Stoke striker Jonathan Walters suffered a horror show in his team's 4-0 defeat by Chelsea in the English Premier League.
(CNN) -- Chelsea's worrying mini-slump came to an end on Saturday, but it was not new signing Demba Ba or $80 million man Fernando Torres who fired the London club back up to third in the English Premier League.
It was another forward who did the damage -- not only to his reputation, but also to Stoke's longstanding unbeaten home record.
Jonathan Walters became just the fourth player to score two own-goals in a Premier League match, and possibly the first to also miss a penalty, as Chelsea cruised to a 4-0 victory at the Britannia Stadium.
It lifted the pressure on manager Rafael Benitez after successive home defeats to the EPL's bottom team Queens Park Rangers and then in the first leg of the English League Cup semifinals against Swansea on Wednesday.
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"It was a difficult game, especially in the first half. We knew it would be," Benitez told reporters after his team closed to within 11 points of leaders Manchester United, who face Liverpool on Sunday.
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Mario Balotelli was mobbed by fans outside a restaurant as he returned home to Italy to complete his $30 million move from AC Milan to Manchester City.
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Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente has opened talks with Juventus over a move to the Italian champions. The Spanish international will be free to move clubs when his contract expires in June.
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Patrice Evra gave Manchester United a 16th minute lead at Swansea after heading home Robin van Persie's corner.
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"We knew it would be physical and intense, but we were ready for that. The goal changed the game because they had to go forward and left space, which meant little by little we could control the game."
The scores were level until first-half injury time, when Walters headed a cross from Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta past his own keeper.
It got worse for the Republic of Ireland international in the 62nd minute, as he again headed past Asmir Begovic from Juan Mata's corner.
Mata was brought down soon after, allowing veteran midfielder Frank Lampard to continue his scoring run with a penalty, and Eden Hazard sealed it with a superb long-range effort.
There was still time for Walters to gain some redemption in his 100th EPL appearance but, given the chance to net his sixth league goal for Stoke this season after being fouled by the returning John Terry, the 29-year-old blasted his injury-time penalty against the crossbar.
"Jon's fine. We look after people at the football club. It wasn't our day today, it was Chelsea's day," said Stoke manager Tony Pulis, whose 10th-placed team lost at home for the first time since February, a run of 17 games.
Terry came on as a second-half substitute, having been out for two months with a knee injury.
"I was trying to give him some minutes to see how he was," Benitez said. "I watched him in the reserve team but this is totally different, so we played five at the back and tried to protect him a bit.
"We will see how he trains and if he has no problems, it is a question of fitness now."
Fellow central defender Gary Cahill missed the match to be at the birth of his son. "The baby is fine and they are happy," Benitez said.
Tottenham failed to stay in third place after being held 0-0 at QPR, now managed by former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp.
It was Emmanuel Adebayor's final appearance for Tottenham before leaving for the African Cup of Nations, having patched up his differences with Togo officials.
Despite two strong results against top-four teams, Redknapp's side are now two points adrift at the bottom of the table following Reading's 3-2 win at home to seventh-placed West Brom.
The promoted side scored three goals in the last 10 minutes, with the winner from Russia striker Pavel Pogrebnyak, after on-loan Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku netted twice in the first half.
Everton stayed fifth, three points behind Tottenham, after being held 0-0 by ninth-placed Swansea.
Southampton moved out of the bottom three with a 1-0 win at Aston Villa that dropped the home side into the relegation zone, putting more pressure on manager Paul Lambert.
Striker Rickie Lambert scored the only goal from the penalty spot for his ninth league goal this season.
Sunderland moved up to 14th with a 3-0 win over West Ham that left the London side in 11th, above Norwich on goal difference.
Norwich drew 0-0 at home to struggling Newcastle, while Wigan moved above Aston Villa on goal difference after coming from behind to draw 1-1 at 13th-placed Fulham.
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The Republic of Ireland international broke the deadlock in first-half injury time by powering a header past his own keeper.
Then, 17 minutes into the second half, the 29-year-old again headed past Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, this time from a corner by Juan Mata, to make it 2-0.
Chelsea went 3-0 ahead through Frank Lampard's penalty after Spain international Mata was fouled by Robert Huth, left.
