Fernando Torres' volley in the 20th put the Blues ahead (Wikimedia Commons)

The first month of the National Football League season is coming to a close here in the States, but across the pond, the 2012 English football campaign has been rolling on steadily since mid-August.

Fresh off last year’s fantastic finish at Man City, the 2012-2013 Premier League season is back with a devilish Van Persie, a tough Toffees team, and a pinch of Balotelli – that’s all anyone can really handle anyway. 

From the London derby at the Emirates to a historic breakthrough at Old Trafford, this weekend’s fixtures were also no short of drama. Here’s a summary of Week 6 in the Prem:

Arsenal 1 – 2 Chelsea

Both the Gunners and the Blues came into this one undefeated, looking to gain a step on their cross-city rivals. Fernando Torres silenced the Emirates early on in the 20th with a nifty volley off of a pinpoint Juan Mata free kick. However, just before the break, Arsenal’s Gervinho found himself in the box and put one past Petr Cech into the upper right 90 to tie it up. But the Blues had the last laugh, taking the lead for good in the 53rd minute. The de facto Man of the Match, Juan Mata curled a beauty of a free kick through a scrum in the box, which short-skipped into the left corner past a slow-reacting Vito Mannone. Not a fiery or impressive display by either club, but at the end of the day, Chelsea, champions of Europe, remain at the top. 

Manchester United 2 – 3 Tottenham Hotspur

For 23 years, Tottenham Hotspur hadn’t won at Old Trafford. Many losses, a few draws, but no wins. But in those past 23 years, the Spurs didn’t have Clint Dempsey either. The newly-acquired American put Spurs up 3-1 in the 52nd minute, only one minute after Nani drew Sir Alex Ferguson’s club back to a one-goal deficit and only one minute before Shinji Kagawa did the same. After the smoke from the three-goal flurry cleared, Spurs held a 3-2 lead and rode it until the final whistle, despite only possessing the ball for 26% of the time. Jan Vertonghen and Gareth Bale both scored for Tottenham in the first half, but it was Dempsey’s first goal as a member of Tottenham that took Spurs to fifth in the table and also raised questions about the future of the flawed Red Devils.

Norwich City 2 – 5 Liverpool

Maybe it isn’t so hard being Liverpool. Entering this fixture, new manager Brendan Rodgers and the Reds seemed to be overwhelmed, balancing playing football with starring in their own reality show – which may just be better than the Hardknocks series. Having had trouble scoring (see: West Brom) and winning in recent matches, Saturday’s explosion against Norwich came as a pleasant surprise, especially Luis Suarez’s impressive hat trick. The Uruguayan was involved in Liverpool’s first four goals, striking the first two with surprising ease and capping his day off in the 57th minute with a crafty shot that skipped by the Norwich keeper. The treble and Liverpool’s first win of the season were almost overshadowed by a non-call when Suarez wasn’t given a penalty after being manhandled in the box, illuminating that Suarez’s poor reputation may work against Liverpool in the future. Nuri Sahin scored Liverpool’s other goal, while Steve Morison and Grant Holt netted one each for Norwich. 

Fulham 1 – 2 Manchester City

The champions of the Premiership struggled early at Craven Cottage, in due part to a controversial call in the box, giving Fulham’s Mladen Petric an easy penalty in the 10th minute. But from there on out, it was all City. Man City stars Carlos Tevez, David Silva, and Sergio Aguero all touched the ball during a sequence right before the half, resulting in an Aguero putback, drawing even with the Cottagers. The tie would remain until the 87th when Edin Dzeko, who had been on the pitch for less than two minutes, smashed home a rebound into the upper right corner, giving City a hard-fought win and bringing his club even with their cross-town rivals in the table.

Tim Howard and Everton have shocked many, sitting near the top of the table (Wikimedia Commons)

The story of the year so far may be Everton, those other Merseyside boys. Going into their match with promoted Southampton, the Toffees found themselves in unfamiliar territory, in the top five of the table. After an early goal by Southampton’s Gaston Ramirez, Everton responded with three unanswered strikes, all in the first half. Leon Osman scored in the 25th minute and Nikica Jelavic provided a double, with goals in the 32nd and the 38th. The Toffees now sit second in the Premier League, behind only Chelsea.

In other news…

Aston Villa 1 – 1 West Bromwich Albion

Reading 2 – 2 Newcastle United

Stoke City 2 – 0 Swansea City

Sunderland 1 – 0 Wigan Athletic

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Table

Team - Points

1. Chelsea - 16

2. Everton - 13

3. Man U - 12

4. Man City - 12

5. Tottenham - 11

6. West Brom - 11

7. Arsenal - 9

8. Fulham - 9

9. Newcastle - 9

10. West Ham - 8

11. Swansea City - 7

12. Stoke City - 7

13. Sunderland - 7

14. Liverpool - 5

15. Aston Villa - 5

16. Wigan - 4

17. Southampton - 3

18. Norwich City - 3

19. Reading - 2

20. QPR - 2

Reach Associate Sports Editor Jeremy Bergman via e-mail or follow him on Twitter.