First Half: Goal! 0-1, Norwich take the lead as Hooper lays the ball off to Hoolahan who scores with a shot into the centre of goal. Goal! 1-1, Villa equalise in stunning fashion as a long ball into the box by Vlaar is chested up by Benteke before scoring a spectacular overhead kick into the top near corner. Goal! 2-1, Villa take the lead as Benteke heads in from close range into the near side from a corner. Hoolahan has a low shot parried before having the rebounded header blocked behind. Goal! 3-1, A fast break from Villa ends with Bacuna scoring with a low shot inside the far post. Goal! 4-1, Delph fires in a cross that Bassong turns into his own top corner.
Half Time: 4-1.
Second Half: Agbonlahor has a header saved. Elmander drags a low shot wide across goal. Agbonlahor has a shot deflected behind. Hooper has a low shot from the edge of the box parried away.
Full Time: 4-1.
Villa 13th>11th 28>31pts
Norwich 14th>15th 28pts
My Opinion:
My man of the match was Benteke. Villa storm past Norwich. The game took a massive turning point after Villa scored a spectacular equaliser thanks to the brilliance of Benteke. From out of nothing, Benteke chested the ball up for himself before unleashing an unstoppable overhead into the top corner. The crowd got behind their team and in only a matter of minutes took the lead thanks to a Benteke double. Villa were in full flow and made their dominance pay off with a further two goals before half time. They effectively won the match by this point and played out the second half with a renewed confidence. That win boosts Villa up two places into 11th. Norwich made the better start to the game and went ahead after an early goal from Hoolahan. They looked to be coping well with Villa up until Benteke changed the game. Norwich were clearly shell-shocked and conceded two more goals to fall further behind. The task was simply too much to recover from and they ended up getting hammered. With that loss, Norwich fall one place down into 15th.
Swansea City 1 v 1 Crystal Palace De Guzman (25), Murray (82pen)
First Half: Hernandez fires a shot from the edge of the box wide of the far post. Goal! 1-0, Swansea take the lead as De Guzman is played in before slotting home at the near side. Bony has a close range effort parried away.
Half Time: 1-0.
Second Half: Bony has a low tame effort saved. Bolasie drags a low shot wide of the far post. Murray has a volley on the turn saved at the near side. Penalty! Murray is fouled by Chico. Chico is shown a straight red card. Goal! Murray scores from the spot into the far top corner. Murray has a shot deflected wide of the far post.
Full Time: 1-1.
Swansea 12th>14th 28>29pts
Palace 16th 26>27pts
My Opinion:
My man of the match was Murray. Palace earn vital point at Liberty stadium. Swansea dominated the match but a lack of a cutting edge meant they were never certain of all three points. They went ahead through De Guzman and created more chances than Palace. However, 1-0 up is always a nervy scoreline as it only takes one goal to lose two points. That moment came in the final ten minutes as Chico was harshly adjudged to have fouled Murray inside the box and as a result was shown a straight red card. A point gained for the Swans but it must have felt like two points dropped. That draw means Swansea fall two places into 14th. That was a much needed and massive point for Palace. They need everything they can take and although it looked like they had no chance of scoring, they were awarded a late penalty which was an absolute gift for them to take a point. Murray scored from the spot before nearly winning the game for Palace with two late chances before full time. A huge bonus and confidence lift for Palace who move three points clear of the relegation zone.
Tottenham Hotspur 1 v 0 Cardiff City Soldado (28)
First Half: Soldado puts an effort from close range wide of the near post. Dawson misses with a glancing header wide of the far post. Goal! 1-0, Spurs take the lead as Adebayor plays in Soldado who neatly finishes into the far bottom corner. Caulkner heads against the bar from close range. John has a fierce blast parried behind over the near top corner.
Half Time: 1-0.
Second Half: Townsend has a free kick saved. Townsend fires a shot over the bar from long range. Kane has a low shot blocked.
Full Time: 1-0.
Spurs 5th 50>53pts
Cardiff 19th 22pts
My Opinion:
My man of the match was Adebayor. Soldado seals Spurs victory. It wasn't the best Spurs performance of the season but they deserved to win and got the job done. A rare goal from Soldado in open play was enough to claim all three points whilst it may even give the guy a much needed confidence boost going into the final third of the season. They looked like the better team and created more chances but were just not clinical enough in front of goal. Cardiff struggled on the whole and didn't pose much of threat going forward. They did only concede one game but it proved pivotal. Caulker really should have scored an equaliser but somehow headed against the bar from no more than two yards out. A massive chance spurned in what proved to be Cardiff's biggest chance of the game. That loss means that Cardiff still remain in the relegation zone and three points away from safety.
Best Goal: Benteke, Bacuna, De Guzman, Soldado. Winner: Benteke.
League Leaders:
1. Chelsea 63pts
2. Liverpool 59pts
3. Arsenal 59pts
4. Man City 57pts
5. Spurs 53pts
Relegation Battle:
16. Palace 27pts
17.West Brom 25pts
18. Sunderland 24pts
19. Cardiff 22pts
20. Fulham 21pts
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