By: Tagdh McGinty
Saturday’s Premier league action brought many rival teams together, as they fought it out to gain points to move up the table. With this being the 23rd week of the Premier League things are starting to get very competitive between the teams. This is how it all unfolded.
Newcastle Vs Cardiff
Newcastle’s victory was a timely boost for Rafa Benitez’s team who had slipped down the table after a run of just one win in their last nine games. Meanwhile, this victory lifts them above Cardiff, who drop into the bottom three and are now two points from safety. With the game drifting, Schar gave the hosts the lead in spectacular fashion in the 24th minute. The defender decided to drive forward with the ball and Cardiff backed off. He marched into the box before steadying himself and side-footing expertly into the bottom corner. Cardiff threatened a fightback after the break but the Newcastle defense stood firm. It gave their attack a platform to build on and it was soon 2-0. Jamaal Lascelles rose to shoot on Matt Ritchie’s corner and Schar arrived to bundle the ball home. The hat-trick did not materialize, despite heading a presentable chance wide and Perez rubber-stamped the win at the end as he scored from close range after some clever play from Rondon.
Liverpool Vs Crystal Palace
Mohamed Salah scored twice as Liverpool survived an early scare to see off Crystal Palace and establish a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League. Jurgen Klopp’s men were left reeling by Andros Townsend’s 34th-minute opening score which had given the visitors a surprise half-time lead. But Salah pulled Liverpool level within moments of the second half and the leaders rode their luck to edge ahead in the 53rd minute through Roberto Firmino’s heavily-deflected strike. James Tomkins headed Palace back level just past the hour mark but Salah grabbed his second before James Milner was sent off for a second bookable offense in the 89th minute. Sadio Mane appeared to secure the points for Liverpool late on but there was still time for the Eagles to reduce the deficit once more through substitute Max Meyer in injury time.
Arsenal Vs Chelsea
Alexandre Lacazette and Laurent Koscielny struck two goals for Arsenal as they won the derby by two goals. It was a great day for the Gunners, as they beat Chelsea by two goals at full time to retain their fifth spot in the table. A brilliant goal from Alexandre Lacazette from an acute angle gave Arsenal the lead in the 14th minute, after which Laurent Koscielny scored the second one awkwardly from his right shoulder to double the lead. Chelsea had their moments in the match and created enough chances. But the Blues paid the price of not having any striker in the starting XI and Olivier Giroud’s presence of late did not help much either.
Manchester United Vs Brighton
Manchester United secured a 2-1 win against Brighton in the Premier League fixture after goals from Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford on Saturday afternoon. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer maintained his perfect start to his tenure as caretaker manager when World Cup winner Pogba opened the scoring from the penalty spot midway through the first-half. United continued with their dominance and soon grabbed a second goal before half-time when Rashford finished off a great team goal by cutting inside onto his right before curling a brilliant effort into the far corner of the net. Solskajer’s side remained in control for much of the proceedings but were handed a late setback with 20 minutes left in the match when Pascal Gross slammed a brilliant strike past David de Gea to keep Brighton in the tie.
Sunday was one of the quieter days, with only two games scheduled to play. 4 teams battled it out in the afternoon to try and capture the 3 points.
Huddlesfield Vs Manchester City
Manchester City cut the gap to Premier League leaders Liverpool to four points with a 3-0 victory at Huddersfield on Sunday afternoon. Pep Guardiola’s side were lethargic in the first-half but atoned for their sloppy showing with a convincing second-half display, as goals from Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sané added to Danilo’s first-half strike. The City boss made four changes to the side that beat Wolves last Monday, with Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Nicolas Otamendi returning in the places of Gabriel Jesus, David Silva, Bernardo Silva and John Stones. Sané scored the pick of the goals to secure the three points and maintain City’s perfect start to 2019, with the Blues now having scored 24 goals in their five games this calendar year.
Tottenham Vs Fulham
For the first 45 minutes, it looked like Fulham was the stronger side. Their attacks were fluid and could have easily had them up by 2 or 3. This was thanks in part to Fulham having a healthy team while Tottenham were running with a skeleton crew. One of Fulham’s most promising moments was when Mitrovic played Babel into the box, Babel beat Sanchez for the near-post shot, and Lloris got a last-second touch on it. Near the end of the half, Mitrovic headed in a rebound shot off of Lloris’ gloves but he was offside. Fulham’s one goal was thanks to Llorente not seeing where a corner was placed and the ball ricocheted in the goal. Tottenham had a few good chances but it was obvious they were missing Kane and Son. Eriksen had a couple of wide shots, Llorente almost found solace in a few close ones, and Winks could have capitalized a few times. Alas, the half ended Fulham 1-0 Spurs. Spurs seemed like a team reborn at the second half whistle and wasted no time in putting the pressure on Fulham. Winks almost perfectly played Llorente on in the box but the Spaniard gave up on the run. Two minutes later, Spurs would hit pay dirt. The goal started from a lovely lofted pass from Eriksen into the box. Alli got a strong header on it and the match was all tied up. Three minutes after the goal, Eriksen made a strong shot on the counter attack that was denied. For the rest of the match, Sanchez and Mitrovic had their own personal battle. The Spurs man never let the Cottager produce, which is a great sign for Tottenham’s injury worries in the back line.
