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Premier League

Eugene YS Han takes a look at the best and the worst from the fourth weekend of the Barclays Premier League.

Heroes

Liverpool
Even without both their talismanic duo of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, Rafael Benitez's Liverpool finally broke their Manchester United hoodoo. A rocking Anfield witnessed Benitez's first ever league win over the reigning champions in nine attempts. The Reds managed to come from a goal down to win and they totally outplay their bitter rivals. Sir Alex Ferguson even graciously said Liverpool deserved it.

Hull City
The turmoil at St James' Park probably helped a little, but it should take nothing away from Hull City's 2-1 win against Newcastle United. Phil Brown's side has notched two wins and a draw out of their four league games - which is already double of what Derby achieved the whole of last season. The broken leg suffered by former Rams striker Craig Fagan is a dampener for them though.

Robin van Persie
He probably felt so contented after scoring his eighth goal in seven games against Blackburn, Robin van Persie actually let his striking partner Emmanuel Adebayor take a penalty at Ewood Park. This is a pleasant surprise as the Dutchman is normally known for his selfishness on the pitch. Adebayor did not let van Persie down and he went on to complete his hat-trick (and in the process successfully amassed 50 goals for Arsenal). Van Persie incidentally needs four more to reach half-a-century of goals for the Gunners.

Gareth Barry
The unsung hero in Aston Villa's excellent start to the season, Gareth Barry's decision to stay at Villa Park is perhaps Martin O'Neill's 'best signing' yet. Instead of sulking, the England international maintained his high standards that made Liverpool and Arsenal take notice of him. O'Neill might be wishing Christmas comes later as Chelsea are rumoured to be in the hunt for Barry once the transfer window reopens next January.

Zeroes

Sir Alex Ferguson
The Manchester United gaffer should take the brunt of the Anfield defeat when he inexplicably played Wayne Rooney on the right wing and Anderson on the left wing. Ferguson's tactical decision led to Liverpool dominating the midfield which is the most crucial area on the pitch, according to ESPN STAR Sports football analyst Steve McMahon. It seems that Carlos Queiroz's absence has been the most telling in this match. Man United are in danger of being nine points adrift of the top of the league if Chelsea beat them next weekend.

Newcastle United
The Magpies suffered a new low after the home defeat to newly-promoted Hull City. The Newcastle players did not turn up while under-fire Mike Ashley and Dennis Wise literally did not turn up. The fans did not help much as they were more interested in protesting rather than concentrating on the match. There seems to be no end to the madness at St James' Park.

Tottenham Hotspur
A single point from four games meant Tottenham made their worst-ever start to the Premier League. Spurs were hotly-tipped to be one of the teams to break into the Top Four after a fantastic pre-season. Instead the London side failed to win a single game this season and has yet to gel under Juande Ramos. The loss of their top-two goal-scorers in Robbie Keane and Dimitar Berbatov probably did not help their cause. Bizarrely, Ramos reportedly refused to learn English leading to speculation that he might be looking for an early exit.

Own goals
Take a bow, Titus Bramble, Phil Jagielka and Wes Brown, goal-scorers at the wrong end of the pitch. Wigan’s Bramble did his reputation no harm by heading Sunderland in front under no pressure at all. It was almost a perfect striker's goal. Everton's Jagielka fell foul to Stoke's long throw tactics but at least his o.g. did not lead to an Everton defeat. Manchester United's Wes Brown was the most unfortunate victim as Edwin van der Sar's howler meant the o.g. was credited to Brown instead of the lanky goalkeeper. Perhaps there should be a league panel for own goals where the real culprits are credited with the black mark and not the innocent parties. Jamie Carragher, who once scored two own goals for Man United at Anfield in 1999, should head this panel.

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