GW 22 results

Tottenham Hotspur v Portsmouth
A tightly contested game in which Portsmouth saw more of the ball but struggled to break down Tottenham’s solid defence. In the first half it seemed like their best chances would come from Matic’s inability to cover the ground faster than Matuidi or Gundogan, but Kante was often there to get a cross and cover, but it should perhaps be noted that Tottenham have their DM midfielders playing the opposite roles, with Matic more adept at cover Kante whilst he has a free role to go and press. In the second half Portsmouth changed to go with 2 Wbs and 2 Ws and this began to open the game up with Dembele and Carvajal combining very well to attack the weakest part of Tottenhams rearguard, this is where the goal came from, Carvajal slipping Dembele in between Kompany and Sakho and he was too quick for them, cutting the ball back for Lewandowski to tap in. Tottenham had some chances but not really enough as they struggled to get out, Portsmouth pressed well and neither CM was really capable of finding the pass to get Lukaku or Barkley into space, with Portsmouths 3 man defence shielded by energetic CMs too much for Lukaku to fight alone.
Tottenham 0-1 Portsmouth
Tottenham goals: —
Portsmouth goals: Lewandowski 79(O.Dembele)

MOTM: Ilkay Gundogan - All over the midfield battle today, he covered well defensively and he provided a great attacking outlet from deeper.

Birmingham City v Aston Villa
A huge derby game for both teams, Birmingham in need of the points to get themselves out of the bottom 2 and Villa needing to stop their dip in form. It turned out to be a feisty affair with both sides creating plenty of chances, Villa playing on the counter attack in order to try and stifle Birminghams front 4, it worked in the opening stages too as Villa looked dangerous, especially down the flanks with Strootman and Modric pulling the strings. They were leading when Cavani slid in to put home a Bernardo cross. Towards the end of the half though Reus saw red for a ridiculously late challenge on Lichtsteiner and it changed the complexion of the game. For the entirety of the second half it was 4-4-2 vs 4-4-1 and the midfield battle became a lot more back and fourth, perhaps lucky for Birmingham as Villa looked fairly comfortable before half time. Birmingham were back in the game when Brozovic picked out a great run from Mertens and he equalised. Birmingham went ahead when Niang was felled in the box and Mertens happen in after James had his penalty saved. Birmingham went to 5 at the back and shut up shop but it let Villa back into the game. A corner headed in by Cavani. Villa pushed for the late winner as Birmingham gave up possession. It was the home team that nicked it though, a rather clumsy looking challenge for Boateng as Rashford looked to get away meant a free kick in a dangerous position. James took the chance delightfully and Birmingham went home with the points.
Birmingham 3-2 Aston Villa
Birmingham City goals: Mertens(Brozovic) 55, Mertens 63, James 88
Aston Villa goals: Cavani(Silva) 31, Cavani(Modric) 76

MOTM: Marcelo Brozovic - Once the game saw its red card this man was the standout midfield player, part of everything good Birmingham did going forward.


Manchester Utd v Leicester City
A good game with two sides with good attacks, it really came down to Leicester being stronger in most areas which allowed them to control. Their front three caused non stop problems and it was this extra quality gave Leicester all three points and kept them fighting for the title.
Manchester United 1-2 Leicester City
United goals: Morata(Silva) 63
Leicester goals: Costa(Hazard) 13, Ronaldo(Thiago) 51

MOTM: Thiago Alcantara - Controlled the midfield, dictated the tempo of the game and sent the strikers forwards time and time again.


Newcastle v Manchester City
Another title contender against a Manchester side and it was much the same story, City had the players to cause problems but Newcastle dominated for large spells, with their midfield an obvious jump in class in comparison to their opponents. Much like Leicester too, having players like Suarez means they can go into any game with a chance of winning, although they could probably have won this one without him.
Newcastle 2-1 Manchester City
Newcastle goals: Mane(Pjanic) 23, Nainggolan 68
City goals: Icardi(Walcott) 90

MOTM: Radja Nainngolan - Stand out player in the Newcastle midfield, power, pace, tackling, passing, finishing, this guy had it all today.


Arsenal v Hull City
One more experienced, the other a team full of youthful exuberance, it turned out to be a back and forth game with neither team every really controlling the tempo of the game, both sides just going out looking to attack their opponents and see what would happen. The difference in this game was that experience both defending and in taking their chances and that got Arsenal through a potentially tough test where they were forced to run back towards their goal on more than one occasion. Having a front two of Higuain and Gabbiadini paid dividends though.
Arsenal 3-1 Hull City
Arsenal goals: Gabbiadini(Gray) 7, Higuain(Bernardeschi) 29, Gabbiadini(Sandro) 53
Hull goals: Milik(Frosberg) 35

MOTM: Manolo Gabbiani - Poacher extraordinaire today, he took advantage of Hull having to deal with Higuain too to find space off his partner and tap in the chances that were created for him.

Stoke City v Chelsea
This game was always going to be a tough one for Chelsea, with Stoke improving week on week and it did prove to be one that they could have easily lost. Chelsea played their usual all out attacking style, full backs practically wingers and Pogba doing a lot more going forward than he chose to do going backwards which often left a lot of space either side of Busquets and out wide which allowed Stoke to cause plenty of problems and even take the lead twice in this game. Going forward though Chelsea had too much for Stoke’s defence, particularly down Chelsea’s left side where Neymar and Rodriguez had too much for Lemar, whilst Pogba’s running into the box meant that Aguero was never left alone against 3, KDB and Busquets capable of taking on Kovacic and Wilshere and coming out on top in offensive situations, perhaps however though a better set of defensive players could have got Stoke something here, in the end they lost out to the odd goal in 5.
Stoke City 2-3 Chelsea
Stoke City goals: Belotti(Coutinho) 18, Belotti(Lemar) 67
Chelsea goals: Aguero(Neymar) 42, Aguero(Sterling) 72, Aguero(Pogba) 85

MOTM: Sergio Aguero - If Chelsea continue to go all out attack they are relying on scoring more than their opposition but this game showed that they can definitely do that with this man in the side, lethal anywhere around the box, he scored a perfect hat trick today, right foot, left foot, header.

Wolverhampton v Liverpool