Week 14 of the English Premier League sees Chelsea become the new favourites after beating Man City, Liverpool drop points at Bournemouth, and the Swans sink to the bottom.
It was a game that pitted the two top marksmen in the Premier League. Man City v Chelsea; Sergio Aguero v Diego Costa; coolness personified versus spontaneous human combustion. And yet it was the Argentine that blew a gasket.
You get the distinct impression that Sergio Aguero and David Luiz don’t send each other Christmas cards. Luiz should have had his marching orders for a clear obstruction on Aguero as he moved clear on goal. The referee didn’t even give a foul and Aguero found his retribution with one of the most horrific tackles in Premier League history.
And while all of this was going on the usually hyper-aggressive Costa was as calm as a Caribbean cucumber scoring one and setting up another in an impressive 3-1 victory.
City took the lead on the stroke of half-time after Gary Cahill put a Jesus Navas cross into the roof of the Chelsea net. Cahill’s side came into this game on a run of six straight Premier League wins, but they looked lost at sea at times during the first half.
Conte must have gotten stuck into his team at the break because they emerged a different outfit. Diego Costa out muscled the woeful Nicolas Otamendi to equalise in the 60th minute before setting up Willian to give Chelsea the lead 10-minutes later.
The game was done and dusted in the 90th minute when Eden Hazard made Aleksandr Kolarov look like an 80-year old man before beating the City keeper, and then Aguero and Fernandinho lost the plot in injury time. Aguero started the madness with a thigh high scissor kick of a tackle on David Luiz. Fernandinho was sent off for repeatedly grabbing Cesc Fabregas by the throat before the Spaniard tumbled over the advertising hoardings.
Chelsea now has a three-point lead at the top. They are now the bookmaker’s favourites for the first time this season. Aguero who received a four-game ban for his sending off will miss games against Leicester, Arsenal, Watford and Hull. Fernandinho also misses three games.
Arsenal Move Into Second Spot; Swansea Sink to the Bottom
Each year Arsenal look the business. Each year the experts write them off. Each year Arsenal prove them right. But there is something different about Arsene Wenger’s side this season, and it’s the Frenchman’s decision to play Alexis Sanchez down the middle.
The Chilean was on fire as the Gunners fired five against West Ham in a game that left Slaven Bilic telling the press that he felt ‘humiliated.’ Sanchez set up the first goal for Mesut Ozil in the 24th minute before picking up the match ball for strikes in the 72nd, 80th and 86th minute. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored a cracker in the 84th minute, and Andy Carroll picked a consolation goal on his return from injury.
Sanchez joins Diego Costa and Sergio Aguero at the top of the Premier League scoring charts with 11 goals each. Slaven Bilic is now the 5/2 second-favourite to face the chop. Quite a contrast to last season’s incredible performance.
Bob Bradley remains the favourite to lose his job after his Swansea side sunk to the bottom of the table after a 5-0 humiliation at the hands of Spurs. The defeat means Bradley’s side has now conceded nine goals in his last two Premier League games and has only won two games all season.
It was a good response from a Spurs side who have looked out of sorts in the past few months. Out of Europe and struggling to find a win in the Premier League they were glad to see Christian Eriksen back in goalscoring form with a brace. Harry Kane also scored two as he became the only Premier League player to score 20+ goals in both 2015 & 2016; Son Heung-min scored the other goal.
Sunderland Win Again; Leicester Lose Again
Sunderland is enjoying a mini-revival after their disastrous start to the season. The side with the worst home record in the Premier League managed to beat the champions Leicester by 2-1 to take them third from bottom.
A Robert Huth own goal gave Sunderland the lead in the 64th minute. Jermaine Defoe scored his 8th goal of the season to make it 2-0 in the 76th minute. Shinji Okazaki came off the bench to give the Black Cats a scare with a goal 10-minutes from time, but David Moyes’s side held on for all three points.
“I wasn’t seeing things…we did win the league last season,” joked Leicester fan Gary Lineker on Match of the Day.
It was another dire performance for the Champions. Riyad Mahrez is not performing; Jamie Vardy has not scored in 15 league games, and they are now locked in a relegation battle months after sitting prettier than the lot.
The Best of the Rest
Liverpool dropped three points away to Bournemouth in a seven-goal thriller. They dominated the game for 70-minutes and were 3-1 up before a spirited comeback saw the Cherries snatch it in injury time.
West Brom moved up to seventh position after a comfortable win at home against Watford. Matt Phillips was the star of the show, scoring the third and final goal for the Baggies after running riot. Jonny Evans and a deflected Chris Brunt free kick were the other scorers. Christian Kabasele scored for Watford and Roberto Pereyra was sent off six minutes from time after a clash with James McClean.
Alan Pardew’s job is safe for at least one more game after his Crystal Palace side stuffed Southampton 3-0 at Selhurst Park. After the match, Pardew thanked his boss Steve Parrish for having his back intimating that the owners wanted him sacked. I still think that will happen by the end of the season.
Man Utd have now dropped seven points in the last 10-minutes of matches after a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park. United controlled the game and took the lead through Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Then with time running out the clumsy Marouane Fellaini made his Mr Tickle impression on Idrissa Gueye in the penalty area. The Everton player went down, and Leighton Baines equalised from the spot.
And Stoke moved into ninth position after a comfortable 2-0 win at home to Burnley. Jonathan Walters scored a goal of the month contender with a looping volley before Marc Muniesa secured the three points with a goal in front of his Mum. Burnley’s woeful away form continued with their fifth defeat on their travels. They are still winless on the road.
Premier League Results (Week 14)
Man City 1 v 3 Chelsea
Sunderland 2 v 1 Leicester
Spurs 5 v 0 Swansea
Crystal Palace 3 v 0 Southampton
Stoke 2 v 0 Burnley
West Brom 3 v 1 Watford
West Ham 1 v 5 Arsenal
Bournemouth 4 v 3 Liverpool
Everton 1 v 1 Man Utd
To be Played (Mon, 5 Dec)
Middlesbrough v Hull
Premier League Table
1. Chelsea – 34
2. Arsenal – 31
3. Liverpool – 30
4. Man City – 30
5. Spurs – 26
6. Man Utd – 21
7. West Brom – 20
8. Everton – 20
9. Stoke – 19
10. Bournemouth – 18
11. Watford 18
12. Southampton – 17
13. Crystal Palace – 14
14. Burnley – 14
15. Leicester – 13
16. Middlesbrough – 12
17. West Ham – 12
18. Sunderland – 11
19. Hull – 11
20. Swansea – 9
Premier League Title Odds (Courtesy of Bodog)
Chelsea +120
Man City +300
Liverpool +450
Arsenal +650
