Premier League Notes - Week 15

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 15

The 15th week of the 2019-2020 Premier League season saw:

31 goals - most by Liverpool = 5

221 shots - most by Chelsea = 25

95 on target - most by Chelsea and Brighton = 9 each

108 corners - most by Bournemouth, Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton = 9 each

215 fouls - most by Chelsea = 18

31 bookings - most by Palace, Bournemouth, Leicester and Arsenal = 3 each
1 red card - Sakho for Palace

2 penalties - 2 scored (Rashford for Man United, Vardy for Leicester)

#CRYBOU

Eagle Mamadou Sakho is the first Amazon Prime sending off for a dangerous high boot on Adam Smith after not even 19 minutes. Jeffrey Schlupp broke the deadlock against the run of play, a low shot across goal that somehow passed Aaron Ramsdale’s left glove, finishing off a great individual run and dribble to give the ten men the lead (74’). Roy Hodgson’s men held on to the win, the three points shooting them up to 5th for the night, leaving Eddie Howe’s side in 12th before the other fixtures on Wednesday and Thursday, disappointing for then they couldn’t capitalise with the extra man. 

#BURMCI

Gabriel Jesus gave the visitors the lead with the sweetest of the sweet curlers, keeper Nick Pope had no chance of stopping the first Amazon Prime goal (24’). And the number 9 smashed in Bernardo Silva’s fine cross from close range to give him a brace and double the champions’ lead after the break (50’), top quality all the way with both goals. And Rodri made it three goals and three points with a smacker from the edge of the box (68’). Riyad Mahrez added insult to injury with an easy finish, too easy, to make it 0-4 with his 50th PL goal (87’). Wow goals, more woes for Sean Dyche’s men, the defeat dragging them into the bottom half of the table. They did pull one back thanks to Robbie Brady (89’), better than nothing. So, it ended 1-4, not quite perfect for Pep Guardiola and his side, but hey, good enough and back to their old sparkling ways, much better after the last few struggling weeks. 

#CHEAVI

Tammy Abraham wasn’t sure, didn’t celebrate because the Chelsea striker thought he was offside (and/or out of respect because he played for the opponents on loan last season), but (either way) replays showed and VAR confirmed he was fine, the goal stood to give the Blues the lead (24’). But lack of communication at the back gave Trézéguet all the time and space to bundle the ball over the line and equalise for the Villans (41’). They all count. Another Blue academy graduate Mason Mount smashed the ball in soon after the restart (48’) to save the game, points and day for Frank Lampard and his men, the win keeping the gap growing between the top four and the rest, whilst the Villans remain 15th.

#LEIWAT

Jamie Vardy gave the Foxes the lead with a bullet of a penalty to make it his seventh consecutive game on the scoreboard (51’), after Adam Masina had a hand in the face of Jonny Evans. James Maddison doubled the home side’s lead with a quick run and shot across and in (90+5’) to make it two goals and three points for Brendan Rodgers’ men, equalling their club record of seven consecutive wins in the top flight, taking them back up to second, eight points behind the Reds at the top. The Hornets remain rock bottom, seven points from safety.

#MUNTOT

The much anticipated return of José Mourinho to Old Trafford was much anticipated, but ended up quite disappointing. Paulo Gazzaniga’s spill handed Marcus Rashford the opener (6’), giving the home side the lead against their former boss. Dele Alli equalised with a fine individual move = take, turn, control and shot (39’). Rashford was fouled in the box and converted the spot kick soon after the restart (49’), following a long VAR check. The Red Devils ended the Portuguese's three-match winning streak with Spurs, taking Ole Gunnar Solskjær's side up to sixth, one point and two places above the London opposition. 

#SOUNOR

Danny Ings headed the Saints ahead at St Mary's with his eighth goal of the season to make it four in four (22’). Ryan Bertrand converted Shane Long’s header off a corner to double the home side’s lead (43’). Teemu Pukki pulled one back for the visitors with a nice run on the left and take, slam, bam, thank you ma’am, the defenders watching (65’). The result is crucial in the relegation battle as the three points take Ralph Hasenhüttl's side out of the drop zone, whilst the Canaries remain 19th, four points from safety.

