English premier league soccer never fails to amaze you. This week also saw plenty of goals and action, some great comebacks and some misses. Here is the recap of some of the action of the week.
ASTON VILLA vs. MANCHESTER UNITED
If you really thought Aston Villa could win this match after leading at half-time, I would advise you to look at the countless matches this season and the previous season where Man United have come back from 2-0 down to win 3-2. Once again, they showed why they are always at the top of the table. Someone inevitably takes responsibility and comes up with a match winning performance, this time it was Javier Hernandez aka Chicharito. But the Aston Villa team was valiant on the night with two goals from Andreas Weimann. Not a bad effort, not at all.
MANCHESTER CITY vs. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
This was not a game for the masses. David Silva marked his return for the Citizens with an assist to Edin Dzeko for the winning goal. This was also a game typical of Citys and Spurs season. Spurs showed some superb ability in the first half but then once the threat of Gareth Bale was nullified, then Tottenham did run out of ideas. The rivalry between Bale and Maicon on the wing turned out to be a damp squib. Manchester City once again showed why they are the champions with a typical comeback performance to extend their undefeated streak at home. Now the Silva is back, watch out!
CHELSEA vs. LIVERPOOL
An entertaining game, but should be really frustrating if you are a Chelsea fan. Chelsea should have put the game to bed in the first half, but Liverpool clawed back in the second half and equalized the game through a Luis Suarez header. John Terry put Chelsea in the lead with a fine header. The game was marred by John Terrys freak injury in the middle of the first half. The second half saw an interesting tactical change from Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers where Nuri Sahin was replaced by Suso, the Argentinian striker/winger and this powered Liverpool to a deserved 1-1 draw at the Bridge. The intense work toil seems to be taking its toll on the Chelsea trio of Oscar, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard. They remind me of an Arsenal team four seasons ago. Impressive, but dont know how to close games.
ARSENAL vs. FULHAM
By far, the most exciting game of the weekend. The game saw six goals, two penalties one missed and one scored, lots of defensive errors and some sublime play. Fulham started the game brightly, but Arsenal against the run of play, took a 2-0 lead in the first half. Olivier Giroud was a constant threat for Fulham, showing why he was the French league top scorer last season. He kept making runs down the middle, losing markers and showed some amazing aerial ability. But Fulham pegged back the game courtesy two goals from Dimitar Berbatov and Alex Kacanikilic. Arsenal was circumspect in their defending and the goals were poor defensive mistakes that should make Steve Bould cry. Berbatov and Bryan Ruiz were superb up front with sublime touches and superb interplay. This helped Ruiz draw the foul by Mikel Arteta for a penalty. This was then superbly dispatched by Berbatov to get his brace. But Giroud then equalized with a header after hitting the post to add some spice into the game. The defining moment was when Arsenal got a last minute penalty which was saved superbly by Mark Schwarzer to compound Mikel Artetas misery. A deserved draw for Fulham, but Arsenal should have dispatched the penalty in the last minute. No wonder Robin van Persie wanted to leave Arsenal. Forget the old Arsenal, we want the old Arsene Wenger back.
NOTABLE MENTIONS
Everton showed their Champions League credentials with a battling 2-1 win against Sunderland with Marouane Fellaini leading the way. Nikica Jelavic finally got on the score sheet after a drought and should be up and running this season.
West Brom again battled to a 2-1 victory over Wigan Athletic. Wigan dominated the game with the most possession, but the Baggies just were clinical enough in front of the goal. Their next game against Chelsea is a mouth watering clash now.
West Ham pulled an impressive 1-0 win against Newcastle United courtesy Kevin Nolan. It was dj vu for Nolan as he scored in front of his old supporters at St. James Park. Newcastle have been hampered by injuries and have not shown the form this season that made them finish in the top 5 last year.
What we can see this year is that the title race is going to be very close. The closest title race that we have seen in ages. Manchester clubs seem to have the upper hand over the others this season too. With City suffering in the Champions League, this may just help them focus solely on the league and this might just trigger their form.