Week 13 of the English Premier League saw Spurs lose their first game of the season against league leaders Chelsea, Swansea and Crystal Palace battle out a nine-goal horror show in South Wales and Jose Mourinho sent to the stands again.
Spurs will not go through the season unbeaten in the Premier League after Chelsea came from behind at Stamford Bridge to win their seventh league game on the trot.
It capped off a dismal week for Mauricio Pochettino’s men who are now seven points adrift of Chelsea and out of Europe after suffering a defeat in Monaco in midweek.
It started well for Spurs. They were by far the brightest side. Harry Kane thought he had scored his 17th London derby goal in 18 matches only to see his effort chalked off for offside. But then Christian Eriksen – who had been criticised of late for not scoring enough goals – struck a thunderbolt in the 11th minute to give Spurs the lead they deserved.
It was the first goal that Chelsea had conceded in the Premier League since 1856, and they didn’t take the news well. Pedro picked the ball up on the left-hand side of the penalty area, and a Cruyff turn and curler later Chelsea was heading down the tunnel on an even keel.
Pedro would later tell the press that they won the game thanks to a stirring Braveheart-like half time team talk by Antonio Conte. Six minutes after the manager had finished spitting over everyone, Diego Costa found space down the left and cut the ball across the box for the rejuvenated Victor Moses to score the winner.
Chelsea remains top; they are the in-form team in the league, and now join Man City as joint-favourites for the title.
Man City Beat Burnley; Sean Dyche’s Men Will Be Aye Ok
Man City kept Chelsea within earshot after also coming back from a goal down to beat Burnley at Turfmoor.
Sean Dyche’s side took the lead in the 14th minute after Dean Marney scored a daisy cutter of a volley from the edge of the box. Sergio Aguero sent the teams into the break all square after putting the ball home after a spot of pinball wizard.
The second half was all about the grit and determination of Pep Guardiola’s side. If ever there was a game that showed the former Barcelona ace the difficulty of winning the Premier League it was this one. Burnley showed that they have more than enough in their locker to avoid a relegation battle but will have to cut out their mistakes at the back. The winning goal was an example of that as Benny Hill type defending allowed Aguero to win the game for City and score his 33rd goal in his last 34 Premier League games.
Liverpool Win; Sunderland Return to the Bottom
Liverpool remains in the hunt for their first Premier League title after beating Sunderland at Anfield. The men in red had to be patient to break down a side that Jurgen Klopp described as the ‘most defensive he has ever seen.’
In many ways, this game resembled Liverpool’s performance against Southampton. They created chance after chance, but couldn’t put the ball away. Divock Origi changed that when he found space on the left-hand side of the box and curled in a sweet opener in the 75th minute. James Milner sealed all three points with a penalty in injury time.
Liverpool is +300 for the title. Sunderland moves back to the bottom of the table after their first defeat in three games. The only blot on Liverpool’s copybook was an injury to the inspirational Philippe Coutinho who will have a scan on an ankle injury this morning. It’s expected he could be out for some time. Firmino and Daniel Sturridge also picked up knocks.
Swansea Fly Off The Bottom; Crystal Palace Sink Ever Lower
Alan Pardew is a part of the Selhurst Park DNA, but that won’t stop Steve Parish from severing their relationship if it means stopping the rot that currently runs through the spine of this side.
Pardew’s side did go on a five-match unbeaten run before losing to West Ham in mid-October, but defeat against Swansea in a nine-goal joke of a game was their sixth loss in a row.
Coming into the Liberty Stadium, Palace had only won five of their 30 Premier League games throughout 2016, giving them the worst win rate of any professional side in the top four divisions of England football.
Swansea’s 5-4 win was their first since the opening game of the season and the first under the wing of Bob Bradley. It was three points, but let’s not forget they conceded four goals at home. They are still a ship containing more holes than Golf Land.
Swansea was 3-1 up at one point in the game only for Palace to score three goals in nine minutes to take a 4-3 lead into injury time. Swansea kept plugging away and got their reward after substitute Fernando Llorente scored twice to lift Swansea off the foot of the table and drag Palace into a mid-season relegation dogfight.
Alan Pardew is odds on to get the sack; Bob Bradley is the second favourite at 4/1.
The Best of The Rest
Arsenal remained in the title race after beating Bournemouth 3-1 at home. The Gunners are undefeated in 19 games in all competition since losing to Liverpool in the opening game of the season. You can pick them up at +800 for the title.
Manchester United saw Jose Mourinho sent off for the second time this season. The Special One received his marching orders after kicking a bottle in frustration after Paul Pogba had been correctly booked for diving by Jonathan Moss. United had more than enough chances to win the game but came up against the unpassable Darren Randolph who pulled off a string of world-class saves in a 1-1- draw.
Ronald Koeman showed the world that he left Southampton in acrimonious circumstances after turning into Gordon Strachan whenever the press asked him to comment on his old club during Everton’s visit to St Mary’s. Sections of the fans booed him. The Saints won comfortably, despite only a single goal separating the two sides.
Stoke beat Watford thanks to an inspired performance from the hot and cold Xherdan Shaqiri; Hull grabbed a point at home against a resurgent West Brom and Leicester managed to snatch a draw against Middlesbrough as the Foxes once again failed to find the form that has seen them fly into the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Premier League Results (Week 13)
Burnley 1 v 2 Man City
Leicester 2 v 2 Middlesbrough
Swansea 5 – 4 Crystal Palace
Hull 1 v 1 West Brom
Liverpool 2 v 0 Sunderland
Chelsea 2 v 1 Spurs
Watford 0 v 1 Stoke
Arsenal 3 v 1 Bournemouth
Southampton 1 v 0 Everton
Man Utd 1 v 1 West Ham
Premier League Table
1. Chelsea – 31
2. Liverpool – 30
3. Man City – 30
4. Arsenal – 28
5. Spurs – 24
6. Man Utd – 20
7. Everton – 19
8. Watford – 18
9. West Brom – 17
10. Southampton – 17
11. Stoke – 16
12. Bournemouth – 15
13. Burnley – 14
14. Leicester – 13
15. Middlesbrough – 12
16. West Ham – 12
17. Crystal Palace – 11
18. Hull – 11
19. Swansea – 9
20. Sunderland – 8
Premier League Title Odds (Courtesy of Bodog)
Man City – +200
Chelsea +200
Liverpool +300
Arsenal +800
Spurs +2500
Man Utd +3300
