Odion Ighalo was at his goal-scoring best yet
again, he scored his 13th goal of the EPL
this season with table toppers Leicester as
they suffered third league defeat of the
season at Anfield.
Spurs boosted their top four finish with a
brace from Harry Kane and Man City
thumped Sunderland.
Could this be the last nail on the proverbial
coffin for the Reds manager?
A sober Van Gaal and a sad Ryan Giggs
Stoke 2-0 Manchester United
Man United got Stoked! Third straight loss in
the EPL – against supposedly lesser teams,
their fourth straight defeat in a row in all
competitions, with no win in seven matches
and just two points out of a possible 15.
A grim and resigned looking Van Gaal
obviously knows that the writing is clearly on
the wall for the end of his tenure.
The first half an even affair with the Potters
showing better composure and cohesion both
in front of goal and general team play.
The first blood was drawn with a cool Bojan
Krkic sidefoot finish in the 19 th minute from
a cross-field square pass by Glen Johnson
after a shocking defensive header by
Memphis Depay. Stoke doubled the
advantage seven minutes later through a
deflected free kick that fell nicely to
Arnautovic on the outside of the box before
unleashing a sumptuous strike that went in
off the post.
Memphis was replaced by captain Rooney in
the second half, but gave the referee more
problem than the Stoke defence and failed to
inspire a turnaround. For all United superior
possession in the second half, the Potters
had and made the better use of the
opportunities that came their way, forcing De
Gea to a couple of fine saves.
It is highly likely that the plug will be pulled
on the Reds manager’s era, for if they can
not beat the likes of Bournemouth and
Norwich, what chance have they got against
a rejuvenated Chelsea under Gus Hiddink.
United have now slipped down to sixth in the
Premier League as Stoke moved up to eight,
three points behind the Old Trafford outfit.
Manchester City 4-0 Sunderland
Wounded Man City side came out with all
guns blazing against the demoralised and
abject Sunderland side. Reminiscent of the
way they quickly succumbed to a fragile
Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge, they were
already spanked by the time the latecomers
were taking their seats at the Etihad
Stadium.
Sunderland represented the ideal counterpart
for a City side who had lost three of their
last five Premier league games, making this
their 10th win in 11 home games.
Kevin de Bruyne was the architect of this
mauling, scoring one and making two goals.
Sunderland were three goals behind before
the 23rd minute, the first was a centred ball
to Sterling in the penalty area, rising above
Billy Jones to head in. Yaya Toure put his
name on the scoreboard for the second time
in as many matches with a drilling 20-yard
strike.
The third was another assist by De Bruyne, a
right-wing cross from a free kick with Wilfred
Bony heading home his seventh of the
season. He missed the chance of an eight
after skiing a second-half penalty after David
Silva was fouled by Coates.
Kevin de Bruye added the fourth himself after
his redirected pass was slotted home. Fabio
Borini gave Sunderland their consolation goal.
Bournemouth 0-0 Crystal Palace
Bournemouth’s attempt at a fourth
consecutive wins were denied by Crystal
Palace after being held to a draw at the
Vitality Stadium. The two form teams
cancelled each other out as neither could find
a breakthrough.
Both sides were missing key players who
might have made the difference. There were
chances by both teams with no end results.
The draw took Bournemouth to 20 Premier
League points before the half-way point in
the season with Palace moving to fifth.
Diego scored the only two goals against
Watford
Chelsea 2-2 Watford
Diego Costa’s double was not enough to
secure all three points at Stamford Bridge
against a revitalised Watford side. The last
time Costa scored two goals in a match was
against Swansea in January, the first was to
put Chelsea ahead while the second was to
ensure they share the spoils after Ighalo put
Watford ahead. Typically, after all his
heroics, he managed to get himself booked in
the 88th minute, banning him for the trip to
the Old Trafford.
However, Costa broke the deadlock with a
close range hook of the ball in the 33 rd
minute when John Terry headed Willian’s
corner across the six yard box. That went
some way in appeasing the Chelsea fans who
booed and jeered him in their last match.
Watford equaliser came in the 42 nd minute
from the spot when Matic handled Ben
Watson’s corner and Troy Deeney obliging to
tuck the ball away. Odion Ighalo put Watford
in the lead with his 13 th goal of the season
when his shot took a deflection off Gary
Cahill and looped over Courtois.
Costa restored parity in the 65th minute with
a confident finish from Willian’s delightful
pass. Oscar had the opportunity to give his
team all the three points from the spot, after
Behrami upended the substitute, Hazard in
the penalty area. The Brazillian slipped on his
balancing foot, miscued and the ball looped
over the bar.
