said that the Frenchman was pleased with the way his team closed out the match for a crucial victory following on from the disappointment of a midweek defeat at home in the Champions League to Borussia Dortmund. “It was not a game of brilliance, but it was a game of efficiency and patience,” he said. “The pitch was a bit slow, maybe we were not the sharpest as well and the two together made us create less chances than we are used to, but we were serious and determined.” Wenger, though, is refusing to read too much into his side’s solid start to the season. “We are ambitious and want to do as well as we can. you can see that these players are focused,” he said. “Even when the legs go a little bit, they keep their legs and that is always a sign of ambition in the team. “We want to win with style but unfortunately it is not always possible.”