Manchester City Edge Crystal Palace

 1-0 

Coming off a big win against Liverpool earlier this week, Manchester City had a considerably easier matchup with Crystal Palace today.  Crystal Palace have won a few games this season, but they have far too many loses and only one draw so far.  Crystal Palace also have one of the worst goal-differentials while Manchester City has the best in the Premier League.  Manchester City were the obvious favorites to win the match, but Crystal Palace did not make it easy.

Through the first-half Manchester City were far superior and racked up over a dozen shots to Crystal Palace's two.  Neither side scored, and the biggest incident came when Crystal Palace forward Cameron Jerome collided with City keeper Joe Hart.  Jerome caught Joe Hart in the head with his foot causing a laceration just below the eye for the keeper.  However it was Jerome that came up the worse for wear and had to come out with a knee injury.  Marouane Chamakh replaced Jerome with ten minutes left in the first-half.

After half-time City manager Pellegrini made some changes and brought in more offense.  Nasri and Negredo entered the match and soon after Manchester took the lead.  Jesús Navas was able to roll a cross into the box for Edin Dzeko who score with a firm one-touch finish (66').

Crystal Palace had defended well up to that point, but had little attacking presence.  Now behind a goal, Palace were in poor shape to respond and get the equalizer.  Jonathan Williams and Dwight Gayle came into the match for Crystal Palace, but City remained solid in defense and held on to the one-nil lead.

Manchester City remain in first-place and put the pressure back on Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool who all play tomorrow.  With a win against Newcastle, Arsenal could become level on points with Manchester City, however the goal-differential would keep City in first-place regardless.

Manchester City Leap Liverpool With Win

 2-1 

Manchester City hosted Liverpool today in a battle between top flight clubs.  Manchester City and Liverpool are fighting for position in the table, and look to unseat the league leading Arsenal.  Today would prove to be a tough defensive test with the league's two top scoring teams meeting at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.

Liverpool scored first when Philippe Coutinho benefited from a run by Raheem Sterling.  Suarez played the through-ball for Sterling who managed to get a touch around keeper Joe Hart.  Sterling might have scored on his own, but Coutinho was in better position and came in late for the final touch that put Liverpool in front (24').

Manchester City were not down for long and scored the equalizer on a set-piece.  David Silva delivered the corner-kick that was won by Vincent Kompany at the near-post for a header finish (31').  Then on the verge of half-time Manchester City scored again to take the lead.  Jesús Navas setup Álvaro Negredo on a breakaway for the go-ahead goal.  Negredo's shot should have been saved by keeper Mignolet, but he was fooled by the flight of the ball and did not get a firm hand on the ball to turn it away.  Instead the ball ended up in the net for the deciding goal of the match (45 +1').

Liverpool worked several shots in the second-half, but none got past keeper Hart.  Victor Moses also entered the match in an attempt to add offense for Liverpool, but he never made any kind of impact.  The Reds fall to fourth place following today's loss, while City sit one point behind Arsenal in second-place.

Manchester City Avoid Upset By Fulham

 2-4 

Manchester City have been on a good run since losing to Sunderland early in November.  Today at Craven Cottage, Manchester City continued their impressive run with a solid win against Fulham.  Fulham are without forward Berbatov who is injured and went with Adel Taarabt today at striker.  Similarly, City are without forward Agüero and played the tandem Edin Dzeko and
Álvaro Negredo in the attack.

Manchester City had the better start and scored two in the first-half.  A free-kick for Manchester City setup the first goal of the match coming from the edge of the penalty box.  Yaya Touré stepped up to take the shot and finished with a perfect strike that got over the wall and back down under the crossbar (23').

Later in the first-half captain Kompany added another goal for City with a second-chance effort.  Defender Demichelis won a header in Fulham's box that keeper Stekelenburg parried away.  However, the ball stayed in front of his goal and Kompany was ready for a tap-in finish (43').

Fulham were significantly better in the second-half and rallied to level the score.  Their first goal was initiated by Taarabt making a great run with the ball up the left flank.  Kieran Richardson made the run into the box and Taabart picked him out for an easy finish (50').

The home side then caught a lucky break that led to the equalizer.  Fulham fullback Riether got forward and delivered a cross into the box intended for John Arne Riise.  Kompany was in position to clear the cross, but the ball took an unlikely course off his foot and ended up as an own-goal (69').

Fortunately for Kompany the mistake did not cost City the match as two more goals were added to secure the win.  Substitutes Jesús Navas and James Milner each scored in the late minutes, bursting Fulham's bubble.  First Navas scored after Silva played a through-ball to put him behind the back line.  Navas finished with a firm strike that slipped between the legs of keeper Stekelenburg to retake the lead (78').