Liverpool 1-0 Leicester
Leicester’s 10 game unbeaten run was ended
by Christian Benteke at Anfield. The Belgian
international who replaced the injured Divock
Origi after 38 minutes put an end to
Leicester’s recent resurgence.
Roberto Firmino assisted with a well judged
cut-back to Benteke who finished with
aplomb.
The Foxes rallied in the second-half but the
Reds held on to hand Leicester their first
defeat in 11 league matches.
Aston Villa 1-1 West Ham
Villa put in their best performance so far
under Remi Garde – who remains without a
win since replacing Tim Sherwood, but only
have a point to show for it. Villa dominated
proceedings in the opening exchanges but the
Hammers had the better of the chances with
Aaron Cresswell Breaking the deadlock with a
superb finish.
Jordan Ayew’s impressive form in front of
goal continues with the equaliser from the
spot kick to earn Villa the draw after
Ogbonna brought down Rudy Gestede inside
the area, although draws are doing little to
improve their plight.
West Ham have drawn their last five matches
after an impressive start to the campaign
that featured wins against Arsenal, and
Manchester City.
Tottenham 3-0 Norwich
Tottenham boosted their hope of a top four
finish with a brace from Harry Kane.
Kane opened the scoring from the penalty
spot after 26 minutes when he was fouled by
Norwich goalkeeper Declan Rudd’s sliding
challenge before doubling up with a low drive
from a tight angle just three minutes before the break.
The margin of victory would have been
greater had it not been for the efforts of
Rudd, although Norwich had a brief rally
which was quickly extinguished when Tom
Carroll added the third.
This emphatic victory at White Hart Lane
means Pochettino’s side sit two points clear
of Crystal palace in fourth place.
Newcastle 0-1 Everton
A last gasp goal from Tom Cleverly ensured
Everton took all the three points available.
Everton’s eventual reward for their
dominating performance justified, albeit from
an unlikely source and unexpected time of
play as Cleverly’s looping header in the 93rd
minute snatched the points.
Arsene Wenger, Arsenal head coach
Southampton 4 – 0 Arsenal
The EPL favourites were comprehensively
beaten by the resurgents Southampton.
Having suffered losses to teams and without
a win in about six premier league matches,
they came out with all guns blazing to shoot
the gunner out of sight.
again, he scored his 13th goal of the EPL
this season with table toppers Leicester as
they suffered third league defeat of the
season at Anfield.
Spurs boosted their top four finish with a
brace from Harry Kane and Man City
thumped Sunderland.
Could this be the last nail on the proverbial
coffin for the Reds manager?
A sober Van Gaal and a sad Ryan GiggsStoke 2-0 Manchester United
Man United got Stoked! Third straight loss in
the EPL – against supposedly lesser teams,
their fourth straight defeat in a row in all
competitions, with no win in seven matches
and just two points out of a possible 15.
A grim and resigned looking Van Gaal
obviously knows that the writing is clearly on
the wall for the end of his tenure.
The first half an even affair with the Potters
showing better composure and cohesion both
in front of goal and general team play.
The first blood was drawn with a cool Bojan
Krkic sidefoot finish in the 19 th minute from
a cross-field square pass by Glen Johnson
after a shocking defensive header by
Memphis Depay. Stoke doubled the
advantage seven minutes later through a
deflected free kick that fell nicely to
Arnautovic on the outside of the box before
unleashing a sumptuous strike that went in
off the post.
Memphis was replaced by captain Rooney in
the second half, but gave the referee more
problem than the Stoke defence and failed to
inspire a turnaround. For all United superior
possession in the second half, the Potters
had and made the better use of the
opportunities that came their way, forcing De
Gea to a couple of fine saves.
It is highly likely that the plug will be pulled
on the Reds manager’s era, for if they can
not beat the likes of Bournemouth and
Norwich, what chance have they got against
a rejuvenated Chelsea under Gus Hiddink.
United have now slipped down to sixth in the
Premier League as Stoke moved up to eight,
three points behind the Old Trafford outfit.
Manchester City 4-0 SunderlandWounded Man City side came out with all
guns blazing against the demoralised and
abject Sunderland side. Reminiscent of the
way they quickly succumbed to a fragile
Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge, they were
already spanked by the time the latecomers
were taking their seats at the Etihad
Stadium.
Sunderland represented the ideal counterpart
for a City side who had lost three of their
last five Premier league games, making this
their 10th win in 11 home games.
Kevin de Bruyne was the architect of this
mauling, scoring one and making two goals.