#WOLWHU

A tap-in for Leander Dendoncker into the bottom corner opened the scoring for the hosts (23’). Patrick Cutrone doubled the Wanderers’ lead netting from close range with the Hammers all over the place (86’). The win stretches Nuno Espírito Santo’s side's unbeaten league run to ten games, taking them up to fifth, whilst the Hammers remain 13th after their third defeat on the trot - is Manuel Pellegrini next on the sack list?

#LIVEVE

This time Divock Origi didn’t even take six minutes to break the deadlock thanks to a super pass across by Sadio Mané, giving his teammate only the keeper to beat and the Belgian did so with ease to give the Reds the lead at Anfield (6’ - 90 minutes less than last time = week 14 last season). And the Senegalese superstar provided again, this time setting up Xherdan Shaqiri inside the box, who made no mistake from close range, doubling the lead (17’). Michael Keane pulled one back for the Toffees after Dejan Lovren tumbled unable to mark his man off a chaotic corner (21’). Origi made it 3-1 off Lovren’s long ball with a beauty of a control and take from inside the box (31’). Mané made it four after a brilliant counter run and finish (45’), helped by a magnificent run and set up with and from TAA. The crazy counter attacking derby continued, Bernard Richarlison heading one back for the visitors, across a helpless Adrián (45+3’), to make it 4-2 at the break, a record SIX GOALS in the first half. It wasn’t till the last minute Georginio Wijnaldum made it five for the hosts, another fine finish off a fine move and set up by cheeky sub Roberto Firmino with one of his trademark blind takes (90’). The result saw the Reds keep their eight-point lead at the top and break their unbeaten record in top-flight history of 32 matches without defeat, whilst Marco Silva finally got the sack.

#SHUNEW

Allan Saint-Maximin broke the deadlock with a strong header, his first goal for the Magpies (15’). Martin Dúbravka made a top save at the other end shortly after, denying Oli McBurnie an equaliser. The keeper showed strong gloves for the rest of the half as well, keeping the visitors ahead. Save. After. Save. After. Save. Jonjo Shelvey doubled the hosts’ lead against the run of play, running clear and netting into the bottom right corner (70’), the United players standing still, thinking offside cause the former Liverpool man was flagged offside, but he kept running, going and scoring. VAR checked and confirmed, onside, 0-2, an odd but nice one for Steve Bruce’s men. Farce. VARce as BBC put it. Chris Wilder was not happy, and understandably so after his side's dominance. The result sees the Magpies climb up to 11th, whilst the Yorkshire side remain ninth. 

#ARSBHA

The Seagulls were dominating, the opening goal was no surprise. The Gunners were all over the place, Adam Webster gave the visitors the lead from close range, fully deserved (36’). A scruffy equaliser shortly after the restart, Alexandre Lacazette’s bundle-tumble over the line was confirmed by the VAR (50’). David Luiz clearly offside when netting a free kick (63’). Neal Maupay headed in the second for the visitors, too easy, again, all the red shirts not moving, just watching, non-existent defense (80’). A top save by Albion's keeper Mathew Ryan kept his side ahead late on, quick reaction. Managerless Arsenal have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 11 matches in all competitions, on their worst winless run since 1977, ten points off a Champions League spot in tenth. Brighton meanwhile, climb up to 12th after their first win in four games. 