Then Milner scored the final goal moments after entering the match.  Negredo played a ball into the box that defender Hughes should have cleared.  However, Hughes whiffed his attempt allowing the ball to run to Milner waiting behind him for an easy finish (83').

Fulham have been rather disappointing this season and could find themselves in a relegation battle if their play does not improve.  Manchester City on the other hand are playing very well at the moment and could challenge Liverpool and Arsenal for the top spot in the weeks ahead.

Big Road Win For Liverpool, Crush Tottenham

 0-5 

Liverpool and Tottenham met at White Hart Lane for a Premier League matchup with big potential for the Reds.  First-place Arsenal lost the exciting match to Manchester City 6-3 the day prior, giving Liverpool a chance to gain on the league leaders.  Liverpool seized the opportunity and came away with a stunning win.

Through-balls were extremely effective against Tottenham all match with Luis Suarez, Raheem Streling, and Jordan Henderson getting behind the defense easily and often.  The first goal was scored when Henderson won a loose ball from defender Michael Dawson and played Suarez in-on-goal.  Suarez had to shake two defenders to work the shot, but scored and put Liverpool in front (18').

Henderson then scored later in the first-half following a barrage of shots by Liverpool.  Henderson took the initial shot that keeper Hugo Lloris saved well, but the rebound stayed in front of the Tottenham goal.  Suarez struck the rebound and Lloris made another big save to deny the goal, but again the rebound stayed in front of goal.  Lloris did all he could, however Henderson got a second chance and found the net for his first goal of the season (40').

The second-half did not improve for the Hotspurs and a loss of composure by Brazilian Paulinho left the home side playing with ten men.  Paulinho was caught with a high boot to the chest of Suarez and was send off with a red card.  From then on Liverpool was able to seemingly score at will and added three more goals after it was all over.

The young defender Jon Flanagan was next to score for Liverpool.  Suarez delivered the cross to Flanagan who scored with a well struck half-volley that caught a piece of the cross before finding the net (75').  Liverpool added two more when a pair of through-balls again beat Tottenham's back line.  First the substitute Luis Alberto played Suarez in-on-goal who finished with a chip-shot over Lloris caught off his line (84').  Then Suarez played Sterling in-on-goal who finished with a touch-shot for the last goal of the match (89').

Liverpool are now only two points behind Arsenal in the table with another winnable game against Cardiff City up next.  After that it will be two tough road tests against Manchester City and Chelsea.  The injuries to Steven Gerrard and Daniel Sturridge, among others, has not slowed Liverpool down yet as they remain in top form, but that could be a factor against the bigger clubs going forward.

Newcastle Tie Southampton

 1-1 

Newcastle United hosted Southampton for an evenly matched Premier League showdown.  The two clubs were separated by just three points in the Premier League table coming into the match, with Southampton looking to catch up.

Southampton started the match on the right foot and controlled close to 70% of possession.  However a costly mistake by defender Jos Hooiveld provided Newcastle with a scoring opportunity.  A free-kick from midfield put the ball in the box for Newcastle with plenty of men forward.  Hooiveld had a chance to clear the ball out of his box, but he missed his clearance to give Yoan Gouffran a second chance.  Waiting behind Hooiveld, Gouffran used his first touch to get around the keeper before scoring the first goal of the match (28').

After the goal, momentum shifted in Newcastle's favor and the home team was able to move more freely and pass more effectively.  Following half-time Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino made two changes to his squad hoping to improve their performance.  Osvaldo came out for Lallana and Ward-Prowse came out for Schneiderlin, but it was Jay Rodriguez that benefited from the changes.  Moving from midfield to forward, Rodriguez was far more threatening than Osvaldo had been as the lone striker.  On a counter-attack, Rodriguez and Steven Davis linked up to get behind the Newcastle defense.  Davis played the final through-ball and Rodriguez scored the equalizer (65').

Neither side could score the winning goal and the match ended in a draw.  One point for each club mean neither make ground on the other as three points still separate the teams in the table.  Newcastle travel to Crystal Palace next week, while Southampton host Tottenham.

Arsenal Lose to Napoli, Survive Group F

 2-0 

Arsenal came into today's Champions League match against Napoli on top of Group F with just one match left in group-play.  Napoli was even with Borussia Dortmund and needed a big win to pull ahead of the German club.  Arsenal won the previous match against Napoli two-nil in London back in October, so the pressure was all on the Neapolitan club.

