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Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend
Little side-note: 2012 has seen 1095 goals in the Premier League, an all-time record!!! LOVE IT!!!
WOW!
The seven-goal thriller between Norwich and Man City was unbelievable! It had a little bit of everything! Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Edin Dzeko starred for City and produced a brilliant opening goal to make it 0-1 after just 85 seconds. Aguero and Dzeko worked and shone together again to double the score after four minutes. Anthony Pilkington's free kick was deflected in to get one back for the home side.
When Sebastien Bassong and Samir Nasri clashed, seeing yellow and red respectively, the prior for his fowl and the latter for his reaction, it was a shocker! Everyone was gob-smacked! But with City down to ten, they just got on with it, Aguero making it 1-3 with a delightfully chipped finish. And that wasn't all! Bassong headed across goal for Russell Martin to head the ball into the back of the net to make it 2-3 and put the pressure up on City. But Dzeko had a better idea and got his hat-trick, onside, off the post and keeper, and in, 2-4. Norwich fought on, and Martin got another one in eventually after their corner was not cleared and the ball ricochet about and in off Joe Hart, 3-4. That was the full-time score and Norwich ended up empty-handed after a great late rally, but they can take a lot of confidence from this performance and stubbornness!
OMG!
Arsenal 7-3 Newcastle, yes, you read right, that was the full time score between the Gunners and the "wee club". Arsenal legend Thierry Henry was watching the star performer Theo Walcott scoring a stylish hat-trick. Especially the third goal was a stunner, what a run, showing hunger, ambition and courage! The question for Arsene Wenger is though, will his star stay or will the top scorer go? Demba Ba could have had a hat-trick of his own too! And it was only 1-1 at half time! Bloopers, weak and leaky defence, plus top class quality attack, delivered a total of ten goals, eight of them in the second half! Olivier Giroud was a super-sub making a great impact and also on a hat-trick when he saw the ball come off the post late on. What a game! The Toons scored six goals in two games but have still ended with no points on the board keeping them in fifteenth on twenty points, only two points clear of the relegation zone.
TOP!
SStoke showed some great resilience coming back from behind twice against Southampton earning them a hard-fought point! Rickie Lambert opened the scoring off Guly do Prado with a brilliant ball and sweep, 0-1. Kenwyne Jones then produced a superb cheeky little back heeler with the right foot to level the scoreline, 1-1. After Robert Huth helped the ball onto his own cross bar, off a Lambert cross, Jay Rodriguez couldn't miss netting a sublime 1-2. Off Lambert again, this time Andy Wilkinson helped the ball into his own goal right in front of Asmir Begovic, there was a stunned silence at the ground at 1-3.
But the comeback kings did not give up that easily. A Stoke corner lead to some ping pong in the box, Matthew Upson got in there and put the ball softly past the keeper to make it 2-3. Jones then appealed for a handball, Jose Fonte looked to have tapped the ball with his left hand, but nothing was given. Instead, Steven Nzonzi was then sent off after appealing for a fowl himself, what an idiotic act that was! Down to ten men, there was another handball claim by Stoke. But Cameron Jerome's right-foot smacker, a half-volley into the roof of the net preserved Stoke's unbeaten home record at 3-3. There was a lot of last minute/second drama! Peter Crouch saw his late header off a free kick saved. Stoke showed some unbelievable resilience! Even though so many decisions went against them! It was a great watch!
FLOP!
Aston Villa's home defeat against Wigan was their third defeat on the trot, conceding 15 goals in the process. I still cannot believe or even grasp how this Villa side beat Liverpool at Anfield! Paul Lambert's men were complete shambles to watch! No one picked up Ivan Ramis before he headed in a corner to make it 0-1 after just 2.5 minutes! Emmerson Boyce doubled the score for the Latics after a nice one-two with Arouane Kone and confident tuck-in. Kone then made it 0-3 at Villa Park with a nice right-footer on the turn. You cannot blame the Villa fans for leaving the ground in disgust with still over half an hour to go!
Liverpool used and abused and made the most of their opponents weaknesses too. QPR were just awful, abysmal, shocking, absent, asleep... Harry Redknapp was blunt an honest about his side's display after his 600th Premier League game as a manager was less to celebrate about, but will or can he be the hero for QPR?! They need a miracle to escape relegation, stuck at the bottom of the table, eight points from safety.
