Molinaro on BPL: In case you missed it…
Posted December 19, 2011 9:18 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
In case you missed it, here’s what happened in the Premiership over the weekend.
Manchester City began the game in second place (following Manchester United’s win at Loftus Road earlier in the day) but were back in first place by the early evening.
Samir Nasri faced his old club for the first time in the Premier League, and although he was named man of the match (a clever dig by the Blues in response to the Frenchman being booed by travelling Arsenal supporters every time he touched the ball), the former Gunner was hardly influential.
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Like he has been most of the season, David Silva was the main reference point of the Blues’ attack, the Spaniard scoring his fifth goal of the season on the occasion of Roberto Mancini’s second anniversary in charge.
City bounced back nicely after suffering their first loss of the season last week at Stamford Bridge, and looked solid in defence as they recorded their first clean sheet in nine matches.
But it is curious that the Premiership’s top scoring side only managed to put one goal past an Arsenal side that was missing four of its fullbacks: Bacary Sagna, Kieran Gibbs, André Santos and Carl Jenkinson.
Had Robin van Persie and Thomas Vermaelen converted their chances, we could have easily been talking about a second consecutive loss for City. The Blues have Joe Hart to thank for that, as the English No. 1 was at the top of his game with some timely saves.
Manchester United 2 @ Queens Park Rangers 2
Sunday’s encounter pitted last season’s Premier League and Championship winners against each other at Loftus Road, and the difference in class between the two sides was noticeable.
With Michael Carrick bossing the midfield, and Antonio Valencia providing width to the attack, United ran out easy winners to temporarily jump to the top of the table.
You have to hand it to Alex Feguson’s side. After that infamous 6-1 pummelling at the hands of City, the Red Devils have won six of seven matches, conceding only two goals along the way.
They’ve also done it while missing several key players and with the club infirmary swelling in numbers — the loss of Nemanja Vidic was a massive blow.
Through it all, United have maintained their composure and showed a tremendous will to win. In doing so, they’ve also kept the pressure on City and sit just two points back.
No doubt that Mancini’s men remain the title front-runners. But they’re not overwhelming favourites like they once were, as United have come on strong the past month. Discount them at your peril.
Defensively poor and offensively challenged — that about sums up Aston Villa’s performance on Sunday.
Without the Gabriel Agbonlahor (suspended) and England striker Darren Bent (thigh injury), Villa struggled up front. Meanwhile, Villa had plenty of problems in their half of the field. Craig Bellamy put Liverpool ahead in the 11th minute after Villa failed to clear a corner kick. Four minutes later, Bellamy’s corner found an unmarked Martin Skrtel, who nodded it home.
And the damage could have been far worse — Luis Suarez twice hit the post for Liverpool.
Aston Villa has now failed to score in four of its last five matches.
Bryan Ruiz has underwhelmed since his 10.6 million euro summer transfer from Twente to Craven Cottage.
In case you missed it: Bryan Ruiz’s goal for Fulham
But the Costa Rican forward was brilliant against Bolton on Saturday, easily his best performance in 12 appearances for Fulham this season.
The Costa Rican delivered a pinpoint cross from the left wing into the box for Clint Dempsey to head home in the 32nd minute. Seconds later, Dempsey played a pass up the middle that sprung Ruiz, who ran up field and while having a Bolton defender draped over him chipped the ball over goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen with an audacious lob from the edge of the box.
Sometimes it really is better to be lucky than good. Stoke used a fair bit of fortune to earn their fourth win in a row — the first time they’ve done that in the Premiership — and climb to eighth in the table.
Wolves deservedly took an early lead through Stephen Hunt and appeared to have things well in control at Molineux. But things began to fall apart early in the second half when Kevin Doyle deflected Robert Huth’s free kick into his own goal. With 20 minutes left, Peter Crouch took advantage of some slack defending deep inside the six-yard box with an easy header.
Stoke’s run could run out this week when they visit Manchester City Wednesday in a rematch of May’s FA Cup final.
A week after seeing their 11-game unbeaten run end, Spurs bounced back with a convincing victory over the Black Cats. Roman Pavlyuchenko scored his first goal of the season, allowing Spurs to jump over Chelsea into third place.
Rafael van der Vaart was once again the catalyst for Spurs, as it was his clever pass that opened up the chance for Pavlyuchenko in the 61st minute.
The Dutchman created other chances, too, and really Tottenham should have won this one going away, but spurned their scoring opportunities. They got away with it against Sunderland, but they can’t afford to be so wasteful against Chelsea on Thursday at White Hart Lane.
Maybe we shouldn’t be so surprised by this result.
After a poor start to the season, Wigan has looked considerably better lately, taking seven out of a possible 12 points before Saturday’s encounter against Chelsea. And even though Chelsea was riding a three-game winning streak, they are still suspect at the back.
Two things became remarkably clear from this match from a Chelsea perspective.
