Tuesday, 30 October 2018

The unbeaten three


Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea remain undefeated after 10 weeks of Premier League action.
Week 1 - The 2018-19 Premier League season began on Friday evening at Old Trafford with a 2-1 win for Manchester United over Leicester City while on Saturday Chelsea returned from Huddersfield with a 3-0 victory and Crystal Palace got their campaign off to a winning start with 2 goals at Fulham. Cardiff City lost 2-0 at Bournemouth and Brighton suffered the same fate at Watford with Roberto Pereyra scoring both goals for the hosts while ten-man Everton drew 2-2 at Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham won 2-1 at Newcastle United. On Sunday champions Manchester City won 2-0 at Arsenal with Unai Emery in charge of his first competitive match for the Gunners and West Ham were hammered 4-0 at Liverpool with Sadio Mane netting a brace for the Reds while Burnley played a goalless match at Southampton.
 Week 2 – Arsenal came back from 2 goals down but lost 3-2 at Chelsea while Bournemouth came from behind to win 2-1 at West Ham and Wolves lost 2-0 at 10-man Leicester. Tottenham defeated Fulham 3-1 at Wembley while Southampton lost 2-1 at Everton and Newcastle missed a stoppage-time penalty to draw 0-0 at Cardiff. On Sunday Sergio Aguero claimed a hat-trick as Manchester City humbled Huddersfield Town 6-1 at the Etihad while Manchester United lost 3-2 at Brighton and Watford were 3-1 winners at Burnley. Ten-Man Crystal palace lost 2-0 at home to Liverpool on Monday evening.
Week 3 – Wolverhampton Wanderers held champions Manchester City to a 1-1 draw at Molineux while a single goal at Anfield gave Liverpool a win over Brighton and Unai Emery picked up his first points as Arsenal manager as the Gunners came from behind the defeat West Ham 3-1 at the Emirates. With both teams reduced to 10 players, Bournemouth came from 2 down to draw 2-2 at home to Everton while Cardiff City returned from 10-man Huddersfield Town with a goalless draw and visiting Leicester City came from behind to get the better of the 10 players from Southampton with a 2-1 stoppage-time winner. On Sunday Aleksandar Mitrovic scored twice as Fulham sent Burnley home 4-2 losers while Chelsea won 2-1 at Newcastle and Crystal Palace were defeated 2-1 at Watford. Lucas Moura scored twice for Tottenham who embarrassed Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford on Monday evening.
Week 4 – Liverpool made it 4 wins out of 4 with a 2-1 victory at Leicester and Chelsea continued their winning ways with 2 goals at home to Bournemouth while Tottenham took the lead but lost 2-1 at Watford who also maintain their perfect start to the season. Brighton missed a penalty but came from 2 goals down to draw 2-2 at home to Fulham while Crystal Palace lost 2-0 at home to Southampton who also missed a penalty and Wolves scored the only goal of the match in stoppage time away to West Ham United who remain pointless. Arsenal were twice pegged back but won 3-2 at Cardiff City while Manchester City were 2-1 winners at home to Newcastle United and Huddersfield Town drew 1-1 at Everton. Romelu Lukaku scored both goals as Manchester United, who missed a penalty and were reduced to 10 players, won 2-0 at Burnley.    
Week 5 – West Ham United picked up their first points of the season as they won 3-1 at Everton with a brace from Andriy Yarmolenko while at the top od the table Liverpool defeated Tottenham 2-1 at Wembley and Eden Hazard netted a hat-trick as Cardiff were taken apart 4-1 at Chelsea. Arsenal were 2-1 winners at Everton and Manchester United, who ended the match with 10 players, enjoyed the same result at Watford while Fulham fell 3-0 at Manchester City and a single goal gave Crystal Palace a win at Huddersfield Town. Ten-man Leicester took a 4-2 battering at Bournemouth for whom Ryan Fraser twice got on the scoresheet while Wolverhampton Wanderers were 1-0 winners at home to Burnley and on Monday evening Brighton and Hove Albion came from 2 down at Southampton to draw 2-2 with a last-minute penalty.