My Predictions - Actual Results 

Crystal Palace 1:2 Bournemouth - 1:0

Burnley 1:1 Man City - 1:4

Chelsea 2:1 Aston Villa - 2:1

Leicester 4:0 Watford - 2:0

Man Utd 2:2 Tottenham - 2:1

Southampton 1:2 Norwich - 2:1 

Wolves 2:1 West Ham - 2:0 

Liverpool 4:1 Everton - 5:2

Sheff Utd 2:1 Newcastle - 0:2

Arsenal 2:1 Brighton - 1:2

Click here for last week’s Premier League Notes.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports and RMC Sport coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 17

Sports - Football - Premier League -  Week 17

The 17th week of the Premier League action saw:

28 goals - most by Man City, Watford, Southampton and Liverpool = 3 each

238 shots - most by Liverpool = 36

76 on target - most by Liverpool = 11

90 corners - most by Liverpool = 13

187 fouls - most by Wolves = 15

25 bookings - most by Southampton = 3

0 red cards

0 penalties

What a match! Liverpool played Manchester United off the park on Sunday. The Reds’ 3-1 win at Anfield was a let-off for the Red Devils, they could and should have been thrashed by much more, they were so bad, 36-6 shots, 11-2 on target! The opening goal was created by Fabinho with a beautiful cross and finished with a lovely take off the chest and shot in by Sadio Mané (24’). The visitors only got back into the game thanks to Alisson’s spill, netted by Jesse Lingard (33’), the hosts bossed it before and after. But it was substitute Xherdan Shaqiri who made the difference, with his brace shortly (= 144 seconds) after coming on (73’, 80’), both times helped by deflections, winning it for the Scousers. The Swiss is only the second LFC player to score at least two goals in their first game against United, the first since Nigel Clough in January 1994. The win extended the unbeaten run for Jürgen Klopp’s men and took them back to the top, a record 19 points ahead of their bitter rivals, whilst José Mourinho’s side’s misery continues, equalling their worst start to a top-flight season after 17 games back in 1990-91 (also 26 points). Even the Portuguese conceded how much better the opposition were in the match and are in general. Full. Stop.
Hence, it came to no surprise when the news broke on Tuesday, of the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan manager's dismissal. The more of a surprise was his replacement, former United forward Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

What a team! Manchester City made an easy recovery from their first league defeat last weekend, brushing aside Everton 3-1 at the Etihad in the early kick-off on Saturday. Gabriel Jesus’ brace (22’, 50’) and Raheem Sterling’s header minutes after coming off the bench (69’) were enough to down the Toffees, Dominic Calvert-Lewin with the only response (65’) against the dominant Citizens. The win put Pep Guardiola’s men back to the top of the table, at least for the day, whilst Marco Silva was left disappointed, with his main men Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson firing blanks and missing sitters, wasting the little and few chances they had, seeing them fail and fall down to eighth. 

What a man! Ralph Hasenhüttl was entertaining to watch on the sideline in his first match as Southampton manager and could not have asked for a better start, shocking and beating Arsenal 3-2 at St Mary’s. The surprise result ended the Saints’ 14-game winless streak and the Gunners’ 22-match unbeaten run. Charlie Austin’s 85th minute winning header ended a cracking contest, that saw Danny Ings (20’, 44’) and Henrikh Mkhitaryan (28’, 53’) keep the competitive encounter going with a brace each for either side, strong headers and capitalising takes. Juicy footy. The victory took the Saints out of the drop zone, up to 17th, their Austrian boss left apologising to his counterpart Unai Emery after forgetting to shake hands as emotional celebrations took over. Who can blame him after that epic win?!

Eden Hazard scored one (33’) after having assisted the opener (Pedro 17’) to make sure Chelsea ended up 1-2 winners at Brighton on Sunday, leaving boss Maurizio Sarri relieved and full of praise for the 27-year-old. Blues defender Marcos Alonso was a very lucky man to remain on the pitch after fouling Solly March late on, who had pulled one back for the home side (66'), making the last half an hour a tense affair. Tough luck for the Seagulls.

What a goal! Captain Luka Milivojeviç's stunning strike from 25 yards out gave Crystal Palace the lead against Leicester and ended up securing a much-needed win for Roy Hodgson’s side. It's the first time the Foxes haven’t scored on the road in the league this season. Jamie Vardy got so close, the ball coming back from the inside of the post and back to the keeper. It stayed 1-0 at Selhurst Park to make it three wins on the trot for the home side, taking them up to 15th, two consecutive defeats for the visitors, pushing them down to 12th.

