Manchester City Thump Tottenham, Take First Place

 1-5 

Manchester City came into today's match against Tottenham with a chance to take the top spot in the Premier League table.  Arsenal tied Southampton the day before leaving only a two point gap between City in second place.

Despite playing on the road, Manchester City got off to a great start and held nearly all of possession in the first fifteen minutes.  Sergio Agüero started alongside Edin Dzeko at forward and put City in front early.  David Silva played the pass that put Agüero in scoring position and the striker finished with a slight chip shot over keeper Lloris coming off his line (15').

Agüero nearly scored a second goal with a header, but this time Lloris made the big play, getting his palm on the ball for the save.  The Argentine striker was looking good and put his team ahead, but moments before half-time Agüero pulled up with a hamstring problem.  He was immediately removed from the match and sent to the locker room with Stevan Jovetić taking his place.

The margin between the two clubs was only one goal at the start of the second-half, but a missed tackle by Tottenham defender Danny Rose ended any real chance of a come-back.  Rose was shown a red card for a tackle from behind on Dzeko inside the box to give City a penalty as well as leave his side down a man for the rest of the match.  Yaya Touré scored from the spot to give City a two goal lead (51').  Edin Dzeko then score a goal himself an instant later.  David Silva had a shot blocked that fell for Dzeko who finished the loose ball (53').

Tottenham managed to score one goal for a glimmer of hope in the second-half when substitute Etienne Capoue found the net.  A Tottenham corner-kick was not cleared off the line by City's defense and Capoue was able to turn a shot towards goal that beat keeper Joe Hart (59').  Capoue's goal was the only goal Tottenham could produce though, and City were not content with their three goals.

Substitute Jovetić scored his first ever Premier League goal when his shot took a fortunate deflection and ended up in the net (78').  Then in the final minutes of regulation captain Kompany scored when a blocked shot fell for him.  Kompany finished right in front of goal for the final score of the match (89').

The big win means Manchester City take the top spot from Arsenal in the table.  Chelsea were also held to a draw by West Ham United today so they remain in third place.  Chelsea and City meet this weekend in league play for a chance to either stretch or shrink the points difference.

Liverpool Win Merseyside Derby

 4-0 

Liverpool's attack was a non-stop onslaught today as the Reds hosted Everton in a Merseyside Derby.  Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge started at forward for Liverpool and together they gave Everton's defense all kinds of trouble.

Throughout the match Everton keeper Tim Howard had his hands full as Liverpool peppered the goal with shots.  Inevitably the goals came and captain Gerrard first found the net on a corner-kick.  Suarez delivered the corner-kick into the box and Gerrard won the header at the near-post to score (21').

Durring the corner-kick that put Liverpool ahead, Everton striker Romelu Lukaku went down with an injury.  Steven Naismith replaced Lukaku, but failed to make an impact on the match.

Daniel Sturridge then scored a pair of goals to stretch Liverpool's lead.  First Sturridge was played in-on-goal by a perfect pass from Coutihno.  The pass split two defenders and Sturridge had plenty of time to pick his spot (33').

Sturridge scored a second goal immediately after when Kolo Touré played him in-on-goal.  Touré smashed a ball forward from behind midfield that Sturridge was able to get onto and flick over keeper Howard coming off his line (35').

In the second-half Suarez added another goal to the Liverpool's tally with a terrific individual effort.  Suarez made a run with the ball from the midfield line all the way into Everton's box.  He finished with a confident left-footed shot to the back corner of the net (50').

Sturridge had a golden opportunity to complete the hat-trick when Liverpool won a Penalty.  Raheem Sterling made a run into the box and was fouled by Howard trying to stop the winger.  Sturridge missed the penalty over the crossbar though, and was soon taken out of the match.

Everton could not produce a goal by the end of the match as Liverpool won comfortably.  The Suarez-Sturridge tandem continues to fuel the offense for the Reds and today the defense was equally effective, keeping a clean-sheet.  Up next Liverpool face West Bromwich and Everton host Aston Villa in Premier League play.

Sunderland Shock Manchester United, Face City in Final

 2-2(pen.)

The second leg of the Capital One Cup semifinal between Manchester United and Sunderland took place today at Old Trafford.  Sunderland came into the match with a 2-1 lead having beaten United in the first match of the semifinal.  Manchester City already won the other spot in the final beating West Ham United 9-0 over their two semifinal matches.

Manchester United found a groove late in the first-half and scored on a set-piece.  Danny Welbeck was able to get a flick on a corner-kick to setup defender Jonny Evans.  Crashing the back-post, Evans finished with a header to level the aggregate score (37').  

