Crystal Palace 1 – 0 West Ham

Tony Pulis pulls off the win in his first “London Derby” match.  It was his first home match in charge of the Eagles and the win lifts them off the bottom of table for a while.  For the Hammers, the loss hurts as they still have not had back-to-back BPL wins this season.  They started out dominating the first part of the match, but, as has been the case all season for the Hammers, couldn’t mount any real attack on goal.  In the 10^th minute, it looked like they might get through when Stewart Downing hit a pass on for Kevin Nolan, but he was judged to be offside.  Palace came close in the 14^th minute when Mile Jedinak threaded a pass for Jason Puncheon to hit on goal, but the shot was saved by Hammers’ keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.  The Hammers’ best scoring chance came in the 37^th minute when their dominating pressure finally resulted in a quality cross from Downing that Mohamed Diame headed just over the bar.  The goal itself came in the 41^st minute and was a rare collector’s item as it was scored by Marouane Chamakh when he headed in Barry Bannan’s corner kick.  The goal gave the home side a bit of confidence and they nearly got a second when Puncheon, and later Cameron Jerome were both denied by good saves from Jaaskelainen.  The Hammers had a chance to equalize in the 74^th minute when Downing’s shot from outside the Eagles penalty area was save by keeper Julian Speroni.  But that is as close as they would come and it looks like Sam Allardyce’s boys are headed for another relegation fight.

Arsenal 2 – 0 Hull

The Gunners get another win at home.  You know that Arsenal are having a great season when Nicklas Bendtner scores.  The Denmark international was recalled to the starting line-up to give Olivier Giroud a rest.  His last start was back in 2010 and he scored his last goal back in March of 2011.  There had been some talk around the Emirates Stadium of his contract not being renewed or that he would be transferred in the January window.  But he raised everyone’s eyebrows in the second minute when he headed in the first goal from a Carl Jenkinson cross.  It was clear throughout the match that the home side were clearly the better side and they had several chances to double their lead in the first half.  The closest came from Aaron Ramsey when he had his 32^nd minute shot saved by Hull keeper Allan McGregor.  You would never know that this Hull side had convincingly beaten Liverpool in their last match as they were made to look awful on Wednesday.  They conceded the second goal in the 47^th minute when Ramsey hit a through ball for Mesut Ozil which the German international calmly slotted past McGregor.  Bendtner had a chance to make it three goals in the 54^th minute, but his header went wide of the target.  Jake Livermore nearly scored for Hull in the 67^th minute, but his shot was saved by keeper Wojciech Szczesny and that’s as close as the visitors would come.  It’s going to take a lot to beat Arsenal to the title this season.

Liverpool 5 – 1 Norwich

Luis Suarez scores four goals as the Reds stomp the Canaries.  What an amazing season the Uruguayan international is having this season.  The four goals he scored on Wednesday take his total tally up to 13 goals and his him in the lead for the “Golden Boot” for this season.  The Kop are wild for the striker and any talk of him wanting out this past summer has gone away.  He got the first one in the 15^th minute when he hit a 40 yard drive that went over Canaries keeper John Ruddy and into the bottom right corner of the goal.  He scored the second in the 28^th minute when Philippe Coutinho’s corner kick from the left flew just over Steven Gerrard’s head and over to Suarez to hit home with his left foot.  His best goal of the day was the third goal in the 35^th minute.  He flicked the ball over Canaries midfielder Leroy Fer’s head, then ran past him and lashed a great shot past Ruddy.  He got his fourth goal in the 74^th minute from a free kick that was awarded after Gerrard was fouled just outside the Canaries penalty area.  Suarez curled a hard right-footed shot into the top left corner of the goal and the Kop went absolutely wild.  The Canaries got a consolation goal in the 82^nd minute when the Reds’ defense got caught relaxing a bit and Bradley Johnson headed home a Nathan Redmond cross.  But the Reds domination continued and in the 88^th minute, Suarez became provider when he assisted Raheem Sterling’s goal.  Suarez nearly got another in stoppage time when he tried another long range effort on goal that missed just off to the left.  It was his day and he even had legend Ken Dalglish rocking a little bit in the stands.

Southampton 2 – 3 Aston Villa

The Villains steal the win from the Saints at St. Mary’s Park.  This is a match that Saint’s boss Mauricio Pochettino was not happy to lose.  His side were trying to get over back-to-back loses to Arsenal and Chelsea and looked to grab the early lead in the third minute when Adam Lallana had his shot bounce off the bar.  But their good start was voided in the 15^th minute when Gabriel Agbonlahor got away from Saints defender Maya Yoshida and got on the end of a Fabian Delph through ball.  He then cut through the defense and slotted home the first goal.  Jay Rodriguez nearly equalized in the 27^th minute when Villains’ keeper Brad Guzan had to stretch to push the shot wide of the goal.  Guzan had to recover quickly to save the rebound shot from Lallana and dispense with the resulting corner kick.  The Saints finally did equalize in the 47^th minute when Rodriguez headed in a Nathaniel Clyne cross.  They should have taken the lead in the 60^th minute when Guzan was forced to save Pablo Osvaldo’s shot from a Lallana cross.  They would regret missing that chance as the Villains retook the lead in the 64^th minute when Libor Kozak headed home a Karim El Ahmadi cross.  To their credit, the Saints fought back and re-leveled the score in the 68^th minute when Osvaldo was able to head home a Rickie Lambert pass.  In the 73^rd minute, the Saints again had a chance to take the lead when Rodriguez’s header was saved by Guzan.  They had another opportunity in the 76^th minute when Osvaldo’s shot went over the goal.  The winner came for the Villians in the 80^th minute when Delph took a speculative effort from outside the Saints’ penalty area and it went into the top left corner of the goal.  The Saints’ missed a chance to level again in the 85^th minute when Rodriguez’s shot went off to the right.  Their day was wrapped up in stoppage time when Dejan Lovren had a chance to score from a corner kick, but his shot missed wide of the goal.  So this three match losing streak has seen the Saints tumble out of the top five places.  Can they stop the slide?

