A weekend full of FA Cup action saw the Premier League do a sideways shuffle into midweek action. Arsenal remains top, Leicester close the gap, and Aston Villa finally win a game.
34 goals in two crazy days of Premier League action.
Let’s get to it.
Arsenal remain on top of the craziest league in world football after an amazing six goal thriller at Anfield. Roberto Firmino looked like Zico as he scored his first and second goals in front of a rain sodden Anfield, to put Liverpool 2-1 ahead in the first 20-minutes. Olivier Giroud bagged a brace either side of half time to give the Gunners the lead (his 10th goal in 9 games), only for little Joe Allen to turn up in the Arrsenal box in the last minute of the match to volley home an equaliser.
Leicester go level on points with Arsenal after doing to Spurs what the White Hart Lane outfit had done to them during their FA Cup tie at the weekend. Saturday’s tie saw Harry Kane fire home a late equaliser after a controversial penalty, and this time it was a stunning header by Leicester’s Roberth Huth that gave Liecester victory a few minutes before the end.
Can Leicester win the title?
The bookies don’t think so.
They are still 10/1.
Two teams remain ahead of Leicester in the bookies pecking order. The first is the aforementioned Arsenal, and the second are the boys in blue from the Etihad. City remain in third spot after drawing a blank in a Tim Howard inspired performance at home to Everton. Although City were extremely unlucky not to have been awarded a penalty as the clock ticked into the 90-minutes after John Stones clearly upended Raheem Sterling in the box.
It was a horrendous night for referees. Roger East was responsible for missing the Stones penalty, but that was nothing compared to the horror show out on by Premier League new boy Graham Scott, who was handed the Swansea v Sunderland match at the last hour and made a complete pigs ear of it.
It’s not too early to say that the game between Swansea and Sunderland was a relegation dogfight. That’s exactly what it was, which makes these decisions all the more terrible. The first howler was the award of a Swansea penalty when Andre Ayew tripped over his own feet under pressure from Wes Brown – Gylfi Sigurdsson stepping up to equalise after Jermaine Defoe had given Sunderland a third minute lead. Then Scott sent off Kyle Naughton for a challenge that didn’t even seem to be a foul. Not that it mattered in the moment. Sunderland took the free kick, lost possession, and Swansea tore up the other end of the pitch where Ayew put Swansea ahead with a great solo effort.
Swansea’s 10-men couldn’t hold on though. Patrick van Aanholt cut in from the left to score a deflected effort in the 49th minute, before Jermaine Defoe owned the match ball with strikes in the 61st and 85th minute to give Sunderland a 4-2 win. It was the first time the Black Cats had won in Swansea since 1963.
Sunderland weren’t the only team in the bottom three to get a win. Aston Villa finally found one after 20 games without one, with a one-nil victory over Crystal Palace at Villa Park. Joleon Lescott ’s header fumbled over the line by keeper Wayne Hennessesy, but Villa remain rooted at the foot of the table.
Sunderland’s victory moved them above Newcastle in the table after their fierce rivals could only manage a point at home to Man Utd. It was a point that Steve McClaren said felt like a win, after they came back from a two goal deficit after Wayne Rooney and the returning Jesse Lingaard put Louis Van Gaal’s side into a seemingly winning position.
The classy Georginio Wijnaldum took Newcastle into the half time interval only one goal behind, Lingaard missed an absolute sitter, and Chris Sammaling brought down Aleksandr Mitrovic in the box to hand Newcastle a penalty; the Serbian dusting himself off to put the ball into the back of the next. The dominant Rooney smashed home his second to put United 3-2 up, and Marouane Fellaini made a hash of a six yard box header, before Paul Dummett rifled home a last minute equaliser after more school boy defending by the Red Devils.
“We gave it away.” Said Van Gaal after the match.
Man Utd slip to sixth after that mess. West Ham taking their place after a Dmitri Payet inspired display at Bournemouth. The Hammers winning 3-1 to continue their tremendous form. Payet scoring a wonderful free kick in that one.
Here are the rest of the week’s results.
Week 21 Results
Newcastle 3 v 3 Man Utd
Bournemouth 1 v 3 West Ham
Aston Villa 1 v 0 Crystal Palace
Man City 0 v 0 Everton
Stoke 3 v 1 Norwich
Southampton 2 v 0 Watford
Chelsea 2 v 2 West Brom
Liverpool 3 v 3 Arsenal
Swansea 2 v 4 Sunderland
Tottenham 0 v 1 Leicester
Premier League Standings (After 21 Games)
1st. Arsenal – 43 pts.
2nd. Leicester – 43 pts.
3rd. Man City – 40 pts.
4th. Spurs – 36 pts.
5th. West Ham – 35 pts.
6th. Man Utd – 34 pts.
7th. Stoke – 32 pts.
8th. Crystal Palace – 31 pts.
9th. Liverpool – 31 pts.
10th. Watford – 29 pts.
11th. Everton – 28 pts.
12th. Southampton – 27 pts.
13th. West Brom – 27 pts.
14th. Chelsea – 24 pts.
15th. Norwich – 23 pts.
16th. Bournemouth – 21 pts.
17th. Swansea – 19 pts.
18th. Sunderland – 18 pts.
19th. Newcastle – 18 pts.
20th. Aston Villa – 11 pts.