The second-half of the match was played out with either side taking the lead and extra-time was therefore required.  Away-goals were not a factor in regulation, but now in extra-time, United's away goal in the first match gave them the lead.  Sunderland therefore had to score to keep their hopes alive.

No goals were scored in the first-half of extra-time, but in the last moments of the second-half two miracles occurred.  First Sunderland scored the goal they needed when defender Phillip Bardsley's shot ended up in the net.  Bardsley found a window to shoot and sent a weak rolling shot towards goal.  Keeper De Gea had the shot covered, but was not sure-handed and let the ball slip out of his grasp and into his goal (119').  

The late goal by Sunderland seemed like a death-blow to United and the fans started heading for the exits.  However they came running back to their seats when Hernandez saved them from defeat seconds later.  Januzaj played a ball across the face of goal and Hernandez was at the back-post to smash it home (120 +1').  

The late equalizer gave United a chance to win in a penalty shootout, no one more thankful than keeper De Gea.  Unfortunately for United the two hour match had taken its toll and their finishing from the spot was quite bad.  Januzaj and Rafael had their shots saved and Welbeck and Jones missed the target completely.  Sunderland only scored two of their penalty kicks, but it was enough to advance to the final.

The final will be played at Wembley Stadium on March 2nd.  It won't be an all Manchester final, but Manchester City are the easy favorites to win that match-up.  Anything can happen of course and Sunderland have shown serious resilience in their run to the final.

Eto'o Hat-Trick Lift Chelsea Over United

 3-1 

Chelsea looked to keep pace with Arsenal and Manchester City, who both won matches yesterday, in their match today against Manchester United.  No Rooney or Van Persie for United who remain out injured giving Welbeck the start up front.  For Chelsea it was Samuel Eto'o who started at striker and made the biggest impact in the match.

Eto'o scored two goals in the first-half to give Chelsea the edge.  The first goal came when a left-footed shot from Eto'o took a favorable deflection off Michael Carrick.  The United midfielder was in good position to block the shot, but Carrick only got a piece of it and the ball was sent to the upper-ninety for Chelsea's first goal (17').

Eto'o scored a second goal following a corner-kick.  United defender the initial service, but Chelsea reclaimed possession and defender Gary Cahill found himself in a good position.  Cahill was able to work a cross into the box for Eto'o who scored first-touch moments before half-time (45').

Shortly after half-time Eto'o completed the hat-trick when Cahill again got involved on a corner-kick.  Cahill won a header at the near-post and United keeper De Gea managed to make the save.  He could not control the save though, and Eto'o was waiting just a yard away from goal for an easy finish (49').

Manchester United added striker Hernandez to play along side Welbeck and the young Mexican got a goal for the Red Devils late in the match.  Welbeck found Phil Jones in the box and Jones had a go at goal.  His shot may have been curling wide, but Hernandez was crashing the far-post and steered the ball into the net (78').

The one goal was all United could muster and their situation going forward was made worse when a challenge from captain Vidic earned him a red card in stoppage-time.  Vidic came in with both feet on a tackle to Eden Hazard and was immediately sent off.  Fullback Rafeal was lucky to not be shown a red card when he also made a two-footed tackle on Cahill.  He only saw a yellow card for his offense, but the match was essentially over at that point.

United probably have no realistic chance at defending their title with the current state of the club.  Injuries and general poor defense are holding back last season's champions who struggle to find that top form.  Chelsea are the real contenders with Arsenal and Manchester City just ahead in the table.  Next for Chelsea is an FA Cup match against Stoke City, while United get Sunderland in the Capital One Cup.

Questionable Penalty Helps Liverpool Avoid Defeat

 2-2 

Liverpool welcomed Daniel Sturridge back into the line-up with Aston Villa coming to Anfield.  The striker has been out for the last nine matches and got to start next to Suarez today in the attack.

Despite playing on the road, Aston Villa gained all the momentum early in the match and kept Liverpool on their heels for most of the first-half.  Gabriel Agbonlahor was especially a handfull and helped the visitors take a two goal lead.  First Agbonlahor beat defender Kolo Touré to get a cross into the box that was finished by Andreas Weimann sliding into the shot (25').  Then Agbonlahor provided the cross that Christian Benteke finished with a header (37').  Benteke was helped out by Liverpool keeper Mignolet who missed his punch to allowed a free header on an open net.

Liverpool managed to get one back in the first-half stoppage-time to narrow the gap before the break.  Suarez made a pass to Jordan Henderson who used a heel-flick to play Sturridge behind the Aston Villa defense.  Sturridge was left onside by captain Ron Vlaar and beat keeper Guzan for Liverpool's first goal of the match (45 +2').

