Premier League Week 14 Wrap-Up

The top two teams brawl at the end of the match

Chelsea against Manchester City was the first game of the weekend and it would decide who was top of the table in the Premier League. Chelsea was ahead of City by one point coming into the match. Antonio Conte made one change to his side that has won seven games in a row. Cesc Fábregas came in for Nemanja Matić, alongside N’Golo Kanté in the midfield. On the other side, Pep Guardiola kept most of his stars in while leaving Yaya Touré on the bench again.

City thought they had scored the first goal in the 25th minute when Kevin De Bruyne swung in a free kick that Fernandinho scored with his head. The Brazilian was ruled offside and the goal disallowed. It was Chelsea that scored the first goal in the 45th minute. Gary Cahill scored one of the best looking goals in his career, however it was into his own net giving City the 1–0 lead. City had been applying a lot of pressure to the Chelsea defense and that resulted in a mistake by the Chelsea captain. Jesús Navas swung in a cross from the right side that Cahill attempted to clear. The ball hit high on the shin of the England national and curled into the top corner of the net, outside of Thibaut Courtois’s reach.

City continued their pressure almost resulting in more goals. Diego Costa increased his league leading goal record with another in the 60th minute, equalizing the match for Chelsea. The Spaniard was given the ball by fellow countryman Fábregas and Costa kept control of the ball and scored. Willian added to Chelsea’s tally ten minutes later scoring on a assist by Costa. The Brazilian paid a touching homage to the Chapecoense players and staff that died in the plane crash.

Eden Hazard scored the final goal of the match in the 90th minute. The goal seemed to frustrate the players on City as Sergio Agüero made a horror tackle on David Luiz in stoppage time of the match. His tackle started a scuffle between the two teams. At the end of it all, Fernandinho and Agüero both received red cards, Cesc Fábregas and Nathaniel Chabolah earned yellow cards.

Chelsea maintains their position at the top of the Premier League and extended their win streak to eight games in a row. City suffered more than just a defeat as key man Agüero will be forced to serve a four-match ban. Conte was proud of his players for keeping a level head during the scuffle while Guardiola was upset to see the match end in such a way. Chelsea will face surging West Bromwich Albion next week while Manchester City play Leicester City.

Tottenham shows strong against Swansea City

After a close loss against Chelsea in their previous match, Tottenham had a point to prove in their match against Swansea City. Bob Bradley and his team were coming off of their second win in the league and hoped to continue winning. Tottenham took a while to score, but once they did the Spurs attack erupted.

The first goal game in the 39th minute after Kyle Naughton fouled Dele Alli in the box, gifting a penalty to Tottenham. In the replay it would seem that Naughton did not trip Alli but the penalty was given and Harry Kane took it and scored. Heung-min Son scored the next goal with a brilliant volley on a assist from Christian Eriksen.

Son got his own assist in the 49th minute when he cut the ball back and Kane took advantage to score his second goal. Eriksen earned his goal in the 70th minute on a save from Łukasz Fabiański that popped the ball into the air. Eriksen sealed the game in the 90th minute when substitute Moussa Sissoko played the ball into Eriksen’s path making the end score 5–0. Tottenham retains their place in fifth while Swansea fell to last in the league again. Totteenham has a big match against struggling Manchester United while Swansea will play fellow bottom team Sunderland.

Arsenal takes advantage of an opportunity to seize second in the table

Not to be outdone by their fellow London club Tottenham, Arsenal scored five goals leading them to the second place spot in the Premier League. Arsenal had fallen out of the top spot of the league in recent weeks but started to regain their form. Bournemouth had been playing well and earned themselves a spot in the top half of the league.

Arsenal’s two biggest stars in Mesut Özil and Alexis Sánchez lead the team to their second straight win in commanding fashion. Özil scored the first goal in the 24th minute on an assist from Sánchez. The Chilean got the ball away from a West Ham defender and slotted it to the open Özil. Arsenal took long to score their second goal when Sánchez earned his first goal in the 72nd minute.

Sánchez fought off defenders again to score past West Ham keeper Darren Rudolph. Sánchez earned a quick second in the 80th minute on a solo effort in the bottom corner of the net. West Ham earned one back three minutes latter as veteran Andy Carroll scored with his head off a rebound to make the score 3–1.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored on an assist by Özil and Sánchez finished his hat trick in the 86th minute. With other top teams dropping points, Arsenal took advantage and sit behind Chelsea in league. They will hope to continue winning against Stoke City in their next match.

Liverpool surprised by Bournemouth

Liverpool suffered a big blow last week, despite their win, when they lost start man Coutinho for a few weeks. Coutinho has been the MVP in the league up to this point and losing a great player like that will hurt the team in attack. Bournemouth has held their place in the middle of the table avoiding relegation but far from the top five teams.

Liverpool scored twice in quick succession early in the match. Emre Can lofted a ball that Sadio Mané was able to run onto, poking the ball past Artur Boruc giving Liverpool the lead. Diovok Origi scored two minutes later on a long pass by Jordan Hnderson. Boruc came far out of the goal but Origi ran past the keeper and grew the lead for Liverpool.

Callum Wilson pulled one back for Bournemouth after James Milner fouled Ryan Fraser in the box, giving a penalty to the home side. Can restored the two-goal lead in the 64th minute with a fantastic shot into the top corner. Bournemouth was under pressure but stood up to the task and equalized the game with two quick goals.

Fraser scored in the 76th minute on a fast break and two minutes later Steve Cook tied the game at 3–3. Nathan Aké scored the game winner for Bournemouth in the 93rd minute after Loris Karius parried the ball into the danger area. Goldsands Stadium erupted and Bournemouth secured all three points from the match.

This was a bad loss for Liverpool because despite their great attacking success, their defensive mistakes cost them the match. Liverpool fell with Manchester City into third. Liverpool will look to clean up their play against struggling West Ham United while Bournemouth will play Burnley.

Fellaini makes a horrendous 100th appearance for United

José Mourinho has not had a good time at Manchester United. The manger has been fined multiple times by the league already and he has seen his team fall out of the top five by six points. His stars have yet to emerge despite costing the club a lot of money. Everton has seen some success but has been unable to climb up the table and find themselves out of the top five as well.

Veteran Zlatan Ibrahimović scored the first goal of the match just before half time. A long, and high, through ball, played by Anthony Martial, allowed Ibrahimović to put the ball over the head of the charging Marteen Stekelenburg and the ball barely bounced over the line giving United the lead. United searched for their second, dominating the chances and possession during the match, but were unable to find it.

The match completely changed in the 88th minute when Everton were given a penalty. Mourane Fellaini was subbed on in the 85th minute, making his 100th appearance for Manchester United. He quickly made an impact, but in a negative manner when four minute later he fouled Idrissa Gueye in the box. Leighton Baines scored the penalty, equalizing the game late for Everton.

Manchester United continues to struggle in the Premier League and finds themselves far off the title chase. The United players have cost so much but have failed to show their quality as players. Everton also finds themselves far off the title but their roster did not cost as much as United’s. Both teams are approaching the half waypoint with many questions as to how to proceed in the league. Everton will play Watford in their next match.

Other scores around the league

Southampton falls further down the table after a 0–3 defeat to Crystal Palace. Stoke City climbs higher after a 2–0 victory over Burnley. Leicester City continues their terrible title defense after a 1–2 loss to Sunderland. West Bromwich Albion jumps over Everton after their 3–1 win over Watford. Hull City falls into the relegation zone with a 0–1 loss to Middlesbrough.