HERO!
Frank Lampard and Luis Suarez stole the show, game and points for their sides with two goals each. The Chelsea legend saw his side come back from an early goal down at Goodison Park, being in the right place, at the right time, twice. Both clubs had so many chances, but Chelsea ended up on top thanks to Lamps and his 192nd goal for the club. Will Roman Abramovich offer his star man a new deal though? He is still waiting for a new contract...
A certain controversial Uruguayan forward delivered his absent manager Brendan Rodgers a perfect "get well soon" message with his double. Suarez saw Liverpool to a comfortable 3-0 victory at Loftus Road, the Reds bouncing back nice and easy from their Boxing Day defeat against Stoke. Rodgers can only hope this is a good omen for the new year and just the start to a good run.
ZERO!
Tottenham's 2-1 at Sunderland was not a game to compliment but more to cringe about! It was a deja vue for Gareth Bale after he was booked yet again for diving. It looked like there was contact, knee to knee. But maybe Bale's too quick, even for the referee! Jermain Defoe copied his team mate nicely with his dive too. Carlos Cuellar was the main offender in his team's down fall though. First the Spanish defender put a corner into his own net to level the score for Spurs, then he was lucky just to see yellow for a slasher tackle!
West Ham's Carlton Cole just had his red card against Everton retracted and was able to play against Reading, and he ended up kicking another player! It was an off-ball incident and he was lucky to escape... But Reading had already capitalised on an other Hammer's mistake earlier on in the game after seeing Pavel Pogrebnyak make it 1-0, pouncing on James Collins error, a soft back pass. It just hurt to watch!
My Predictions => Actual Results
Sunderland 3-2 Tottenham => 1-2
Aston Villa 1-0 Wigan => 0-3
Fulham 0-0 Swansea => 1-2
Man United 3-0 West Brom => 2-0
Norwich 1-0 Man City => 3-4
Reading 0-0 West Ham => 1-0
Stoke 1-1 Southampton => 3-3
Arsenal 2-1 Newcastle => 7-3
Everton 1-2 Chelsea => 2-1
QPR 1-0 Liverpool => 0-3
Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Week
WOW! OMG!
Manchester United's home win against Newcastle was a seven-goal thriller-and-a-half! So much happened, so much to talk and write about, you could not blink! Newcastle took the shock lead four minutes into the game thanks to James Perch, but Jonny Evans levelled things for United. Then came the controversy, Evans saw the ball into his own net but was relieved to see the flag up, Papiss Cisse given offside and the goal disallowed. But referee Mike Dean overruled his assistant and the goal stood as Cisse did not interefere with play before Evans netted the ball. Sir Alex Ferguson did not agree and was fuming on the side line even after the break.
But Evra soon equalised for the home side arrowing the ball past Tim Krul after a poor clearance to make it 2-2. Cisse then put the visitors back ahead thanks to a smart finish with his left and the United defence limping behind the Toons. RVP netted the third equaliser before United were denied a penalty for Toon skipper Fabricio Coloccini's handball. But after all frustration and aggravation, Javier Hernandez was once again the last-minute hero guiding the ball past Krul after a fine cross by Michael Carrick to make it 4-3 on the 90th minute mark.
Fergie turned from mad at half time to more than glad at full time. The Scotsman certainly put the pressure on the officials. After this game, he should be worried about United's defence more than anything else. But their outstanding attack spared them from disappointment, even without their main striker Wayne Rooney, who was out injured, and are now seven points clear at the top. Happy Christmas indeed, for one side of Manchester at least...
TOP!
The game at Villa Park could not have been more one-sided. Tottenham were all over Villa who kept giving away the ball. With all the space in the world, Jermain Defoe opened the scoring by nut-megging the Villa goalkeeper. Gareth Bale then calmly took advantage of the Villa mess up with the outside of his left foot and produced a nice chip-in to make it 2-0. With loads of space again, Aaron Lennon found Bale, who staged a left-foot Waltz, once, 0-3, and then a second time, this time off number 22 for the hat-trick to make it 0-4. Tottenham climbed up to fourth postion and Champions League qualification whilst Villa are hovering of the relegation zone just three points clear of the drop.
