Sunday 30 December 2012

Lamps Shows Chelsea Why They Need Him As QPR Sink Further

QPR 0-3 Liverpool: Liverpool move into the top half of the table as QPR sink to eight points from safety at the bottom of the table. QPR found themselves 1-0 down after just ten minutes when Luis Suarez once again grabbed the headlines with a solo goal. Suarez then made it 2-0 with his 11th goal of the season, matching last season's total. The points were wrapped up after just 28-minutes when Daniel Agger headed home from a corner.

Everton 1-2 Chelsea: Chelsea reclaim third place, still with a game in hand over Tottenham, after coming from behind to win. Everton went in front after just two minutes when Victor Anichebe's header came off the post, only for Steven Pienaar to score the rebound. Chelsea levelled three minutes before half-time when the man who may be on his way out, Frank Lampard, headed home from a Ramires cross. Lampard then won the game for Chelsea on 72-minutes when he bundled the rebound after Tim Howard parried a Juan Mata shot. Everton now slip to sixth, level on points with West Brom below them and Arsenal, who have that game in hand, above them.

Arsenal 7-3 Newcastle: Arsenal sit fifth, with a game in hand over Tottenham, after winning a game that saw one less goal than the Premier League record. The deadlock wasn't actually broken until the 20th minute when Theo Walcott broke the offside trap a rolled the ball past Tim Krul and into the bottom corner. Newcastle equalised two minutes before half-time with Demba Ba scoring straight from a free-kick. Arsenal re-took the lead five minutes into the second half through Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain but Newcastle were level again just before the hour mark when Sylvain Marveaux tapped home a Gabriel Obertan low ball. Lukas Podolski would make it 3-2 on 64-minutes before Ba was able to head home Newcastle's third equaliser just five minutes later. The freshness of Arsenal paid dividends towards the end though and Walcott made it 4-3 with his second on 73-minutes. Substitute Olivier Giroud added a fifth six minutes from the end before the Frenchman made it two goals in three minutes. Walcott managed to get his hat-trick in injury time when he recovered from a foul in box to get back up and chip it over Krul. Newcastle are now just three points from safety.

Norwich 3-4 Manchester City: Ten man City remain seven points off the top after edging this seven goal thriller. Edin Dzeko finished off a nice move between himself, Sergio Aguero and David Silva to give City the lead after just two minutes. That became two in four when the Bosnian tapped home an Aguero pull back. Norwich pulled one back on the quarter of an hour mark when Anthony Pilkington's low free-kick was deflected in. City then went down to ten men just before half-time when Samir Nasri took offence to a Sebastien Bassong foul and went in with a head-butt. That didn't deter City though as they re-established a two goal lead five minutes into the second half through a chipped goal by Aguero. Norwich weren't done and they made it 3-2 when Russell Martin headed home from a corner on 63-minutes. But City once again had their two goal advantage just four minutes later when a Dzeko shot hit the post before going in off Mark Bunn. Martin was on the scoresheet again to make it 4-3 on 75-minutes after he finished off another poorly defended corner. But the visitors managed to hold on the three points.

Aston Villa 0-3 Wigan: Villa remain just a point outside the relegation zone after now conceding 15-goals in their last three games, without scoring. Ivan Ramis put Wigan ahead after three minutes with a free header from a corner. It was 2-0 seven minutes into the second half when Emerson Boyce finished off a one-two with Arouna Kone into the bottom corner, the second time they've score twice away from home this season. The points were wrapped up four minutes later when Kone strolled past Brad Guzan and rolled it into empty net. Wigan now go ahead of Villa on goal difference and also remain a point ahead of the drop.

Stoke 3-3 Southampton: Southampton remain a point from safety after a killer blow in injury time. Saints took the lead after ten minutes when Rickie Lambert tapped home a Guly Do Prado cross. Stoke levelled on 16-minutes when Kenwyne Jones flicked the ball past Kelvin Davis with a back-heel. Southampton regained the lead when Robert Huth put the ball onto his own crossbar before Jay Rodriguez scored the follow up on 24-minutes. It was 3-1 nine minutes before half-time when Andy Wilkinson flicked a leg out and put the ball past his own keeper, taking their tally of goals conceded at the Britannia to seven this season. Stoke pulled a goal back when Matthew Upson finished off a scramble from a corner that wasn't cleared on 67-minutes. Steven N'Zonzi was sent off for a stamp after being angered at not getting a free-kick on 71-minutes. Stoke managed to keep their unbeaten home record when Cameron Jerome smashed a 33-yard half volley into the top corner, off the bar and post, in injury time. The point sees Stoke sit eighth.

Sunderland 1-2 Tottenham: Spurs go fourth after this victory, although Arsenal have played a game less. Sunderland took the lead five minutes before half-time when John O'Shea tapped home a parried free-kick for his first ever Sunderland goal. Tottenham were level three minutes into the second half when Carlos Cuellar headed into his own net from a corner. The winner came three minutes later when Aaron Lennon beat Simon Mignolet to the ball and slotted past the Belgian. Sunderland are now five points ahead of the relegation zone.

Manchester United 2-0 West Brom: United remain seven points clear at the top going into 2013. The deadlock was broken after nine minutes when Ashley Young's low cross was put into his own net by Gareth McAuley. The points were wrapped up injury time with substitute Robin Van Persie smashing a great shot into the top part of the net.

Fulham 1-2 Swansea: Fulham slip to just four points from safety after this defeat. Danny Graham gave Swansea the lead on 19-minutes with an acrobatic finish after a parried shot. Jonathan De Guzman made it 2-0 seven minutes into the second half after a poor pass from David Stockdale found a Swansea shirt. Bryan Ruiz tapped in a goalmouth scramble four minutes later but it wasn't enough to mount a comeback.

Reading 1-0 West Ham: Reading move to five points from safety after this victory. A very poor back pass from James Collins was pounced upon by Pavel Pogrebnyak to win the game after just five minutes. West Ham sit 12th but are only six points ahead of the relegation zone with a game in hand.




No comments:

Post a Comment