By Andrew Discenza

Glen Johnson scored a wonderful solo goal to earn Liverpool a deserved 2-1 win at Chelsea. The match seemed to be heading for a stalemate, but the former Blues right back popped up three minutes from time with a brilliant strike that could have profound implications come May. Johnson controlled Charlie Adam’s long pass with a killer first touch, before slipping the ball beneath and beyond Ashley Cole. The Englishman then continued his run into the box, before steadying himself for a composed finish into the very bottom corner.

An extraordinary incident occurred in Blackburn’s visit to Wigan as Andre Marriner failed to spot Morten Gamst Pederson’s outrageously illegal corner kick. The two were in the spotlight earlier when Pederson appeared to bring down Victor Moses for a penalty, but the referee waived play on. Then came the controversial moment that led to Blackburn’s second goal. Yakubu had planted the ball on the turf near the corner flag, but made absolutely no contact with his feet. Pederson then ran to take the corner, and to the surprise of all watching, simply kicked the ball a few yards ahead for himself to gather. Then, with no word from Mr. Marriner, he drove forward toward goal, before sending in a telling cross for David Hoilett to finish at the back post. Blackburn would go on to salvage a late 3-3 draw, but Wigan surely deserved the win after this travesty of a goal was allowed to stand.

Robin van Persie simply cannot stop scoring. The Dutchman was yet again in lethal form, scoring an inspirational brace as Arsenal came from behind to earn a 2-1 victory at Norwich. Van Persie’s positioning was as good as ever for the equalizer, but he had Theo Walcott to thank after the winger burst past Marc Tierney to deliver a low cross for a simple finish. Alex Song provided for the winner, playing the red-hot striker in behind, who obliged with a flawless chip over John Ruddy and into the corner. That’s his tenth goals in the last five league games, no wonder the Gunners have won all of them.

Ryan Taylor had an afternoon for forget for Newcastle, contributing to two of Manchester City’s goals as the league leaders strolled to a 3-1 win. He allowed City to open the scoring when he foolishly gave away a penalty, leaving his arm quite obviously outstretched to block Mario Balotelli’s effort and send the Italian to the spot. He then lost possession clumsily to Micah Richards, and in-form right back powered in to score.

Scott Sinclair missed a glaring opportunity that could have gifted Swansea a point against the Champions. Manchester United won again despite an underwhelming performance, but their 1-0 margin was in dire jeopardy when Sinclair was presented with an open goal. Wayne Routledge’s shot deflected beyond David De Gea and fell to Sinclair with the net gaping, but the 22-year-old got the ball horribly tangled between his feet at the crucial moment and the chance was gone.

Mark Schwarzer’s miraculous injury-time save preserved Fulham’s 0-0 draw with Sunderland. With the seconds counting down, Stephane Sessegnon whipped in a shot that took a massive deflection off Philippe Senderos. The keeper was left flying in the wrong direction and seemed surely beaten, but Schwarzer extended his trailing leg to re-direct the ball spectacularly over the bar.

Russell Martin’s defensive heroics were a joy to watch despite Norwich’s defeat to Arsenal. Theo Walcott had beaten his defender and curled a goal bound effort beyond John Ruddy, but Martin was on the line to produce a magical flick and send the ball clear. Robin Van Persie then must have thought his header was in, but Martin again stood his ground to keep the ball out.

Emmanuel Adebayor’s well-taken brace lead on-fire Tottenham to a 2-0 win over Aston Villa. Gareth Bale had volleyed into the ground from a corner, and as the ball bounced kindly over Adebayor’s head he produced an instinctive overhead kick to send it flying in from close range. The Togolese then got a helping hand from James Collins, who intercepted Bale’s cross only to take it away from his goalkeeper right to the feet of Adebayor, who could hardly have asked for a more simple finish.

Jordi Gomez scored a fine goal to help Wigan in a 3-3 thriller against Blackburn. The Spaniard opened the scoring after just seven minutes when he let a clearance bounce before sweetly hitting a half-volley that tore into the bottom corner of the net.

Penalty decisions were perhaps not what they should have been this weekend in the Premier League. Stoke should have earned a chance to equalize versus QPR late on when Joey Barton brought down Robert Huth from behind in the area, but referee Michael Jones saw nothing amiss. Everton beat Wolves despite Karl Henry’s outrageous strong-armed pullback on Tim Cahill, which Jonathan Moss must have missed completely. West Brom won despite a questionable penalty in Bolton’s favor. Jerome Thomas was adjudged to have fouled Fabrice Muamba, but the big 23-year-old seemed to be giving as well as he got, with a lunge and a strong hand on the head of Thomas.