FLOP!
It was a shakey performance by Liverpool and exactly what they did not need or expect after their confidence-boosting 4-0 win against Fulham just a couple of ago! No discrediting Stoke for their performance and great response and stubbornness, they deserved the win. The only goal for the home side came thanks to a penalty, their first of this season! But Stoke were level seconds later after Robert Huth hooved the ball forward for Jonathan Walters to burry the ball past Pepe Reina. The visitors then took the lead thanks to Kenwyne Jones' header off a corner. Liverpool's defence was nowhere on both occasions, same goes for the final and winning goal. Reina could only help the ball in off Walter's fine left-foot strike and seal the dead deal for the Reds who dropped down to tenth in the table, eight points away from Champions League qualification.
HERO! and ZERO!
Adam Johnson scored the winning goal for Sunderland against Manchester City without realising. City protested, they wanted a free kick for a fowl against Pablo Zabaleta, but the defence was nowhere when Johnson's left-foot shot from the right squeezed past Joe Hart. Ambitious and productive, but Hart should have saved that one! I guess the England goalkeeper expected a cross rather than a shot but it ended up a Boxing Day delight for the home side at the Stadium of Light.
QPR's Rob Green will know the embarrassing feeling after tapping the ball into his own net against West Brom. Harry Redknapp was not happy with that goal as it looked like Marc-Antoine Fortune was backing into the goalkeeper. However, I feel he just stood his ground and the goalkeeper had no reason to backup so far! He was too soft and in the wrong position to start off with. It is all always relative, isn't it? Although Liam Ridgewell was very lucky not to concede a penalty for handling the ball. In the end, either way, this defeat saw QPR back to the bottom of the table.
My Predictions => Actual Results:
Everton 2-1 Wigan => 2-1
Fulham 0-0 Southampton => 1-1
Man United 2-1 Newcastle => 4-3
Norwich 1-1 Chelsea => 0-1
QPR 0-2 West Brom => 1-2
Reading 0-0 Swansea => 0-0
Sunderland 0-3 Man City => 1-0
Aston Villa 1-2 Tottenham => 0-4
Stoke 1-0 Liverpool => 3-1
Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend
WOW!
The scoreline finally reflected the game for Liverpool with their dominance in possession and chances paying off against Fulham. Everyone contributed, Martin Skrtel with a right-foot smacker, Steven Gerrard after a nice lead-up and trademark run, Stewart Downing cutting in past former Red John Arne Riise and producing a nice left-footer and Luis Suarez off Jose Enrique to make it 4-0. And it could have been double the scoreline with all the misses! Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers will hope to see more of this in the coming weeks and months!
OMG!
The eight-goal thrashing Chelsea took out on Aston Villa was unbelievable! How could the same side beat Liverpool the one week and then get thrashed, roasted, toasted and fried the next! Fernando Torres seems to like the system more and finally have clicked under old Spanish pal Rafael Benitez. Merry Christmas and-a-half for Roman Abramovich and Co, headache for Villa.
TOP!
The Newcastle fans were not happy to see Papiss Cisse taken off early against QPR, so was the striker himself, but it payed off in the end. Shola Ameobi created that bit of magic the game was crying out for, scoring the winning goal nine minutes from time, well taken with his left foot past two defenders in the box. That is exactly what you need from a sub, especially after a not-so-popular change! Manager Alan Pardew will have been chuffed to bits!
FLOP!
There were a lot of controversial decisions by the officials again this week. Arsenal's late penalty winner against Wigan looked very soft whilst their number five Thomas Vermaelen's handball got completely overlooked. City's late goal stood eventhough it looked like a fowl. On the other side, Reading had a couple of penalty shouts ignored and were cruelly denied a deserved point. David Moyes was also unhappy after seeing Leon Osman's goal disallowed harshly for a fowl on West Ham's goalkeeper Jussi Jasskelainen. And everyone was even more shocked when Carlton Cole was sent off. He saw red for a high foot, but was the intention really there? Referee Anthony Taylor at least stayed consistent when he sent Darren Gibson for another high-footed challenge. But it did not make either decision more right or less wrong! Decisions, decision, decisions... Disappointment, disappointment, disappointment...
