Manchester City 5:0 Aston Villa
Manchester City is still unbeaten in the Premier League and the Mancini team wanted to keep that record. Dzeko started surprisingly from the bench after the great performance last week against Tottenham. Aston Villa on the other side needed to win to leave the relegation zone.
Villa started off well and kept the game level as long as possible. The first real chance for City only happened just before the half-time. Tevez tested Brad Guzan who tipped the ball around the post. Kompany delivered the following corner and Silva tipped the ball over the goal line – 1:0 ManCity and Silva’s first goal of the season. Villa played well until the 56th minute, when they faced a controversial call from the referee. Referee Jon Moss pointed at the spot after Andreas Weimann apparently handled the ball in the penalty area after a Silva corner. However, on the replay it was clear that no contact was made. However, Aguero scored easily from the spot – 2:0 City. 10 minutes later, the second penalty for Manchester City after Bannan clearly handled the ball when he was on the ground. This time, Tevez sent Guzan the wrong way – 3:0 City. Aguero scored his second goal of the night in the 67th minute and Tevez scored the final goal in the 74th minute from close range.
Manchester City remains unbeaten in the Premier League and secured the top spot with the fewest goals conceded and most goals scored. Villa, however, remains in the relegation zone because Reading beat Everton with 2:1. Manchester City will face a tough Champions League game at home against Real Madrid on Wednesday, November 21st.
Arsenal 5:2 Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas put huge pressure on his team as he told Chairman Daniel Levy all week about the importance of the game and how vital a victory in the north derby at Emirates Stadium is. Arsenal on the other side hasn’t won a league game since October 27th.
Tottenham started well and put the Arsenal defence in a lot of problems especially Adebayor and Jermain Defoe. Adebayor cored the deserved lead in the 10th minute after a Defoe assist. Tottenham pressed for more and Lennon came close to extend the lead. However, Adebayor was dismissed with a red card in the 17th minute after he raised his foot against Cazorla and left referee Howard Webb no choice. After the dismissal, Arsenal started to play much better and Per Mertesacker headed the hosts’ level in the 26th minute after a Walcott assist. From then on, it was mainly Arsenal who dominated the game. Arsenal scored the lead in the 41st minute after a fine Wilshere pass, scored Lukas Podolski from inside the penalty area – 2:1 Arsenal. That wasn’t enough. Giroud extended the lead even before the half-time. The 4:1 was scored by Santi Cazorla after a fine Podolski assist in the 59th minute. Bale shortened Arsenal’s lead to 4:2, but had nothing left at the Emirates Stadium. Theo Walcott with the 5:2 for Arsenal in the 90th minute.
Arsenal with an important win took clearly advantage of Adebayor dismissal. However, Arsenal is now 6th in the table and faces Montpellier this week in the Champions League.
West Brom 2:1 Chelsea
West Brom is the surprise team of the Premier League this year having won 5 out of 6 home games. Chelsea FC needed to win to close the gap to Manchester United and Manchester City. Chelsea also has bad memories against the Baggies. Last season, Chelsea lost, Manager Andre Villas-Boas was sacked and former Baggies boss Roberto Di Matteo took over.
West Brom started well and took the lead at The Hawthorns through a header by striker Shane Long in the 10th minute. Eden Hazard scored the equalizer in the 39th minute from inside the 6 yard box. However, Odemwingie scored from close range and secured the 3 points for West Brom in the 49th minute. Chelsea pressured in the second half, but not enough to bring them a point.
West Brom remains the surprise team of the Premier League and climbed to 4th in the table. Chelsea will have to start winning in the next couple games and faces Juventus Turin in the Champions League on Wednesday.
