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.

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.

Arsenal Keep Winning, Beat Southampton

 2-0 

The English Premier League returned this weekend after a week off for World Cup Qualifiers.  League leader Arsenal hosted a surprising third-place Southampton at the Emirates Stadium in London.  Earlier Liverpool and Everton ended the Merseyside Derby in a 3-3 draw giving Southampton a chance to take second place with a win.  However it was Arsenal that would take three points and stretch their lead in the table.

Southampton were pressing high up the pitch to pressure Arsenal's defense with their keeper often coming out to play sweeper.  On one occasion in the first-half keeper Artur Boruc was caught trying to do too much and had the ball stolen off him by Olivier Giroud.  Boruc had two chances to clear the ball, but instead he twice cut the ball back to his other foot and the Arsenal striker picked his pocket and scored easily (22').

Arsenal created more chances overall, but offsides were a problem for Giroud and Mesut Özil throughout the match.  Southampton struggled to create chances but saw good things from Jay Rodriguez and substitute Osvaldo, though the two could not find the equalizer.

Late in the match another mistake by the Southampton defense ensured Arsenal's victory.  José Fonte was caught pulling the jersey of Per Mertesacker during an Arsenal corner-kick.  Fonte was given a yellow card for the offense and a Penalty was awarded.  Giroud scored from the spot for his second goal of the match (86').

Arsenal remain the team to beat in the Premier League who sit on a four point cushion over Liverpool.  Up next the Gunners host Marseille in a Champions League matchup before playing Cardiff next weekend in Wales.  Southampton have another tough test ahead as they travel to Stanford Bridge to play Chelsea.