Merseyside derby doesn’t disappoint

Daniel Sturridge celebrates his late equalizer for Liverpool against Everton. (AP)

Here’s what happened in the Barclays Premier League over the weekend, in case you missed it…

Merseyside derby lives up to hype

The Soccer Central Matchday reviews Saturday’s action from the Premier League, including an entertaining and dramatic Merseyside derby at Goodison Park.

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Pitch perfection

The Soccer Central Matchday panel picks out Saturday’s top plays from around the league.

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Everton 3, Liverpool 3

Both teams will want to work on their set-piece defending this coming week, as all six goals came off dead ball situations. Some of the marking was downright comical—Philippe Coutinho was not picked up at all and allowed a free header to put Liverpool up 1-0 after only five minutes, while Luis Suarez’ wonder free kick from distance only made its way through because Everton couldn’t properly organize a defensive wall in front of Tim Howard. Still, the suspect defending and Everton’s Kevin Mirallas escaping expulsion for a crude tackle on Suarez should not overshadow what was a wildly entertaining affair, with Daniel Sturridge’s late equalizer the perfect ending to another Merseyside derby that was also the best match of the season thus far.

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Arsenal 2, Southampton 0

Don’t let the score fool you—the Saints were far from overmatched in this one, and were the better side for large stretches of the game at the Emirates. Southampton had a chance to leapfrog Arsenal into first place with a win, and if the occasion was too much for them to handle, you could hardly tell. The Saints looked poised in their buildup play, fearless in their attacking forays into the final third as they asked serious questions of the Arsenal defence. It was only a complete howler from goalkeeper Artur Boruc and a late soft penalty decision that allowed the Gunners to take the full complement of points. It will be interesting to see how the overachieving Saints react to this result with a visit to Stamford Bridge next weekend looming.

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Manchester City 6, Tottenham 0

Scoring six goals against what was the league’s best defence is no small feat for Manchester City. But it underlines a growing issue for manager Manuel Pellegrini: How come he can’t get this type of performance out of his team away on the road? The Blues have been awesome at home this season, winning all seven games by a combined score of 26-2. But they’ve been very poor on the road, with just one win in five matches, and have dropped points to the likes of Sunderland, Aston Villa, Stoke City and Cardiff City. Pellegrini has to find a way to get City playing like this on the road and to beat teams it should be beating with ease. Otherwise, a top-four finish may be beyond them.

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Cardiff City 2, Manchester United 2

You can’t help but wonder if this one could have turned out differently had Wayne Rooney been sent off early on for kicking Cardiff’s Jordon Mutch in a clear act of petulance. Rooney inexplicably escaped expulsion and right on cue gave the Red Devils the lead just minutes later. He also set up United’s second goal and had a chance to win it late in injury time, spurning a glorious scoring opportunity after Cardiff leveled the score just moments earlier. But full credit to Cardiff, who showed plenty of poise and gumption on the day, as they were not the least bit intimidated by the champions and gave as good as they got. The Welsh side has proven to be no soft touch this season, as both United and Manchester City have discovered, and look far from a club who look set to go back down to the Championship.

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Newcastle United 2, Norwich City 1

After 12 matches into the season you’d be hard-pressed to find a better MVP candidate than Newcastle’s Loic Remy—if the MVP criteria is the player who’s meant the most to his team. Remy found the net in the opening minutes against Norwich to register his eighth goal in 10 league appearances this season. In total, the Frenchman has accounted for 47 per cent of his team’s offence, and you can bet the Magpies would be sitting in the relegation zone—instead of eighth place in the table—without the in-form Frenchman.

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Fulham 1, Swansea City 2

Swansea’s sense of timing lately has been impeccable. Jonjo Shelvey’s well-taken winner at Craven Cottage with 10 minutes left in regulation marked the 10th time in seven games that the Swans have scored in the second half. It also allowed the Welsh side to climb to 10th in the table and put a bit more distance between themselves and the relegation zone. The Cottagers, meanwhile, sit 18th in the table on the back of four consecutive losses, and have only managed one win at home this season—not good enough for a team that historically struggles on the road.

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Stoke City 2, Sunderland 0

You have to feel a little sorry for Sunderland, who had defender Wes Brown unjustly sent off in the 36th minute just moments after Stoke took the lead. Brown appeared to win the ball cleanly with a sliding tackle on Charlie Adam, but referee Kevin Friend stopped play and pulled out his red card. To their credit, the Black Cats attacked with purpose, despite being a man down, but Peter Crouch’s brilliant through ball found its way past the defence, allowing Steven Nzonzi to slot home from close range with nine minutes left in the game. It was a cruel result—and cruel red card decision—for last-place Sunderland who appears destined for relegation.

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West Ham United 0, Chelsea 3

Yes, Frank Lampard bagged a brace against his former club to bring his season total to three goals. But the 35-year-old veteran continues to be largely a pedestrian in Chelsea’s midfield, his influence lessening with each passing game. Jose Mourinho is in a difficult spot here, forced to give Lampard, who admittedly is a club icon, regular starts after Chelsea signed him to a one-year contract extension this season. But the Special One would be well-advised to limit Lampard’s playing time going forward, and give more opportunities to the likes of Willian, who has a bright future ahead of him Stamford Bridge, but has been given the chance to assimilate to the English game.

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Hull City 0, Crystal Palace 1

Palace has been a plucky side all season, but their resolve finally amounted to something this time out. With new manager Tony Pulis watching from the stands after being hired hours earlier, the Eagles overcame the 78th-minute sending-off of Yannick Bolasie to score three minutes later and earn only their second win of the season. Cameron Jerome did very well to go on a jinking run to get to the byline before laying off a low pass across the middle for a streaking Barry Bannan to prod home from close range. It was a rare moment of genuine quality from Palace this season—now let’s see if they can come up with more of them under Pulis.

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