EPL Gameweek 5: Chelsea end winless streak, Liverpool defeated as Everton and Hull City emerge victorious in thrillers
Leighton Baines (L) of Everton celebrates with team mates after scoring during the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham United and Everton at the Boleyn Ground
Chelsea vs Fulham (2-0):
Second half goals from Oscar and John Obi Mikel helped Chelsea record a 2-0 win against local rivals Fulham at Stamford Bridge.
Jose Mourinho’s side finally brought an end to the four game winless streak when Obi Mikel scored a goal in the 84 th minute to ease off any nerves that existed as a result of just a one goal lead till then. Earlier, the Brazilian international Oscar had opened the scoring in the 52nd minute.
Darren Bent wasted a glorious opportunity to put Fulham in front, in the early minutes of the game.
Juan Mata and David Luiz were left out of the squad while Frank Lampard was dropped from the playing eleven. John Terry was called back after having been left out of the team in their Champions League clash against Basel.
Despite moving to the top of the table, it was evident that Chelsea are not yet the same force they were under ‘The Special One’ in his previous stint with the Blues.
Newcastle United vs Hull City (2-3):
Hull City came from behind twice to register a historic 3-2 victory against Newcastle United at St James’ Park. Sony Aloko scored the winner in the 76th minute to give the Magpies their first away win of the season .
In the 48th minute, Ahmed El Mohamady netted the equaliser to bring the score back to level after Loic Remy’s double in the first half gave Newcastle a much deserved lead going into the break. Robert Brady scored the only goal for the Tigers in the first half.
Liverpool vs Southampton (0-1):
Brendan Rodgers’s ploy to start with four central defenders backfired as Liverpool slipped to their first defeat in the season. Centre-back Dejan Lovren headed in the only goal of the match to give the Saints, their second victory of the season.
The first half ended goalless with a number of half chances to both the sides and a stunning save by Artuc Boruc to deny an equally impressive free-kick from Steven Gerrard, who was pulling the strings pretty much throughout the game.
West Ham United vs Everton (2-3):
In a match that saw a plenty of goals, Everton pulled off a thrilling 3-2 win against West Ham at Upton Park. Romelu Lukaku scored a late winner in the 85th minute on his debut for Everton.
Ravel Morrison scored his first top-flight goal, helped by a deflection from Sylvain Distin to wrongfoot Tim Howard, in the 31st minute of the game to give West Ham the lead. In the 62nd minute, Leighton Baines levelled the score with a delightful free-kick that left Jussi Jaaskelainen with no chance whatsoever.
Phil Jagielka tripped Kevin Nolan to earn West Ham a penalty that was easily converted by Noble. But as it turned out, Baines was not finished yet, coming back to haunt West Ham with yet another free-kick goal.
West Bromwich Albion vs Sunderland (3-0):
Stephane Sessègnon, Liam Ridgewell and Morgan Amalfitano all got their names on the score sheet as West Brom completed a thumping 3-0 win over Sunderland at the Hawthorns. The loss left Sunderland at the rock bottom, with only one point from five matches. Paolo Di Canio has not yet tasted a victory after taking over Sunderland.
Norwich City vs Aston Villa (0-1):
A goal from substitute Libor Kozaka and a man-of-the-match performance from goalkeeper Brad Guzan inspired Aston Villa to pull off a 1-0 victory against Norwich. In doing so, Aston Villa finally managed to keep a clean sheet after 26 league games. Norwich had a great chance in the fifth minute to go ahead but Robert Snodgrass’ penalty was saved by Guzan, who later went to deny a number of attempts from Norwich attackers.