HERO!
Miguel Michu cancelled out Patrice Evra's goal in the 1-1 draw between Swansea and Manchester United, the visitors' first draw of the season. United threw everything at the Swans, but the Welsh side held stern and left their home ground with a point against the league leaders, the first time Sir Alex Ferguson's side dropped pointed since their 1-0 defeat at Norwich over a month ago.
ZERO!
Tottenham's goalless draw against Stoke was not much to miss. The scoreline reflected the game, the London side frustrated by Stoke's rock-solid defence.
Man of the match Ashley Williams was rock solid in the centre of the Swans defence but caused havoc when he kicked the ball into Robin van Persie's head after the referee had blown the whilste! What was he thinking?! Ok, he explained he cleared the ball and inadvertently hit the Dutchman on the way, but it did look cynical. There was still no need for Sir Alex Ferguson's post-match comments, adding more spin and controversy to the incident than necessary. I think he is just trying to distract everyone from his side's weaknesses...
My Predictions => Actual Results:
Wigan 1-3 Arsenal => 0-1
Man City 4-1 Reading => 1-0
Newcastle 3-1 QPR => 1-0
Southampton 2-2 Sunderland => 0-1
Tottenham 2-1 Stoke => 0-0
West Brom 1-1 Norwich => 2-1
West Ham 1-1 Everton => 1-2
Liverpool 3-1 Fulham => 4-0
Swansea 1-3 Man United => 1-1
Chelsea 2-1 Aston Villa => 8-0
Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend
WOW!
After their derby defeat last weekend, Manchester City made a great comeback against Newcastle at St James' Park. The two sides could have had a dozen goals between them. In the end though, the dream combination of Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri, David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez and Pablo Zabaleta payed off and produced a convincing 1-3 away win.
Barcelona are the only side in Europe on a longer unbeaten run than Norwich! The Canaries continued that run against Wigan to make it five straight home wins and nine games unbeaten for Chris Hughton's side. It was a 50%-50% performance for the Latics, with a top comeback but flop defence, this inconsistency costing them dearly in the end. Anthony Pilkington's class downed and beat the visitors in the end, seeing his side up to eighth position in the league table.
OMG!
Swansea's impressive forward Miguel Michu was knocked down and out cold by Tottenham's goalkeeper Hugo Lloris' arm on the follow-through and caused unrest between the players. Even the sub got on the pitch to add his part to the fight! Tempers were flaring at the end of a competitive encounter which tested patience and resistance till the end! Spurs ended on top after dominating the game and if games ended after 80 minutes, they would be top of the league! This win saw them back into the top four, two points ahead of local rivals Arsenal
TOP!
Aston Villa's second goal at Anfield was a breathtaker! Christian Benteke's back-heeler was inch-perfect and Andreas Weimann's hit to finish it off was confident. And to top things off, the Congolese striker made it 0-3 after riding and finishing the move all on his own, top-class! It was a splendid win and some terrific football from Villa and the first time the travelling fans saw their side win two consecutive away games. Villa were organised and clinical. They just got on with it. Not bad for the youngest side in the Premier League! Something Liverpool should learn from!
FLOP!
It was a very frustrating, disappointing and shocking game and day for Liverpool. Stats of the game show they dominated and threw everything at Villa, but were just not focused and clinical enough, as mentioned above.
Sunderland's performance against United was an improvement for them but they were nowhere near the high-flying, top-quality league leaders. It just showed the big gap between the top and bottom half of the table = light-years!
And West Brom's goalless draw against West Ham was no surprise and summarised both side's form: longest run without a win since 2010 v losing four out of last five before kick-off. The game did not change this at all.
HERO!
Adel Taarabt was very special for QPR against Fulham, the key player for Harry Redknapp in his fourth game and first win for Rangers. It took 17 attempts but the two goals by the Moroccan midfielder were very special and deserved the win. The home side took the lead thanks to Taarabt's tap-shot which deflected off Brede Hangeland and past wrong-footed Mark Schwarzer. Taarabt then doubled the lead with a wonderful tap-in, right-sidefooter, casually between four Fulham defender, out of Schwarzer's reach. There were nervous moments after Mladen Petric's marvelous left-footer past Rob Green to make it 2-1 but in the end the home side hung on to the win and three points which took them off the bottom of the table for the first time in nearly six weeks.