After half-time Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers replaced Philippe Coutinho with Lucas to help protect the defense.  This allowed Gerrard to push forward and get more involved in the attack.  Liverpool played better in this system and equalized when Suarez earned a penalty.  Aston Villa keeper Guzan came off his line to stop Suarez dashing forward, but missed the ball in his attempt.  Suarez went down rather easily to get the call and Villa players and supporters were shouting for a simulation yellow card.  Regardless Gerrard scored from the spot to level the match (53').

The rest of the match was left wide open with neither side taking control.  In the end though neither side could produce a go-ahead goal and the match ended in a draw.  The result was kind of win-win for both clubs with Liverpool recovering from a two goal deficit, and Aston Villa getting a point on the road.  Unfortunately Arsenal and Man. City won matches today and pull further away from Liverpool in the Premier League table.

Manchester City Coast Over Blackburn in FA Cup

 5-0 

Blackburn Rovers forced a replay against Manchester City in the FA Cup when the first meeting ended in a 1-1 draw earlier this month.  Manchester City were the obvious favorites heading into today's match and this time City did not let Blackburn hang around.

Manchester City were not particularly good in the first-half though, especially considering their opponent.  Edin Dzeko may have had the worst first-half in his career at Manchester.  Every shot attempt from Dzeko was either way over the goal or well wide.  The defense was shuffled for the mid-week fixture with Clichy the only regular starter.  The defense handled Blackburn nonetheless, and only allowed one shot on target in the half.

In the final seconds of the first-half City did finally score thanks to the other striker Álvaro Negredo.  Fernandinho played the cross into the box and Negredo scored with a far-post header to take the lead (45').  Not surprisingly, the goal at the end of the half completely changed the shape of the game allowing City to impose their will on Blackburn.

At the start of the second-half Blackburn made a change at keeper and brought on Eastwood in place of Robinson.  Eastwood did not get a chance to settle into the game and was tested right away.  An early cross put Negredo behind the defense and Eastwood was forced off his line.  Negredo got to the ball first though, and scored with a chip-shot over Eastwood (47').

Dzeko then made up for his poor first-half performance with a pair of goals.  Both times Jesús Navas played the final ball for the striker, and both times Dzeko scored with first-touch shots at the near-post 67' and 79').  In between the two goal from Dzeko, Sergio Agüero was introduced and scored immediately.  Dzeko made the pass inside the box for Agüero who used his first touch of the match to create space then finished with his second touch (73').

In the end this was a rather comfortable win for Manchester City.  All three forwards used today scored as the powerful offense helps City advance to the next round.  Watford are the "lucky" club to play City in the next round later this month.

Fulham Knock-Out Norwich City From FA Cup

 3-0 

Fulham and Norwich City were the only two Premier League clubs in action today, facing off for the FA Cup Round 3 replay.  The first meeting ended 1-1 at Norwich forcing the rematch today at Craven Cottage.

Fulham had a rather comfortable first-half scoring twice against the visitors.  Darren Bent scored the first goal of the match when a cross from Pajtim Kasami found him in front of the Norwich goal.  Ashkan Dejagah was closer to Kasami, but was unable to connect with a shot.  The cross rolled on to Bent who smashed the ball between keeper Bunn's legs to score (16').

Later in the half Degajah scored the second goal for Fulham.  Winger Kacaniklić was played in-on-goal by Karagounis and had a good look at goal.  Instead of shooting though Kacaniklić decided to be unselfish and played a square pass for Degajah for the easy finish (41').

Norwich were not much better in the second-half and never got on the scoreboard.  Instead Fulham scored one more goal when a header by Steve Sidwell found the net.  Fulback Sascha Riether played a cross to the far-post and Sidwell won the header for the final goal of the match (68').

In the next round Fulham should have an easier time getting past the League One club Sheffield United.  Don't write them off completely though as Sheffield United beat Aston Villa to reach Round 4 of the FA Cup.

Arsenal Edge Aston Villa, Back in First

 1-2 

Arsenal and Aston Villa were the last two Premier League clubs to play the round of 21, getting the lone Monday night fixture.  Right now the team to beat, Arsenal have been superb this season.  However, Aston Villa is one of the few teams that has beaten Arsenal this season, winning 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium on opening day.

Aston Villa initially had only three defenders in the starting line-up today with Clark, Baker, and Vlaar in front of keeper Guzan.  Before the defense was really tested though, Baker was knocked unconscious  by a shot from Arsenal's Gnabry.  The shot struck Baker in the head and the medical staff administered an oxygen mask before carrying him off on a stretcher.  When play resumed Leandro Bacuna replaced Baker and Aston Villa shifted to a four-man defense.

