Manchester City 4 – 1 Tottenham

Sergio Aguero scores all the goals for the Champions in their win over Spurs. This match was a fairly easy one for the champions. They opened the scoring in the 13th minute when Aguero got his first goal from and assist from Frank Lampard. The Argentinian International slotted the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal like it was a practice session. Although Spurs were able to equalize in the 14th minute through Christian Eriksen’s goal from a Roberto Soldado assist, Citeh retook the lead in the 19th minute when they were awarded a penalty kick after midfielder Erik Lamela tripped Lampard in the Spurs’ penalty area. Aguero scored the spot kick for his and his team’s second goal. Although Spurs had a couple of chances equalize in the second half, the match was pretty much over in the 67th minute when defender Fedrico Fazio was sent off for fouling Aguero in the penalty area. The striker took the spot kick himself to make the score 3-1 for Citeh. He got his fourth in the 75th minute when Fernandinho put him through on goal with a fine pass that Aguero placed into the bottom left corner of the goal. The win sees them keep pace with Chelsea and sets up another two team race for the BPL trophy.

Arsenal 2 – 2 Hull

Danny Welbeck’s stoppage time goal rescues the draw for the Gunners. Things are a little bit rocky for the Gunners at the moment. Their main playmaker, Mesut Ozil, is out with a leg injury and they’re currently sitting in seventh place in the BPL table. Not a good thing if you’re a Gunner supporter. The expectations on Saturday were for the Gunners to get a home win over the Tigers and haul themselves back into the BPL trophy race. They started out in fine fashion. They scored in the 12th minute when Alexis Sanchez scored from a Per Mertesacker assist. But then their defense let them down in the 17th minute and Mohamed Diame was able to level the score by hitting a shot in the bottom right corner of the goal. Santiago Cazorla should have put the Gunners back into the lead in the 30th minute, but Tigers’ keeper Steve Harper was able to make the save to keep the score level. The visitors took the initiative as the second half got started and grabbed the lead in the 46th minute when Abel Hernandez headed in a Tom Huddlestone cross. It was a shocking goal and the home side was clearly effected by it as they weren’t able to get anything going for most of the second half. Gaston Ramirez should have put the win away for the Tigers in the 89th minute when his shot from a Hatem Ben Arfa assist was saved by Gunners’ keeper Wojciech Szczesny. From there, Sanchez was able to set up Welbeck who rescued the point for the Gunners with his goal into the bottom corner of the net. So Arsenal’s struggles in domestic and Champions’ league competition have some speculating that boss Arsene Wenger may just decide to pack it in and head back to France. Time will tell.

Burnley 1 – 3 West Ham

The Hammers get an easy win over Burnley. There has been a bit of fussing about manager Sam Allardyce and whether it may be time for him to move on. That talk picked up a bit during the first half at Turf Moor Stadium as neither side could score. But Hammers’ striker Diafra Sakho got the Hammers’ bubbles blowing in the 49th minute when he headed in a cross from Aaron Cresswell for the first goal. It got better for the Hammers in the 53rd minute when Carl Jenkinson hit a cross for Enner Valencia to head home for goal number two. Although Burnley were able to get a goal back in the 60th minute from George Boyd, they were never going to beat the Hammers. Carlton Cole wrapped up the win for the Hammers in the 70th minute when he headed in a Sakho assist. The win lifts the Hammers to fourth place in the BPL table. Maybe they’ve found their fortune at last?

Crystal Palace 1 – 2 Chelsea

Cesc Fabregas scores his first goal for the Blues in their win over Palace. This match was a version of the London Derby without all the drama and heartache. It was dominated by the Blues and they took the early lead when Oscar scored a great looping free kick into the top left corner of the goal in the sixth minute. There wasn’t too much else that went on in the first half as the home side just wasn’t good enough to push the Blues. Fabregas got his goal in the 51st minute when he scored from an Oscar assist. Mile Jedinak tried to score a looping shot from 35 yards out, but Blues keeper Thibaut Courtios was easily able to grab the ball from the air. Palace were able to get a consolation goal in the 90th minute when Frazier Campbell scored from a Wilfried Zaha assist. But the Blues made this win look easy as they have their sights set on their Champions’ League match this week.