ZERO!
Marouane Fellaini's head butt on Stoke's Ryan Shawcross was disgraceful!!! The Belgian midfielder added his elbow and arms to his challenges on Shawcross later on in the match, but all remained unseen by the referee! The Evertonian was riding his luck or just trying to book himself an early holiday! What a let-down for David Moyes and his boys! At least he was honest in his post-match apology late and I hope and think he will receive a lengthy ban for that from the FA!
My Predictions => Actual Results:
Newcastle 1-2 Man City => 1-3
Liverpool 3-1 Aston Villa => 1-3
Man United 3-0 Sunderland => 3-1
Norwich 1-0 Wigan => 2-1
QPR 1-1 Fulham => 2-1
Stoke 2-1 Everton => 1-1
Tottenham 2-1 Swansea => 1-0
West Brom 3-2 West Ham => 0-0
Reading 2-2 Arsenal => 2-5
Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend
WOW!
It was a Super-Sunday-and-a-half! First one the list was the big title clash, the Manchester derby. The first half wasn't too riveting, Fergie's men were all over City after the home side did not take advantage of their early dominance and fell two goals behind thanks to their sketchy and leaky defence. But in the second half, Roberto Mancini's side made a comeback and looked like they would grab a point. However, Robin van Persie had a different idea and netted a free kick deep into injury time, a typical United winner, 2-3, in Fergie time.
The Sunday afternoon kick-offs did not lack any of the excitement either. Everton never gave up and made a great comeback of their own against Tottenham to beat them 2-1 at Goodison Park. And former West Ham players Glen Johnson and Joe Cole returned to Upton Park to haunt their former employers, scoring one each to make it 2-3 to Liverpool and add the Reds to the comeback list of this Sensational-Sunday!
OMG!
I couldn't believe it when I saw Rio Ferdinand hit by a coin, one in a rain of coins I may like to note! I thought those times of abuse and hooliganism were long gone! Fool me! I hope the FA will act promptly and accordingly, banning those idiots from football, for good! What do they think they are doing? It won't change their side or the scoreboard. If anything, it will only change the attendance, minus them hopefully!!!
TOP!
Liverpool were without any senior striker for their clash against West Ham. With Luis Suarez suspended thanks to his five bookings accumulated, it was questionable where the goals might come from for the Reds. Glen Johnson answered that question with a boom-and-a-half! The former Hammer created an unstoppable right-foot blockbuster smacker cracker to open the scoring and mute the home fans and any of his mockers and critics.
Former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres was finally on the scoresheet and his compatriot interim manager Rafael Benitez will be more than happy and relieved by that and the first three points he has bagged for Roman Abramovich and Chelsea, who are now third, then points behind league leaders United.
FLOP!
The only disappointment of the weekend was Aston Villa's goalless home draw against Stoke. Both sides created nothing and cancelled each other out through fowls and more fowls. It was not nice to watch and no surprise when Stoke's Ryan Shotton saw red. It maybe was harsh on him as the second tackle did not look like much of a contact, but in this kind of game, it was more of a surprise not more players were cautioned or sent off, such was the physical and abusive style and action.
HERO!
RVP won the game and saved the day for the red side of Manchester, eventhough his free kick did take a big deflection off Samir Nasri. Wayne Rooney was in the right spot at the right time twice for United and made it look all to easy for the Red Devils. But Ashley Young should have been on the scoresheet aswell before half time after he was nowhere near offside when Antonio Valencia created a fine advance and cross from the right. But it all came well for United in the end, at the very end that is, thanks to RVP and the red side of Manchester now sits at the top of the table, six points ahead of their blue rivals.
ZERO!
