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Man City rally to beat Bolton

December 16, 2007 00:37 IST

Manchester City came from behind to beat Bolton Wanderers 4-2 to keep their 100 percent home record and go fourth in the English Premier League as the big guns enjoyed a day off on Saturday.

The four leading contenders are in action on Sunday, with champions Manchester United playing Liverpool at Anfield before leaders Arsenal host third-placed Chelsea.

Arsenal have 37 points from 16 games to United's 36, with Chelsea on 34 and City on 33.

Portsmouth could have gone fourth but fell to seventh after losing 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur at Fratton Park. They remain on 30 points, behind Liverpool and Everton -- who won 2-0 at West Ham United -- on goal difference.

City, the only club in the top flight to have won all nine of their home league games this season, went ahead through Rolando Bianchi's seventh minute tap-in.

El Hadji Diouf equalised with a left-footed shot in the 31st and Kevin Nolan made it 2-1 to Bolton five minutes before halftime.

A Lubomir Michalik own-goal put Sven-Goran Eriksson's side back into the game three minutes after the break and Darius Vassell slotted in a third in the 77th before Kelvin Etuhu grabbed the fourth in stoppage time.

ROLLER-COASTER MATCH

Struggling Wigan Athletic were the day's big scorers in a roller-coaster match during which they squandered a 3-0 lead before steaming back to beat 10-man Blackburn Rovers 5-3 at the JJB Stadium.

Roque Santa Cruz scored a hat-trick for the visitors, who had Brett Emerton sent off for a second bookable offence in the 57th minute.

Paraguay striker Santa Cruz scored on the stroke of halftime, added another in the 50th and then headed the third in the 61st.

Wigan, who had their former England striker Emile Heskey carried off injured after 38 minutes, took the lead again with Marcus Bent grabbing his second goal of the game in the 66th before claiming his own hat-trick in the 81st.

Yakubu Aiyegbeni hit his eighth goal in seven matches and Andy Johnson also struck to help Everton defeat West Ham.

Sunderland moved out of the relegation zone, at least until Fulham's evening game against Newcastle United, after a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light but Derby County's misery at the bottom of the table continued with a 1-0 defeat at home to Middlesbrough.

Birmingham City drew 1-1 with Reading in a mid-table clash.

Source: REUTERS
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