Salomón Rondón scored his 40th PL goal for his club, Newcastle’s first second-half goal of the season, at Huddersfield. With that the Magpies edged past the Terriers, against the run of play, to move six points clear of the drop zone. David Wagner’s side are falling further and further after their fourth successive defeat despite all the chances they created (15-8).

And it was a delightful day for Watford against Cardiff, youngster Domingos Quina making it 3-0 with a lovely turning curler (68’). It could have been double that score if it weren’t for Neil Etheridge’s solid and exemplary display and saves. The Welsh side hit back late on though and got one beautiful curler of their own back to make it 3-1 (Junior Hoilett 80’). Bobby Reid’s back-heeler was deflected, but poked back in (was it offside though?), making it two goals in two minutes and 3-2 (82’). Too little, too late.

Robert Snodgrass’ opening goal from 20 yards put West Ham ahead at Fulham (17’) in the evening kick-off on Saturday. Michail Antonio doubled the Hammers’ lead from close range (29’), the Cottagers unable to defend and keep control at the back. Or the front. They didn’t offer much after that, an easy win and crucial three points for the Hammers, the Cottagers remaining slumped and dumped at the bottom of the table.

What the hell?! How did Dele Ali miss that last-minute chance for Tottenham against Burnley?! Super sub Christian Eriksen made up for it though, to his team mates' relief, scoring the winner moments later in added time, finally breaking Sean Dyche’s men’s resistance, who failed to record a single shot on target at Wembley. Mauricio Pochettino will be a very happy man, being the first Spurs boss to record 100 PL wins in 169 games (10 matches quicker than a certain Arsène Wenger), and a club-record total of PL points after 17 games = 39.

Bournemouth suffered their sixth defeat in seven at Wolves, who won for the third time in a row in the top flight for the first time since March 1980. Worrying times for one, down to tenth, relieving and encouraging for the other, up to seventh.

My Predictions - Actual Results

Man City 1:0 Everton - 3:1

Crystal Palace 0:1 Leicester - 1:0

Huddersfield 1:1 Newcastle - 0:1

Tottenham 4:1 Burnley - 1:0

Watford 3:1 Cardiff - 3:2

Wolves 0:2 Bournemouth - 2:0

Fulham 2:2 West Ham - 0:2

Brighton 1:1 Chelsea - 1:2

Southampton 2:2 Arsenal - 3:2

Liverpool 2:1 Man United - 3:1

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, Gillette Soccer Saturday, MOTD, Twitter and Sky Sports match coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 3

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 3

Here are my Premier League Picks Of The Week 3:

29 goals - most by Fulham = 4

266 shots - most by Fulham = 25

93 on target - most by Fulham = 12

106 corners - most by Southampton = 10

230 fouls - most by Arsenal & Newcastle & Tottenham = 16 each

33 bookings - most by Watford = 4

4 red cards - Richarlison for Everton, Smith for Bournemouth, Hogg for Huddersfield, Højbjerg for Southampton

2 penalties - 2 scored (King for Bournemouth, Hazard for Chelsea)

What a game! Arsenal recorded their first win of the season against West Ham, coming back from behind. But it was not exactly in the most convincing fashion, thanks to Hammers debutant Issa Diop diverting the ball into his own net. It ended 3-1 at the Emirates, but the Gunners still looked very frail and their manager Unai Emery conceded that much, that his side definitely “need to improve”. Manuel Pellegrini’s side fell to the bottom of the table after their third straight defeat under their new boss despite a much better, guttier and more promising performance.

What a comeback it was by Bournemouth against Everton! The Cherries came from two goals down to grab a point at Dean Court with both sides reduced to ten men! This clash has seen the most goals of any other Premier League fixture after seven meetings between the two. Eddie Howe’s men have grabbed 25 points from losing positions since the beginning of last season, more than any other Premier League side. Comeback kings!

It was goals galore at Craven Cottage as well, end-to-end stuff, Fulham ending 4-2 winners against Burnley. 
And Monday night brought a cracker with plenty of talking points as well, read more on both cracking matches below...

