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Big changes at the top of the table on Boxing day as Manchester City push Liverpool off the top, helping Arsenal reclaim the lead in the Premier League. A big day for Chelsea with a narrow win over Swansea while Manchester United continue to pick up steam with a hard earned win at Hull.
Newcastle continue to impress with a 5-1 win over Stoke, rising to sixth in the table, only six points away from the top, while Everton took a nasty hit to their ambitions, and Tottenham are back to depressing and struggling to score.
Hull City 2 Manchester United 3: Something that reminded everyone that Manchester United are still champions, and still in the race for everything. Early goals from James Chester and David Meyler didn’t discourage a resilient Manchester United side, enjoying goals from Chris Smalling, Wayne Rooney and the own goal from Chester in the second half, while David de Gea made two brilliant saved to win the match.
Aston Villa 0 Crystal Palace 1: Things continue to look awful for Villa, who can’t seem to score a goal. Crystal Palace aren’t that better, but they’re out of the relegation zone thanks to a winner from Dwight Gayle.
Cardiff 0 Southampton 3: A very important win for the Saints who were in some sort of free fall, pushing themselves back into where the action is. Jay Rodriguez opened the scoring, twice from Adam Lallana assists, and himself set up Rickie Lambert for the third goal.
Chelsea 1 Swansea 0: Jose Mourinho’s team continues to look unconvincing, but they’re right in the thick of things thanks to Eden Hazard, the team’s best player this season, rising above the mundane ability of everyone else.
Everton 0 Sunderland 1: An awful set of mistakes by Tim Howard (sent off) and Leon Osman cost Everton the match, giving away a foolish penalty kick so Sung-Yueng Ki could convert and give a bit more hope to the Black Cats in their survival efforts.
Newcastle 5 Stoke 1: Some awful refereeing got Glenn Whelan and Marc Wilson sent off in a matter of three minutes, and it didn’t really matter that Loic Remy missed a penalty kick. The French striker added two goals, while Yoan Gouffran, Yohan Cabaye and Papiss Cisse scored the rest.
Norwich 1 Fulham 2: Despite going down early from a Gary Hooper goal, Fulham pulled off a rare away win, getting goals from Pajtim Kasami and a dramatic winner by Scott Parker.
Tottenham 1 West Brom 1: Things continue to be quite depressing at White Hart Lane. Christian Eriksen did score a beauty of a goal from a free kick, but Jonas Olsson equalized two minutes later as the same Spurs problems came up one more time.
West Ham 1 Arsenal 3: The awful football West Ham play almost won them 3 points after taking the lead through Carlton Cole, but Theo Walcott is playing some excellent football this season, scoring twice before the finisher from Lukas Podolski, as Arsenal showed its teeth and depth.
Manchester City 2 Liverpool 1: An excellent match that had too much interference from Lee Mason, helping the home side remain perfect at the Etihad. Philippe Coutinho scored the first goal but a header from Vincent Kompany and a creative looking strike from Alvaro Negredo kept the 3 points in Manchester.
# | Team | Pl | Pts | GD | GS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Arsenal | 18 | 39 | 18 | 36 | |
2 | Man City | 18 | 38 | 32 | 53 | |
3 | Chelsea | 18 | 37 | 15 | 33 | |
4 | Liverpool | 18 | 36 | 22 | 43 | |
5 | Everton | 18 | 34 | 12 | 29 | |
6 | Newcastle | 18 | 33 | 6 | 29 | |
7 | Man Utd | 18 | 31 | 9 | 31 | |
8 | Tottenham | 18 | 31 | -5 | 19 | |
9 | Southampton | 18 | 27 | 7 | 25 | |
10 | Stoke City | 18 | 21 | -8 | 18 | |
11 | Swansea | 18 | 20 | -1 | 23 | |
12 | Hull City | 18 | 20 | -7 | 16 | |
13 | A Villa | 18 | 19 | -7 | 17 | |
14 | Norwich | 18 | 19 | -15 | 16 | |
15 | West Brom | 18 | 17 | -5 | 19 | |
16 | Cardiff | 18 | 17 | -15 | 13 | |
17 | C Palace | 18 | 16 | -15 | 12 | |
18 | Fulham | 18 | 16 | -16 | 19 | |
19 | West Ham | 18 | 14 | -10 | 15 | |
20 | Sunderland | 18 | 13 | -17 | 13 |
Top Scorers
1. Luis Suarez (Liverpool) – 19 goals
2. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) – 13 goals
3. Loic Remy (Newcastle) – 10 goals