Mario Balotelli was a waster and Joe Hart a sleeper at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. The feisty Italian misfired anything and everything that came his way before he was rightly taken off by Mancini and the England goalkeeper seemed unmoved for the first and half-asleep by the second United goal. It was cringing to watch. And to top it off, the third and winning goal for United was... Ok, it was a wicked deflection off Nasri, but still! It was on the side the goalkeeper should have and keep covered! But it just didn't seem his day! To avoid such mishaps from happening again, it seems Hart will need an extra cup of coffee or to take a Dextro energy tablet before the next game at Newcastle!
My Predictions => Actual Results
Arsenal 3-1 West Brom => 2-0
Aston Villa 1-1 Stoke => 0-0
Southampton 2-2 Reading => 1-0
Sunderland 1-2 Chelsea => 1-3
Swansea 2-1 Norwich => 3-4
Wigan 2-0 QPR => 2-2
Man City 1-0 Man United => 2-3
Everton 2-1 Tottenham => 2-1
West Ham 1-3 Liverpool => 2-3
Fulham 2-2 Newcastle => 2-1
Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend
WOW! & OMG!
Manchester United went behind for the 14th time in 22 games at the Madejski stadium in a thriller of a game or shall I rather say thriller of a first half! It was a smacking opening goal for Reading after Patrice Evra's giveaway. Anderson found the leveller, a let-down by keeper Adam Federici. Following a Wayne Rooney corner, Jonny Evans was inexplicably bundled over by Reading's number 16 Jay Tabb and a penalty was given. Rooney netted from the spot to turnaround the scoreline from 1-0 to 1-2 within three minutes!
It was once again a typical United turnaround and comeback. Reading made it four goals at 2-2 inside 19 minutes after Adam Le Fondre headed in a corner with all the space in the world, another defensive nightmare. And the total was five goals in 23 minutes after Sean Morrison headed one in to make it 3-2. Rooney, with time and space after some great pace and delivery by Ashley Young and Evra, completed an easy finish to make it all square again at 3-3 after half an hour. Rafael was taken off after being booked and tormented by Reading and Sir Alex brought on Chris Smalling to replace the young Brazilian on 31 minutes.
Robin van Persie walked the fourth goal in for United on 35. And the ball looked over the line on 40 after RVP smacked in the rebound off a fine save but the officials thought it was blocked by Shaun Cummings. However, replays showed the ball was over a yard over the line and the scoreline should have been 3-5! It was only the third time in Premier League history that there have been seven goals in the first half! United only had one substitution left shortly before the break after Anderson had to go off injured with Phil Jones replacing him. It was 3-4 at half time and full time, both teams unable to recreate the thrills and spills of the first 45 minutes.
TOP!
After Jonjo Shelvey's whacking strike had hit the post and Luis Suarez's free kick came off the cross bar after a tremendous hit and bend, it looked like it was not going to be Liverpool's afternoon against Southampton. But Daniel Agger rewarded his side's play when he headed in Glen Johnson's cross and earned his side a well deserved win.
The Manchester Derby is going to be a cracker next weekend with three points on the line and three points being the gap between the two local rivals at the top of the table after City drew at home against Everton!
FLOP!
Rafa Benitez's misery continues at Chelsea after a fine start and goal by Juan Mata was followed by a second half turnaround from the Hammers. The super subs made the difference for West Ham at Upton Park and Carlton Cole, Mohamed Diame and Modibo Maiga took Roman Abramovich's Blues apart in the second half!
Sunderland manager Martin O'Neill will know the feeling too well as the pressure increased on him after his side fell to a 2-1 defeat at Norwich and were left just one point safe the Premier League relegation zone.
HERO!
Two late Miguel Michu goals sank Arsenal at the Emirates and left the Gunners down in tenth position of the Premier League table after their worst start to a season under Arsene Wenger. The Swans meanwhile can be more than happy with their third win out of four, unbeaten since end of October (1-0 at City) and in seventh position..
Jermain Defoe was the hero for Spurs, with his left-foot 2-0, then right-foot 3-0, thank you very much and say no more.
Carlos Tevez saved City a point against battling Everton with his spot kick, see if he can do the same against his former side and local rivals United next Sunday! Their unbeaten run is on the line too!
ZERO!