Eden Hazard made it 4-0 with a long-range effort before Walters was fouled by substitute John Terry in time added on -- but the Stoke player hit the bar with his penalty for an ignominious end to his team's 17-match unbeaten home run.
Terry, seen here with Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez, made his return after two months on the sidelines with a knee injury.
Old Trafford, home of Manchester United, was blitzed during a raid by the Luftwaffe on March 11 1941. The stadium was obliterated and left the club homeless. All of Gibson's hard work had been undone in a single night. United agreed a deal to play its home matches at Maine Road, home of rival Manchester City, until Old Trafford was rebuilt in 1949.
Gibson and his wife Lillian, had a train named after the football club. Gibson ensured supporters had a far smoother journey to Old Trafford after having steps built up from the local train station to the stadium, while he also had trains make unscheduled stops to help fans make it in time for kick off.
A statue of George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, which stands outside Old Trafford, depicts three of the club's greatest players. If it wasn't for Gibson, it is arguable the trio would never have pulled on the red of Manchester United.
Matt Busby, who was appointed by Gibson as manager, went on to win the 1968 European Cup, four league titles and two FA Cups. He survived the Munich Air Crash of 1958, where many of his players perished. After his recovery, he helped rebuild the team and lay foundations for the future.
Busby's success has been built on by current United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. It was under Ferguson that United won their19th English League overtaking Liverpool's record of 18.
United have established a buccaneering style of play, which this season has been epitomised by forward Robin van Persie, who is pictured here celebrating with Danny Welbeck. Since joining United from Arsenal in the summer, Van Persie has scored 16 English Premier League goals.
His future at the English Premier League champions had been in doubt since his training ground bust-up with manager Roberto Mancini in early January, when coaching staff had to intervene to separate the pair. Mancini later downplayed the tussle, sparked by Balotelli's hostile tackle on a fellow player, as "nothing unusual."
Balotelli made his Inter Milan debut in 2007 after being signed by the club at the age of 15. He scored the first goals of his senior career in a Coppa Italia match against Reggina in December of that year.
Balotelli joined Manchester City from Italian club Inter Milan. His relationship with Inter coach Jose Mourinho endured numerous ups and downs. Disciplinary issues littered his time at the San Siro and the situation came to a head in March 2010, when Balotelli was left out of Inter's squad for a Champions League tie after an altercation with Mourinho.
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Evra races away to celebrate with teammate Michael Carrick in hot pursuit as the league leaders make the perfect start in Wales.
Michu's 13th league goal of the season ensured Swansea grabbed a point from a pulsating contest. The Spaniard, who cost $3.2 million from Rayo Vallecano, has impressed since his arrival in the Premier League in July.
Ashley Williams and United's van Persie clash after the Swansea defender had kicked the ball against the Dutchman while he was on the floor. United manager Alex Ferguson was left fuming at Williams and said: "The Van Persie situation you can clearly see that he could have been killed."
Ferguson was left raging after seeing van Persie struck by the ball and vented his fury after the contest. He said: "It was absolutely deliberate. The whistle has gone, the game has stopped and he has done that right in front of the referee, he could have killed the lad. It was a disgraceful act by the player, he should banned for a long time."
Fernando Torres headed Chelsea in front against Aston Villa with his 14th goal of the season. The Spaniard's goalscoring form has been transformed since the arrival of new interim manager Rafa Benitez. Chelsea crushed Villa 8-0 to inflict the worst ever top-flight defeat on the visiting club.
David Luiz doubled Chelsea's lead on 29 minutes with a spectacular free-kick as Chelsea cruised past a young Villa side at Stamford Bridge.
Branislav Ivanovic grabbed his fourth league goal of the season to give Chelsea a three-goal lead at the break. The Serbia defender, who also scored at Leeds in midweek, headed home from close-range to wrap up the game after just 34 minutes.
Frank Lampard became Chelsea's all-time leading scorer in top-flight football after hitting his 130th goal on his 500th league start. Lampard's drive gave the home side a 4-0 lead as Villa began to wilt.
Ramires came off the bench to score twice as Chelsea eventually declared on eight. It could have been worse for Villa as Lucas Piazon missed a penalty. Eden Hazard and Oscar were also on target.
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