What a team! I’ve said it before and I say it again, Wolves have been brill! Nuno Espírito Santo’s men just got a point against champions Manchester City at Molineux, harsh but better than naught, and as the former Portuguese keeper put it, his side have “nothing to prove”. The Championship winners have lost just two of their 28 home games under Nuno, recording 18 wins and 8 draws. The Wanderers have more than proven they have what it takes to take their game to the Premier League.

Liverpool made it three out of three recording a hard-fought win against Brighton at Anfield, more below. So did Chelsea at Newcastle, just, winning 1-2 thanks to an Eden Hazard penalty (76’) and DeAndre Yedlin's own goal (87’). Tottenham did it in style at Old Trafford, after a difficult first half, they totally smashed Manchester United with two goals in just over two minutes after the restart. Again, read more below.

What a man! Alisson is the coolest keeper on the block! The Reds will have had their hearts in their mouths but the top stopper kept another clean sheet with his cool moves and superb save to deny Pascal Groß and make it three out of three, 100% record start to the season.

Aleksandar Mitrović and André Schürrle were just on fire for Fulham, more to the firing duo and cracking match below.

Ben Foster made a couple of point-blank blocks and saves for Watford against Palace, in the end crucial to keep his side’s 100% record going as they won 2-1, a first for them after three matches in the top flight, more below.

José Mourinho has lost the plot! David de Gea's miserable form continues, having conceded 12 goals against the last 16 shots he has faced for Manchester United and Spain. Harry Kane (50’) and Lucas Moura (52’ and 84’) starred and won it for Tottenham at Old Trafford on Monday night. The Red Devils missed some sitters and were disappointing after the restart to say the least. But the Portuguese boss has made all the headlines with his post-match and press conference antiques. The clock is ticking HERE AND NOW, no matter how many titles he has won in the past!!!

What a goal! Willy Boly’s handball off João Moutinho's cross was obvious, but somehow the goal stood and it was not more than Wolves deserved! City pulled one back thanks to Aymeric Laporte’s header, the 1,500th goal scored by a Frenchman, so, you could say the champions got more than they deserved despite decisions going against them! Well, that would be harsh too after Sergio Agüero hit the woodwork and Rui Patrício’s athleticism denied Raheem Sterling onto the bar, Pep Guardiola will have been wondering just as much how more points were dropped than won!

Mohamed Salah’s winner for Liverpool was a clinical strike to make it 1-0 with his 29th goal in 29 games at Anfield and the 45th Premier League goal the great Egyptian has been directly involved in (34 goals, 11 assists) since the start of last season, 12 more than any other player! 

Ryan Bertrand’s opener for the Saints was a rocket! But it all counted for nothing in the end, more on that defeat against Leicester below.

Jean Michael Seri’s smacker opened the Ivorian's account and kick-started the match for Fulham against Burnley. Mitrović was in the right place at the right time to beat Joe Hart a couple of times to make it 3-1 at half-time. Oh no, sorry, 3-2!!! Mad! The Serbian striker should have had a hat-trick but Schürrle netted the rebound coolest of the cool - touch, move, boom 4-2!

Both Watford goals were impressive and stunning, Roberto Pereyra’s curling opener (53’) and José Holebas from distance (71’). Joel Ward was sooooo close to level for Palace in the last minute after Wilfried Zaha pulled one back (78’), but it was not to be.

What the hell?! As mentioned above, it was a mad encounter at Dean Court, Richarlison head-butting (41’) and Adam Smith pulling (61’) their ways off the pitch to reduce both teams to 10 v 10 after just over an hour. Everton were 0-2 up thanks to Theo Walcott (56’) and Michael Keane (66’), but Bournemouth completed their comeback through Joshua King from the spot (75’) and a Nathan Aké tap in (79’).