Tottenham's Gareth Bale was booked for diving, against Fulham's Steve Sidwell, for the second consecutive game. There was a tackle but the forward did perform a scene of a drama queen, which made me cringe. Sandro opened the score for Spurs, through Mark Schwarzer's gloves and in. It was a goal the American goalkeeper would like to forget but will most probably find again and again under one of those blooper lists and clips!
My Predictions => Actual Results
West Ham 1-1 Chelsea => 3-1
Arsenal 1-1 Swansea => 0-2
Fulham 1-2 Tottenham => 0-3
Liverpool 3-0 Southampton => 1-0
Man City 2-0 Everton => 1-1
QPR 0-0 Aston Villa => 1-1
West Brom 2-2 Stoke => 0-1
Reading 0-2 Man United => 3-4
Norwich 2-1 Sunderland => 2-1
Newcastle 2-2 Wigan => 3-0
Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Week
WOW!
Tottenham came out all guns blazing at White Hart Lane, man of the match Gareth Bale turning from provider to scorer to own-goal scorer/conceder. The Welshman's runs against Liverpool were extraordinary, no one could keep up with him when he found Aaron Lennon in the box for an easy tap-in opener. And the midfielder's free-kick completely deceived Pepe Reina to make it 2-0. The Reds were awoken, finding and keeping the pressure up after a difficult start in an entertaining encounter, but Spurs' back line kept solid and earned them the win and deservedly so.
OMG!
The Swans certainly shocked West Brom scoring three goals inside 39 minutes! Man of the match Pablo Hernandez was a force on the left wing and set up the first two goals. In the ninth minute, Miguel Michu slotted home Pablo's low cross from the left and not even two minutes later Pablo's nice cross found Wayne Routledge and was turned in off Jonas Olsson to make it 2-0. And Routledge made it three for the Welsh club six minutes before the break after Nathan Dyer and Hernandez helped setting up Ben Davies for his left-wing cross across the face of the goal that Routledge fired home with ease. West Brom started the second half brighter but were unable to recover from the early onslaught.
TOP!
It was all calamity for Ali Al Habsi again conceding two goals in three minutes at the DW Stadium. Mario Balotelli opened his Premier League account for the season for City seizing on Al Habsi's fumble following Gareth Barry's shot. But James Milner created an unstoppable smasher from outside the area, a top quality curler into the top corner of the net! It made all the difference and Wigan's fight was flawed! City ended up with the three points and still unbeaten, keeping United on their toes at the top of the table.
FLOP!
Mark Clattenburg returned to work at Southampton in their 1-1 draw against Norwich. A dreadful goalkeeping error by Paulo Gazzaniga lead to the equaliser! The first goal by Rickie Lambert was scruffy too and it looked as though there was a handball in the buildup to it. This draw stretched the Canaraies' unbeaten run in the Premier League to seven matches, leaving them in 13th position on 16 points, level with Liverpool in 12th and four points ahead of the Saints and the relegation zone in 18th.
HERO!
It took Robin van Persie 31 seconds to break Kevin Nolan's Premier League record of 56 seconds, opening the score with a deflection off James Collins and winning the game for United against the Hammers.
Theo Walcott took 52 seconds to whack it in for Arsenal against Everton and what a goal it was! Or maybe it was a lucky deflection as well, after it looked to have clipped Tony Hibbert on the way in leaving Tim Howard stranded. But a fine finish from Marouane Fellaini denied the Gunners a win yet again and the Toffees shared the spoils at Goodison Park.
ZERO!
Rafael Benitez and Fernando Torres were under fire again at Stamford Bridge, the fans making themselves and their discontent heard to Roman Abramovich after Chelsea's goalless home draw against Fulham. Dimitar Berbatov totally outshone his Spanish rival, producing great attacks and counter-attacks with his control and ability, something Rafa and Fernando (and Roman) are still searching for... I wonder how long the Russian's shopping list will be in January, in sales as well as purchases...
My Predictions => Actual Results
Sunderland 2-1 QPR => 0-0
Aston Villa 2-1 Reading => 1-0
Chelsea 2-1 Fulham => 0-0
Everton 2-1 Arsenal => 1-1
Southampton 2-1 Norwich => 1-1
Stoke 2-1 Newcastle => 2-1
Swansea 2-1 West Brom => 3-1
Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool => 2-1
Man United 2-1 West Ham => 1-0
Wigan 2-1 Man City => 0-2
Guess what?! Once again, the auto-predictor has set all my predictions to 2-1, because I'm too useless to remember to log in and enter my own predictions!!!
