Man Utd overcome QPR, Wigan and Stoke win as Everton held
Queens Park Rangers were unable to provide new boss Harry Redknapp with the perfect welcome present after a spirited defeat at Manchester United as West Bromwich Albion continued their excellent start to the season.
There was late drama at both Goodison Park and the DW Stadium, respectively, as Everton were pegged back by Norwich City and Wigan Athletic nicked the points against Reading.
Stoke City, meanwhile, recorded back-to-back 1-0 wins on home soil after proving too strong for fellow mid-table side Fulham and Aston Villa held Arsenal at home.
Darren Fletcher's first goal since his return to fitness helped to stave off a shock at Old Trafford as Manchester United came from behind to beat Queens Park Rangers 3-1, with the visitors' new manager, Redknapp, watching from the stands.
United controlled possession in the first half, but lacked any tempo and received a let-off when Jamie Mackie strayed fractionally offside before heading beyond Anders Lindegaard.
The hosts' lackadaisical performance was punished seven minutes after half-time, though, when Kieron Dyer was left alone after taking a corner and, after his low cross was pushed out by Lindegaard, Mackie had the simple task of tapping in from close range.
The introduction of Anderson injected some much-needed pace into United's performance, although it was a set-piece which resulted in the equaliser on 64 minutes as Jonny Evans nodded home from about a yard out after Danny Welbeck had knocked down a corner.
The Red Devils took the lead from another corner four minutes later as Fletcher powerfully met Wayne Rooney's cross before Anderson set up fellow substitute Javier Hernandez for a clinical finish on 72 minutes.
West Brom climbed up to third spot with an impressive 4-2 victory at the Stadium of Light to increase Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill's woes on Wearside.
Zoltan Gera curled home the opening goal for West Brom on the half-hour and the lead was doubled just before half-time when Shane Long capitalised on a gaffe from Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
The Black Cats, who have won just once at home this season, gave themselves a lifeline through substitute Craig Gardner's deflected free-kick on 73 minutes.
However, Baggies substitute Romelu Lukaku restored the two-goal cushion when he converted from the penalty spot on 81 minutes after Liam Ridgewell had been fouled.
Stephane Sessegnon's 87th minute finish from close range reignited home hopes, but they were extinguished in the fourth minute of stoppage-time when another substitute - Marc-Antoine Fortune - scored after being teed up by Lukaku.
Aston Villa moved out of the relegation zone after producing a battling display in a 0-0 draw at home with Arsenal.
There was nothing to split the teams throughout the game and it was Villa who came closest to scoring a winner.
Andreas Weimann had a first-half effort correctly ruled out for offside before substitute Brett Holman struck the crossbar in the second period.
Norwich extended their unbeaten run to six games in the Premier League as Sebastien Bassong's late header earned a 1-1 draw at Everton.
Everton took the lead after 12 minutes when Bryan Oviedo, making his first Premier League start, crossed into the six-yard box for Steven Naismith to score from close range.
With the clock ticking down, Javier Garrido curled in a deep free-kick and Bassong's header found its way past Tim Howard.
Stoke moved level on points with Fulham in the table after Charlie Adam's first-half goal secured a 1-0 success at the Britannia Stadium.
The Potters scored in the 26th minute when Ryan Shotton's cross from the right was nodded down at the back post by Peter Crouch and Adam was on hand to turn the ball home from close range.
Ryan Shawcross saw a header strike the crossbar and Kenwyne Jones had a goal disallowed for offside late on as Stoke maintained their unbeaten home record.
Jordi Gomez's hat-trick, including a last-minute winner, spared Wigan goalkeeper Ali Al Habsi's blushes in a thrilling 3-2 home victory over Reading.
Wigan were denied the opener when Arouna Kone's attempt was stopped on the line by Nicky Shorey, who then created Reading's goal on 35 minutes when his free-kick was powerfully headed home by Sean Morrison.
The home side levelled on 58 minutes when Adam Federici failed to hold on to Gomez's shot and the midfielder reacted quickly to lift the loose ball into the net.
Just 10 minutes later and Gomez did it again, the Spaniard meeting Jean Beausejour's delightful left-wing cross with a diving header which gave Federici no chance.
Reading were gifted an equaliser with 10 minutes to go when Hal Robson-Kanu's shot looped into the air and, what should have been a routine catch for Al Habsi, resulted in the Wigan goalkeeper pushing the ball against the bar before it rebounded back off the Oman international's head and over the line.
But Al Habsi's embarrassment was eased in the final minute when Kone picked out the unmarked Gomez inside the area and he made no mistake in completing his hat-trick.
