The struggling English Premier League football side Blackburn Rovers has begun life under new manager Sam Allardyce with a 3-0 win at home to Stoke City.
Victory was only Rovers's fourth in 18 League matches and came just three days after former Bolton and Newcastle boss Allardyce replaced the sacked Paul Ince.
At the other end of the table, Aston Villa has climbed above champions Manchester United into third place after an own-goal from Australia defender Lucas Neill 12 minutes from time secured a 1-0 win away to West Ham.
Victory moved Villa on to 34 points, two more than United, although Sir Alex Ferguson's side, on duty at the FIFA World Club Cup in Tokyo, do have two games in hand.
Sunderland has climbed out of the bottom three with a 4-1 win away to Hull.
Elsewhere Fulham recorded their sixth home league win in nine games this term with a 3-0 victory over Middlesbrough, while Bolton beat Portsmouth 2-1.