The extra man in defense did not help Aston Villa slow down Arsenal's attack and the Gunners scored two goals in a minute.  First fullback Monreal rolled a cross into the box for Jack Wilshere.  With his first touch, Wilshere controlled the ball before rolling the shot to the far corner of the net (34').  Immediately after Wilshere setup Giroud with a well placed early cross.  Giroud's first touch was perfect and gave him just enough space around defender Lowton to get a shot on goal (35').

Aston Villa saw very little of the ball in the first-half and only held possession 30% of the time.  The second-half was better for Villa as they managed to surpass Arsenal in attempts on target.  One of those attempts was successful in fact, closing the lead to one goal.  Lowton played a cross into the box and Benteke scored with a diving header at the far-post (76').  Unfortunately for the home side an equalizer was not produced and Arsenal claim another road win.

Today's win puts Arsenal back in first place in the league table.  Manchester City, Chelsea, and Liverpool also won their matches keeping the points difference the same as it was last week.  Arsenal get Fulham at home over this coming weekend while Aston Villa go to Anfield for a test against Liverpool.

Suarez and Sturridge Lift Liverpool Over Stoke City

 3-5 

Stoke City hosted Liverpool in a Sunday afternoon Premier League match-up that turned into an exciting shootout.  Liverpool are beginning to get some players back from injuries, most notably Steven Gerrard in the starting eleven and Daniel Sturridge first off the bench today.  Stoke featured a few former Liverpool players with Peter Crouch at forward and Charlie Adam behind him in midfield.

Liverpool caught a rather lucky break in the early moments of the game to take the lead.  Defender Cissokho stepped into a shot from 25 yards out with a half-volley.  The shot was heading wide, but Stoke captain Ryan Shawcross was in the ball's path and sent it into his own net off the deflection (5').

Liverpool then extended their lead following some sloppy Stoke defending.  A long ball forward by Martin Skrtel could have been cleared by defender Marc Wilson, but he instead chose to head the ball back to his keeper.  The pass was short and Luis Suarez was lurking in the area.  Shawcross came over to clear, but he ended up just getting in the way of the keeper and Suarez got a free shot for the second goal (32').

Stoke were persistant and got a ton of crosses into the box both from play and set-pieces.  Late in the first-half that persistance paid off and Crouch got his team back in the match.  Winger Arnautović delivered the cross to Crouch who finished with a near-post header (39').  Then right before half-time Stoke equalized with a scorching shot from Charlie Adam.  Henderson gave it away for Liverpool and Adam had a free shot from the edge of the box that found the net (45').

Liverpool were not shaken by losing the lead and came out in the second-half will the same confidence they had in the first-half.  Raheem Sterling won a penalty for Liverpool when he made a break in the Stoke box.  Defender Wilson bumped him to draw the foul and Gerrard finished from the spot (51').  Now back in front, Liverpool decided to bring in Daniel Sturridge who has been out injured for some time.  Sturridge did very well in his return and in the time he was on the field he got an assist and a goal.

Sturridge setup Suarez when his run attracted two defenders leaving Suarez unmarked.  Sturridge picked Suarez out with a simple pass and the striker finished his second of the day (71').  Stoke hung around and scored one more goal to close the gap back down to one.  Jonathan Walters found space in front of goal and shook centerback Kolo Touré before beating the keeper (85').

Liverpool did not let Stoke get further back into the game and scored a final goal to ensure the win.  Sturridge got two chances to score and finished the second.  A cross from Suarez gave him a chance at the far-post, but keeper Butland denied Sturridge.  The block was kept in play though, and Sturridge finished the second chance effort (87').

With this win Liverpool move back into the top-four.  The last few matches were tough for the Red as they lost points to Chelsea and Manchester City.  With Gerrard and Sturridge back in the line-up, Liverpool are far more formidable and have a chance to climb further up the table.  Stoke travel to Crystal Palace for their next league match while Liverpool host Aston Villa.

Manchester United Get Payback on Swansea

 2-0 

Manchester United suffered a devastating loss to Swansea City in the FA Cup last week and looked to get payback as the two clubs met today for a Premier League match.  Swansea's win over United in the FA Cup was the first time the club has ever won at Old Trafford and today's league game was also played in Manchester.  Now out of the tournament, United's goal is to focus on the league and get back into the top-four.

Welbeck was the lone striker for United today with Van Persie and Rooney still out of the line-up with injuries.  Eighteen year old Adnan Januzaj played in the attacking midfield role behind Welbeck and United were far better today than the previous meeting.  Swansea were perhaps better over the first-half of today's match, but neither side scored before the break.