Week 6 – Liverpool continued their perfect run with a 3-0 win at home to Southampton and Riyad Mahrez scored his first 2 goals for Manchester City as they crushed Cardiff City 5-0 in the Welsh capital while Chelsea dropped points in the goalless draw at West Ham. Wolverhampton Wanderers drew 1-1 at Manchester United while Arsenal won 2-0 at home to Everton and Bournemouth were battered 4-0 at Burnley with Ashley Barnes scoring twice late on in the match. Tottenham were 2-1 winners at Brighton and Leicester City won 3-1 at home to Huddersfield Town while Watford drew 1-1 at Fulham and Newcastle played a goalless match at Crystal Palace.
Week 7 – Liverpool scored a last-minute leveller to draw 1-1 at Chelsea as both teams maintained their unbeaten record in the league, but Manchester City moved to the top of the table with a 2-0 home win over Brighton and Hove Albion while in the early kick-off Manchester United fell apart 3-1 at West Ham. Arsenal scored 2 late goals to register a home win against Watford and Tottenham enjoyed the same result with a double from Harry Kane at Huddersfield Town while there were also 2-0 wins for Leicester at Newcastle and Wolves at home to Southampton. Gylfi Sigurdsson netted a brace as Fulham came unstuck 3-0 at Everton and on Sunday Cardiff City lost 2-1 at home to Burnley while on Monday evening Crystal Palace suffered the same result at Bournemouth.   
Week 8 – Newcastle United took a two-goal lead at Manchester United who fought back to win 3-2 with a 90th minute winner while Manchester City missed a late penalty in their goalless draw at Liverpool and Chelsea won 3-0 at Southampton. Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored 2 apiece as Arsenal outclassed Fulham 5-1 at Craven Cottage while Tottenham defeated ten-man Cardiff City 1-0 at Wembley and Wolves won by the same scoreline at Crystal Palace. Ten-man Watford took a 4-0 home battering by Bournemouth with Joshua King bagging a brace and Everton won 2-1 at ten-man Leicester City while Huddersfield Town drew 1-1 at Burnley. The week’s fixtures had begun on Friday evening with a 1-0 loss for West Ham at Brighton.
Week 9 – Manchester United came from a goal down to take the lead with a double from Anthony Martial at Chelsea who remain unbeaten in the Premier League after earning a 2-2 draw deep into stoppage time while Manchester City buried Burnley 5-0 at The Etihad and Liverpool picked up 3 more points with a single goal at Huddersfield Town. There were also 1-0 away wins for Tottenham at West Ham and for Brighton at troubled Newcastle while Wolves were stunned by their visitors from Watford with 2 goals in the space of a minute. Cardiff City fell behind at home to Fulham but ran out 4-2 winners to record their first win of the season while Southampton played a goalless match at Bournemouth and on Sunday after Crystal Palace had missed a penalty, Everton put 2 late goals past them to win at Goodison Park. On Monday evening Arsenal came from behind with a quick brace from substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to beat Leicester City 3-1 at the Emirates.
Week 10 -  The week was marred by the tragic death of Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha who died with 3 other passengers and the pilot of the helicopter that crashed shorty after taking off from the King Power Stadium where Leicester City had scored a last-minute goal to draw 1-1with 10-man West Ham United while Bournemouth punished 10-man Fulham 3-0 with a double from Callum Wilson at Craven Cottage and Sadio Mane scored twice as Liverpool eased 4-1 past their visitors from Cardiff. Huddersfield Town sank to the bottom of the table after returning from Fulham with a 3-0 defeat while Wolves lost to a single goal at Brighton and Newcastle United drew 0-0 at Southampton. On Sunday Luka Milivojevic scored twice from the spot to end Arsenal’s winning streak with a 2-2 draw at Crystal Palace while Chelsea battered Burnley 4-0 at Turf Moor and Everton lost 2-1 at Manchester United. An early goal at Wembley gave Manchester City all 3 points against Spurs on Monday evening.   

