Chelsea 3-0 Leicester
As one of the three games I did watch, I can safely say that the scoreline absolutely reflects the pattern of the game (as the expected goals tally points out). This was as good a performance for Chelsea as it was a poor one for Leicester and with every passing week, the evidence to suggest that beating Leicester very easily ranks as a good result for a top team is starting to wane. It looked good when Liverpool did it, started to look a bit iffy when United did it, and now that Chelsea have exposed what was another relegation worthy defensive performance from Leicester, it just looks like par for the course.
Make no mistake, Leicester were utterly terrible, a defensive display so woefully inept that worse players than Diego Costa and Eden Hazard would have filled their boots. Costa was given the freedom of Stamford Bridge to slam home from six yards off a corner, Wes Morgan apparently forgotten that he was supposed to be marking Costa, as he stared blankly into space, no doubt thinking about shining his Premier League winners medal later that night, and not at all concentrating on actually playing football.
And Hazard's goal was just as shambolic, with Huth and Hernandez (who despite being listed as a right back seemed to forget that he wasn't a CB until Ranieri switched to 5 at the back so he actually had a right back) both missing an easy interception, the ball bouncing into Hazard's path and Kasper Schmeichel making it ludicrously easy for Hazard to walk around him and slot into an empty net.
To say Leicester offered no threat would be unfair, since they definitely offered a lot of threat to their own goal, so dreadful were they in the first half. The lack of pressing, the lack of tracking runners and the amount of basic defensive errors meant that Chelsea's 2-0 half time lead actually flattered the Foxes. And although they came back into the game in the second half, I nevertheless cannot think that they had a meaningful chance, apart from when David Luiz almost hacked into his own goal, hitting the post after an excellent cross. Luiz actually had a brilliant game and alongside that phenomenal (if a bit lucky) defensive clearance, he also nearly scored twice from free kicks at the other end and just all-round kept an isolated Jamie Vardy out of the game.
And when the third goal came, it was as inevitable as it was masterful. A brilliant run from Victor Moses, albeit with no Leicester players bothering to run with him, a cacophony of incompetence, and Moses was set away by a stunning touch from substitute Chalobah, arguably the best assist of the season so far. Moses did the rest to compound Leicester's humilation.
After a string of poor results, back to back wins have put Chelsea back in contention, as they sit level on points with Liverpool and only three points off the top of the table. But against a Leicester side who really were totally abject, there are only so many positives that can be taken from this game. Chelsea have done what they've needed to do so far this season, and put away teams that they should be putting away, but they'll need to improve if they want to make the top four.
Arsenal 3-2 Swansea
There are a few things to note from this game. The first is that the result is Arsenal's sixth straight win, putting them level on points with league leader's Man City, and that it consigns Swansea to the relegation zone, with their fourth straight defeat. But looking in a bit more detail, we can see that once again, it was a spirited performance from a Swansea side that absolutely should have got something from the game, creating enough chances to make something happen. Sigurdsson and Barrow in particular played really well and on another day, Swansea would have picked up at least a point.
But defensively they remained all over the place, as Theo Walcott scored two of the easiest goals of his career and should well have added another two to that tally. Walcott is a player who has had immense potential over the years but his inability to add enough goals to his game means he may well feel he's wasted large portions of his career, and this game was no different. In any case, it's obvious that Swansea haven't replaced Ashley Williams, who was having a brilliant game across the country. There remains a lot of work for Bob Bradley to do.
And Granit Xhaka's dismissal raises a number of questions about the nature of cynical fouls, which are now apparently going to be given red cards, or at least, Xhaka's was. It was a poor foul, a dodgy tackle from behind never intending to win the ball. And screamers aside, Xhaka's discipline and performance levels will be worrying Arsene Wenger as he was all over the place for Swansea's first goal and appears to be a booking or a sending off waiting to happen.
But nevertheless, once again the Gunners showed enough attacking threat to see off the Swans, and are now the league's joint top scorers. With six wins on the trot, they will be feeling pretty confident of their chances of making a real title fight happen.
