Here’s what happened in the English Premiership over the weekend, in case you missed it…
Chelsea outlasts stubborn Stoke City
Gerry Dobson and Craig Forrest review Saturday’s events on Soccer Central Matchday.
Twitter play of the day
Ashley Cole’s winning goal for Chelsea against Stoke City was the Twitter play of the day on Soccer Central Matchday.
Liverpool 1, Manchester United 2
Rafael may be a bit of a defensive liability, but the Brazilian has wonderful attacking instincts and a touch of class in the final third. Five minutes after Steven Gerrard gave 10-man Liverpool the lead, Rafael used his pace to burst into the box and then played a pass back to Antonio Valencia with three Liverpool players closing in on him. He stayed with the play and when the ball fell to him, the Brazilian curled a gorgeous left-footed shot over Pepe Reina off the far post to tie things up. Class.
Match fact: There’s something about Liverpool that brings out the best in Robin van Persie – the Dutchman bagged a brace in Arsenal’s 2-1 win at Anfield last season, and he now has five goals in his last six matches against the Reds.
Manchester City 1, Arsenal 1
City was far from their best on Sunday afternoon and didn’t deserve to take a point based on the balance of play. The champions have yet to keep a clean sheet in five league games, and their lackadaisical defending cost them a victory against the Gunners. Joleon Lescott’s headed clearance off a corner kick was poor, and Yaya Toure was caught flat-footed, allowing Laurent Koscielny to net the equalizer with eight minutes left in regulation. So City has dropped points in three of their last four games. You have to wonder about this team’s confidence, especially after its capitulation last week against Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Match fact: Manchester City is unbeaten in its last 32 league home matches – 29 wins and three draws.
Chelsea 1, Stoke City 0
Not exactly a sterling performance from Chelsea, who struggled to break down the Potters. You could tell the Blues were getting frustrated as the game went on by the outrageous dives from Branislav Ivanovic and Oscar in unsavory attempts to win penalties. And how on earth did David Luiz stay on the pitch after his horrendous two-footed lunge on Jonathan Walters?
Match fact: Before Saturday, Ashley Cole had not scored in a league game since May 2010.
Swansea City 0, Everton 3
It’s gone a bit pear-shaped for the Swans, who opened the season with a pair of shutout wins but are now winless in three. It’s no coincidence that things have gone south for them since losing Neil Taylor to a season-ending ankle injury. Ever since then, the Welsh side has looked suspect in defence (with seven goals conceded in three games), and that certainly was the case against the Toffees. Ashley Williams had a dreadful day, and was at fault on the opening two goals – he misjudged a high ball that allowed Marouane Fellaini to set up Victor Anichebe, and then failed to block a Steven Pienaar from the flank that led to Kevin Mirallas goal just before half time that effectively killed off the game. Then on the third goal, he wasn’t tight enough on Fellaini, allowing the Belgian to head home off a free kick.
Match fact: Swansea is winless in 16 league and cup matches against Everton (four draws and 12 losses).
Wigan Athletic 1, Fulham 2
Hugo Rodallega has a sense of occasion, doesn’t he? Visiting the DW Stadium for the first time since a summer move to Fulham, the Colombian scored on a header from close range in the first half to end a dreadful scoring drought – it was his first Premier League goal in seven hours and 43 minutes. The goal was also his 25th of his Premiership career, becoming only the ninth South American in the English topflight to reach that plateau. Credit to Rodallega who didn’t celebrate his goal in front of the same fans who used to cheer for him, and instead had an almost apologetic look on his face.
Match fact: Damien Duff has three goals in his last five league appearances. His previous three goals came over a span of 31 league appearances.
West Ham United 1, Sunderland 1
Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill is in the midst of his worst run as a topflight manager, with the Black Cats now winless in 12 consecutive matches. And there doesn’t appear to be any end in sight, mostly because Steven Fletcher has accounted for all four of Sunderland’s goals this season, and nobody else seems capable of scoring. Had David Vaughn converted his headed attempt from in close, Sunderland would have won this one. But Vaughan failed to even make a connection, and that paved the way for Kevin Nolan to net the equalizer for the Hammers right at the death.
Match fact: Sunderland is the third team in the Premiership era to draw its opening four league matches of the season. Crystal Palace (1992-93) and Stoke City (2012-13) are the others.
West Bromwich Albion 1, Reading 0
It’s still early days and it likely won’t last, but West Brom (fourth in the table) has surprised a lot of people with their brilliant form. How have they done it? Throw out their 3-0 loss away to Fulham, and the Baggies have been a model of consistency on the back end, recording three shutouts and conceding one goal in four matches. Also, manager Steve Clarke has built on the foundation laid by predecessor Roy Hodgson, with on-loan forward Romelu Lukaku proving an astute addition. The Belgian netted his second goal of the season Saturday, using two Reading defenders as a screen to beat goalkeeper Alex McCarthy from just inside the box in the 71st minute to take all three points.
Match fact: West Brom is undefeated in its last nine league meetings at home against Reading, with eight wins and one draw.
Tottenham 2, Queens Park Rangers 1
Mousa Dembele is a wonderful player, and he’ll prove to be a wise pickup by Spurs. But the Belgian was culpable on Bobby Zamora’s opener for QPR, as he put in a feeble and half-hearted attempt to stop Alejandro Faurlin on the edge of the penalty area. The Argentine feathered a pass to Zamora who beat Brad Freidel with a delightful chip from in close. Lucky for him it didn’t cost Spurs.
Match fact: QPR’s Mark Hughes has only two wins in 15 league games as a coach against Tottenham (with five draws and eight losses).
Newcastle United 1, Norwich City 0
With three goals in two games, striker Demba Ba is stealing the spotlight away from countryman Papiss Cisse, and making a case that he should be kept around if Newcastle plans to transfer one of them out of the club. The Senegalese’s first touch to control a sublime pass from Hatem Ben Afra was sublime, and his finish was even better. Cisse missed a spot kick, comically ballooning his shot over the crossbar to run his scoring drought to seven consecutive games.
Match fact: Norwich has failed to keep a clean in its last 36 league road games.
Southampton 4, Aston Villa 1
No newly promoted side has avoided the drop after losing its opening four matches of the campaign. But the Saints had a tough schedule to begin the campaign, including games against both Manchester clubs and Arsenal. Lowly Villa provided an opportunity for the Saints to collect their first points of the campaign, and they took full advantage by exploiting their opponent’s shambolic defending. It was Rickie Lambert’s tying goal from just inside the box (while surround by four Villa players) that spurred on the Saints to victory.
Match fact: Rickie Lambert has 15 goals in his last 19 appearances for Southampton.
Saves of the week
Sunderland’s Simon Mignolet turned aside a Kevin Nolan bicycle kick attempt to claim top spot in this week’s BPL saves of the week.
Goals of the week
Rafael took home top honours in this week’s top goals in the BPL.