The hat-trick. Once celebrated as an event of occasional brilliance, and a rare event that would stop the presses. It’s now a plaything of the two Manchester clubs. City and United currently have four between them in the last two weeks, and it is these goals that are setting United and City apart at the top of the Alternative Premier League table.
Anyone who stuck by Wayne Rooney in their fantasy team for the entirety of last season won’t need reminding that he didn’t exactly set the league on fire, but those of you who took a punt this year will be smiling smugly to yourselves. The clinical finishing of Rooney, and striking partner Javier Hernandez, was too much for Bolton who have now suffered their third defeat in as many games. Once again United’s goal difference was the best of the weekend and their score of 9.60 points ranks as the best of the season…so far.
At 5.00pm GMT on Saturday it seemed as if Manchester City would still be sitting pretty a-top of the APL. A solid performance against Wigan saw them emerge as 3-0 winners courtesy of three sublime finishes from Sergio Aguero. Their win was rewarded with seven points, a good total against a mid-table Wigan side, but a score that was eventually put in the shade by United.
City and United have now created a gap of seven points between themselves and Chelsea in third. Despite only being September, it already seems as if these two will take some catching.
From the higher scores of the weekend to the lowest, and Wolves who scored a meagre 0.98. On paper their game with Spurs was always going to be tight, but with Spurs bottom and Wolves in fourth, it always had the potential to be a good day for Tottenham given that their league positions were so far apart. Spurs’ away day win moved them up to 13th while Wolves dropped three places to 7th.
It has been a great season thus far for Stoke, and this weekend was no different. Their 1-0 win over a much fancied Liverpool side has shot them up to 4th in the league and secured them 6.50 points – not as much as the four teams who recorded away wins, but a good score for a home success.
With the league starting to take shape Blackburn, Swansea and Norwich take the bottom three spaces with Sunderland and Fulham not far above. Arsenal moved 1.49 points clear of the bottom three with their win over Swansea, but it is surely only a matter of time before they start climbing the league more.
- Top Score: Man United: 9.60
- Lowest Score: Wolves: 0.98
- Top draw score: QPR: 4.00
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Points | Prem Pos | |
| 1 | Manchester United | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 30.19 | 1 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 29.06 | 2 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 22.05 | 3 |
| 4 | Stoke City | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 20.31 | 5 |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 20.17 | 4 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 19.32 | 6 |
| 7 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 17.90 | 7 |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 16.78 | 8 |
| 9 | Wigan Athletic | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | -1 | 14.57 | 9 |
| 10 | West Bromwich Albion | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -2 | 13.10 | 13 |
| 11 | Queens Park Rangers | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -5 | 12.78 | 11 |
| 12 | Bolton Wanderers | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -4 | 12.58 | 14 |
| 13 | Tottenham Hotspur | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -5 | 11.80 | 15 |
| 14 | Everton | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11.75 | 10 |
| 15 | Arsenal | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -7 | 11.72 | 12 |
| 16 | Sunderland | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 10.64 | 16 |
| 17 | Fulham | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -3 | 10.48 | 18 |
| 18 | Norwich City | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -3 | 10.31 | 17 |
| 19 | Swansea City | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -5 | 9.87 | 19 |
| 20 | Blackburn Rovers | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -4 | 7.86 | 20 |