Stoke 0 – 0 Cardiff

It’s a dull draw at the Britiannia Stadium.  Not too much to this match.  Both sides are stuck in the bottom third of the table and are playing more to “not lose” than to win.  The Potters did manage to get the ball into the net in the first half, but midfielder Geoff Cameron was judged to have been offside and so the goal was disallowed.  Cardiff had a penalty shot in the second half when Frazier Campbell went down in the Stoke area, but the referee was not convinced there was any foul.  When the final whistle came, the home side fans booed their side off the pitch.  Seems that not much has changed for the Potters since Tony Pulis left and Mark Hughes took over.

Sunderland 3 – 4 Chelsea

The Blues keep pace with a vital win.  It was a hard loss for former Blue and Black Cats’ boss Gus Poyet as it ended a string of three successive home victories.  They nearly had an early lead in the first minute when Emanuele Giaccherini’s shot was blocked by Blues’ defender Cesar Azpilicueta.  The Black Cats would score in the 13^th minute when US international striker Jozy Altidore poked home his first goal since joining the side during the summer.  But the Blues pulled even in the 16^th minute when Frank Lampard headed in Eden Hazard’s corner kick.  They would take the lead in the 36^th minute when Hazard would finish Fernando Torres’ headed pass.  But the one thing that Poyet has been able to do for his boys is to keep them fighting and they fought back at the start of the second half and equalized in the 49^th minute.  John O’Shea got the goal when he met the in-swinging corner kick and got it past Blues’ keeper Petr Cech.  Chelsea would retake the lead in the 61^st minute when Hazard made a cool finish after being put in on goal by Frank Lampard.  Bad luck would strike the Black Cats again in the 83^rd minute when defender Phillip Bardsley would knock a Chelsea corner kick into his own goal.  He tried to make up for it in the 85^th minute when he scored from close range, but it was too little too late and the Black Cats resume their spot at the foot of the BPL table.

Swansea 3 – 0 Newcastle

The Swans get a convincing win over the Magpies.  The visitors came into the Liberty Stadium on a four match winning run and figured to beat the Welsh side with no trouble.  The Swans had only won once this season and they nearly went behind in the 12^th minute when Loic Remy’s header of a Mathieu Debuchy cross was saved by Swnas’ keeper Michel Vorm.  Chico nearly scored for the home side in the 26^th minute for the home side when Magies’ keeper Tim Krul saved the winger’s long shot on goal.  And so the back-and-forth continued for most of the first half as each side made a threat on goal that was missed or denied by the defense.  Just when it looked like the first half would end goalless, Jonathan De Guzman earned the Swans a free-kick just outside of the Magpies penalty area.  Nathan Dyer took the free-kick and hit it into the bottom right corner of the net for the first goal.  The Swans nearly made it two as the second half got underway when Dyer’s header was saved by Krul.  Shola Ameobi nearly equalized in the 50^th minute when Vorm saved his shot from the center of the area.  In the 66^th minute, the home side got a lucky break when, in a bit of chaos in the Newcastle penalty area, Debuchy knocked the ball into his own goal.  Jonjo Shelvey got the third goal in the 81^st minute when he curled a long shot from outside the penalty area into the top right corner of the goal.  Although Shelvey may face disciplinary action for a possible head butt of Debuchy, there was no denying the win for the Swans.

Fulham 1 – 2 Tottenham

Spurs make life harder for the Cottagers.  It was an end to their four match winless streak and gave the Cottagers their sixth straight league loss.  Former Manchester United assistant coach Rene Meulensteen had taken charge of the Cottagers after Martin Jol had been fired.  There was a bit of optimism at Craven Cottage as the first half ended without the home side conceding anything.  They felt better in the 56^th minute when Askkan Dejagah scored the opening goal.  But any hope of a win was ended in the 73^rd minute when Vlad Chiriches equalized with a well struck 35 yard half-volley shot.  Spurs got the win in the 82^nd minute when substitute LewisHoltby hit the target from 20 yards out for his first BPL goal.  It’s probably a good bet that Fulham will be relegated at the end of the season.

West Bromwich Albion 2 – 3 Manchester City

Citeh get an away win over the Baggies.  It looks like Manuel Pellegrini may have finally cured his side’s travel woes.  They clearly dominated this match scored in the eighth minute when Sergio Aguero powered home from Pablo Zabaleta’s assist.  Goal number two came in the 23^rd minute when Yaya Toure scored with his right foot into the bottom right corner of the goal from Aleksandar Kolarov’s cross.  The second half was more of the same domination from the visitors and they earned a penalty kick in the 72^nd minute when Kolarav was fouled in the Baggies’ penalty area by Claudio Yacob.  Toure scored the spot kick to make it three goals for the visitors.  Although a 84^th minute own goal by keeper Citeh keeper Costel Pantilimon and a stoppage time goal by Victor Anichebe made the score seem close, this was a clear win for Citeh.  This could be the kick Citeh need to make their run at the title.