Barclays Premier League Weekend Recap

Chelsea 3-1 Sunderland

Chelsea now have Guus Hiddink to oversee the home side after the sacking of Jose Mourinho earlier in the week. The blues took the lead after 5 minutes when Ivanovic headed in off a corner. Pedro then rifled in a left footed effort just 8 minutes later for the home side to put Chelsea in firm control of the contest.
The scoring was rounded off by Oscar for Chelsea as he converted from the spot early in the second half. Fabio Borini got a consolation goal for Sunderland 3 minutes later and that is how the game finished. Chelsea are up to 15th and are three points clear of the bottom three while Sunderland are five points from safety in 19th place.

Manchester United 1-2 Norwich

United were looking to get back to winning ways against a Norwich side struggling to pick up results this season. The Canaries drew first blood in the contest after Cameron Jerome raced clear to see his effort fumble in off David De Gea in goal. The away side further extended their lead in the second half when Norwich again raced clear and Tettey finished off a flowing move by finding the bottom corner with his effort.

The reds got back into the game with Anthony Martial as persistence allowed the Frenchman to bullet an effort into the top corner leaving no chance for Rudd in the Norwich goal. Mata and Smalling had chances to equalize for the home side but they were unable to find the back of the net. Norwich are now two points clear of the drop while United are now in 5th and join Tottenham and Crystal Palace on 29 points.

Everton 2-3 Leicester City

Leicester were facing the tricky task of beating Everton at Goodison park as the away side look to further stake their claim for the title this season. Mahrez opened the scoring for the away side from the penalty spot with the Algerian finding the bottom corner past the despairing dive of Howard in the Everton goal. Lukaku soon equalized for the home side after Barkley’s strike was cleared off the line and the Belgian duly guided the rebound into the back of the net. Mahrez then scored again from the spot midway through the second half after Vardy was brought down by Howard.

The former sent the keeper the wrong way to put the away side 2-1 up, it was soon 3-1 when Vardy supplied Okazaki and the Japanese international found the corner with a left footed effort. Kevin Mirallas was able to score another goal for Everton just before the end of the game but Leicester withstood the late pressure from the home side to extend their lead at the top of the premier league. Everton are mid table and are currently on 23 points.

Southampton 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur

Southampton faced a Tottenham side that were looking to turn their draws into victories as the away side were looking to get a positive result at St Mary’s. The home side started the match better with Mane having the best opportunity but the goalkeeper saved his effort with minimum fuss. The away side got their noses in front before half time when Alli supplied Kane after the former got taken out by the Southampton player, Kane then expertly wriggled free from the defenders and guided a right foot finish into the corner.

The second goal came for Spurs just three minutes later when Kyle Walker was given far too much room to deliver a cross that found Alli and he equally had too much time and he duly side footed his effort into the net to leave Tottenham firmly in the driving seat. Southampton never recovered in the second half and the result leaves the away side on 29 points and in the top four on goal difference. Southampton on the other hand are in 12th position and their poor run of forms continues and they are still on 21 points.

Stoke City 1-2 Crystal Palace

The Potters were hoping to secure a win against in form Palace at the Britannia Stadium. The home side had the better of the first half as they hit the woodwork and tested Hennessey in the away goal. The away side took a surprise lead into half time after Zaha was impeded, Wickham stepped up for Palace and dispatched his penalty into the top corner with the goalkeeper diving the other way.

Johnson then tested Hennessey in the away goal before Delaney handled the ball in the box to give Stoke the chance to level from the spot. Bojan stepped up and sent home his penalty with conviction to level the scores up. The game looked to be heading for a draw until the ball dropped to Lee from outside the 18-yard box, the South Korean absolutely rifled home his finesse shot to steal all three points for the away side. After their smash and grab win Palace are now on 29 points alongside United and Spurs. Stoke meanwhile are in 11th place and are on 23 points.

West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Bournemouth

Bournemouth were hoping to record a third win on the bounce as they were playing away at the Hawthorns. There wasn’t a great deal of goal mouth action in the first half but the baggies did have a man sent off after James McClean went in studs first on Smith that gave the referee no choice but to send the player off. The second half saw Bournemouth take the lead through Smith as he sent a left footed effort into the corner from outside the area. West Brom levelled the match with just over 10 minutes ago through McAuley who was left unmarked to head home from a corner for the Baggies.

Bournemouth won a penalty of their own with four minutes of normal time to play and the spot kick was expertly taken by Daniels for the away side. There was still time for the home side to get another player sent off when deep into injury time Salomon Rondon was sent off for Violent conduct. The match finished 2-1 to the Cherries and the result sends them three points clear of the relegation places while the baggies are just a further point ahead of them in 14th position.

Newcastle United 1-1 Aston Villa

Newcastle were looking to move further away from the relegation places as they took on rock bottom Aston Villa at St James park. The hosts were ahead just before half time when Coloccini met a corner from left which the Argentine swung a boot at and his effort squeezed underneath the goalkeeper. The second half saw the magpies miss a guilt edge chance involving De Jong, he got on the end of a cross from a couple of yards out and somehow managed to miss the target for the home side.

The home side would regret not taking that missed opportunity when Villa had a corner on the hour mark that found its way to Ayew. The Frenchman cut inside on his right foot and fizzed an absolute rocket into the corner that beat the goalkeeper all ends up. Newcastle kept going for the win and should have won the game in injury time but Ayoze smacked his effort high over the bar when in a good position to score. The magpies are now 2 points clear of the drop while Villa are ten points from safety and look likely having little chance of avoiding relegation this season.

Watford 3-0 Liverpool

The Hornets are on a three game winning streak and could make it four on the bounce if they can get victory against Liverpool at Vicarage road. The home side made a dream start when after just three minutes Ake stabbed the ball home after Bogdan had fumbled the ball in the away goal. It was soon 2-0 to the home side when Ighalo raced onto a cross field ball and outmuscled Skrtel to guide his effort into the far corner for the Hornets.

Watford had further chances to extend their lead throughout the second half coupled with Liverpool carving out a few opportunities that Gomes was equal to in the away goal. The home side were practically home and dry when Ighalo headed in off a cross sent in by Behrami with just five minutes of normal time to go. The result was confirmed soon after and it leaves Watford just a point from the top 4 while Liverpool stay in 9th place on 24 points.

Swansea City 0-0 West Ham United

Swansea needed a win to move out of the bottom three as they hosted the hammers at the Liberty stadium. It was a game that had plenty of opportunities but shots on target were seeming hard to come by for both sides. Both the home and away sides had one effort on target in the opening period but the keepers were both equal to the efforts. One of the best chances of the game went the home side’s way when the ball looped in the air and Cork volleyed the ball sweetly towards goal only for Adrian to claw the ball to safety with a great save.

Ki then had a chance from the resulting corner for the Swans but he was unable to direct his header goal wards and the chance had gone for the home side. The match was a case of bad finishing especially for the home side as they struggled to really create any clear cut chanced throughout the encounter. The match ended in a stalemate with Swansea staying in 18th and are currently two points from safety while the hammers are in 8th place on 25 points.