Manchester United drop first points but end day on top

Manchester United dropped their first points of the season after a 1-1 draw at Stoke City on Saturday but ended the day leading the Premier League table after vacating top spot to Manchester City for a few hours.

City went ahead of United after their 2-0 win at lunchtime over Everton, but United regained top spot, albeit on goal difference after their evening match ended in a draw at Stoke which brought United's winning five-match start to the season to a close.

Nani put United ahead after 27 minutes before England striker Peter Crouch equalised seven minutes into the second half with his first goal for Stoke since his 9.0 million pounds transfer from Tottenham Hotspur last month.

United and City both have 16 points from six matches.

Chelsea are third after their 4-1 win over Swansea City which proved an eventful match for their Spanish striker Fernando Torres who scored their opener after 29 minutes but was sent off for a flying lunge which earned him a straight red card 10 minutes later.

In other action, Newcastle United maintained their unbeaten start with a 3-1 win over Blackburn Rovers to stay fourth, Liverpool moved up to fifth with a 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur won their third successive league game to move into sixth place with a 2-1 victory at Wigan Athletic.

Arsenal, who have made their worst start to a season for 58 years, climbed from 17th to 12th after beating Bolton Wanderers 3-0 at the Emirates leaving Bolton bottom after a fifth successive defeat.