First Half: Hazard skips past Lloris but puts a shot into the side-netting. Sandro has a low volley from long range parried away at the near side.
Half Time: 0-0.
Second Half: Goal! 1-0, Chelsea take the lead as Vertonghen slips over, letting Eto'o intercept the pass before scoring a low shot under the keeper into the far bottom corner. Penalty! Eto'o is fouled by Kaboul. Goal! 2-0, Hazard scores from the spot, low and straight down the middle. Oscar blazes a shot well over the bar. Goal! 3-0, Sandro makes a mistake and slips over which lets Ba score with a low shot from close range under the keeper at the near side. Goal! 4-0, Ba intercepts and beats the keeper to Walkers header backwards before calmly rolling the ball into an empty net.
Full Time: 4-0.
Chelsea 1st, 63-66pts
Tottenham 5th, 53pts
My Opinion:
My man of the match was Eto'o. Chelsea thrash sorry Spurs. Although it took until the second half for Chelsea to break the deadlock, the goals poured in once it had been broken. Another very solid and strong defensive effort enabled Chelsea to press Spurs throughout and they reaped their rewards, scoring four goals against an error stricken Spurs defence. Job done for Mourinho and Chelsea but they looked at ease today. With that win, Chelsea remain top of the table.
It could be argued that Spurs were actually still in the match at 1-0 down and were let down by the referee who awarded Chelsea a penalty and harshly sent off Kaboul for his challenge. The red card definitely changed the flow of the game and took Spurs out of it but they still let themselves down with some very sloppy defending.
Cardiff City 3 v 1 Fulham Caulker (45,67), Hotlby (59), Reither OG (71)
First Half: Dejagah fires a shot into the side-netting from an acute angle. Campbell has blast from the edge of the box parried away. Jones has a header saved. Jones has a shot wonderfully parried over the near top corner. Goal! 1-0, Cardiff take the lead on the stroke of half time as Caulker taps in from close range Noone's low deflected shot across goal.
Half Time: 1-0.
Second Half: Holtby has a long range volley parried away. Jones heads wide of the near post from close range. Goal! 1-1, Fulham equalise as Holtby taps in from close range a Heitinga header from a corner. Kim has a low driven shot pushed behind. Goal! 2-1, Caulker puts Cardiff back in front after heading in from a corner into the near side. Goal! 3-1, Campbell has a header from close range parried onto Reither who has the ball deflected into the goal off of him. Mitroglou heads wide of the far post. Mitroglou has a shot really well punched away.
Full Time: 3-1.
Cardiff 19th>18th, 22>25pts
Fulham 20th, 21pts
My Opinion:
My man of the match was Caulker. Cardiff claim vital win over Fulham. This was an absolutely massive result for Cardiff who desperately needed the three points today. It should give them the belief and confidence they need to go into next week's game with renewed inspiration about their chances of staying up. Caulker proved monumental for the home side and led by example with two goals for himself. With that win, Cardiff move up to 18th and ever closer to survival.
It was a terrible display and result for Fulham who had another day to forget. They got themselves level on the hour mark as Holtby tapped in from close range but the keeper was at fault for conceding the second goal to Cardiff. That proved to be the pivotal turning point of the match as Fulham crumbled and let in another couple of goals. Mitroglou doesn't look to be anywhere near sharp enough and spurned a couple of late chances as Fulham continue to score more goals. That loss means that Fulham remain rooted to the bottom of the table.
West Bromich Albion 0 v 3 Manchester United Jones (34), Rooney (65), Welbeck (82)
First Half: Fellaini has a header cleared off the line. Rafael has a header across goal really well pushed against the bar. Goal! 0-1, United take the lead as a whipped free kick by Van Persie is headed in by Jones at the near side. Anichebe fires a low shot across goal just wide of the far post. Foster escapes a possible handball decision on the edge of the box.
Half Time: 0-1.
Second Half: Van Persie luckily avoids a second bookable offence. Fellaini has a low shot blocked. Rafael sends an overhead kick wide of the near post. Goal! 0-2, Rooney heads in from close range at the far post from a delightful Rafael cross. Goal! 0-3, Some lovely football ends with Rooney playing the ball into Welbeck who skilfully lifts the ball over the keeper into the far side.
Full Time: 0-3.
