Manchester United got back to winning ways, after 3 defeats on the bounce, with a 2-0 victory against Swansea at Old Trafford. Adnan Januzaj inspired the comfortable victory by having a hand in both of the second half goals, scored by Antonio Valencia and Danny Welbeck. Despite only having 38% of the overall possession, United created 11 chances to Swansea’s 8, and took their chances when it mattered. David Moyes will be pleased that his side have managed to get three points under their belt after exiting the FA Cup and going behind in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final.
Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres helped Chelsea get a crucial away win at Hull in order to keep pace at the top of the Premier League. With both goals coming in the second half, José Mourinho will be pleased that the struggling Chelsea attack are finally starting to find the back of the net. Willian was the most effective for Chelsea in terms of creativity – he made 4 chances, as well as getting himself an assist. However, the Chelsea manager will want to focus on the fact that the Blues were dispossessed a total of 10 times throughout the 90 minutes.
Liverpool sealed an ugly win at the Britannia, beating Stoke 5-3, after the home side came from behind twice to equalise. Ex-Red’s Peter Crouch and Charlie Adam were amongst the goals for St0ke, however, when Daniel Sturridge came on in his return from injury, the SAS were too much for them to handle. Sturridge set Suarez up, as well as getting a goal for himself, in what was a nervy last 10 minutes for the Reds. A ‘soft’ penalty as Brendan Rodgers described it 0n Raheem Sterling was a controversial talking point after the game, but the Liverpool manager will be pleased with the three points, as they break their hoodoo of never winning at Stoke in the Premier League, and they make their way back into the top 4.
Manchester City were the 2-0 victors at St James’ Park on Sunday as they continue their impressive run of late. A controversial decision to rule out a Newcastle equaliser did not go down well with the fans, as well as manager Alan Pardew, and the home side could not find that crucial goal to take the three points off the league favourites. Newcastle hit a staggering 21 crosses into the City box, as well as shading the possession, however, conceded 18 fouls and struggled to keep the away side’s strikeforce at bay.
Sunderland got a much need 3 points away to Fulham on Saturday, making the bottom half tighter than ever. The away side had Adam Johnson to thank, by scoring a hat-trick to help them move off the bottom of the Premier League. Sidwell managed to get a goal back for Fulham, but in the end it was only a consolation, and the final score was 4-1. Fulham had 59% of the possession, as well as having 16 chances compared Sunderland’s 6. However, it was Adam Johnson who took the away team’s chances, and Sunderland took the 3 points, as they look to get themselves out of trouble at the bottom.
Arsenal managed to hold on to a crucial away win to keep their top spot in the Premier League, as they beat Villa 2-1. After scoring their second goal only 17 seconds after their first, it was hard for Villa to get back into the game. However, a goal from Benteke gave the home side some hope, but they couldn’t find the goal they were looking for to equalise, and Arsenal went back to the top of the league.
With all of the top 7 winning this weekend, it’s still wide open at the top. Who is going to break away?