Napoli was not particularly good in the first-half and starting center-forward Gonzalo Higuaín did not get involved.  Arsenal were not much better and the half ended scoreless.  Shortly into the second-half Napoli manager Rafa Benítez introduced Lorenzo Insigne which pushed up José Maria Callejón next to Higuaín in the attack.

Together Callejón and Higuaín were more effective and managed to break Arsenal's defense.  Higuaín scored the first goal of the match when he linked up with Callejón around the Arsenal penalty box.  Higuaín was able to turn away from defender Mertesacker to get the shot away that beat the keeper (73').

Arsenal went deeper into the hole when captain Mikel Arteta was shown a second yellow card following a tackle from behind.  Arteta had to pass on the armband and Arsenal had to play the last fifteen minutes down a man.

Unfortunately for Napoli the other match between Dortmund and Marseille did not play out in their favor, and now they had to win by three goals.  Napoli got one more in stoppage-time when Callejón was able to float a shot over the keeper, but there simply was not enough time for a third (90 +3').

Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund advance to the knockout rounds, along with Chelsea who finish on top of their group with a win today over the Romanian team from Bucharest.

Bayern Munich Bust, Manchester City Prevail

 2-3 

The final round of the group stage in the Champions League started today with Manchester City playing Bayern Munich in Germany.  Both clubs earned enough points to advance out of the group stage coming into today's match, with Bayern Munich winning the last five including the meeting with City back in October.  Manchester City won every other match played in the Group D and had a chance to take the top stop away from Bayern.

Two early goals for Bayern Munich gave the home side a huge advantage and set the game up for a total blow-out.  Thomas Müller scored the first goal when defender Dante played him behind City's back line with a long diagonal pass.  Müller brought the ball down with a great chest-trap before beating keeper Joe Hart (5').  Mario Götze then added a second goal minutes later when a deflected shot fell for him.  Replay showed he may have been just offsides, but the flag stayed down and he was able to finish from close-range (12').

Manchester City's fortunes got worse before they get better.  Starting right-back Micah Richards had an issue with his hamstring and had to be replaced by Zabalete after only fifteen minutes.  Zabaleta is usually preferred in the starting eleven, but manager Manuel Pellegrini had intended to save him for the big Premier League game with Arsenal.  In any case, Zabaleta was an improvement, and City took over the match.

The come-back started when David Silva was left unmarked on a late run into the box.  Jesus Navas initiated the play with a cross to James Milner at the back-post.  Milner could only head the ball back to middle, and Silva came running in late to score for City (28').

The visitors took the momentum into the second-half and out-played Bayern for the rest of the match.  Milner won a Penalty for Manchester City when Dante missed his tackle and took down the winger in the box.  Aleksandar Kolarov stepped up to take the Penalty and scored from the spot to tie the game (59').

Then moments later a terrible mistake by Bayern defender Jerome Boateng opened the door for City to take the lead.  A cross by Navas was rolled into the box and Boateng was in good position to clear the ball off the line.  However he completely whiffed on his attempt and the ball kept rolling right to Milner at the back-post.  Milner finished with a well struck curling shot to pull ahead and silence the home fans (62').

Bayern Munich could not muster a response equalizer and end a ten game Champions League winning streak.  The German club still win the group by goal-differential, but Manchester City get the payback.  Manchester United also qualified for the knockout stage today while Chelsea and Arsenal will play tomorrow to earn their spots.

Özil, Deulofeu Score in Arsenal-Everton Draw

 1-1 

League leaders Arsenal were back at the Emirats Stadium today as Everton came for the last match in the fifteenth round of the Premier League.  The Gunners won their last three league matches while Everton have gone unbeaten since early October.

Shots were scarce in the first-half and fouls outnumbered the shots 13-8.  Possession was heavily in favor of Everton, but the better chances went to Arsenal.  Only two shots tested keeper Tim Howard and the first-half ended scoreless.

It was obvious Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger was unhappy with his team as the second-half continued and he made all three changes at once replacing Cazorla, Ramsey, and Wilshere for Walcott, Rosicky, and Flamini with about twenty minutes remaining.

Everton boss Roberto Martínez also made changes to his squad, one proving to be an important change.  Just after Gerard Deulofeu entered the match Arsenal scored the first goal of the match.  Rosicky played a ball into the box that Walcott headed down for Giroud in front of goal.  Giroud completely whiffed his shot, but fortunately Mesut Özil was right behind him and finished from close range to break the dead-lock (80').

