A truly mesmeric day of soccer in the Premier League took place on Saturday.
Comeback wins, red cards, penalties, upsets, derby delight and sorrow... we had it all.
Stoke City sealed their first-ever victory over Manchester United in the Premier League, as David Moyes’ men slumped once again. Elsewhere Sunderland sealed a massive 3-0 win away at Newcastle in the Tyne-Wear derby. What a victory.
(MORE: Latest Premier League Standings)
Basement boys Cardiff City and West Ham United to congest things even more in the bottom half of the table, (like, we really needed that) while Southampton and Everton beat Fulham and Aston Villa respectively.
All in all, it was yet another pulsating day of action across the PL.
With the match recaps,, video highlights and brief analysis, here’s your Saturday Roundup from the Barclays Premier League.
Enjoy.
The Bluebirds scored twice in three minutes at the start of the second half to turn the game on its head. Debutant Kenwyne Jones bagged the winner, after Craig Bellamy cancelled out Robert Snodgrass’ opener, to give Cardiff a huge three points. While Norwich are sliding towards trouble once again. Have a drink tonight Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, enjoy your first Premier League win as a manager! Skål.
A comeback win that showed real character, as the Toffees overturned a first half deficit against plucky Villa. Leandro Bacuna opened the scoring for Villa but Steve Naismith equalized, before Kevin Mirallas’ sublime free kick grabbed all three points for Roberto Martinez’s side late on. A good way to finish off the week for the Blue half of Merseyside.
The Saints ran riot in the second half at Craven Cottage, as Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez and Rickie Lambert all scored to pile more misery on Fulham. Will the Cottagers go down? If they keep playing like this it’s almost nailed on, no matter how well they did in the transfer window. As for Southampton, England internationals Lallana Rodriguez and Lambert are a shoe-in for the World Cup squad, right?
Hull City 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Hull are a tough team to beat at home, and Tottenham found that out after a debut goal from Shane Long but the Tigers in front. But Spurs dug deep in the second half and Paulinho bagged the North London side a point they deserved to take back down the M1. Both sides were happy with the draw.
Newcastle United 0-3 Sunderland
Derby Day delight for the third time running... this is all getting a bit too easy for Sunderland now, isn’t it? For the second-straight season the Black Cats waltzed into St. James’ Park and delivered a damaging 3-0 defeat to Newcastle, as the Mackems went 2-0 up early on through Fabio Borini and Adam Johnson. In the second half Newcastle tried to pull one back, but a late Jack Colback goal gave Sunderland their third successive league win over Newcastle. The last time they did that? 1923.
Stoke City 2-1 Manchester United
A massive win for Stoke down the bottom, as the league is so tight they started the game off in the relegation zone... then beat United to go 11th in the standings! It was a gritty display from the Potters, who have never beaten United in the Premier League. Two Charlie Adam strikes either side of half time did the business (the second was a real beauty) despite Robin van Persie’s equalizer sandwiched in-between. David Moyes tried to put on a brave face, but that’s eight defeats in the PL this season for the Red Devils.
Two Kevin Nolan goals from two Andy Carroll assists, that’s West Ham alright. The Hammers ground out a typically dogged win at Upton Park, as they eased relegation fears with a robust performance against Swansea. Although their was one downside, as Carroll was sent off for an apparent elbow on Chico Flores. It looked a little harsh. Meanwhile the Swans are in trouble at the wrong end of the table.