Bournemouth 6-1 Hull
And meanwhile, at the lower end of the table (a phrase that seems wholly inappropriate now that Bournemouth have moved into 9th place with this victory), Hull City suffered a humiliating defeat that merely turns up the heat on their survival fight. They've now picked up one point in six games, and heavy defeats to Liverpool and Bournemouth have decimated their goal difference, which is now comfortably the worst in the division with -12.
And this was as bad a performance for Hull, and to be fair as good a performance for Bournemouth, as the scoreline made it look. Bournemouth were utterly dominant from start to finish and their attacking line of Junior Stanislas, Jordon Ibe and Calum Wilson, bolstered by Josh King in the second half, were vibrant, threatening and direct. Although their first three goals came off set pieces, their general play was exceptional, and that proved to the case in the second half, as they piled the pain on a Hull side that just simply collapsed. But right from the off, Bournemouth had more energy, more movement and played the better football, whilst Hull's lack of pressing or tackling cost them dearly, as Bournemouth were given the time and space to play football and used it to devastating effect.
These are the sorts of results that can really signify how a team is going to perform over a given season. For Bournemouth, this was a terrific confidence booster, a brilliant display of intent and exactly the kind of result that suggests they'll stay in the Premier League. I've accused them of lacking attacking threat before, but eight goals in their last two games has really bolstered their scoring stats and yesterday they scored half of their twelve league goals this season, a tally level with Everton and only one behind Spurs and United.
As for Hull, their first two wins of the season against similarly relegation addled teams have, looking back, done little to suggest that they have what it takes to stay in the Premier League and results like this one are major body blows to their chances. To lose 6-1 to a team that should be in and around your position (and Bournemouth were only one point ahead of Hull at the start of play) is an absolute embarrassment. Hull are in serious trouble.
Man City 1-1 Everton
Okay here we go. City have now dropped points in back to back games, have been pegged back on top of the Premier League and face a tricky Champions League game against Barcelona. The tabloids are already licking their lips, sensing a meltdown. But the reality is that if Everton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg hadn't had the game of his life to deny both Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne twice, including two penalty saves. And make no mistake, City should be scoring their penalties, but the narrative looks entirely different either Aguero or De Bruyne score from the spot and City win, and that is comfortably out of Guardiola's control.
Because make no mistake, this was a game that City absolutely should have won. They dominated the game for the entirety of it, created all of the better chances, played very well given their experimental and interesting 3-2-2-3 formation (that absolutely worked and is one that they should stick with by the way). They were caught on the counter-attack once, and that was down to a brilliant run from Lukaku, who bulldozed his way past Clichy before finishing brilliantly, but other than that, City were rarely threatened and they dealt with Everton's attacking threat competently.
Moreover, Everton deserve so much credit, because in pointing out that this is two points dropped for City doesn't quite do justice to their opponents. Phil Jagielka made two critical errors in conceding the two penalties but other than that he and his outstanding partner Ashley Williams were faultless. Everton's defensive shape and compactness made it incredibly difficult for City to penetrate them, and City's chances mostly came from range or with plenty of defenders between themselves and goal.
Nevertheless, David Silva in particular was lively and incredibly dangerous. With De Bruyne and to an extent Sterling clearly not back at their best having picked up knocks, and Leroy Sane looking solid but unspectacular, so much of City's positive play came through the Spaniard, who was the best attacking player on the pitch.
But in truth, this game was all about Stekelenburg, whose two penalty saves were the least of his brilliance, tipping a fizzing, whipping strike from De Bruyne onto the post from range and, even more impressive, a finger-tip save to deny Aguero. He was easily the man of the match, and the man who earned a valuable point for his side.
Looking forwards, Everton can feel very good about their current position and their defensive nous against City was exceptional. They will certainly cause anyone problems based on this performance. But truthfully, there's not too much for City to overly concerned about. If they carry on playing like they have so far this season, they will remain favourites for the league title.
Stoke 2-0 Sunderland
And from the top to the bottom, and a game between the league's bottom two, who had no wins between them going into this game. It ended up being a much needed tonic for Stoke, who plunged Sunderland further into the abyss. leaving the Black Cats with just two points off eight games. And it was the Welsh maestro Joe Allen who was once again the hero for the Potters, with two goals from poor Sunderland defending, but that also demonstrated his increasing influence on this Stoke side, reflected in his goal-scoring output of four goals in three league games.
