It took just 11 minutes for him to open the scoring with a classic piece of finishing, taking one touch to fire home from Dirk Kuyt's cross.

His second was even better as, cutting inside from the left, he curled a shot around Branislav Ivanovic and inside John Terry and the far post.

Andy Carroll made headlines for the right reasons as his goal gave Newcastle a shock 1-0 win over title-chasing Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.

The England Under-21 striker, tipped to feature in the senior squad for the friendly with France later this month, had started the day on the front pages following allegations about his private life.

However, under the close eye of watching England boss Fabio Capello, the Newcastle number nine headed in what proved to be the winner at the end of the first half.

Mario Balotelli netted twice before being sent off as Manchester City secured a 2-0 win at West Brom to ease the pressure on their manager Roberto Mancini.

Balotelli opened the scoring in the first half having combined with City skipper Carlos Tevez, who was back in the team following his two-match injury lay-off.

The Italian striker then converted David Silva's cross soon after to give the visitors - defeated in their last three matches - a two goal advantage.

Balotelli's afternoon took a turn for the worse after the break, though, when he was red-carded following a tangle with Youssouf Mulumbu, who was also sent for an early bath after scything down Tevez late on.