EPL Week 4: Chelsea lose, City held as United, Spurs and Arsenal notch up easy victories
Aaron Ramsey celebrates scoring Arsenal’s 3rd goal his 2nd with Olivier Giroud and Mesut Oezil during the Barclays Premier League match between Sunderland and Arsenal at Stadium of Light on September 14, 2013 in Sunderland, England.
Manchester United 2-0 Crystal Palace
In Saturday’s early kick-off, Manchester United encountered no troubles whatsoever in seeing off Crystal Palace 2-0 at Old Trafford, courtesy of goals from Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney.
Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Norwich City
Spurs bounced back from the loss against Arsenal in their previous EPL encounter with a resounding 2-0 victory over Norwich City at White Hart Lane. Christian Eriksen, Andre Villas-Boas’ latest addition to the squad, was at the centre of it all while Gylfi Sigurdsson benefited from the former Ajax man’s first appearance in Spurs’ colours by netting in both the goals. Spurs’ fans had plenty of reasons to feel confident about the season with Andros Townsend also looking promising.
Norwich found it extremely difficult to cope up with some breathtaking football on display by the home team. Ricky van Wolfswinkel had a couple of golden opportunities in either half of the game but Danny Rose managed to see off the Dutch international’s threat.
Aston Villa 1-2 Newcastle United
France international Hatem Ben Arfa netted one and set up another to help Newcastle United defeat Aston Villa 2-1 at Villa Park. Ben Arfa, set up by debutant Loic Remy, opened the scoring in the 18th minute but was pegged back by Christian Benteke in the second half. With only 20 odd minutes to go, Yoan Gouffran, capitalizing on Ben Arfa’s deflected long range effort, scored the winner.
Fulham 1-1 West Bromwich Albion
Gareth McAuley’s injury time equaliser which happened to be West Bromwich Albion’s first Premier League goal of the season salvaged a point for the Baggies against Fulham at Craven Cottage. Earlier, Fulham midfielder Steve Sidwell opened the scoring for the home side in the 22nd minute.
Stoke City 0-0 Manchester City
Manchester City were held for a goalless draw at the Britannia Stadium. Jonathan Walters and Kenwyne Jones wasted glorious chances to open the scoring as Manchester City looked a distant second best side throughout the match. The Potters side, looked on course for a third top flight victory in what has been an excellent start to the season, must consider themselves extremely unlucky to not come out on top.
Samir Nasri and Alvaro Negredo saw their weak efforts easily saved as the game came to an end with Jones forced to leave the field following an awkward fall.
Hull City 1-1 Cardiff City
Peter Whittingham helped Cardiff City earn a point against Hull City in their away fixture after the home team opened the scoring in the 40th minute through Curtis Davies, who headed in Tom Huddlestone’s cross.
Cardiff manager Malky Mackay said: “I thought both teams went hard at it to try to win. We both had spells of possession and at times both had chances. We have got four points from losing position so far this season and we showed great resilience. The goal was a beautiful move from our right-back area up until the goal. I’m very proud of the team.”
Sunderland 1-3 Arsenal
Mesut Ozil set up Olivier Giroud in the 11th minute for the opener after which Aaron Ramsey scored twice to seal a thumping victory for the Gunners. Craig Gardener scored the only goal for the home side although they were aggrieved to see Jozy Altidore robbed off a great chance after referee Martin Atkinson failed to play an advantage.
The Black Cats boss Paolo Di Canio has not yet tasted a victory after making as many as 15 summer signings for his team this season.
Everton 1-0 Chelsea
Steven Naismith headed in the only goal in the 45th minute of an entertaining game, capitalizing on a nod-back from Nikica Jelavic, at Goodison Park to give Roberto Martinez his first victory as Everton boss.
Samuel Eto’o, given a start by Chelsea Boss Jose Mourinho, had a great chance to score on his debut but Gareth Barry blocked his shot after Tim Howard’s poor pass out. However, Howard made amends for his lapse in concentration which could have proven to be very costly by doing well to block Ramires’ attempt.
Leighton Baines came close to scoring Everton’s second goal but was denied by the bar. The match ended with the fans at Goodison Park erupting in joy as a result of an unforeseen victory after enduring a difficult start to the league. This defeat also happens to be Mourinho’s first in the Premier League after his comeback.
Southampton 0-0 West Ham United
In the only Premier League game on Sunday, West Ham United held Southampton to a 0-0 draw thanks to goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen’s valiant efforts at St Mary’s.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side were clearly the better of the two teams. They created numerous chances, but Jaaskelainen made several fine saves to ensure a point for The Hammers.
On the other hand West Ham, who were pegged back into their own half for most of the match, created very little. In the closing minutes, though, James Collins had the best chance of the match but the Welsh defender shot high over the crossbar.