Sports - Football - Premier League - Picks of the Weekend
WOW!
Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina and Swansea forward Nathan Dyer were hardcore! After the Spanish keeper rushed off his line and clattered into the striker, it looked like it was serious, but both players overcame the injury scare and continued with their bumps and bruises. It was different to see Jose Enrique going forward. The Spanish defender impressed and should have been on the scoreboard after latching onto Luis Suarez's cross but was disallowed for offside. It was end to end stuff but ended up with Brendan Rodgers unable to get the better of his former side. It was the game with the most passes, surprise surprise, 1,055, ahead of United against QPR with 1,040. It all came to nothing though.
OMG!
The referee was clearly confused.com at Stamford Bridge. After a fine save by City's Joe Hart, Chris Foy gave a goal kick against Chelsea?! Ashley Cole was understandably gobsmacked!!! Mario Balotelli was harshly booked for a dive, I think there the referee went more by impression than by incident. And the fans were nothappyandbooing.com with Rafael Benitez, chanting "you're not wanted here", and holding up signs reading 'Benitez out' - coupled with songs and banners hailing the sacked Roberto Di Matteo. Benitez looked very red!!! Y Fernando Torres?! Donde estas?! It was definitely a game to forget! For the referee, Rafa and Torres!
TOP!
West Brom's goals were very much in contrast to one another. The first one was a brilliant strike by Zoltan Gera, the second a nightmare blunder by Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, which gifted Shane Long a goal and the third was just as much a gift when drama queen Liam Ridgewell went down very easily and the spot-kick was converted by Romelu Lukaku. The first Sunderland goal was a brill deflected free kick by Craig Gardner and Stephane Sessegnon tapped in the rebound of a saved header off a corner, but it ended 4-2, after a fine curl-goal by Marc-Antoine Fortune finished the game off for the home side late on in injury time. It was a game with a little bit of everything and West Brom continuing their brilliant run!
FLOP!
Clumsy goals summarised United's home win against QPR, defensive nightmares with three goals falling in just seven minutes.
Stoke saw a nice turn-tip goal by Charlie Adam off Peter Crouch which won them all three points against Fulham. Dimitar Berbatov was constant threat, denied again and again, with some brilliant saves by Asmir Begovic.
The Gunners have now taken only one point from their past three away games and would have fancied their chances of winning at a ground where they have been unbeaten since 1998. But they were unable to unlock Villa and the sporadic game ended 0-0 with Arsene Wenger est le miserable.
HERO and ZERO!
Wigan's 3-2 win at the DW Stadium against Reading is easily summarised: Nicky Shorey's free kick was headed in by Sean Morrison to make it 0-1, the equaliser came off a rebound tapped in by Jordi Gomez followed by brill save by Ali Al Habsi. Wigan's Franco Di Santo was given offside, then Gomez headed another chance in to make it 2-1 before Al Habsi slipped one in to level the game 2-2!!! Gomez won the game two minutes into injury time with a hat-trick!!! Al Habsi was understandably more than happy!!! And that was the quickest and shortest I could summarise it! It was a smashing game! *breath*
UEFA are considering to scrap the Europa League and expand the Champions League to 64 teams by 2014... Good idea tu reduce the number of competitions and with it the fixture list, however, it defeats the point of CHAMPIONS League, no???
My Predictions => Actual Results
Sunderland 2-1 West Brom => 2-4
Everton 2-1 Norwich => 1-1
Man United 2-1 QPR => 3-1
Stoke 2-1 Fulham => 1-0
Wigan 2-1 Reading => 3-2
Aston Villa 2-1 Arsenal => 0-0
Swansea 2-1 Liverpool => 0-0
Southampton 2-1 Newcastle => 2-0
Chelsea 2-1 Man City => 0-0
Tottenham 2-1 West Ham => 3-1
I once again forgot to log my predictions, so, it went onto auto-predictor again (= all 2-1)... Useless!!! :-P