Monday, 14 May 2018

City record early title


Manchester City secured the Premier League title with 5 matches remaining and continued to break records, finishing on 100 points and scoring 106 goals in the process.
Week 31 – With the quarter-finals of the FA Cup being played, there were only 4 Premier League matches at the weekend. Mohamad Salah proved unstoppable as he took Watford apart with 4 goals in Liverpool’s 5-0 mauling of the Hornets at Anfield, while Crystal Palace won 2-0 at Huddersfield Town and there were 2-1 wins for Everton at 10-man Stoke and for Bournemouth who came from behind at home to bottom-of-the-table- West Bromwich Albion.
                                               
Week 32 - Manchester City are a win away from securing the Premier League title after their 3-1 victory at Everton while Tottenham came from behind at Stamford Bridge to defeat Chelsea 3-1 with Dele Alli netting twice for the visitors and Liverpool bounced back from a goal down to win 2-1 at Crystal Palace. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang claimed a brace at the Emirates as Arsenal beat Stoke with 3 goals in the last 15 minutes while Manchester United scored twice in the first 20 minutes to defeat Swansea City at Old Trafford and Bournemouth scored in stoppage time to earn a 2-2 draw at Watford. Marko Arnautovic scored twice as West Ham United put their troubles at the London Stadium behind them with a 3-0 win over Southampton and Leicester City, who ended the match with 10 men, scored 2 late goals to win at Brighton while a single goal gave Newcastle all 3 points at home to Huddersfield Town and Burnley won 2-1 at West Brom. 
Week 33 – Paul Pogba scored twice after the interval as Manchester United rallied from 2 down to win the Manchester derby 3-2 at the Etihad and deny Manchester City the pleasure of claiming the Premier League title on home soil in front of their local rivals while Liverpool drew 0-0 at Everton and Tottenham were 2-1 winners at Stoke. Southampton opened the scoring at Arsenal, but Danny Welbeck claimed a brace as the hosts won 3-2 with both teams ending the match with 10 men while West Ham drew 1-1 at Chelsea and Bournemouth salvaged a 2-2 draw with a last-minute goal at home to Crystal Palace. There were 2-1 away wins for Newcastle at Leicester and for Burnley at Watford while there were 1-1 draws for West Brom at home to Swansea and Huddersfield Town away to 10-man Brighton.      
Week 34 – Manchester City’s 3-1 victory over Tottenham at Wembley on Saturday evening turned out to be enough to clinch them the Premier League title less than 24 hours later when bottom-of-the-table West Bromwich Albion stunned Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford. Meanwhile Liverpool were 3-0 winners at home to Bournemouth and Chelsea came from 2 down to win 3-2 at Southampton with a brace from Olivier Giroud. Two early goals took Burnley to within 2 points of Arsenal as they enjoyed a 2-1 home win over Leicester City while the Gunners took the lead but lost 2-1 at Newcastle. Wilfried Zaha netted twice as Crystal Palace overcame their visitors from Brighton 3-2 with all the goals coming in the first half, while a goal in stoppage time against Watford gave hosts Huddersfield 3 vital points and Everton drew 1-1 at Swansea. On Monday evening Stoke City drew 1-1 at West Ham.  This weekend Wolverhampton Wanderers were promoted to the Premier League.
Week 35 – In midweek matches Tottenham drew 1-1 at Brighton, Manchester United won 2-0 at Bournemouth, Southampton played a goalless match at Leicester and Burnley lost 2-1 at home to Chelsea. At the weekend while Manchester United and Chelsea were booking their places in the FA Cup final, newly crowned Premier League champions, Manchester City, sank Swansea 5-0 at the Etihad and a late brace from Alexandre Lacazette helped Arsenal to a 4-1 victory at home to West ham just days after Arsene Wenger had announced his departure at the end of the season. West Brom fought back from 2 down to earn a 2-2 draw at home to Liverpool while Burnley drew 1-1 at Stoke and Crystal Palace drew 0-0 at Watford. On Monday evening a single goal gave Everton a home win over Newcastle United.
