EPL Week 7 Results: Key Premier League Scores from the Weekend

The Premier League signed off for the international break with another entertaining weekend of action, which produced one of the shocks of the season.

By the time the final ball was kicked on Sunday, Arsenal remained at the summit after a draw with West Bromwich Albion and Sunderland stayed rooted to the bottom after defeat to Manchester United. 

What did we learn? A new star was born at the Stadium of Light; false nines are all the rage in East London; and confirmation that Darren Bent still possesses the knack of being in the right place at the right time.

Here’s a look at some of the key scores from the weekend's action.

Tottenham 0-3 West Ham 

It’s not often you hear West Ham mentioned in the same breathe as Barcelona and Spain but when Sam Allardyce’s team lined up without a recognised centre forward for their trip to White Hart Lane those were the comparisons being drawn.

The East London outfit set up in a 4-6-0 formation against a Spurs side that had conceded just two goals in their opening six league games. Add to that the fact West Ham had yet to score an away goal this season and this result goes down as the most surprising of the weekend, if not the season so far. 

By packing the midfield the visitors frustrated Spurs, and when the home side did get a sniff at goal Jermain Defoe, who was given the nod ahead of Roberto Soldado after his midweek goal in the Europa League, couldn’t find a way past Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Spurs did dominate with 61 percent possession and, according to Jeremy Wilson in The Telegraph, they limited West Ham to just 181 touches of the ball in the attacking half of the pitch—the fewest of any Premier League team this weekend.

But the inability of Andre Villas Boas’ team to create chances against a side in the bottom half of the table will worry Spurs fans as they look to secure a Champions League spot this season.

Winston Reid, Ricardo Vaz Te and Ravel Morrison did the damage for West Ham, the latter of whom ran from inside his own half.

Fulham 1-0 Stoke City

An 83rd-minute winner from Darren Bent will have eased some of the pressure that has been heaped upon Fulham manager Martin Jol in recent weeks.

After a 2-1 defeat to Cardiff last Saturday, Fulham were booed off the pitch by their home support and they lay around the relegation zone with just four points from their opening six matches.

Their performance against Stoke was far from clinical and they struggled to fashion many opportunities of note but, with a finisher like Bent in the side, chances will be taken when they are created.

According to the Daily Mail, the Englishman has now scored 105 goals in 250 Premier League matches and only three players—Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard—have scored more since the 2008/09 campaign.

Time will tell whether this result has just papered over the cracks at Craven Cottage or whether it will kick-start a run of form for the West London side.

Their next match away to Crystal Palace will be an instant indicator.

Sunderland 1-2 Manchester United

This time last year a 2-1 victory away to Sunderland may not have been a notable result for Manchester United. But after the start David Moyes has endured in his debut season at the club, this result is an important one for the defending champions.

After recent injuries to both players, Moyes was able to field Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie in the starting XI but it was an 18-year-old from Belgium who saved the day.

Adnan Januzaj struck twice to complete the comeback and while the three points offer United some breathing space, the performance won’t have done much to ease the minds of their supporters just yet.

Nemanja Vidic consistently struggled to cope with the imposing figure of Jozy Altidore; the Sunderland wide men caused numerous problems for the United defenders with their direct, energetic running; and Rooney and van Persie once more played like two separate entities rather than a partnership in sync.

Plenty of questions remain for Moyes but with three vital points in the bag he can focus on answering them.

For Sunderland, consecutive defeats to Liverpool and Manchester United will have been expected but they can take positives from their performance. 

The Black Cats have looked rejuvenated under interim boss Kevin Ball but, with one point from their opening seven games, the pressure is on. With Swansea, Newcastle and Hull City to come, results will be all that matters.