Midweek fixtures in the Barclays Premier League usually result in top teams dropping valuable points. This week, however, saw the top of the table emerge largely unscathed, with the biggest winner of the week coming from the bottom tier of the standings.
Let’s get to the games:
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Aston Villa | 2 | (6-7-15) |
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West Bromwich Albion | 1 | (7-9-12) |
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Aston Villa got the biggest win of any team this week, earning a 2-1 win at home against West Brom. A penalty in second half stoppage time from Christian Benteke secured the points for Villa, who move three points clear of the relegation zone with the victory. Gabriel Agbonlahor scored the first goal for Aston Villa.
Villa face Sunderland next in a match between the 16th and 17th place teams in the Premier League. Should a team come away with three points in that match, they’d be well clear of the drop zone, and well on their way to remaining in England’s top division.
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Southampton | 1 | (15-4-9) |
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Crystal Palace | 0 | (7-9-12) |
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Southampton broke a three match winless streak with an ugly but effective 1-0 win over Crystal Palace. The Saints fired 23 shots in the match, but only managed to get three on target. Fortunately for them, one of those shots on target was a winner in the 83rd minute from Sadio Mane. Southampton should still be disappointed after struggling for a breakthrough against a weaker side, but being just four points out of the final Champions League spot may be enough to heal that wound for now.
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Hull City | 1 | (6-9-13) |
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Sunderland | 1 | (4-14-10) |
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This was one of the most entertaining ugly games of soccer you could ask for. Neither squad plays a particularly attractive style, but both sides scored, which was probably enough to exceed anyone’s expectations here. Dame N’Doye scored Hull’s goal, while Jack Rodwell put home Sunderland’s tally.
Hull finds themselves in 15th position after this match, with Sunderland one spot behind them. While both teams will be happy to collect a point here, they’ll both regret not getting all three should they find themselves in the relegation battle approaching the final day of the season.
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Newcastle United | 0 | (9-8-11) |
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Manchester United | 1 | (15-8-5) |
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United came the closest of the big English clubs to dropping points in this round of midweek fixtures, relying on a goal in the 89th minute from Ashley Young of all people to secure victory over Newcastle. With Robin van Persie out due to injury and Radamel Falcao left on the bench, United will be thrilled to have still grabbed three points here.
Newcastle remain in 11th in the table, four points behind West Ham for tenth place and five points ahead of Crystal Palace for twelfth. Fortunately for the Magpies, they take on Everton next, who has struggled against just about everyone this season.
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West Ham United | 0 | (10-9-9) |
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Chelsea | 1 | (19-6-2) |
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West Ham deserved something from this match, but made one huge mistake in man marking that cost them dearly. This mistake took place in the 22nd minute, where a lapse in man marking gave Eden Hazard a rare headed effort at goal, which was the only goal in this game.
With the win, Chelsea made sure that nobody could gain ground on them in the Premier League standings. With 11 matches left, compared to just 10 for their major competitors, they lead second place Manchester City by five points. West Ham, meanwhile, are winless in their last five games and have fallen to tenth position.
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Queens Park Rangers | 1 | (6-4-17) |
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Arsenal | 2 | (16-6-6) |
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Earlier this week, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said that he thinks his team can pass Manchester City for second place in the Premier League. Given his team’s recent form, it may not be a good idea to rule that out.
Arsenal got goals from Olivier Giroud and Alexis Sanchez within five minutes of each other in the second half to claim this match over QPR. The Gunners have won four straight games and have eight wins in their last ten matches heading into the final ten games of their season.
QPR, on the other hand, have lost four out of five games and remain in the relegation zone for the moment.
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Stoke City | 2 | (12-6-10) |
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Everton | 0 | (6-10-12) |
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Everton’s free fall continued this week, with their latest loss coming at the hands of Stoke. The Toffees haven’t won in their last five matches, and have only one win in their last ten. While they may be tempted to focus on winning the Europa League to reach next season’s Champions League, they need to be sure not to be relegated this year, as they are only six points ahead of the drop zone.
With the win, Stoke have won three straight games, and are up to eighth place in the table, despite a goal difference of -1 for the season. That’s a tremendous accomplishment for a team that doesn’t spend big money.
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Manchester City | 2 | (17-7-4) |
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Leicester City | 0 | (4-6-17) |
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The biggest news from this match came before the opening kickoff, when City manager Manuel Pellegrini made sweeping changes to his struggling team, even benching captain Vincent Kompany. His team responded with a professional 2-0 win over last place Leicester, with goals from David Silva and James Milner.
The question now is whether or not Pellegrini will continue to sit those players in future matches, especially in City’s Champions League game against FC Barcelona. With the team keeping just its second clean sheet since Christmas, many will feel that a central defense of Demichelis and Mangala may be the way to go in the future. Whether those people are right or not remains to be seen.
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Tottenham Hotspur | 3 | (14-5-8) |
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Swansea City | 2 | (11-7-10) |
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The thought of Spurs scoring in high volume without relying on Harry Kane seems crazy these days, yet Tottenham managed to do just that in a win over Swansea. Goals from Chadli, Mason, and Townsend propelled them to victory, and kept Spurs within shouting distance of the top four.
Next up for Tottenham is QPR, who are desperate to get out of the relegation zone. While that looks like an easy three points for Spurs, you never know what can happen when there’s a desperate team involved.
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Liverpool | 2 | (15-6-7) |
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Burnley | 0 | (4-10-14) |
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Liverpool seem to have figured things out at the right time this year, overcoming early season struggles to hit their stride in recent weeks. Goals from Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge put them over Burnley in Wednesday’s match at Anfield.
Liverpool have now won four straight matches, and find themselves just two points away from the fourth and final Champions League position, while Burnley’s winless streak continues.