Shortly after half-time Manchester were able to break down the Swansea defense and pull in front.  The first goal of the match came following a header by Shinji Kagawa that was denied by keeper Tremmel.  The header was on target and Tremmel did well to block the shot.  However, the rebound was left in front of the net and Antonio Valencia was in place to smash it home (47').

A second goal for United came soon after when Welbeck scored an awkward goal.  Captain Evra had pushed forward and was looking to slot Welbeck behind the Swansea defense with a through-pass.  As he was making the pass Evra was bumped, but the foul was not called and advantage was played.  The right decision as it were, as Welbeck managed to beat the keeper by getting just a flick on the pass from Evra.

The points will be appreciated by the United faithful as the Red Devils look to challenge the clubs currently at the top of the table.  Of course they would like to still be part of the FA Cup, but there is still hope for a major tournament win in the Champions League set to resume late in February.

Negredo Scores Hat-Trick, Manchester City Cruise

 6-0 

Manchester City and West Ham United met today for the first-leg of a Capital One Cup semifinal.  Manchester City have only conceded one goal in the tournament and finished ten in the first three matches.  West Ham had a big win against Tottenham to reach this stage of the Cup, but their last result was a dreadful 5-nil loss to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup.

Playing at home, Manchester City got off to a hot start and scored three goals in the first-half.  Álvaro Negredo scored the first two, both coming from well played through-balls.  Yaya Touré first played a long though-ball from behind midfield that split the West Ham centerbacks.  Negredo timed his run perfectly and finished with a confident first-touch finish (12').

Negredo then linked up with fellow striker Edin Dzeko to get behind the West Ham back line.  Dzeko played the ball forward into space and Negredo was able to beat keeper Adrián coming off his line with a sliding shot (26').

Yaya Touré scored the last goal of the first-half with an impressive individual effort.  Touré jumped on a loose ball at midfield and found space to run at goal.  The West Ham centerbacks did not step to Touré and allowed him to dribble all the way into their own box.  Touré was more than obliged to take the space and scored rather easily (40').

West Ham had nothing to build on heading into the second-half, and only found themselves further down by the end of the match.  Negredo scored a third goal for City when a pass from David Silva was deflected inside the West Ham box.  Negredo did not appear to be the intended target, but off the deflection, Silva's pass fell right in front of him and he finished first-touch to complete his hat-trick (49').

The other striker Dzeko was able to add to the goal tally late in the match as West Ham had less and less to play for.  Two crosses from the left flank gave Dzeko a pair of scoring opportunities that the striker capitalized.  First Clichy rolled a cross to the near-post that Dzeko finished with a sliding effort (60').  Then substitute Kolarov played a cross to the middle of the box that Dzeko was able to step into and drive into the net (89').

West Ham have now conceded eleven goals in their last two match.  The Hammers will have a second chance to get back at City when the two clubs replay on the 21st, but it will take a miracle to overcome this deficit.  Manchester City in all likelihood will reach the final and could face rivals United if they rally back to beat Sunderland in their second-leg meeting.

Arsenal Eliminate Tottenham From FA Cup

 2-0 

The Premier League took a back seat to the FA Cup this weekend and the biggest matchup of round three was easy the Arsenal-Tottenham London Derby.  Arsenal continue to lead the Premier League while Tottenham sit just eight points behind the leaders in sixth place.

Arsenal had to shuffle their starting eleven some with Giroud, Gibbs, and Ramsey unavailable.  Today Walcott got the start at center forward for the Gunners and did well in his preferred position, although he did not score.  Instead it was Santi Cazorla who put Arsenal in front thanks to the setup by Serge Gnabry in the first-half.  Gnabry made a good run into the box with the ball and played Cazorla behind Tottenham's defense with a through-pass.  Cazorla went for power and hit the shot first-touch to beat keeper Lloris at the far-post (31').

Tottenham created a few chances with Soldado and Adebayor in the attack, but overall Arsenal was outplaying the Hotspurs.  Arsenal added another goal in the second-half when defender Danny Rose was caught in possession and lost the ball to Rosicky.  The ball was stolen right at the midfield line and Rosicky had no one except keeper Lloris between him and the goal.  Lloris was forced off his line and Rosicky finished with a chip-shot over the keeper coming out to make a play (62').

Following the second goal, Tottenham had lost all motivation and went out quietly.  The Hotspurs can focus on the league now and host Crystal Palace in the next fixture.  Arsenal advance to the next round of the FA Cup with the win today and will hope for a more favorable matchup, perhaps against a non-Premier League club.  Their next ELP match will be a road test against Aston Villa.