West Brom 17th, 25pts
Man United 7th>6th, 45>48pts
My Opinion:
My man of the match was Rafael. United cruise past Albion. West Brom were simply outclassed and outplayed by a superior team today. They were unable to keep hold of the ball and failed to create many meaningful chances as Anichebe fired one of their few efforts wide of goal. In my view, Foster was fortunate to stay on the pitch he looked to have handled the ball on the edge of the box, denying Van Persie a clear goalscoring opportunity. Whether it was a deliberate handball was doubtful but what was clear was that it struck his hand outside the box. A disappointing display and result for the Baggies means that they remain just above the relegation zone in 17th place.
United had an interesting and eventful game. A positive result in the end but things could have turned out differently had the referee not been as lenient as he was towards Van Persie. The Dutchman was on a yellow card and early in the second half made a lunging tackle that could easily have produced another yellow and the red. Thankfully, he was let off with a strong warning and was taken off by Moyes soon after. The change actually saw United play much better and with more flow. Rafael had a good game and put in a lovely cross straight onto the head of Rooney for United's second goal whilst a lovely passing move ended with a delightful finish from Welbeck for United's third. Encouraging signs of improvement but it is becoming more obvious that Rooney, Van Persie and Mata are struggling to play together in the formation Moyes puts out. With that win, United move up one place into 6th.
Crystal Palace 0 v 1 Southampton Rodriguez (37)
First Half: Rodriguez has a shot blocked. Goal! 0-1, Saints take the lead as a fast break ends with Rodriguez going past the Palace defence, tackling a rushed out Speroni and scoring with a low shot into an empty net. Davis has an effort across goal cleared away. Lambert hits the far post with a low poked shot. Bolasie has a low shot from the edge of the box saved. Shaw has a shot from the edge of the box parried away.
Half Time: 0-1.
Second Half: Jedinak fires a free kick over the bar. Shaw has a low shot from long range saved.
Full Time: 0-1.
Palace 16th, 27pts
Saints 9th, 39>42pts
My Opinion:
My man of the match was Lallana. Rodriguez strikes for Saints. Palace put in a battling performance but in the end it was not to be. They gave it a real go but failed to find the back of the Saints net. The goal they conceded could have been avoided as the keeper came rushing out but was beaten to the ball by Rodriguez who managed to slot home from long range into an empty net. Not the result they were hoping for but they remain in 16th with the relegation zone not far from them.
Southampton played well and if any team was going to win today then it was the Saints. They created more chances in the first half but were unable to break the deadlock before fortune favoured the brave and Rodriguez was able to win the ball from an onrushing keeper to score the only goal of the game. Not the most memorable encounter but Southampton will be delighted to have taken three points out of that one.
Norwich City 1 v 1 Stoke City Johnson (56), Walters (73pen)
First Half: Crouch has a low shot saved at the near side. Walters has a low shot from the edge of the box saved at the near side. Olsson fires a long range volley over the bar. Martin puts a low effort into the side-netting. Snodgrass has an effort across goal parried away. Van Wolfswinkel misses with a glancing header wide of the far post.
Half Time: 0-0.
Second Half: Van Wolfswinkel has a swerving shot from long range parried past the near post. Goal! 1-0, Norwich take the lead as Johnson heads in at the near side from a Snodgrass free kick. Redmond has a driven shot across goal from long range parried away. Penalty! Bassong fouls Guidetti. Goal! 1-1, Stoke equalise as Walters slots the penalty into the far top corner. OFF! Walters fouls Tettey and is shown a straight red card.
Full Time: 1-1.
Norwich 15th, 28>29pts
Stoke 13>12th, 30>31pts
My Opinion:
My man of the match was Johnson. Walters goes from hero to zero. Norwich gained an important point but just have easily claimed two more. They took the lead just before the hour mark through Johnson but Bassong gave away a silly penalty to give Stoke a brilliant opportunity to equalise. They did and two points fell down the drain for the Canaries. The result puts more pressure on manager Chris Hughton but they remain in 15th place.
Stoke put in a performance but looked like they were not going to get any rewards for it. They went behind and all looked gloomy for Hughes and Stoke. However, they were gifted a penalty when Guidetti was brought down by Bassong in the box and took full advantage when Walters scored from the spot. Amazingly, Walters went from being a hero straight down to zero when he put in a crazy tackle on Tettey and was shown a straight red card. In the end it was a big point gained for Stoke who would probably have taken it after the mad events that went on in the second half. With that point, Stoke moved up one place to 12th.
Best Goal: Eto'o, Welbeck, Rooney, Rodriguez. Winner: Welbeck.
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