Premier League – week 14

Saturday 3^rd – Monday 5^th December 2016

Saturday 3^rd December

City’s Defence in Disarray: Manchester City 1 –  3 Chelsea

Chelsea nailed their 8^th Premier League win in a row on Saturday, at the Etihad Stadium. Things started looking dodgy for City around half-time with an own goal from Cahill, though they were still holding level with Chelsea after an hour. Then things fell apart as Costa found the goal on the hour, followed by Willian at 70’ and Hazard at 90’. To make matters worse for City both Agüero and Fernandinho saw red cards within a minute of each other. Guardiola needs to address City’s defence with some urgency but Conte’s men are starting to look unstoppable.

Reprieve for Pardew: Crystal Palace 3 – 0 Southampton

It seems that a crisis has been averted for Eagle’s boss Pardew, for now at least, as Palace thrashed Southampton 3-0. The Saints looked tired and, though they had a fair amount of possession in the second-half, they failed to make any meaningful attacks. It seems Puel’s side just can’t hack the intensity of the EFL Cup, the Europa League, and the Premier League combined. Benteke found the back of the net for the Eagles twice and Tomkins once. At the end of the match Palace had climbed to 13^th in the table, whist Southampton sunk to 11^th.

Potters Smash Clarets: Stoke City 2 – 0 Burnley

The Potters secured a convincing victory over a lacklustre Burnley, at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday. One of Stoke’s two goals came in the form of Marc Muniesa’s first in the Premier League, and the other from Walters. Stoke manager Hughes stuck to his guns in terms of line-up, leaving out start players like Wilfried Bony, Peter Crouch, and Bojan Krkić, but it didn’t seem to matter much as Burnley were completely outclassed. Stoke climbed to 9^th in the league, while the match left Burnley at 14^th.

Foxes on the Run: Sunderland 2 – 1 Leicester City

It was a sad day for the current champions, as the Foxes were beaten by bottom of the league Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. To rub salt in the wounds, the Black Cats won thanks to an own goal from Leicester’s Robert Huth which, when added to Defoe’s 77’ goal, gave the home side a one goal lead. Okazaki got one for the foxes at the 80’ mark, and there was something of a spirited rally, but it can’t add any gloss to Leicester’s dubious honour of claiming the worst record for any defending champions in Premier League history at this point in the season. Sunderland were pleased to move up to 18^th in the league, but Leicester fell to 15^th and are looking in danger of ending up in the relegation zone.

Spurs Kick the Swans: Tottenham Hotspur 5 – 0 Swansea City

Spurs annihilated visiting Swansea at The Lane with an impressive 5 – 0 victory. Harry Kane opened the scoring for Tottenham, with a controversial shot from the penalty spot at 39’. This was followed by a superb strike from South Korean Son Heung-min, then a second from Kane at 49’, and two more from Eriksen late in the game. Swansea need to thank Fabianksi that their defeat wasn’t even heavier, as their Polish keeper performed admirably under intense pressure. After one of Swansea’s worst ever Premier League results, Bradley’s side sank to the very bottom of the league table and Tottenham remained in 5^th.

Baggies Bash Watford: West Bromwich Albion 3 – 1 Watford

The Baggies got their third win in four games after beating visiting Watford at the Hawthorns. Jonny Evans secured his first goal of the season at the 16’ mark, and this was followed by another from Brunt at 34’, and a final one from Phillips in the first minute of stoppage time. Kabasele clawed one back for the visitors at the hour mark, and in the final stage of the game Watford rallied and put the West Brom defence under some serious pressure, but it was too late to change the outcome. There was plenty of late drama with Pereyra seeing a red card and his boss, Mazzarri, having to come onto the pitch to calm him down. West Bromwich moved up to 6^th in the table and Watford fell to 10^th.

Gunners Blast the Hammers: West Ham United 1 – 5 Arsenal

The Gunners blasted the Hammers at London Stadium, with the visitors securing a 5 – 1 victory over a humiliated home side. There were brief instances where the Hammers seemed about to threaten, and Carroll did manage to get a token goal at the 83’ mark, but with single goals from Özil and Oxlade-Chamberlain, and a stunning hat-trick from Sanchez, Arsenal dominated pretty much throughout. The match left the Gunners sitting in second place in the table, whilst West Ham fell to 17^th, hovering just above the relegation zone.

Sunday 4^th December

Cherries Outshine the Reds: Bournemouth 4 – 3 Liverpool

The Cherries stunned everyone at Dean Court on Sunday, staging a remarkable comeback to beat Liverpool. At half-time Bournemouth were 2-0 down thanks to goals from Mane and Origi at 20’ and 22’. Though a penalty at 56’ gave Bournemouth something, another goal from Can at 64’ meant that the home side was still 3-1 behind as they entered the final fifteen minutes. Then everything changed with an opportune goal from Fraser (76’), a superb one from Cook (78’), and another from Aké  (90’+3). Needless to say, the home fans were ecstatic and Eddie Howe has gained a lot of respect. The match resulted in Bournemouth moving up to 10^th and an unnerved Liverpool remaining at 3^rd in the league.

More Disappointment for United: Everton 1 – 1 Manchester United

Chelsea boss Mourinho was back on the touchline, after his latest ban, and was cocky as usual, but the Toffees managed to hold United to a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park. Ibrahimovic put the visitors at the end of the first half, which saw little meaningful action but some rough play, including an aggressive lunge from United’s Marcos Rojo that was just asking for a red card. The rest of the match was pretty brutal for Everton, who lost Coleman and Bolasie to injuries, but Baines did manage to save the point for the home side with a penalty in the 89^th minute. United finished the day at 6^th in the league, whilst Everton held on to 8^th.

Monday 5^th December

Toothless Tigers: Middlesbrough 1 – 0 Hull City

Middlesbrough defeated the visiting Tigers at the Riverside Stadium, thanks to a header from Ramírez in the 60^th minute, despite a spirited but fruitless last minute rally from Hull. It would have been a heavier defeat for the Tigers had Hull’s Viktor Fischer not had a goal disqualified for offside, and had Dawson and Davies not been so on top of their defence, but it was too little too late for Hull, and their pointless result saw them remain second from bottom in the league, whilst the Middlesbrough moved up to 13^th.

“Main photo: slowstep / Shutterstock.com”

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