With Chelsea forced to postpone their Barclays Premier League match this week to play in the Capital One Cup final, Manchester City had an opportunity to climb to within two points of them in the standings. Were they able to get the job done?
Let’s get to the games:
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West Ham United | 1 | (10-9-8) |
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Crystal Palace | 3 | (7-9-11) |
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This was unexpected from Crystal Palace, as two goals from Glenn Murray and one from Scott Dann provided them with a convincing victory over West Ham United. Palace were able to do this despite only having possession for a third of the match, with West Ham dominating the ball even in the first half, before Murray picked up his second yellow card of the match in the 69th minute.
With the win, Palace moves to 30 points for the season, and jumped to 12th in the Premier League table. They look safe from the relegation battle now, which is surely victory enough for this season.
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Manchester United | 2 | (14-8-5) |
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Sunderland | 0 | (4-13-10) |
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This match featured one of the bigger officiating mistakes in recent memory. Sunderland’s John O’Shea pulled down a Manchester United player in the penalty area, which rightly resulted in a penalty kick to United and a red card against Sunderland. Referee Roger East, though, assessed the red card to Sunderland’s Wes Brown, resulting in Brown being sent off instead of O’Shea!
Wayne Rooney converted the penalty for United, and added a second goal later in the match against the ten men of Sunderland. And while the case of mistaken identity didn’t have an impact on the outcome of the match, it certainly made for one of the weirder moments of this Premier League campaign.
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Newcastle United | 1 | (9-8-10) |
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Aston Villa | 0 | (5-7-15) |
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Papiss Cisse netted the winner for Newcastle in this one, moving the Magpies to 35 points on the season.
Aston Villa, meanwhile, continue to struggle under Tim Sherwood, who probably won’t be managing the team next season. Villa remain in 19th position in the table on just 22 points in 27 games. In their last ten matches, they’ve drawn twice and lost eight times, scoring just two goals while conceding 16. In their 27 Premier League matches this season, they’ve mustered just 13 goals, nine fewer than any other club.
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West Bromwich Albion | 1 | (7-9-11) |
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Southampton | 0 | (14-4-9) |
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It hurts to say after the captivating run that Southampton had to start this season, but the Saints have completely fallen apart. West Brom got the better of them in this one thanks to a second minute goal from Saido Berahino, a blow from which Southampton never recovered.
This was Southampton’s second straight loss, and the team has only secured one point out of their last three matches. They currently sit two points ahead of Tottenham for sixth place in the Premier League, but their recent form leaves a lot of doubt as to whether or not they can maintain that position.
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Burnley | 0 | (4-10-13) |
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Swansea City | 1 | (11-7-9) |
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Fresh off of their draw against league leaders Chelsea, Burnley were not able to continue earning positive results, losing 1-0 to Swansea, despite being the better side for much of the match.
Burnley put more shots on target during the match, and kept possession relatively even. But it was a shot they put on the wrong target that cost them, with Burnley’s Kieran Trippier conceding an own goal to provide Swansea the leg up. As a result, Burnley remain in the relegation zone for now, while Swansea continue to sit in the middle of the pack.
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Stoke City | 1 | (11-6-10) |
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Hull City | 0 | (6-8-13) |
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Believe it or not, a match featuring Stoke City and Hull City was not very exciting. In fact, just two shots on goal occurred in the entire match, with Stoke claiming both of them. One of those shots on goal came from Peter Crouch, who scored the game’s only goal in the 71st minute.
The loss keeps Hull at 26 points, just outside of the relegation zone. With an attack as toothless as the one the Tigers boast, they will certainly be in the relegation battle to the end.
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Liverpool | 2 | (14-6-7) |
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Manchester City | 1 | (16-7-4) |
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City were by no means great in this match, but Liverpool deserve more credit than City deserve blame for this match. Both of Liverpool’s goals were scored from outside the penalty area in gorgeous fashion. One of those goals was scored by Jordan Henderson, while the second was scored by Philippe Coutinho.
The loss for City means that they were unable to gain any ground in the standings on Chelsea, who didn’t play a Premier League match this weekend. Instead, their deficit remains five points, and now Chelsea has an extra game to play to earn points. As if that didn’t sound bad enough for City fans, that extra game for Chelsea is against last place Leicester City.
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Arsenal | 2 | (15-6-6) |
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Everton | 0 | (6-10-11) |
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Everton’s disappointing season continues with yet another loss to an elite team. Since going up 2-0 on Arsenal in their first meeting of the season, the Toffees have been outscored 4-0 by Arsene Wenger’s squad in Premier League games.
Arsenal move up to third in the table with the win, while Everton sit in 14th place, just six points clear of the relegation zone. While Everton are certainly giving it their all in the Europa League to try and earn a UEFA Champions League spot for next season, their Premier League campaign has to leave a bad taste in the mouths of supporters.