Week 23 results

Manchester City 3-2 Newcastle United
Kane(Robben) 17, Rooney(Ivanovic) 25, Kane(Robben) 67; Suarez(Sturridge) 13, Godin(Pjanic) 53
MOTM: Arjen Robben.

An open game between two very good offensive units, both teams attacked with pace and defended with energy which meant that there were few spells of sustained possession in the game, making it a real thriller for the fans. City’s front 4 looked dangerous whenever they had the ball, backed up by a solid midfield and central defensive pairing which meant that Newcastle were forced into the flanks, which helped City close them down a little faster, however Newcastle did get joy from wide areas from time to time. City’s fire power just about them got the win.


Manchester United 1-1 Everton
Lukaku(Turan) 68; Hamsik(Campbell) 52
MOTM: Aisier Illaramendi.

A game dominated by United, but one in which they couldn’t find a real cutting edge, with attacks more often than not going into Lukaku who didn’t have one of his better games, wasting several chances. Everton likewise had no real cutting edge up front, largely due to United’s dominance of the game which meant they failed to create enough chances, however Campbell aways looked lively on the break, the route for their opener, finished off by Hamsik. United’s CMs kept the ball moving but didn’t have enough in front of them, with United carrying several passengers. Not the best of games.


Hull City v Liverpool

Stoke City P-P AFC Bournemouth

Chelsea 2-1 Birmingham City
Dybala(Pogba) 29, Marrez 87; Vardy(Pastore) 61.
MOTM: Arturo Vidal.
Red Card: Alexis Sanchez 38.

After 3 consecutive draws Chelsea needed to get back to winning ways to take some of Arsenal’s momentum away. They started in dominant fashion against a Birmingham side who were struggling to get on the ball, Chelsea’s midfield in commanding form. Despite the lack of possession Birmingham defended manfully, with Cech making some excellent saves. Chelsea got the break through though when Pogba released Dybala with a tidy through ball and the Argentinian made no mistake in front of goal. Disaster struck for Chelsea though when Alexis Sanchez showed a display of petulance kicking out at Sissoko after being hit with a heavy tackle. Surprisingly Fan took off Verratti and introduced Mahrez. The second half became more open with Chelsea never looking likely to sit back on the result. Birmingham equalised when Pastore found space in midfield and released Vardy who got down the side of Bonucci and finished excellently. It was a continuing theme of the second half that Pastore continued to find pockets of space, however Pogba and Vidal covered a lot of ground which meant that Chelsea were always a threat and in the 87th minute, substitute Mahrez came inside Lichtensteiner and curled in a shot beyond Cech to give Chelsea their first win in 4.


Arsenal 2-2 Aston Villa
Benzema(Modric) 8, Ronaldo(PK) 67; Costa(Hazard) 51, Costa(De Bruyne) 58
MOTM: Diego Costa.

A game in which Arsenal saw more of the ball but their opponents always looked dangerous on the break. Villa tried to press from the front but were disjointed in their work rate and it allowed Arsenal to keep getting the ball into Modric who asserted his authority on the game. Villa though caused trouble, especially when they got the ball into the three behind Costa, De Bruyne between the lines and Hazard and Reus attacking the full backs worked well, with Costa’s movement very good throughout. In the end the teams couldn’t really be separated.


Southampton 0-1 Portsmouth
Cavani(Costa) 63
MOTM: David Silva

Southampton defended manfully but in the end Portsmouth had too much for them, particularly in the wide areas, a constant source of Portsmouth joy in recent weeks.


Leicester City 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Higuain(Deulofeu) 90
MOTM: Sergio Busquets.

A game between two similar sides that were difficult to separate, especially in midfield where the Lahm v Busquets battle was a joy to watch. Both teams looked to excite their fans with vibrant football and for a long team it looked like it was heading towards being one of the most entertaining 0-0 draws the league has seen. In the end it was the substitutions that would decide the game and in particular Deulofeu, who came on and terrorised the Wolves defence with his directness and crossing, Higuain benefitting to score the winning goal and keep Leicester in control of a top 4 place.