Missing Diego Costa, Chelsea could only manage a draw at home against City. Manchester United and Arsenal took advantage by gaining all three, but Southampton slipped to Swansea and fell into a tie for fourth.
Let’s get to the games:
Hull City (0) – Newcastle United (3)
John Carver’s tenure as permanent Newcastle gaffer got off to a helluva start with a 3-0 away win at Hull. Carver had not managed a win in the 4 previous games as caretaker, but was able to get the victory in driving sleet to move his squad into 11th place. Remy Cabella opened the scoring 10 minutes from half with a low shot past the keeper when Hull’s Andy Robertson mishandled the ball. Sammy Ameobi scored the second for Newcastle with a driving 25-yard shot into the bottom corner. Hull chances seemed more promising after the second goal, but they were unable to produce a goal for their efforts. In the 77th minute, Yoan Gouffran sealed the victory with a run and deflected shot that gave the new coach his first win.
Crystal Palace (0) – Everton (1)
An early Everton goal was the high note in a game largely dominated by Palace, whose lack of finishing quality left them empty handed at home. Romelu Lukaku rebounded a block by Palace keeper Julian Speroni to give the visitors the one-goal lead. Everton would not have another chance until the 85th minute, as Palace dominated the game but were unable to finish, even with the introduction of both Wilfried Zaha and Glenn Murray. The win pulls Everton up to 12th, 7 places above the drop.
Liverpool (2) – West Ham United (0)
Liverpool celebrated the return of striker Daniel Sturridge and he joined in the celebration himself, gaining an important win to keep pace with the European spots in the table. Sturridge had missed a total of 33 matches, but his return seemed to energize the home side and his goal proved to be the winner. Six minutes after halftime, a brilliant through-ball from Coutinho was slotted directly into goal by Sturridge’s stand-in, Raheem Sterling; his fifth in 10 games. The Reds’ lead was doubled by Sturridge, through an exchange of passes with Coutinho and a angled strike past Adrian, giving Liverpool the win and 38 points in the campaign.
Manchester United (3) – Leicester City (1)
United got the win they needed to gain on the leaders, but more importantly got first-half goals from Van Persie and Falcao who have both been underwhelming so far this campaign. Leicester City were hopeful for another comeback like the one last September, but United were able to hold the visitors off. Van Persie opened the scoring with taking a cleverly chipped ball and calmly taking it first time for the goal. It was a mere five minutes before United doubled their lead with Di Maria took a shot from a Van Persie feed which was spilled and rebounded back by Falcao for just his fourth goal this season. United scored a third when a Wayne Rooney corner took a flick off of Blind and diverted off Leicester’s Wes Morgan for an own goal. Late on, Marcin Wasilewski headed in at the far post, but the rally ended there and United were able to hold for the victory.
Stoke City (3) – Queens Park Rangers (1)
QPR’s streak of losses away continued after a Jonathan Walters hat trick led Stoke to the home win. The Rangers were generally sloppy, and were punished for play that lacked imagination and defense that lacked teeth. QPR’s Karl Henry let a pass run right in front of him, where Stephen Ireland back heeled a pass to Walters to set up the first goal. Their second came on an Eduardo Vargas mistake that led to a counter-attack with Ireland again setting up Walters on the run. QPR were able to pull one back a few minutes later, though, as Charlie Austin’s shot was ricocheted into the path of Niko Kranjcar who tapped in the goal to make it 2-1. The game was finally put away late as a cross was headed down by QPR’s Barton but fell right to Walters who finished the hat-trick, and scored his 10th goal on the season.
Sunderland (2) – Burnley (0)
Sunderland get their second home win of the campaign with the win that includes the first goal for new arrival Jermain Defoe. Sunderland broke the deadlock 20 minutes in to the game when Sunderland’s Reveillere drove a cross to the far post where Connor Wickham jumped and planted a header into net. Sunderland doubled in the 34rd minute when Gomez split the defense and put on Van Aanholt who left the ball for Defoe to finish with style. The rest of the game fell into a malaise, and while Burnley controlled more of the possession, their attack never seemed to be focused and the game was never really in doubt.
West Bromwich Albion (0) – Tottenham Hotspur (3)
Spurs got a needed win in a match where they dominated early and throughout, carving up the West Brom defense to score seemingly at will. Christian Eriksen opened the scoring in just the sixth minute with a beautifully placed free-kick to open the scoring and set the tone for the evening. The rest of the day’s scoring came at the foot of Henry Kane, starting with a pass from Dembele that Kane turned inside West Brom’s Andre Wisdom before ramming it into the net. The final goal came after a handball in the box off of a Kyle Walker cross. Kane finished the resulting kick just inside the left post to give Spurs three goals and three points on the day.
Chelsea (1) – Manchester City (1)
Having lost striker Deigo Costa to suspension, the Blues came in determined but shaken; while City was anxious to pounce on their prey. Near the end of the first half, Chelsea found inspiration in Loic Remy, starter in place of Costa. Eden Hazard put in a cross and Remy was in the right place to finish it, giving the home side an important 1-0 lead. Almost immediately, though, City responded when Navas cross was picked up by Sergio Aguero and shot directly at Ivanovic. The resultant rebound was slammed home by David Silva, though, and the equalizer was theirs. In the second half, both teams seemed to be fighting in mid-field, with City having more serious chances, but both were forced to settle for just the point in the end.
Arsenal (5) – Aston Villa (0)
Arsenal moved tied with fourth place Southampton on points after a romp of Villa, who are now only three points clear of the relegation zone. The scoring started early, with Olivier Giroud finishing a beautiful flick on by Mesut Ozil in just the eighth minute. Ozil doubled the lead early in the second half with a breakaway run and finish. After 63 minutes, they added a third goal when Theo Walcott played a one-two with Cazorla before slotting the ball into the right corner. Matters only got worse for Villa in the 75th minute when Arsenal substitute Chuba Akpom was upended and Cazorla finished the resultant spot kick with power. In stoppage time, Arsenal found their 5th when Bellerin finished a rebound from just outside the box into the low far corner.
Southampton (0) – Swansea City (1)
Southampton dominated the match throughout, but paid for their inability to finish with a 1-0 loss at home to drop into a tie for 4th with Arsenal. Peppering the goal throughout, the Saints were clearly on the the front foot, but were unable to convert. Late on, Swansea got the decider, though, when Jonjo Shelvey lashed a strike for 30-yards out to give Swansea the improbable lead. The frustration for Southampton was noticeable, as a hard foul to Swansea’s Barrow (who had himself come on early for injury) resulted in a sending off for Bertrand, but the visitors were nonetheless able to hold on for the win.