It was a weekend for home comforts.
Of the ten football games, eight resulted in home victories and one was a draw with only Liverpool bucking the sports betting trend.
Everton 3-1 Crystal Palace
Sam Allardyce had demanded this result. In the end, not only he got the result but also a fine second-half performance to match. Even my betting tips got a boost from this!
Three goals in 30 minutes propelled the Toffees back up to ninth before the unfortunate Morgan Schneiderlin was booed roundly by his own fans—harsh to blame the Frenchman for a supposed lack of effort during a campaign in which a number of his teammates have been equally below par.
Wilfried Zaha-free Palace should not worry unduly by this reverse, although they will be back in trouble should they fail to take any points from their next three assignments, against Spurs, Man Utd and Chelsea.
Stoke City 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
How pivotal moments such as a last-minute penalty miss could be remains to be seen.
Had Charlie Adam scored, instead of seeing his spot-kick saved superbly by Mat Ryan, then Stoke would not be in the relegation zone and would be level on points with Brighton.
It was Stoke’s third Premier League penalty miss in a row, and Chris Hughton’s battling Brighton is well aware how important this point could be in the final reckoning.
Swansea City 1-0 Burnley
Swansea only won two games in their opening 11. They have now won three on the bounce and taken 14 points from seven matches since Carlos Carvalhal’s arrival.
Their run is proof that football can change quickly (in either direction), although they will hardly take anything for granted.
Yet suddenly, a team anchored at the foot of the table are now in a position of relative comfort. Long way to go, of course.
West Ham United 2-0 Watford FC
It was a case of ‘after the Lord Mayor’s show and all that’ for Watford who could not repeat the display which saw them thrash champions Chelsea five days earlier.
Goals in each half from Javier Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic ensured the Hammers put more space between themselves and the bottom three.
It was further evidence that if a manager gives Hernandez a run of games up front, he will guarantee goals—a priceless commodity.
Manchester City 5-1 Leicester City
The procession to the title continues, led by a truly world-class talent.
There is no doubt that Sergio Aguero deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the Premier League’s greatest ever, think Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry.
His second-half four-goal haul ensured he is the first player to have scored four goals on three occasions in a top-flight match since Ian Rush did for Liverpool from 1982 to 1984.
Kevin De Bruyne will likely pip Aguero for the player of the year award incidentally as he added three assists to his tally for the season.
Leicester battled well but, just like with the rest of the Premier League this season, City are a class apart.
Huddersfield Town 4-1 Bournemouth
There had been signs a first Huddersfield league win in two months was coming.
Few quite expected it to be so convincing, however, as the Terriers edged out of the bottom three.
After wins against Chelsea and Stoke, this was a day to forget for Eddie Howe’s men who stay in a comfortable 10th place.
Newcastle United 1-0 Manchester United
The surprise of the weekend as Newcastle produced a performance which belied their league position.
United were made to pay for a bad day at the office, and Jose Mourinho will know his side can ill afford another repeat of this showing if they are to hold onto second place.
The absence of Eric Bailly was noticeable as a rocking St. James’ Park celebrated a memorable day and their best result of the season.
Southampton 0-2 Liverpool
A clinical and effective win for Liverpool as they climbed back up to third, including a 22nd Premier League goal of the campaign for Mohamed Salah.
As good as Liverpool were (with four ex-Saints in their ranks), Southampton were poor as home fans chanted ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’ at boss Mauricio Pellegrino.
With other results not going their way, Southampton are back in the drop zone and may not have the quality to recover from the loss of key players.
Chelsea 3-0 West Bromwich Albion
A night in which the reigning champions put their dismal run to one side and hit three goals without reply past the bottom club.
West Brom held out for 25 minutes but then Eden Hazard took over with a brace, with a Victor Moses finish sandwiched in between.
West Brom have one win in 24 league games and end the weekend seven points from safety.
The outcome of their next six fixtures will ultimately decide whether they are still in the top flight next season.
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