Everton 3 – 0 Aston Villa

The Toffees stroll to victory over the Villains at Goodison Park. They needed this one after their last match where they were made to look a bit ordinary. Phil Jagielka got things going for them in the 17th minute when he headed in a Leighton Baines corner kick. The Villains, on the other hand, have hit a patch of bad luck and they had to replace defender Nathan Baker with Ciaran Clark in the 25th minute due to an injury. They should have scored in the 34th minute when Christian Benteke’s header from a Ashley Westwood was blocked by the defense. They went further behind in the 47th minute when Romelu Lukaku slotted home a pass from Ross Barkley for Everton’s second goal. In the 60th minute, Leon Osman had his shot saved by Villains’ keeper Brad Guzan. The match was won in the 76th minute when Seamus Coleman knocked home a loose ball from a Leighton Baines cross. Toffees’ keeper Tim Howard made a great save in the 79th minute from Villains’ striker Gabriel Agbonlahor’s right footed shot from distance. So the win snaps their three match winless streak and has Toffees’ fans a bit more optimistic about their future.

Newcastle 1 – 0 Leicester City

Gabriel Obertan’s second half goal is good enough for the win for the Magpies at St. James Park. I am willing to be that Magpies’ boss Alan Pardew is a bit more relaxed after Saturday’s match. They had been winless up to this match and the fans wanted him to be fired. There was lots of chanting about “Pardew out!!!” as the match got started. Much of the first half was filled with missed shots and scrappy play by both sides. It was no surprise that none of the fans were happy when the halftime whistle blew and ended the scoreless half. The second half started out pretty much as the first half ended. But just when it looked like the Magpies would come away without another win, Papiss Cisse was able to break through the Fox’s defense and set up midfielder Obertan who was able to tuck the ball into the bottom left corner of the net for the score. Cisse nearly scored himself in the 85th minute when his shot was saved by Fox’s keeper Kasper Schmeichel. But the score was good enough for the win. Although it doesn’t lift them out of the bottom three, things are a little bit more optimistic among the fans on Tyne-side.

Southampton 8 – 0 Sunderland

The Saints beat down the Blackcats at Saint Mary’s Stadium. Sunderland boss Gus Poyet must have known this was never going to be his day. In the 12th minute, Blackcats’ defender Santiago Vergini scored a picture-perfect own goal when he volleyed from 20 yards out in a vain attempt to clear away from two Saints’ attackers. It was downhill from there as Graziano Pelle made it 2-0 when he scored from a Steven Davis assist. The third goal came in the 37th minute when Jack Cork scored from a Dusan Tadic cross. To their credit, the Blackcats tried to start the second half with a goal. But they just couldn’t get anything close. It went from bad to worse when they hit another own goal, this time from defender Liam Bridcutt. Pelle got his second and the Saints’ fifth in the 68th minute when he scored from a Tadic assist. Tadic made the scoresheet himself in the 79th minute when hit a left-footed shot from distance into the bottom left corner of the net. Tadic then set up Victor Wanyama to score number seven in the 79th minute. Man-of-the-Match Tadic created another assist in the 86th minute when he set up Sadio Mane to score an easy goal for number eight for the Saints. Could this result be seen as cruelty to animals?

Queens Park Rangers 2 – 3 Liverpool

Fortune favors the Reds at Loftus Road. This was, by far, the weirdest match of the week. Coming into it QPR, with only four points so far this season, were desperate for anything that would lift them off the foot of the table. Boss Harry Redknapp is rumored to be on his way out and QPR seem to be repeating their last experience in the BPL when they were mathematically relegated halfway through the 2010 season. The action in this match didn’t really start until the 67th minute when QPR Richard Dunne opened the scoring with a horrible clearing attempt that ended up in his own goal. Reds’ striker Mario Balotelli, who has picked up a lot of critics lately, nearly scored in the 84th minute when his shot from a Jordan Henderson assist was saved by QPR keeper Alex McCarthy. QPR striker Eduardo Vargas was able to to level the score in the 86th minute when he was able to poke home a loose ball from a free kick. The Reds retook the lead in the 89th minute when Philippe Coutinho scored from a Steven Gerrard assist. But in the first minute of stoppage time, Vargas came through again for QPR when he headed in a Leroy Fer corner kick. But just as QPR thought they might have a draw, defender Steven Caulker killed it for his team when his miskick ended up becoming a second own-goal and a winner for the Reds.