Again, Wolves' winner was a blatant handball!!! Maradona-esque!!! Much in contrast to that, the ref did well at Southampton, not falling for any diving dramas, rightly sending off the drama queen Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, a second yellow for his diving antiques, not exactly helping the Saints as they crumbled 1-2 against Leicester at St Marys. The officials worked well together to deal with the bust-up at Huddersfield as well which saw Jonathan Hogg sent off after clashing with Cardiff’s Harry Arter. Mark Hughes and David Wagner felt hard done by with both decisions respectively, but both calls were maybe a bit harsh but not wrong in my eyes!

All goals at St James Park had an OMG factor, from harsh penalty that was nearly stopped, to boom in-your-face equaliser after an elbow on Olivier Giroud, and an own goal decided the match and win for Chelsea in the end. Fair result??? Don't think Rafael Benítez thinks so...

My Predictions - Actual Results 

Wolves 1:4 Man City - 1:1

Arsenal 2:2 West Ham - 3:1

Bournemouth 1:1 Everton - 2:2

Huddersfield 1:0 Cardiff - 0:0

Southampton 2:1 Leicester - 1:2

Liverpool 3:0 Brighton - 1:0

Watford 1:1 Crystal Palace - 2:1

Fulham 1:2 Burnley - 4:2

Newcastle 1:3 Chelsea - 1:2

Man United 2:3 Tottenham - 0:3

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, Sky Sports and SFR app and match coverage and Twitter.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 36

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 36

The 36th week of the Premier League action saw:

22 goals - most by Crystal Palace = 5

229 shots - most by Liverpool & Man City = 19 each

70 on target - most by Palace = 9

77 corners - most by Liverpool & Man United = 9 each

202 fouls - most by Brighton = 17

23 yellow cards - most by Southampton = 5

1 red card - Albrighton for Leicester

1 penalty - 1 scored (Benteke for Palace)

What a game! Arsenal have not won at Old Trafford in the league for a decade and José Mourinho has never lost a home league game against Arsène Wenger. No surprise then when the Gunners suffered their sixth away defeat in a row for the first time since January 1966 losing 2-1 late on against United on Sunday afternoon. That means the Londoners are the only side left in the top four divisions in England without a single point on the road in 2018 (P6 W0 D0 L6). The French boss lined up the youngest starting eleven (average age 24y 67d) in the league since August 2011 - when they were thrashed 8-2 at the same ground. The match was not much of a contest, unlike the rivalry battles from the past as recounted in the previews and buildup, more like a training game, not much speed nor physicality. Paul Pogba fired the home side ahead after 16 minutes before former Red Devil Henrikh Mkhitaryan levelled the score soon after the interval and it looked like the visitors were able to get something out of the game. But Maroune Fellaini smashed in the winner in injury time seconds after Marcus Rashford had a goal disallowed, serving Wenger a bitter final farewell. “We want you to stay!” was the chant from the home fans. OUCH!

What a team! It was not Leicester’s day on Saturday afternoon at Selhurst Park. Crystal Palace led comfortably in the first half thanks to man of the match Wilfried Zaha and James McArthur. Marc Albrighton’s last-man tackle earned him a straight red and added to his side’s misery shortly after the break. Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Patrick van Aanholt sealed the deal 4-0 later on, Christian Benteke topped it 5-0 from the spot, their joint-biggest win in the top-flight since December 1972 (when they thrashed Manchester United 5-0), thank you very much, leaving Roy Hodgson and co all smiles after going up to 11th with this win, 99.9% safe. What relegation worries?! Who would have thought a couple of months ago?! Claude Puel meanwhile, after his side's third defeat in the last four games, is under hotter than hot fire walking on super-thin melting ice...

Newcastle didn’t have much to cheer about either on Saturday afternoon losing 0-1 to West Brom thanks to Matt Phillips, the season trickling away for the Toons with their second defeat on the trot, whilst the bottom side are experiencing a remarkable upturn in form since Darren Moore has taken over as caretaker, four games unbeaten. Shame it has all come a bit too late for the Baggies, needing a miracle to survive, five points from safety with two games left to play and some other teams with a game in hand.