Sunderland were three goals behind before
the 23rd minute, the first was a centred ball
to Sterling in the penalty area, rising above
Billy Jones to head in. Yaya Toure put his
name on the scoreboard for the second time
in as many matches with a drilling 20-yard
strike.
The third was another assist by De Bruyne, a
right-wing cross from a free kick with Wilfred
Bony heading home his seventh of the
season. He missed the chance of an eight
after skiing a second-half penalty after David
Silva was fouled by Coates.
Kevin de Bruye added the fourth himself after
his redirected pass was slotted home. Fabio
Borini gave Sunderland their consolation goal.
Bournemouth 0-0 Crystal Palace
Bournemouth’s attempt at a fourth
consecutive wins were denied by Crystal
Palace after being held to a draw at the
Vitality Stadium. The two form teams
cancelled each other out as neither could find
a breakthrough.
Both sides were missing key players who
might have made the difference. There were
chances by both teams with no end results.
The draw took Bournemouth to 20 Premier
League points before the half-way point in
the season with Palace moving to fifth.
Diego scored the only two goals against
Watford
Chelsea 2-2 Watford
Diego Costa’s double was not enough to
secure all three points at Stamford Bridge
against a revitalised Watford side. The last
time Costa scored two goals in a match was
against Swansea in January, the first was to
put Chelsea ahead while the second was to
ensure they share the spoils after Ighalo put
Watford ahead. Typically, after all his
heroics, he managed to get himself booked in
the 88th minute, banning him for the trip to
the Old Trafford.
However, Costa broke the deadlock with a
close range hook of the ball in the 33 rd
minute when John Terry headed Willian’s
corner across the six yard box. That went
some way in appeasing the Chelsea fans who
booed and jeered him in their last match.
Watford equaliser came in the 42 nd minute
from the spot when Matic handled Ben
Watson’s corner and Troy Deeney obliging to
tuck the ball away. Odion Ighalo put Watford
in the lead with his 13 th goal of the season
when his shot took a deflection off Gary
Cahill and looped over Courtois.
Costa restored parity in the 65th minute with
a confident finish from Willian’s delightful
pass. Oscar had the opportunity to give his
team all the three points from the spot, after
Behrami upended the substitute, Hazard in
the penalty area. The Brazillian slipped on his
balancing foot, miscued and the ball looped
over the bar.
Liverpool 1-0 Leicester
Leicester’s 10 game unbeaten run was ended
by Christian Benteke at Anfield. The Belgian
international who replaced the injured Divock
Origi after 38 minutes put an end to
Leicester’s recent resurgence.
Roberto Firmino assisted with a well judged
cut-back to Benteke who finished with
aplomb.
The Foxes rallied in the second-half but the
Reds held on to hand Leicester their first
defeat in 11 league matches.
Aston Villa 1-1 West Ham
Villa put in their best performance so far
under Remi Garde – who remains without a
win since replacing Tim Sherwood, but only
have a point to show for it. Villa dominated
proceedings in the opening exchanges but the
Hammers had the better of the chances with
Aaron Cresswell Breaking the deadlock with a
superb finish.
Jordan Ayew’s impressive form in front of
goal continues with the equaliser from the
spot kick to earn Villa the draw after
Ogbonna brought down Rudy Gestede inside
the area, although draws are doing little to
improve their plight.
West Ham have drawn their last five matches
after an impressive start to the campaign
that featured wins against Arsenal, and
Manchester City.
Tottenham 3-0 Norwich
Tottenham boosted their hope of a top four
finish with a brace from Harry Kane.
Kane opened the scoring from the penalty
spot after 26 minutes when he was fouled by
Norwich goalkeeper Declan Rudd’s sliding
challenge before doubling up with a low drive
from a tight angle just three minutes before the break.
The margin of victory would have been
greater had it not been for the efforts of
Rudd, although Norwich had a brief rally
which was quickly extinguished when Tom
Carroll added the third.
This emphatic victory at White Hart Lane
means Pochettino’s side sit two points clear
of Crystal palace in fourth place.
Newcastle 0-1 Everton
A last gasp goal from Tom Cleverly ensured
Everton took all the three points available.
Everton’s eventual reward for their
dominating performance justified, albeit from
an unlikely source and unexpected time of
play as Cleverly’s looping header in the 93rd
minute snatched the points.
Arsene Wenger, Arsenal head coach
Southampton 4 – 0 Arsenal
The EPL favourites were comprehensively
beaten by the resurgents Southampton.
Having suffered losses to teams and without
a win in about six premier league matches,
they came out with all guns blazing to shoot
the gunner out of sight.
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