EPL roundup: Usual suspects win with varying degrees of comfort

All sides in the top seven win to keep top of the table unchanged

KARACHI: The midweek matches of the Premier League did not cause any major changes in the league standings but did make for some rather exciting football.

Despite being tired from their league exploits over the weekend, players managed to conjure several moments of individual brilliance. Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson scored a Steven Gerrard-esque half-volley from 20 yards, Tottenham’s Andros Townsend ripped apart the Swansea defence with an unstoppable run on the left flank from the halfway mark and then slotted past Swans keeper Lukasz Fabianski, Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez bamboozled two defenders and Rob Green in the QPR goal to squeeze in at the near post, and Charlie Austin followed that up with a thunderbolt of a strike for the Rangers.

Tottenham’s 3-2 win over Swansea was the most exciting game as Nacer Chadli’s seventh-minute goal was nullified by Ki Sung-yueng in the 19^th minute. Ryan Mason then scored a spectacular goal in the 51^st minute to give Spurs the lead, and Townsend sealed the win on the hour mark. Gylfi Sigurdsson halved the deficit with a late volley but Mauricio Pochettino's side held on to secure their first victory in almost a month thanks to a spectacular save in injury-time from keeper Hugo Lloris.

Liverpool, meanwhile, continued their renaissance with a convincing 2-0 win — their seventh in eight games — over relegation-threatened Burnley. The scoreline flattered the visitors as Daniel Sturridge could have scored a hat-trick had it not been for the heroics of Burnley keeper Tom Heaton. Henderson opened the scoring with his stunning strike after Phillipe Coutinho’s effort was blocked by the Burnley defence. The skipper then turned supplier for Sturridge to head home.

Chelsea and Manchester City recorded convincing 1-0 and 2-0 victories over West Ham and Leicester City respectively to leave the top of the table unchanged as the Blues command a five-point lead over the defending champions with a game in hand.

Arsenal endured a nervy 90 minutes as QPR threatened David Ospina’s goal from various long-range efforts but Olivier Giroud and Sanchez converted after the hour mark to give Arsene Wenger the three points against their relegation-threatened opponents.

Southampton went fifth for a day on Tuesday — as Liverpool overtook them with win over Burnley on Wednesday — after their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace as Sadio Mane gave the Saints their first goal since three games.

Manchester United were lucky to get the three points from their clash against Newcastle, where a late defensive blunder by goalkeeper Tim Krul laid the ball in the path of Ashley Young, who converted from just inside the penalty box.

The biggest talking point from the match though was United defender Johnny Evans ‘spat’ with Toon’s striker Papiss Cisse in the first half. No action has been taken yet but the FA will look into the incident and the players could face a six-game suspension for their antics, with both appearing to spit on the other.

Aston Villa defeated West Brom 2-1 — their first win since December 7 — to come out of the relegation zone, while QPR, Burnley and Leicester City languish in the relegation zone after defeats against top-of-the-table clubs.

With 10 more games to go, the Premier League is heating up and becoming more unpredictable as we enter the closing stages, and no team can afford to take anything for granted.

 

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