What a man! Dušan Tadić was outstanding for Southampton in their crucial 2-1 win against Bournemouth on Saturday. The Serb’s brace made the difference, the first a low finish after a counter attack, the second a superb run and drilled-in winner after Joshua King had fired in an equaliser for the visitors. Mark Hughes seems to be making a difference for the Saints, this win being vital in their fight for safety, taking them to just one point behind the Swans in 17th.

Huddersfield were pulled closer to the relegation zone after Everton beat them too comfortably at home, Cenk Tosun and Idrissa Gueye sealing the 0-2 win for the Toffees. What was all the negative fuss around Big Sam when he took over at Goodison Park?! The Toffees went up to eighth with this win, totalling 14 points from the last seven games as the boss himself pointed out as he departed from the post-match interview. Point. Made. David Wagner and his Terriers meanwhile are dangling in 16th, just three points from the drop with Chelsea, Man City and Arsenal left to play. TRIPLE OUCH!!!

What a goal! Most of the goals at the London Stadium were just comical, Manchester City all over West Ham. First Leroy Sané’s cross/shot was deflected in by former Red Devil Patrice Evra’s head, then Declan Rice and Pablo Zabaleta ping ponged Kevin De Bruyne’s low cross into the back of their own net. The Hammers did hit one back, Aaron Cresswell curling a free kick in nicely around the ball (which should have actually been a penalty as the foul was committed inside the box), but crumbled to bits after that. Gabriel Jesus and Fernandinho were too quick and netted two more from close range after the restart, th-r-ash - and the Citizens could have had a penalty in between as well, Raheem Sterling chopped to ground. It ended 1-4, taking Pep’s men’s total to 102 goals in the PL and leaving no question who’s on top, all sorts of records tumbling (goals, points, away and in total). But the only downer was that it seemed like the ref didn’t know any rules - what’s offside? And what are the lines and box for?! Pf. More to the flopping refereeing standards below.

It was a scrappy one at Wembley on Monday night, Watford keeper Orestis Karnezis handing Dele Alli the opener before Harry Kane doubled Tottenham’s lead and secured the three points to the home side, moving them one step closer to Champions League qualification, 4th placed, five points ahead of Chelsea in 5th and just one point behind Liverpool in 3rd with a game in hand on the Reds. The Hornets meanwhile are still not completely safe, in 13th, six points clear from the drop zone, but other teams with games in hand. Next week will be crunch time for a lot of teams, top and bottom four/five/six/seven/eight/you get my drift...

What the hell?! The refereeing was below par once again as mentioned above, at Anfield as well, not excusing Liverpool’s tired display against Stoke City, but just pointing out how crucial the officials’ decisions can be and are. Click here for my full LFC match report of the frustrating goalless lunchtime kickoff on Saturday. ARGH!!!

Burnley had a couple of penalty appeals waved away as well, both clear handballs, Brighton grabbing a point from them at Turf Moor, the prior needing just one more point to secure their place in the Europa League, whilst the latter slip to 14th, five points clear of the relegation places.

Chelsea’s Gary Cahill was a very lucky man not to concede a spot kick for his tackle on Swansea’s Nathan Dyer in Wales in the Saturday evening kickoff. The Blues ended up 0-1 winners thanks to Cesc Fàbregas’ early goal and bad refereeing, leaving the Swans dangling just one point above the drop zone, all the questionable decisions keeping the battle to safety wide open, as detailed above.

My Predictions - Actual Results

Liverpool 3:1 Stoke City - 0:0 or my match report

Burnley 1:1 Brighton - 0:0

Crystal Palace 2:1 Leicester - 5:0

Huddersfield 1:1 Everton - 0:2

Newcastle 1:0 West Brom - 0:1

Southampton 2:1 Bournemouth - 2:1

Swansea 1:3 Chelsea - 0:1

West Ham 2:3 Man City - 1:4

Man United 2:1 Arsenal - 2:1

Tottenham 2:0 Watford - 2:0

Click here for last week’s Premier League Picks.

All pictures, stats and facts were taken from the BBC match reports, PL and Sky Sports apps, Twitter and SFR coverage.