First, Daniel Sturridge should be on England’s roster for Euro ’12. With eight goals this season — and four in his last five matches — the Chelsea man is the second-highest scoring Englishman in the league. His goal against Wigan highlighted his ability to control the ball, take a good first touch and finish it off with a deadly shot.
Second, the club has to find a new No. 1 goalkeeper. Petr Cech again committed a blunder when he failed to smother a ball played into the box, allowing Jordi Gomez to pounce for Wigan in the 88th minute.
These kinds of howlers are becoming more common for Cech, who has dropped off considerably from the brilliant form he displayed in Chelsea’s back-to-back championship seasons in 2005 and 2006.
West Bromwich Albion 2 @ Blackburn 1
Blackburn really has a knack for tossing points away.
Rovers’ latest collapse occurred Saturday when they afforded Peter Odemwingie acres of open space and didn’t close him down quickly enough as he waltzed into the box from off the wing before scoring the winner for West Brom in the 89th minute.
And on the first goal by West Brom’s James Morrison, they failed to properly deal with a corner, a further indictment of Rovers’ woeful defensive record — 36 goals against, second-worst in the league.
Next up for 19th-place Blackburn is a visit by bottom-of-the-table Bolton on Tuesday. A loss would not only see Bolton leapfrog Blackburn, but it would surely also spell the end of manager Steve Kean’s tenure at Ewood Park.
Swansea City 0 @ Newcastle United 0
Newcastle sat third in the table with 25 points after week 12 of the season and looked to be serious title contenders. Since then, the Magpies have earned just two points, have gone winless in five matches, and dropped to seventh in the table.
Part of Newcastle’s fall from grace can be attributed to tough opponents (a draw with Manchester United was sandwiched between losses to Manchester City and Chelsea). But the Magpies have also sputtered offensively during their winless run, with just four goals and having been blanked twice.
Stoke City have taken full advantage, reeling off four straight wins to climb to eighth in the table and three points behind Newcastle. If the Magpies want to put some more distance between themselves and the Potters — and inch closer to the Champions League zone – they will have to start being more ruthless in front of goal. Lucky for them that winnable games against Bolton and West Brom loom.
The news continues to get worse for Simeon Jackson.
The Canadian international not only watched from the bench the entire game, but he had to witness fellow forward Grant Holt score a marvellous goal when he turned Everton defender John Heitinga on the edge of the six-yard box and beat Toffees goalkeeper Tim Howard.
The goal was Holt’s sixth in eight matches for the Canaries, as he took his tally to seven on the season. Steve Morison has six goals for Norwich, making him and Holt one of the most effective forward duos in the Premier League.
Having made just one start this season, Jackson shouldn’t expect to get off the bench any time soon, unless it’s as a second-half substitute. With playing opportunities drying up for the Canaries, a loan deal to a Championship club in January might not be the worst thing in the world for the Canadian.
The Canadians
Norwich City forward Simeon Jackson, a 24-year-old native of Mississauga, Ont., didn’t see any action against Everton on Saturday
Jackson was an unused substitute for the second time in three matches. A regular starter for Norwich last season in the Championship, the Canadian has been limited to seven appearances (one as a starter) and 135 minutes in this campaign.
Winger David Hoilett, a 21-year-old native of Brampton, Ont., did not feature for Blackburn, the second week in a row he missed out. Hoilett, who started in all of Rovers’ first 14 matches, didn’t dress Saturday due to injury.
3 Stars
1.) Bryan Ruiz: The Costa Rican forward scored one goal (a genuine highlight-reel effort) and set up another in Fulham’s win over visiting Bolton.
2.) Michael Carrick: Often overlooked at Manchester United, the Englishman was the driving force in the Reds’ midfield against QPR, and scored the goal that sealed victory.
3.) Michel Vorm: Swansea’s Dutch goalkeeper continues to impress, making a series of outstanding saves to earn his league-leading eighth clean sheet of the season.
Facts and figures
— Manchester United has 39 points from 16 matches, five more than at the same stage last season when it went on to win its 19th English league crown.
— Manchester City has scored 50 goals this season (25 at home, 25 on the road), the most in the Premiership.
— Wigan was the only team in bottom five to pick up a point this week.
— James Morrison’s fantastic volley from outside the penalty area for West Brom Saturday was the 1,000th goal scored in the Premiership in 2011.
— Frank Lampard has made 350 career starts for Chelsea in the Premiership.
— Everton has the worst record against the top half of the table this season, earning just two points in nine matches against top-10 teams.
— Since Jan. 1, 2010, Tottenham has lost just twice at home in 35 matches (22-11-2). Manchester United is the only club that can match that loss total with a 32-2-2 record at home in the same time frame.
— Defender Scott Dann’s goal on Saturday was the first by an Englishman for Blackburn in the Premiership since February.
— Lee Osman’s late strike for Everton Saturday ended the Toffee’s goal drought at four hours and 32 minutes.
