EPL Wrap: United go top, Henry scores last minute winner for Arsenal

Luis Suarez’s refusal to shake hands with Patrice Evra overshadowed Manchester United’s 2-1 win over fierce rival Liverpool that lifted the reigning champions provisionally to the top of the Premier League on Saturday. Wayne Rooney scored twice for the second straight match to guide United to victory at Old Trafford but all the focus was on the pre-match handshake that never happened, further inflaming tensions between England’s two most successful clubs. [caption id=“attachment_210504” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Thierry Henry celebrates their 1-2 victory at the end of their match against Sunderland. AP”]  [/caption] Substitute Thierry Henry grabbed an injury-time winner as Arsenal snatched a 2-1 victory at Sunderland on Saturday to move above Chelsea into fourth place in the Premier League on Saturday. The former France striker volleyed home a cross from Andrei Arshavin in the first minute of stoppage time to complete Arsenal’s comeback after James McClean gave Sunderland the lead in the 70th minute. Aaron Ramsey came off the bench in the 72nd to equalize three minutes later before Henry scored his third goal since joining Arsenal on loan last month. Steven Pienaar scored in his first game back at Goodison Park as Everton beat Chelsea 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday. The South Africa international, who rejoined the club last month on loan from Tottenham, opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a powerful shot into the roof of the net. Chelsea, which had yet to lose a league game in 2012, had several chances to equalize through Daniel Sturridge and Frank Lampard but both missed the target. Everton made the game safe when striker Denis Stracqualursi slotted the ball into the bottom right corner from the penalty area in the 71st minute. Energized by the return of manager Harry Redknapp to the dugout, Tottenham routed visitors Newcastle 5-0 at White Hart Lane in the Premier League on Saturday. After a whirlwind week during which Redknapp was cleared of tax fraud and became the overwhelming favorite to replace Fabio Capello as England manager, the Spurs manager looked on as his team put in a stellar performance that allowed it to keep pace with league leaders Manchester United. Emmanuel Adebayor set up goals by Benoit Assou-Ekotto in the fourth minute, Louis Saha in the sixth and 20th and finally Niko Kranjcar in the 34th before scoring the fifth. Striker Pavel Pogrebnyak scored on his debut to help Fulham beat Stoke City 2-1 at Craven Cottage in the Premier League on Saturday. Pogrebnyak, who joined the West London team from Bundesliga side Stuttgart during the January transfer window, opened the scoring in the 16th minute with a close-range finish into the top left corner. Clint Dempsey helped double the lead in the 28th when his shot hit the bar before bouncing back into Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen and deflecting into the net for an own goal. Ryan Shawcross scored a consolation goal for the visitors in the 78th when he headed in from a Jermaine Pennant corner. It was Stoke’s fourth league defeat in a row and leaves Tony Pulis’ team on a run of one victory in their last nine games. Blackburn scored three first-half goals and held off a late comeback from Queens Park Rangers to win 3-2 in the Premier League on Saturday. Ayegbeni Yakubu opened the scoring for Blackburn in the 15th minute and teammate Steven Nzonzi extended the lead in the 23rd by converting Junior Hoilett’s pass. Blackburn added a third when Hoilett’s shot deflected in off QPR defender Nedum Onuoha just before the interval. Jamie Mackie pulled two goals back for QPR, in the 71st and 90th minutes. Blackburn rose one spot to 18th, level on points with 16th-place QPR. Grant Holt spearheaded Norwich’s second-half rally with two goals in a 3-2 win at Swansea in the Premier League on Saturday. Anthony Pilkington also scored for Norwich, which found the net three times in an 18-minute span after the break to climb to eighth place in the standings. Danny Graham had put Swansea in the lead in the 23rd minute and reduced the deficit from the penalty spot with three minutes left with his second of the match. Swansea couldn’t complete the comeback, slipping to only its second home loss of the season. AP