And whilst a clean sheet was debatably as welcome as the three points, it may well be the easiest clean sheet that Stoke keep all year, as Sunderland offered almost nothing in terms of attacking threat. Whilst there is still plenty of improvement to come from Stoke, this result demonstrated that they are certainly not as bad as a Sunderland side which is week on week proving itself to be good value for their reputation as relegation fodder. The confidence and lift that this performance, result and clean sheet will give Stoke is immeasurable, and they should be able to kick on and get a positive result next week against a desperately poor Hull side. As for Sunderland, they face West Ham at the Olympic Stadium and that's increasingly looking like a must-win game for them.
West Brom 1-1 Spurs
So with Man City dropping points against Everton, the opportunity was there for Spurs, the only unbeaten side left in the division, to go top of the league with a win over West Brom. A game that they predictably managed to fail to win. Their performance in this game was arguably the same as the majority of their performances this season, where they played okay and dominated the match against a side that they would been expecting to dominate and beat comfortably. But despite their excellent play in the first half, Dele Alli in particular failed to find the back of the net, firing straight at Ben Foster in a couple of decent one on one situations.
And from there, the game opened up and Spurs could have no complaints when they did fall behind, as they had failed to take their own chances and West Brom had played increasingly well as the game had gone on and created chances of their own. Also, predictably, it was Nacer Chadli who scored the goal, the quickest to react after Lloris bundled a McClean shot onto the post.
But Dele Alli kept putting himself in good positions and was finally able to slot one into the back of the net to pinch a point for Spurs. Much like the City game, Spurs didn't deserve to lose and certainly should have won the game, and much like City, they failed to take the chances presented to them. So with their rivals dropping points, Spurs needed to up the ante and in this game, as they've been threatening to do against smaller teams for a while, they dropped points.
Nevertheless, it would be churlish to not give Spurs the benefit of the doubt that I gave City and certainly Spurs will be there or thereabouts in May if they are able to keep finding their levels. And it cannot be denied that Ben Foster had a decent game, even if the majority of his saves were little more than routine. Spurs are definitely missing Harry Kane.
But for West Brom, this is another good point, as they continue to ascend the table, picking up their tenth point of the season to move four points clear of the drop zone and very much in the mixer for a top half spot. And they really will be glad for this point, with a trip to Anfield next time out and Man City the week after.
Crystal Palace 0-1 West Ham
The late kick off was a game that failed to live up to the high standards set by the rest of the day, but was the perfect game for a West Ham side that had been on a five game streak without a win. In the end they were worthy winners, as apart from a brief spell right before half-time when Christian Benteke missed two sitters, including a penalty, they offered very little threat, whilst West Ham could easily have added a couple of goals to their second half tally before a harsh red card to Cresswell derailed their momentum.
Overall Benteke was the villain of the piece, as he managed to side foot his penalty wide having tricked the keeper into diving the wrong way, and then moments later headed onto the post with the whole goal to aim at. But other than that Palace looked like they struggled as West Ham's defence managed to avoid implosion. Townsend was so easily Palace's best attacking threat, but that says more about the talents of Puncheon and Zaha than it does about him.
As for West Ham, they were much improved in every area of the pitch. Defensively they looked much more solid than they have done in recent weeks and coming forwards they offered more threat, with Lanzini in particular looking very dangerous. And it was Lanzini who scored the winning goal, with a lovely cute finish after an excellent cross by the hard done by Cresswell.
Overall, Palace have been brought down to earth after a string of good performances, but remain comfortable in the top half of the division. As for West Ham, they are out of the bottom three and crucially there was lots of positives to take from the game as they were much improved in both attack and defence. But this was a scrappy game and one neither team can be fully happy with.
The Hard and Fast Section
- Andy Murray wins Shanghai Open. Majestic.
- But heartbreak for Broady and Watson in Hong Kong.
- Saints, Sarries and Wasps with huge European wins.
- England's women seek to seal their five match series victory.
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