Stoke City 2 – 1 Swansea

Substitute Jonathan Walters’ second half goal win is for the Potters. This one was a bit of a fight throughout with a bit of controversy here and there. Both sides started out pressing hard for the opener. The first controversial moment came in the 33rd minute when Swans’ striker was awarded a penalty-kick after the referee judge that he had been pulled down by Potters’ defender Ryan Shawcross. Potters’ boss Mark Hughes was not happy about the decision and threw a bit of a temper-tantrum on the sideline. Bony converted the spot-kick for the goal for Swansea. Nathan Dyer should have made it two for the Swans in the 35th minute when his shot was saved by Potters’ keeper Asmir Begovic. Charlie Adam had a chance to equalize for the Potters in the 39th minute when his shot was saved by Swans’ keeper Lukasz Fabianski. They would equalize in the 42nd minute when Victor Moses was judged to have been tripped by Swans defender Angel Rangel in the Swans’ penalty area. Adam would convert the spot kick and that score would hold until half time. As the teams left the field, Swans boss Garry Monk vented his fury of the call at the referee. Walters would come on in the 61st minute for Mame Biram Diouf. He would score his goal in the 76th minute when he headed in a cross from Oussama Assaidi. That goal was good enough for the win, although Swansea would have to late chances from Ki Sung-Yueng and Bafetimbi Gomis go wide of the goal.

West Bromwich Albion 2 – 2 Manchester United

The Baggies and Red Devils fight for the draw at The Hawthorns Stadium. This match was one that Red Devils’ boss Louis Van Gaal will be thankful for his side’s willingness to fight to earn a point. They fell behind early when Baggies striker Stephane Sessegnon hit a brilliant strike into the top right corner of the goal in the eighth minute. Although United were without Wayne Rooney who is serving match number two of his three match ban, they were not leaderless. Robin van Persie, who served as captain on Monday, nearly equalized when his shot from an Angel Di Maria through pass was saved by Baggies keeper Boaz Myhill. Di Maria, who loves wearing the number 7 for the Red Devils, nearly scored twice in the first half. His 18th minute shot from a Daley Blind pass was just pushed away by keeper Myhill. Myhill had to save again from Di Maria in the 30th minute, this time when he was set up by Van Persie. Red Devils’ midfielder Juan Mata should have scored when he took a free-kick and hit it over the goal in the 39th minute. The Baggies were able to take their one goal lead into the lockerroom at half time. Van Gaal decided to replace Ander Herrera with Marouane Fellaini as the second half started. The change worked in the 47th minute when the Belgian midfielder scored the equalizer from a Di Maria assist. But the one weakness United still have is in their defense and it bit them again in the 65th minute. Central defenders Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones were caught too far forward and Baggies striker Saido Berahino was sent though from a Chris Brunt through ball. Berahino was one-on-one with United keeper David De Gea and was able to slot the ball home into the bottom right corner of the goal to put the Baggies back into the lead. Now, that would have killed the match off for the Red Devils last season under a different manager. But the one thing Van Gaal has gotten his side to do is to never give up. They kept battling and their hard work paid off in the 87th minute when central midfielder Daley Blind seized on a loose ball and hit a great shot into the bottom left corner of the goal to level the score again. Fellaini had a chance to win it in stoppage time when his shot from a corner kick was saved by keeper Myhill. So while they didn’t win this one, the attitude of the Red Devils seems to have improved a bit. They’re going to need that fighting spirit next week.