Premier League Picks Of The Week 21

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 21

The 21st week of the Premier League action saw:

226 shots - most by Tottenham = 21
29 goals - most by Arsenal, Tottenham & Everton = 4 each
247 fouls - most by Everton & Man United = 17 each
31 bookings - most by West Ham = 4
0 red cards - lucky escape for Pogba once again, read below...
2 penalties - 2 scored (Stanislas for Bournemouth & Milner for Liverpool)

Video evidence of:

Pep in shock

Pogba wrestling

Andy's stunner

What a game! Merseyside v Manchester as Sky billed it... The Scousers won! Big time! More at Goodison Park than at Old Trafford, but the reactions showed who was on top and expected more! Everton made their chances count and totally outshone and stunned City, leaving Pep Guardiola in shock suffering his biggest defeat ever. Liverpool lead thanks to consistent and reliable penalty taker James Milner (10/10 for him, 6/6 for LFC), and were in control for most of the match, until Zlatan Ibrahimovic spoilt Jürgen Klopp's show with a late leveller, more to that one below... And in my match report.

What a team! Tottenham were the most convincing contenders if anything or anyone can compete or catch up with Chelsea. The Blues moved seven points clear at the top thanks to Marcos Alonso's double, downing champions Leicester 3-0. But Harry Kane stole the show at White Hart Lane, with a convincing hat-trick, contributing to Spurs' total dominance and 4-0 thrashing of West Brom, which takes Slaven Bilic's men up to second place, level on points with Liverpool in third.

What a man! Chelsea forward Diego Costa and West Ham midfielder Dimitri Payet should both be banned/fined/punished for their their disgusting, unprofessional and greedy behaviour! Do contracts mean anything nowadays?! Or is it all just pounds/euros/dollars/whatever the Chinese currency is?! You either love the game or just yourself!!! Both were dropped because of their spoilt-brat antiques leaving both their managers fuming. The bigger point was made and proved with both sides winning, it is not all just about you!!!

What a goal! This weekend saw another awesome, brilliant, beautiful scissor kick, this time starring Andy Carroll for the Hammers, heels over head, as they thrashed Crystal Palace 3-0 at the Olympic Stadium. This season is turning into football porn with stunners like this becoming a weekly feature! See link above to see for yourself.

What the hell?! Ok, I'm maybe not the most neutral reporter, but how the hell did Paul Pogba stay on the pitch after head-locking/choke-slamming Jordan Henderson to the ground?! Oh, and how convenient for United as well, that the linesman did not see a clear offside in the buildup to Ibrahimovic's equaliser, mentioned above! Funny José Mourinho did not mention nor moan nor pick on the referee after the match on this occasion... Click here to see for youself what drives me so mad about United's luck!!! And in my match report.

My Predictions - Actual Results
Tottenham 2:1 West Brom - 4:0
Burnley 1:0 Southampton - 1:0
Hull City 2:1 Bournemouth - 3:1
Sunderland 1:0 Stoke City - 1:3
Swansea 1:4 Arsenal - 0:4
Watford 1:0 Middlesbrough - 0:0
West Ham 1:0 Crystal Palace - 3:0
Leicester 1:2 Chelsea - 0:3
Everton 1:2 Man City - 4:0
Man United 2:1 Liverpool - 1:1 or click here to read my match report

Click here for last week's Premier League Picks.

Pictures taken from the BBC match reports.

Ibrahimovic saves point for United

Sports - Football - Premier League - MUFC 1:1 LFC

Zlatan Ibrahimovic extended United's unbeaten run to twelve league games (5D, 7W) as he levelled the score late on against bitter rivals Liverpool making it 1:1 and a point each at Old Trafford.

Jürgen Klopp and his men will see it more as two points dropped than one point won after showing great control and sternness.

They had taken the lead in the 27th minute thanks to James Milner's spot kick, given against an embarrassingly obvious handball by Paul Pogba, and the visitors controlled the game from then.

The £89m-striker was lucky to stay on the pitch after wrestling Jordan Henderson to the ground, his arm around the Red skipper's throat.

Keeper Simon Mignolet impressed with a strong display, denying Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in the first half.

Red Devils' boss José Mourinho had seen enough and left the dugout for the break before time was added on.

Wayne Rooney came on after the interval, replacing Michael Carrick, looking to break Liverpool and the club record.

The Scouser did bring more confidence and threat to the Red Devils, but Klopp knew how to deal with that, bringing on Philippe Coutinho and more stability with it.

The German's face and voice said it all just seconds before the leveller, loud, angry, devilish...

Ibrahimovic equalised in the 84th minute off the rebound after Antonio Valencia powered it in off the post. Replays showed a United player was offside in the build-up.

It's the Swede's 14th goal in his first 20 Premier League matches, equalling Alan Shearer's and Sergio Agüero's records.

And it didn't finish there. Ander Herrera was cautioned in the dying minutes for pulling Roberto Firmino's shirt. Both managers clashed on the touchline as both felt the opponent should have a man sent off.

The Portuguese manager calmed his players down in the final minutes, Sir Alex Ferguson smiling in the stands.

Liverpool felt robbed. Klopp had to breath in and out before answering any post-match questions, clear signs of frustration.

The draw does mean Milner is still unbeaten in the 46 games where he has scored and Liverpool have recorded least defeats of all Premier League teams (two, same as Tottenham).

But every goal and point dropped will hurt as Chelsea are now seven points clear at the top with 17 games to go.

Liverpool Goal: Milner pen 26:37min.

Manchester United Goal: Ibrahimovic 83:09min.

Manchester United Team: 1 De Gea; 36 Darmian (27 Fellaini 76'), 5 Marcos Rojo, 4 Jones, 25 Valencia; 11 Martial (8 Mata 65'), 21 Ander Herrera (booked 90'), 16 Carrick (10 Rooney 46'); 9 Ibrahimovic, 22 Mkhitaryan, 6 Pogba. 4-3-3
Subs not used: 20 S Romero, 17 Blind, 12 Smalling & Rashford.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet; 7 Milner, 17 Klavan, 6 Lovren (booked 31'), 66 Alexander-Arnold; 5 Wijnaldum (booked 61'), 14 Henderson, 23 Can; 27 Origi (10 Coutinho 61'), 11 Firmino (booked 90'), 20 Lallana. 4-3-3
Subs not used: 1 Karius, 11 Gomez, 18 Moreno, 34 Stewart, 53 Ejaria & 15 Sturridge.

HT & FT stats: MUFC-LFC
Possession: 52%-48% & 55%-45%
Attempts: 4-5 & 9-13
On target: 2-1 & 3-4
Corners: 3-5 & 5-7
Fouls: 9-8 & 17-13
Bookings: 0-1 & 1-3

Referee: Michael Oliver
Ground: Old Trafford
Attendance: 75,276

Pictures and stats taken from the BBC match report. 

Click here for my previous LFC match report.