EPL Roundup & Highlights - Gameweek 12: Arsenal, Chelsea win while Liverpool draw
Everton’s Romelu Lukaku scored a brace in the 3-3 draw in the Merseyside Derby.
Everton 3-3 Liverpool
The Merseyside Derby lived up to its expectations with a goal fest which saw both sides shares the spoils. Philippe Coutinho scored the first goal in the fifth minute when he was unmarked at the far post during a corner. But Everton responded almost immediately through a set piece after Kevin Mirallas pounced on a loose ball in the box.
Luis Suarez then scored from a free kick that curled through the wall and beat the outstretched arm of Tim Howard. Liverpool led for most of the game until the 72nd minute when Romelu Lukaku scored from near the penalty spot. With the game tied, it was the Belgian striker once again, heading home an unstoppable strike from a corner to give Everton the lead. But Daniel Sturridge came off the bench to score from another set piece with a header flicked on into the far post.
The game ended 3-3 (and no red cards, which hasn’t been the norm in this fixture in the past). Another notable event in this game was Leighton Baines being substituted for an injury. The Left Back had played the full 90 minutes in his last 170 Premier League games (via Opta stats).
In a game delayed by 15 minutes for crowd safety due to issues with the London Tube on the Picadilly Line, Olivier Giroud scored a brace to give the Gunners a 2-0 win at The Emirates. The French striker first capitalized on a horrendous error by the Saints goalkeeper Artur Boruc who tried to dribble the ball inside his own box. Giroud picked his pocket and tapped the ball into an empty net.
The game saw both side try and get a goal until the 86th minute when Jose Fonte was guilty of tugging Per Mertesacker’s shirt in the b and ox during a corner. Giroud slotted home the penalty after sending Boruc diving the wrong way to give Arsenal all three points and a 4-point lead over second placed Liverpool.
The penalty was Giroud’s 10th goal in all competitions for Arsenal this season. The game also saw the return of Theo Walcott when he came on as a substitute against his old club.
Frank Lampard scored a brace against his former club to give the Blues all 3 points at Upton Park. West Ham’s Guy Demel attempted a back pass which Oscar pounced on. But goalkeeepr Jussi Jaaskelainen brought him down only for the referee to point to the spot. Lampard stepped up and gave Chelsea a 0-1 lead in the 21st minute.
Eden Hazard and Oscar proved to be a handful for the Hammers as their passing and movement kept threatening to open up the defence. It was just a matter of time before they scored and the breakthrough came in the 34th minute when Oscar received a pass from Hazard, made his way towards the box and took a shot from the edge of the area into the bottom corner.
The third goal did not come until the 82nd minute. Branislav Ivanovic’s cross saw Hazard make contact only to see his shot blocked. The ball fell to Lampard at the edge of the area and he scored to give Chelsea all three points in the London Derby. West Ham were never in the game and their first shot on target did not come until the 93rd minute – a Joey O’Brien header which was saved by Petr Cech.
The win puts Chelsea in 3rd place, level with Liverpool on points and goal difference, but the Merseyside club are second place courtesy of having scored 3 more goals.
Martin Jol’s side (with ex-Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen) couldn’t get the three points at Craven Cottage as Swansea City came out winners, even though two Fulham players scored on the night. The first half didn’t see any goals but in the 54th minute, Aaron Hughes was unlucky to make contact with a cross and the ball ended up in his own net.
But Scott Parker then scored his first goal for Fulham when what was meant to be a cross went long and curled into the net in the 64th minute to spark celebrations. But his joy was short lived as Jonjo Shelvey pulled a rabbit out of the hat with a solo effort to dribble past a player and fire the ball into the top corner.
Fulham are now in the relegation zone in 18th place with just 10 points from 12 games. And there were calls to sack Jol after the game from the fans.
Newcastle 2-1 Norwich City
Newcastle won their third straight game in the League as they heaped more misery on their ex-manager Chrsi Hughton whose Norwich side now lie in 16th place. Loic Remy opened the scoring for the Magpies with a header in just the second minute as Yohan Cabaye’s corner found him unmarked at the far post.
Yoan Gouffran then got the second when a Shola Ameobi header was blocked by goalkeeper John Ruddy, only for Gouffran to react quickly and score.
Norwich had some hope of coming away with at least point at St. James Park in the 80th minute when Leroy Fer struck with a powerful header. But the Magpies hung on for all three points to bring them up to 8th in the table.
Sunderland manager Gus Poyet remonstrates with referee Kevin Friend during the Premier League match between Stoke City and Sunderland at Britannia Stadium.
Stoke City 2-0 Sunderland
Stoke City got all three points in a game that saw a controversial red card shown to Sunderland’s Wes Brown for a legitimate tackle. Manager Gus Poyet was furious with the decision and let his thoughts be known at the touchline as he had to be restrained.
Charlie Adam scored the first goal after a neat cutback from Steven Nzonzi. Then, a Peter Crocuh through ball found Nzonzi who scored the second with a first time shot that found the back of the net. The result meant that Sunderland would now be bottom of the table, below Crystal Palace on goal difference.
Hull City 0-1 Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace came away with all three points in front of their new boss Tony Pulis who was watching from the stands. Crystal Palace were down to ten men after Yannick Bolasie was sent off for a straight red card late in the second half after a mistimed challenge on Jake Livermore. But just a few minutes later, Barry Bannan scored from close range to give Palace the win that saw them move out of the bottom of the table to 19th spot.