Week 36 - Crystal Palace hammered 10-man Leicester City 5-0 at Selhurst Park to boost their chance of survival while Stoke City held Liverpool to a goalless draw at Anfield and West Brom were 1-0 winners at Newcastle United. A Dusan Tadic gave Southampton a 2-1 home win over Bournemouth while Huddersfield Town were 2-0 losers at home to Everton and an early goal gave Chelsea a win at Swansea. Burnley played a goalless match at home to Brighton while Arsenal lost 2-1 to a stoppage-time goal at Manchester United and Manchester City powered past West Ham at the London Olympic Stadium. On Monday evening Tottenham put 2 past their visitors from Watford.
Week 37 – The weeks fixtures began when Brighton and Hove Albion defeated visitors Manchester United 1-0 on Friday evening to secure their Premier League status. Needing a win, Stoke City took the lead at home to Crystal Palace but lost 2-1 and became the first team this year to be relegated from the Premier League while West Bromwich Albion continued their fight for survival under caretaker manager Darren Moore with a 1-0 stoppage time victory at home to Tottenham and Swansea lost 1-0 at Bournemouth. 
West Ham were 2-0 winners at Leicester while Newcastle lost 2-1 at Watford and Southampton, who ended the match with 10 men, were deflated when their lead was exchanged for a 1-1 draw deep into stoppage time at Everton. Arsenal gave Arsene Wenger a 5-star send-off in his last home match as they brushed Burnley aside 5-0 with a double from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang while Huddersfield Town held hosts and champions Manchester City to a goalless draw and Liverpool lost 1-0 at Chelsea.
Week 38 – In midweek matches Southampton’s 1-0 victory at Swansea sent West Bromwich Albion down and left the Swans on the brink of relegation while Huddersfield Town celebrated their survival after a 1-1 draw at Chelsea. Tottenham secured a spot in the Champions League with a single goal at home to Newcastle while ten-man Arsenal lost 3-1 at Leicester and Manchester United drew 0-0 at West Ham to ensure the runners-up place behind Manchester City who won 3-1 at home to Brighton and Hove Albion.
On Sunday Swansea’s relegation was confirmed as they lost 2-1 at home to Stoke City while champions Manchester City broke the deadlock late in stoppage time at Southampton to end the season on 100 points and in an extraordinary match at Wembley Leicester City took a 3-1 lead but lost 5-4 to Tottenham with Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane scoring twice each for their respective teams. Mo Salah got on the scoresheet again to claim to Golden Boot as Liverpool brushed Brighton aside 4-0 at Anfield and Arsene Wenger bid farewell to English football after 22 years as Arsenal picked up their first away points of the year with a single goal at Huddersfield Town while Manchester United recorded the same result at home to Watford. Newcastle United celebrated a 3-0 victory at home to Chelsea with a brace from Ayoze Perez and a double for Manuel Lanzini helped West Ham United to a 3-1 home win over Everton while Bournemouth came from behind to grab a 2-1 winner in stoppage time at Burnley and Crystal Palace ended the season with a 2-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion at Selhurst Park.
Here is the final Premier League table for 2017-18




Pos
Team
Points
GD
1
Manchester City
100
+79
2
Manchester United
81
+40
3
Tottenham
77
+38
4
Liverpool
75
+46
5
Chelsea
70
+24
6
Arsenal
63
+23
7
Burnley
54
-3
8
Everton
49
-14
9
Leicester City
47
-4
10
Newcastle United
44
-8
11
Crystal Palace
44
-10
12
Bournemouth
44
-16
13
West Ham United
42
-20
14
Watford
41
-20
15
Brighton
40
-20
16
Huddersfield Town
37
-30
17
Southampton
36
-19
18
Swansea
33
-28
19
Stoke City
33
-33
20
West Brom
31
-25