In Liverpool’s second derby, the North-West Derby against Manchester United, in as many league weeks, points were shared between the two English giants of soccer. Following the international break, which saw the conclusion of the group stages of the European Championship Qualifying, and the opening of South American World Cup Qualifying, the Premier League resumed action.

In Liverpool, the Red’s supporters were again out in full force for derby day, this time at home to the Red Devils of Manchester. Steven Gerrard, the club’s captain, returned to the starting eleven, while United sat Wayne Rooney, who would later come on as a sub. Liverpool controlled possession throughout the game, and while they carved out chances, they were unable to finish successfully, until Gerrard scored from a 25 yard free kick.

Reminiscent of last season’s goal, in this same fixture, Gerrard shot directly at the wall, but the ball escaped through, and into the back of the net. Ryan Gigg’s, pulled himself away from the wall, and allowed the ball to squeak through.

United were able to save a point, however, as substitute Javier Hernandez scored off a corner kick. If there is one thing that Hernandez really excels with, it is his ability to create space for himself, and that’s exactly what he did. Beating his defender to the far post, Hernandez comfortably headed up to level the score.

Back in Manchester, Manchester City routed Aston Villa to put themselves on top of the table, in a 4-1 encounter. City sat three of their rather expensive signings, while another didn’t even make the bench, and still made easy work of Villa.

Much maligned Mario Balotelli, starting in place of Edin Dzeko, opened the scoring, in a game where Villa saw very little of the ball. Winger Adam Johnson and midfielder James Milner also found the net, along with defenseman and captain, Vincent Kompany. By the time Villa found the back of Joe Hart’s net, the game was well out of hand.

Newcastle United continued their impressive start to the 2011-12 campaign by grabbing a late point against Tottenham Hotspur. After falling behind on two occasions, first to a Rafael Van der Vaart penalty, and then a Jermain Defoe strike, Newcastle was able to fight back to draw 2-2.

A few minutes after half-time, Demba Ba scored on a shot that was gathered initially by the goalkeeper, American Brad Friedel, but the ball crossed the line in his hands. Then, with the game nearing a conclusion, Shola Ameobi equalized to ensure the points were equally distributed.

Newcastle remains in fourth place, two points ahead of Liverpool, who are looking to return to Champions League next season, while Tottenham lag behind by just a point in sixth. Manchester City meanwhile lead United by two points at the top, after eight games this season.