English Premier League Gameweek review

The league table was rearranged a bit as the drama unfolded in England’s premier football league this weekend. With Manchester United pitted against Liverpool, the gameweek promised some potentially interesting matches and here is the brief review of the top encounters-

Manchester United (1) vs Liverpool (1)-

Manchester United and Liverpool shared the spoil as the match ended at the Anfield with scores evenly tied at 1-1. Sir Alex Ferguson decided to start with a line up sans in form Wayne Rooney, Nani and defense spearhead Nemanja Vidic. Danny Wellbeck started as the lone striker upfront, while Rio Ferdinand made a comeback to the central defense. Liverpool’s inspirational captain Steven Gerrard made his first start since many months. The first half of the match was frenetic as both teams struggled to keep possession for long periods of time. Both Liverpool and Man U failed to break the deadlock before the halftime whistle was blown. Captain Steven Gerrard curled a brilliant freekick past David De Gea to open the scoring. Liverpool were on the verge of another victory over rivals Manchester United but substitute Javier Hernandez equalized for Manchester United with just 9 minutes left on the clock. De Gea made some superb saves at the far end of the match to deny Liverpool a winner. After dropping two points, Manchester United lie in the 2nd position in the league table, a couple of points behind Manchester City, who won comprehensively against Aston Villa.

Chelsea (3) vs Everton (1)

Chelsea kept up the pressure at the top of the table by winning comfortably against Everton at Stamford Bridge. Daniel Sturridge scored the opener after 31 minutes when Juan Mata  picked out Ashley Cole’s surge into the box with a brilliant aerial ball  and the left-back stood up a first-time cross which Sturridge  effortlessly headed past Tim Howard. Everton conceded the second goal  in first-half stoppage-time when John Terry  nodded home Frank Lampard’s free-kick. Ramires added the third goal for Chelsea on 61 minutes and although Vellios pulled one back nine minutes from time it was not enough to prevent Chelsea beating Everton for the first time in 7 attempts.

Manchester City (4) vs Aston Villa (1)-

Mario Balotelli’s acrobatic goal helped City on their way to reclaim the top position of the Barclay’s Premier League from Manchester United. The youngster’s superb overhead kick started city Juggernaut as they rolled past the opposition with ease. With Villa’s resistance broken, Adam Johnson, Vincent Kompany and James Milner added second-half goals and Owen Hargreaves came on for his Barclays Premier League debut on a near-perfect afternoon for City, who pulled two points clear of cross-city rivals United ahead of next weekend’s Manchester derby. Stephen Warnock netted a consolation for Villa.

Arsenal(2) vs Sunderland (1)-

Arsenal edged past Sunderland in a hard-fought match played at the Emirates Stadium. It took Arsenal just 29 seconds to open the scoring as Robin van Persie drilled a low shot past the Sunderland custodian from 18 yards out. Sunderland then shocked the home crowd with a stunning equaliser from former Gunner Sebastian Larsson on the 31st minute. Larsson curled his freekick over Wojciech Szczesny to make the scorers level. Arsenal pushed hard for an equalizer and eventually Van Persie restored the advantage 9 minutes from time with a spectacular free-kick, clipping just inside the near right post from 25 yards out. Arsenal move to the 10th position of the league by courtesy of the win, while Sunderland lie at the 17th position.

Other results in the league-

Newcastle 2- Tottenham 2
West Brom 2- Wolves 0
Norwich 3- Swansea 1
Stoke 2- Fulham 0
QPR 1- Blackburn 1
Wigan 1- Bolton 3