MANCHESTER — Arsenal and Manchester United both came from behind to win in the Premier League Thursday, with bottom-place Sunderland producing the only Boxing Day shock by beating highflying Everton. Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard was sent off for bringing down Ki Sung-Yeung, who then scored from the penalty spot to give Sunderland a 1-0 victory against the fifth-place team. United conceded twice in the opening 13 minutes at Hull, but Chris Smalling and Wayne Rooney drew the defending champion level before James Chester's own goal gave it a 3-2 win. After Arsenal gifted West Ham the lead, Theo Walcott scored twice and Lukas Podolski added another to clinch a 3-1 victory. Arsenal went top but could be overtaken later if Liverpool beats Manchester City. Chelsea is two points off the lead after Eden Hazard secured a 1-0 victory over Swansea. Newcastle is closing in on the top four after routing Stoke 5-1 to remain ahead of United in sixth place. Tottenham dropped to eighth after Tim Sherwood's first match in full charge ended in a 1-1 draw against West Bromwich Albion. Cardiff could be the next club searching for a new manager as Malky Mackay's side was beaten 3-0 by Southampton. A change of manager has sparked a revival at Crystal Palace, with Tony Pulis producing a third success of the month, a 1-0 win at Aston Villa. Rene Meulensteen is celebrating his second win as Fulham manager after his struggling team came from behind to overcome Norwich 2-1. Arsenal arrested a slump in form with a vibrant performance in the London derby, although it had to do it the hard way after Wojciech Szczesny's mistake allowed Cole to open the scoring in the 46th minute at Upton Park. West Ham missed a glorious chance to make it 2-0 and was punished when Walcott's scuffed shot made it 1-1. The England wide man then headed Arsenal ahead and with the visitors now dominant Podolski, on for the injured Aaron Ramsey, marked his return from a long-standing injury to complete victory from Olivier Giroud's layoff. United kick-started the festive program, eventually, after a groggy start at Hull following the late arrival of the team bus to the KC Stadium. Forced to battle back from 2-0 down, it did so with Chris Smalling's header, a Christmas cracker from Rooney and Chester's own goal after the break. It was rough on former United player Chester who had shot Hull in front after four minutes, but a huge festive boost for the champion who despite not playing well showed its old knack of turning around unpromising situations. The win was tarnished by a late red card for Antonio Valencia who gained a second caution for kicking the ball away. “We had some bad results at the start of the season but we are showing our quality now, we are fighting hard and hopefully we can surprise some people now,” Rooney told Sky Sports. — Agencies
Standings P W D L F A Pts 1. Arsenal 18 12 3 3 36 18 39 2. Chelsea 18 11 4 3 33 18 37 3. Liverpool 17 11 3 3 42 19 36 4. Man City 17 11 2 4 51 20 35 5. Everton 18 9 7 2 29 17 34 6. Newcastle 18 10 3 5 29 23 33 7. Man United 18 9 4 5 31 22 31 8. Tottenham 18 9 4 5 19 24 31 9. Southampton 18 7 6 5 25 18 27 10. Stoke City 18 5 6 7 18 26 21 11. Swansea City 18 5 5 8 23 24 20 12. Hull City 18 5 5 8 16 23 20 13. Aston Villa 18 5 4 9 17 24 19 14. Norwich City 18 5 4 9 16 31 19 15. West Bromwich 18 3 8 7 19 24 17 16. Cardiff City 18 4 5 9 13 28 17 17. Crystal Palace 18 5 1 12 12 27 16 18. Fulham 18 5 1 12 19 35 16 19. West Ham 18 3 5 10 15 25 14 20. Sunderland 18 3 4 11 13 30 13
