Week 23 of the English Premier League concludes with Man City hammering the Hammers, Hull holding Man Utd to a draw, and Everton doing likewise at Stoke
West Ham’s mini-revival of two wins on the bounce came crashing to an end at the hands of Man City. Slaven Bilic will be sick of the sight of Pep Guardiola. The sides have now met three times this season with City winning 12-1 on aggregate.
It was a stroll in the London Stadium for a City side. Once again, Guardiola flexed his muscles decided to start with the same goalkeeper that kept a clean sheet against Crystal Palace, and the same front three who banged in three.
Willy Cabellero, Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling, and Gabriel Jesus all started, meaning Sergio Aguero and Caludio Bravo began on the bench, and at this rate it will be difficult to see how they are going to force their way back in.
Kevin De Bruyne opened the scoring in the 17th minute after an assist from Jesus. David Silva made it two after a 21st minute tap-in, and Jesus went from provider to scorer when he got on the end of a Sterling pass to score on his Premier League debut. Yaya Toure sealed the points with a second half penalty after debutant Jose Fonte dragged Sterling down to the floor. Toure has now scored 11 of 11 penalties he has taken in the Premier League.
City is now 10 points behind Chelsea, but more importantly, level on points with Liverpool in the race for a Champions League berth.
Hull Hold United at Bay
Hull continue to impress under the stewardship of Marco Silva with another superb performance against Man Utd. The Tigers ended United’s unbeaten run of 17 games in all competitions with their 2-1 win in the English Football League (EFL) Semi-Final Second Leg, and they frustrated again with a goalless draw at Old Trafford.
It was only Hull’s second clean sheet of the season, and credit is due to Eldin Jakupovic who made a string of saves to keep out a United side who have been wasteful in front of goal all season. The point takes Hull off the bottom of the table.
United extended their unbeaten Premier League run to 14 games, but they have now drawn their last three matches, more critically, at a time when their Champions League contenders have all dropped points. They are not four points behind their nearest rivals Man City and Liverpool in sixth position when, with more clinical finishing, they could be second and chomping at Chelsea Achilles heel.
Everton Take a Point at Stoke
The robot dance was back as Peter Crouch scored his 100th Premier League goal 15-years after scoring his first. The 36 year old put Stoke ahead in the 7th minute, but Everton levelled just before half time in a spot of controversy.
Seamus Coleman fired a cross come shot into the box which cannoned off Ryan Shawcross ending up in the back of the net. The referee disallowed the goal for an offside against Romelu Lukaku, but after a chinwag between the referee and his assistant the goal was given.
Everton remain in 7th, and Stoke move up to 9th.
Here is the full round up of results.
Premier League Results (Week 23)
Arsenal 1 v 2 Watford
Middlesbrough 1 v 1 West Brom
Swansea 2 v 1 Southampton
Bournemouth 0 v 2 Crystal Palace
Sunderland 0 v 0 Spurs
Burnley 1 v 0 Leicester
Liverpool 1 v 1 Chelsea
West Ham 0 v 4 Man City
Stoke 1 v 1 Everton
Man Utd 0 v 0 Hull
Premier League Table
1. Chelsea – 56
2. Spurs – 47
3. Arsenal – 47
4. Liverpool – 46
5. Man City – 46
6. Man Utd – 42
7. Everton – 37
8. West Brom – 33
9. Stoke – 29
10. Burnley – 29
11. West Ham – 28
12. Southampton – 28
13. Watford – 27
14. Bournemouth – 26
15. Middlesbrough – 21
16. Leicester – 21
17. Swansea – 21
18. Crystal Palace – 19
19. Hull – 17
20. Sunderland – 16
Premier League Title Odds (Courtesy of Bodog)
Chelsea -350
Spurs +900
Arsenal +1400
Man City +1400
Liverpool +1600
