Well, well. That was a lot of fun, wasn’t it?
A pulsating Premier League Saturday saw eight terrific matches play out across England and Wales, as goals rained in during the stormy winter weather.
It was moving day in the PL, as Chelsea went top of the standings thanks to Eden Hazard’s masterclass, Liverpool demolished Arsenal 5-1, Man City slipped up an Norwich, and there were big wins for West Ham, Swansea and Crystal Palace at the bottom.
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In case you missed any of it, (I know, you only have one pair of eyes, right?) don’t worry. This tidy little roundup delivers all the recaps, video highlights and analysis from a scintillating Saturday in the worlds most exciting league.
So, let’s get to it!
Aston Villa 0-2 West Ham United
Villa have been woeful at home all season, and that trend continued as West Ham strolled into Villa Park and bagged a vital three points. The Hammers are now unbeaten in three as two Kevin Nolan goals, two minutes apart and two minutes into the second half, saw off a timid effort from the home side. The Villans are only three points off the drop zone.
Eden Hazard emerged as the hero at Stamford Bridge, as two superb finishes before the break were capped off by a cool penalty kick for his hat trick, as he sent his side top of the PL standings. Newcastle never really threatened and Chelsea just had too much for them to handle, in a magnificent display from the tricky Belgian winger. Jose Mourinho played it cool once again, but this Chelsea team has the stench of potential champions.
Crystal Palace 3-1 West Bromwich Albion
Palace now have five home wins from seven under Tony Pulis, and it’s wins over relegation foes like this that will keep Palace up. Two early goals from debutant Thomas Ince and Joe Ledely saw the Eagles soar into the lead, but Thievy Bifouma pulled a goal back for West Brom just after the break. However Marouane Chamakh won a penalty, then scored it, as Palace move up to 13th.
Simply stunning from Liverpool, as the Reds were 4-0 up after 19 minutes at Anfield on Saturday. Arsenal didn’t know what hit them, as two Martin Skrtel goals in the opening nine minutes were added to by strikes from Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge. After the break Sterling grabbed another to make it 5-0, and Mikel Arteta’s penalty was no more than a consolation. Are Liverpool title contenders?
Norwich City 0-0 Manchester City
The Citizens dropped yet more points, as they slipped up away from home at Carrow Road. Norwich defended superbly for the entire 90 minutes, as City failed to score for the second successive game this week. Manuel Pellegrini’s men ran out of ideas and in truth the Canaries had a few chances to snatch all three points themselves. Still in the title race, but wobbling a little.
A Topsy-turvy game in the win and rain at St. Mary’s as Southampton twice took the lead in the first half, but Stoke twice hit back. Rickie Lambert smashed in a great free kick to make it 1-0 to Saints, then Peter Odemwingie slotted home to make it 1-1. Then Steven Davis saw his cross somehow trickle into the bottom corner to put Saints ahead, but right on half time Peter Crouch bundled home from close range to make it 2-2. That’s how it stayed, despite Saints dominating the second half, as the points were shared at a soggy St. Mary’s Stadium.
Another torrid day for the Black Cats, who had another red card scupper a game for them. Wes Brown was shown a straight-red early on for his third dismissal of the season. Hull City’s new signings Shane Long and Nikica Jelavic both scored in each half to seal a big three points for the Tigers, as Sunderland continue to battle away at the bottom.
After a week of turmoil in Swansea that saw manager Michael Laudrup sacked, the Swans turned in a terrific performance under rookie manager Garry Monk. The first half was goalless but after the break Wayne Routledge, Nathan Dyer and Wilfried Bony all scored to clinch bragging rights in the South Wales derby.