The season opened the weekend of 18 August 2012. Defending champions
Manchester City opened their season with a narrow 3–2 victory over
Southampton, who had just been promoted back to the Premier League after seven seasons in lower divisions. Man City had taken a 1–0 lead, with Southampton turning it on its head to go 2–1 up with 20 minutes remaining. City eventually came back and
Samir Nasri scored the winning goal with ten minutes left. In a Monday evening fixture at
Goodison Park,
Manchester United started their season with a 1–0 loss to
Everton, the goal scored by
Marouane Fellaini. The first goal of the season, however, was scored by
Swansea City's
Michu, whose team thrashed
Queens Park Rangers 5–0 away from home. Manchester United recovered from their opening week loss with a 3–2 win over
Fulham in their opening home game at
Old Trafford, but lost striker
Wayne Rooney to injury during the match. Other second week highlights included
Chelsea's 2–0 win over
Newcastle United, with recent Belgian signing
Eden Hazard involved in both goals. Early leaders Chelsea had week three off, while a win by Manchester City over Queens Park Rangers left the defending champions two points off the pace. The game was a highly anticipated rematch between the two teams that squared off on the final day of the
2011–12 season, when Manchester City snatched the title on goal difference with a late goal by
Sergio Agüero. This time though, it was less exciting, with Manchester City comfortably winning 3–1. Level on points with Manchester City in second place were Swansea City, who registered a 2–2 draw with
Sunderland, and
West Bromwich Albion, who defeated Everton 2–0. The fourth week of the season began with controversy, as the Chelsea v Queens Park Rangers match was fraught with racial tensions when QPR's
Anton Ferdinand refused to shake hands with Chelsea's
John Terry, who had been suspended for four games for using racial epithets against Ferdinand during the previous season. The teams would play out a 0–0 draw, however second place Manchester City could not gain ground as they also drew, with
Stoke City. Week five saw Chelsea extend their league lead to 3 points with a 1–0 win over Stoke City. A late goal in the 85th minute by
Ashley Cole secured the win for the Blues. Everton and West Bromwich Albion maintained control of second place, with both teams notching a win in week five, though a draw by the Baggies in week six would drop them back to fifth place, which they would share with
Tottenham Hotspur following their surprise 3–2 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. Chelsea, Everton, and Manchester City would all win in week six. The results table after six games would have Chelsea in the lead with 16 points, followed by Everton and Manchester City with 13 points each, and Manchester United with 12. At the bottom of the league,
Liverpool forward
Luis Suárez scored a
hat trick against
Norwich City, leading Liverpool to a 5–2 victory. It was the second consecutive year that Suárez had scored a hat trick at
Carrow Road. The month of October saw a tightening at the top of the standings, with Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City all winning their first two of three games for the month, setting up a vital Sunday afternoon match at
Stamford Bridge between third placed Manchester United and the leaders Chelsea. The game did not disappoint, as Chelsea went down 2–0 early on an
own goal by
David Luiz in the fourth minute and a goal by
Robin van Persie in the 12th. Van Persie had also taken the shot that had rebounded off of Luiz, and thus was ultimately responsible for the Red Devil's one-goal lead at half-time, following a late first half goal by Chelsea's
Juan Mata from a free kick. Eight minutes into the second half
Ramires equalised for Chelsea, and in the 75th minute United's
Javier Hernández scored what proved to be the deciding goal via a rebound from a missed Van Persie shot. Replays showed that Hernández was in an offside position, generating a great deal of controversy. After the game, only a single point separated leaders Chelsea from second placed Manchester United. The rest of the standings were tightly packed in mid-table as 4 points separated fourth through ninth place. Another key match in October included a fixture between Liverpool and Reading, with Liverpool winning 1–0 (with winger Raheem Sterling scoring his first goal for the club) and giving manager
Brendan Rodgers his first win at
Anfield in the league against Reading, a team he formerly managed. The final week of October featured the longest match in the 20-year history of the Premier League, a 103-minute game between Manchester City and Swansea that featured two serious injuries, one to the groin of Swansea keeper
Michel Vorm and the other to the knee of Manchester City back
Micah Richards, both of which required stretchers to carry them off. City prevailed 1–0 in the marathon event with a goal from
Carlos Tevez. League leaders Chelsea suffered a dip in form in November. They opened the month with draws against Swansea City and Liverpool, dropping them to third in the standings. A loss to West Bromwich Albion on 17 November was marked by ineffective second half play, as the team was unable to capitalise on a late first half equaliser by Eden Hazard. The Blues closed out the month with uninspiring 0–0 draws against Manchester City and Fulham. The primary beneficiaries of Chelsea's slide were Manchester United and Manchester City, as the two rivals moved into commanding control of the first two places in the league table. Key November games included a 2–1 Manchester United win over Arsenal on 3 November, and a dominating 5–0 win by Manchester City over
Aston Villa on 17 November marked by a pair of two-goal performances by Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero. West Bromwich Albion proved to be the biggest mover up the league table, moving from eighth up to joint third with Chelsea, on the strength of four wins over Southampton,
Wigan Athletic, Chelsea, and Sunderland. At the bottom end of the table, Queens Park Rangers found themselves as the only team without a league win by the end of November. The month of December saw minimal change in the standings at the top end of the table. The situation by
New Year's Eve with the top three places was the same as it was at the start of the month, though Manchester United had extended their lead over second place Manchester City to seven points, with Chelsea four points back from City in third place. Tottenham Hotspur occupied fourth place with Arsenal, Everton, and West Bromwich Albion all tied for fifth. Chelsea stopped their November slide with a 3–1 win at Sunderland on 8 December on the strength of two goals by
Fernando Torres. The
Manchester derby was renewed on 9 December at the
City of Manchester Stadium with first place on the line. United took a two-goal lead thanks to two goals from Wayne Rooney in the 16th and 30th minute. City responded with a
Yaya Touré goal in the 60th minute, a goal that followed two saves in rapid succession by United keeper
David de Gea.
Pablo Zabaleta equalised in the 86th minute, but Robin van Persie once again proved to be the hero for United, scoring the winning goal two minutes into injury time to extend United's lead over City at the top of the table to six points. The last team without a league win, Queens Park Rangers, finally got their first win of the season on 15 December. ==Teams==