The late-goal was not a heart-breaker for Everton though, and the visitors responded moments later.  Substitute Deulofeu also benefited from a whiffed shot, Lukaku's attempted bike-kick, that set him up in front of goal.  Deulofeu did well to separate himself from defender Gibbs before scoring the equalizer (84').

The game ended in a 1-1 draw with each team earning one point.  Arsenal remain in first place and Everton stay just outside the top-four of the league standings.  Everton host Fulham next weekend while Arsenal travel to Italy for a Champions League match before a crucial league game at Manchester City.

Super Goal By Osvaldo Saves Southampton

 1-1

Manchester City had a three game winning streak going, while Southampton lost their last three Premier League matches.  Today Southampton hosted Man. City and did not look like a team that was on such a cold streak.  Their offense was dynamic and had a lot of touches in City's box all game.

Manchester City scored the early goal though, when Sergio Agüero found space in the penalty area.  Fullback Aleksander Kolarov got forward and rolled a cross into the box that the Southampton defense could not quite clear. Agüero was waiting and scored with a one-touch finish (10').

Southampton were aggressive and did not let the deficit  discourage their game plan.  Late in the first-half Pablo Daniel Osvaldo leveled the score with a superb individual effort.  All alone up front, Osvaldo beat Kompany then Zabaleta on the dribble before hitting a perfect curling shot to the upper-ninety (42').

In the second-half the match was wide open and by the end Southampton created more chances than Manchester City.  Neither side could score, however, and both teams take one point.  All-in-all both teams can be happy with the result as Southampton snap a losing streak and City get one point on the road.

Super Match For Suarez, Scores Four Against Norwich

 5-1 

Liverpool have been in a slight slump after the terrific start to the season.  Coming off a surprising loss to Hull City, Liverpool looked to bounce back today against Norwich City.  Liverpool had to play without Daniel Sturridge who is out injured, but Luis Suarez more than made up for the absence with a monster game for the Reds.

Suarez already had two hat-trick games against Norwich on record and his fortunes continued against the Canaries.  Suarez was the first to scored today finishing a spectacular half-volley from over forty yards.  The ball was knocked forward by Steven Gerrard and fell in front of Suarez.  Instead of trapping the ball and pushing further forward, Suarez took the long shot and put the perfect flight on the ball to beat keeper John Ruddy (15').

The second goal came durring a corner-kick that was delivered by Philippe Coutinho.  Gerrard was making a near-post run and Coutinho tried to put the ball on him, but Gerrard missed his attempt to flick the ball.  Suarez was waiting behind him though and scored the one-hopper for his second goal of the match (29').  Suarez completed the hat-trick before the end of the half with another brilliant finish.  The striker made a good run with the ball and separated himself from Leroy Fer with a tricky chip move before blasting the shot to again beat the Norwich keeper (35').

The second-half was not much better for the visitors as Liverpool continued to create shots and keep the Norwich defense on its heels.  Suarez was able to score one more goal with a perfectly struck free-kick to add to his special night (74').

Norwich did eventually get one on the board when Nathan Redmond picked out Bradley Johnson for a header finish (83').  Unfortunately for Norwich, Liverpool got one back when Suarez added an assist to his stats.  He found Sterling with a cross in front of goal for a clean finish and the last goal of the match (88').

Liverpool do not move up any in the table following this win as Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City all won matches as well, but the confidence is certainly showing.  Liverpool host West Ham United over the weekend and look to keep momentum heading into the holidays.

Crystal Palace Creep Up the Table

 1-0 

Last-place Crystal Palace hosted West Ham United in the rare Tuesday Premier League match.  Crystal Palace have had a tough go in the Premier League with only two wins and two draws in the first thirteen games played.  A change in management was made just days ago, and new manager Tony Pulis had the home side in better shape than the former manager Ian Holloway.

Crystal Palace took the lead late in the first-half with a second-effort chance following a set-piece.  Barry Bannan played a cross into the box that found Marouane Chamakh right in front of goal.  The forward flicked his header towards the back corner and scored for the home side (42').

West Ham created more chances over the course of the match, but could not find the equalizer.  Offsides were the biggest problem for West Ham with a total of eight ending attacking chances.  Also starting center-forward Carlton Cole struggled to get involved and had no shots on goal by the time he was pulled out before the hour mark.  Ravel Morrison was active in the attack, but too many times he made the mistake of taking on too many defenders only to lose possession.

Crystal Palace now sit one place above Sunderland at the bottom of the Premier League with the win today.  West Ham are only five points better than Crystal Palace and need to get their offense going if they don't want to end up in a relegation battle late in the season.  Up next Crystal Palace host Cardiff City and West Ham get a tough test playing Liverpool at Anfield.