Premier League Week 12 Wrap-Up
Mourinho earns a result against a long-time rival
Manchester United has recovered some of their form after suffering multiple poor results in the Premier League. Their win against Swansea City inspired the squad and showed that the highly talented roster can still win. United were without Zlatan Ibrahimović due to his suspension and Anthony Martial earned the start. Arsenal was coming off a draw against rival Tottenham. The Gunners would be without star Hector Bellerin for the match.
The first bit of action came in the form of some controversy in the 35th minute of the match. Antonio Valencia worked his way into the box and was seemingly fouled by Nacho Monreal. Andre Marriner waved off any calls for a penalty and play continued. José Mourinho was disgusted and furious at the no call, deservedly so. The match went into half time with no goals scored.
Juan Mata broke the deadlock in the 68th minute. Paul Pogba received the ball on the right flank and played a through ball to a charging Ander Herrera. Herrera crossed the ball to the middle of the box and Mata was free to score. Mata was a fringe player under Mourinho at Chelsea, which led to him moving to United. At the start of the season, Mata seemed he would be on the way out but has come to the front of the team and emerged as a star player for United.
As United searched for their second, Arsenal broke the hearts of the Red Devil fans in the 89th minute. Substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain crossed the ball into the box to fellow sub Olivier Giroud. Giroud’s header beat David De Gea and brought the game level as time was winding down. The game would end that way with a point for both teams.
Arsenal was disappointing for much of the match but was able to earn a point from what should have been three points for United. Though it is only a tie for United, the Red Devils are looking more impressive and will look to continue their better form against relegation battling West Ham United. Arsenal have managed to earn two points from two games against top teams but has not looked like the team that earned the top spot in the Premier League just a few weeks ago. They will battle against surging Bournemouth to move up the table again.
Yaya Touré helps to push Crystal Palace further down the table
City has also fallen out of the top spot with a draw in their last match, just like Arsenal. They were set to play struggling Crystal Palace to try to reclaim that top spot. After a very public rift, Pep Guardiola elected to give Yaya Touré his first start in the Premier League for City this season. Alan Pardew has struggled to keep Crystal Palace up in the standings and the team is now fighting to stay out of the relegation zone.
The match started with a scare for Manchester City as captain Vincent Kompany collided with the knee of City keeper Claudio Bravo in the 26th minute. The moment was very scary for the Belgian and he was eventually subbed off in the 37th minute of the match. Two minutes after that substitution, City scored their first goal. Touré rewarded his manager for the start with a goal in the first half. Touré played a one-two with Nolito and put the ball perfectly in the top corner to score. The teams went into the locker room with City up 1–0.
A close save by both keeper Wayne Hennessey and defender Joel Ward kept the deficit at one for Palace and kept them in the match. Minutes later, Crystal Palace moved to equalize the game in the 66th minute. Wilfried Zaha gave the ball to substitute Connor Wickham who beat Bravo to bring the game level. Touré put City ahead again in the 83rd minute and scored the winner. Kevin De Bruyne played the cross low to the near post. Touré was unmarked and free to score his second of the match.
Guardiola now must consider starting Touré because of the players’ brilliant play in his one game of the season. The three points brought City level with Liverpool at second in the table. Palace moved level with Middlesbrough and West Ham United, right above the relegation zone. City will play Burnley next week while Palace face bottom team Swansea City.
Liverpool stifled by Southampton
Liverpool earned the top spot in the Premier League by playing brilliant attacking football led by Philippe Coutinho. Many Liverpool players have played a part in their charge to the top and have scored many goals along the way. Liverpool was coming off of a 6–1 thrashing over Watford while Southampton lost to Hull City in their last match.
Southampton was further down the table than they expected as they have a good squad that has played many of the top teams close. Though they play the top teams well, Southampton has not gotten the right results to be in the top half of the table. Southampton did show their strengths against Liverpool as Fraser Forster, José Fonte, and Virgil van Dijk combined to keep the ball out of the net. Despite great attacking play, Liverpool was unable to score during the match.
The same players that scored goals against Watford came up empty against Southampton. The game remained 0–0 due to brilliant defending and missed shots. Liverpool managed fifteen shots but was only able to get two of those shots on target showing their lack for the killer instinct in the match. The result gave both teams a point and put Liverpool’s fate this week in the hands of Chelsea, who played the day after.
Harry Kane keeps Tottenham in the top five
Tottenham has still unimpressed many despite their place in the top five in the Premier League. In their past five games, Spurs have yet to win one, resulting in two losses and three draws. The Spurs have drawn each of their last four PL games with their last win coming against Manchester City in week seven. West Ham United has found themselves in a fierce struggle to stay out of the bottom three teams in the league.
Spurs came close to striking early as Eric Dier played a beautiful pass to Christian Eriksen who beat Darren Randolph but was ruled offside and the goal was disallowed. It was West Ham who scored the first goal in the match. Dimitri Payet swung in the cross that came off the head of Cheikhou Kouyaté. But the ball hit the crossbar and fell to Winston Reid. Reid hit the ball across to an open Michail Antonio who scored with his head to put West Ham up 1–0.
Early in the second half, a defensive give-away by Angelo Ogbonna led to an attack by Tottenham. Danny Rose carried the ball down the left flank and passed to Vincent Janssen. Janssen attempted a shot but was saved by Randolph. The ball bounced to Harry Winks who scored to bring Tottenham level. Tottenham continued to attack, searching for the lead. But great defending and goalkeeping by West Ham kept the game level until the 68th minute.
Mike Dean awarded West Ham a penalty when Janssen pulled down Winston Reid during a West Ham cross. Manuel Lanzini took the penalty and gave back the lead to West Ham. Spurs star Harry Kane would not let the game end with that result. Kane scored two goals in the 89th and 90th minutes of the game, rescuing a win for Tottenham.
The game seemed all but lost but brilliance from Kane allowed Tottenham to earn three points for the first time in five matches. The teams looked even for much of the game but Kane’s late game heroics, and a red card for Reid, was the difference. The game winner came from a penalty earned by Heung-min Son. West Ham stayed at the bottom of the table while Tottenham remained in the top five.
Chelsea earns the top spot
Chelsea has been in top form recently, winning five matches in a row. Antonio Conte switched Chelsea to a 3–4–3 formation and that formation has not allowed a goal in five matches while also managing to score sixteen. Chelsea has been flying high and rose quickly up the table while Middlesbrough remain towards the bottom of the table.
Chelsea had the majority of the chances but struggled to score early in the match. Pedro had multiple chances but could not find a goal for himself. Diego Costa broke the scoreless match and scored his league-leading tenth goal of the season. The goal came from an Eden Hazard cross that Middlesbrough failed to clear. Costa took advantage of the chance and put Chelsea ahead in the first half.
The match would end with that result despite more chances by Chelsea. The win put Chelsea at the top of the table after Liverpool was only able to earn one point from their match. Chelsea have kept six clean sheets in a row on their rise to the top and are looking like one of the best teams in Europe right now. The lack of European football may have helped keep Chelsea fresh and able to maintain three at the back. Chelsea has a tough match next week against rivals Tottenham while Middlesbrough play defending champions Leicester City.
Other scores from around the league
Bob Bradley still winless at Swansea after a 1–1 draw against Everton. Bournemouth rise to the top half of the table with a 1–0 win over Stoke City. Sunderland earns their second win in a 3–0 thrashing against Hull City. Watford maintains their high position in a 2–1 victory over Leicester City. West Bromwich Albion wins 4–0 against Burnley.
