Title/Survival Hopes Hot Up

For the first time in years at this stage, nothing has been decided at either the bottom or top making for an exciting run-in.

Saturday's early kick-off saw Everton's top four hopes suffer a blow as two own goals from Alcaraz (1) and Coleman (31) gave Southampton a 2-0 win that surely guarantees eight place for the Saints while Fulham blew the chance to boost their survival hopes when they let a 2-0 lead at home to Fulham slip to 2-2.

Dejagah and Amorebieta scored in the 55th and 58th minutes to give the Cottagers a huge boost but a mistake in the defence let Hull back in as Jelavic struck in the 75th minute an Long sealed a point for the visitors with three minutes remaining to leave Fulham still in the bottom three.

Tottenham kept up their hopes of a fifth place finish with a 1-0 win away to Stoke with Rose putting them in front in the 33rd minute, Stoke's hopes of a comeback were dealt a blow with the dismissal of Shawcross in the 52nd minute and enabled the visitors to hold on for the win. Swansea are surely safe after a 4-1 win against Aston Villa who as a result have moved closer to the bottom three.

Bony extended his scoring run with a 10th minute opener but Agbonlahor levelled for the visitors before a stunning Shelvey strike from long range put the Swans in control four minutes later, Hernandez made it 3-1 in the 75th minute and Bony completed the rout in the final minute from the penalty spot.

West Brom edged towards safety with a 1-0 win at home to West Ham, Pepe Mel's first since he took charge and the points came after an 11th minute winner from Berahino to move them up to 15th while in the late-kick off, Ryan Giggs made the perfect start as Manchester United interim manager by guiding his side to a 4-0 win against Norwich.

Rooney put the hosts in front from the penalty spot just before half-time and added a second three minutes after the interval with Mata coming off the bench to seal the win with goals in the 63rd and 73rd minutes.

Super Sunday began with Sunderland moving out of the bottom three with a resounding 4-0 win over Cardiff who as a result drop to the bottom, Wickham extended his scoring run with the opening goal in the 26th minute with Borini adding a penalty for a 2-0 half-time lead as a result of Cala's dismissal.



Giaccherini made it three in the 76th minute with Wickham completing the rout and a superb week for Sunderland with his second and his side's fourth in the 86th minute.

Chelsea spiced up the title race with a 2-0 away to leaders Liverpool with Ba putting them in front just before half-time after capitalising on a slip by Gerrard before slotting past Mignolet, Willian finished the job in the final minute after a breakaway with Torres with the Spaniard squaring to him after beating Mignolet.

The final game of the day saw Manchester City take the advantage in the title race with a 2-0 win away to Crystal Palace with Dzeko striking in the fourth minute and Toure adding a second just before half-time to confirm the win.


Monday Night Football saw Arsenal host Newcastle knowing a win would put the in pole-position for fourth place, Koscielny put the Gunners in front in the 26th minute and Ozil added a second just before half-time. Giroud completed the win in the 66th minute to all but secure an illusive fourth place finish.

Hosts Secure Advantage

Semi final time in the UEFA Europa League with Juventus only two games away from a potential 'home' final in Turin, Benfica looking to get to a second consecutive final after defeat to Chelsea in 2013 with Sevilla and Valencia both looking to add to previous titles in the competition.

The all Spanish tie saw Sevilla come out on top with a 2-0 win over Valencia who will have to replicate their comeback win against Basel in the second leg in order to progress. Sevilla claimed the win with two goals in the space of three minutes after the half-hour with M'bia and Bacca striking to secure the victory.

In the other tie, Benfica secured a 2-1 against Juventus to leave Juve with a deficit to overturn in order to set up their 'home' final but will take the confidence of having an away goal. Garay put the hosts in front in the second minute with Tevez equalising in the 73rd minute for the visitors. Lima sealed the win for the Portuguese champions in the 84th minute giving them a slim advantage for the return leg.

Madrid Duo Avoid Away Goals

Champions League semi-final time as the four top sides go head to head for a place in the showpiece final next month.

Atletico Madrid and Chelsea played out a 0-0 draw but Atletico will be the happier knowing a goal in the return leg will force Chelsea to score twice against a defence that has been solid this season.

Holders Bayern Munich were kept out by a resolute Real Madrid setup that will go into the return leg with a slim advantage after a 1-0 win last night with the winning goal coming in the 19th minute from Benzema. 

Liverpool Clear As Bottom Five Narrows

As the season reached the final four weeks, it is surprising that nothing is yet settled at the top and bottom but this weekend has seen some real shocks.

Saturday's early kick-off saw Tottenham increase their chances of a Europa League place with a 3-1 win over Fulham who missed the chance to move out of the bottom three. Paulinho tapped in for the opener for the hosts after 35 minutes but Fulham were level two minutes later when Sidwell struck.

Kane continued his scoring spree with Tottenham's second goal and the win was complete just after the hour mark when Kaboul made it 3-1 and Fulham were unable to respond and sit two points from safety.

Aston Villa hosted Southampton knowing a win would surely see them safe from the drop but a 0-0 draw means they sit only five points away from the bottom three but with a game in hand while Southampton remain in eighth.

Cardiff needed a win to boost their survival hopes as they hosted Stoke and they went in front just before the interval as Whittingham converted a penalty but barely six minutes into the second half, Stoke were level with a penalty of their own after Arnautovic stuck. The sides remained level until the end meaning Cardiff are still two points from safety while  Stoke have given themselves a good hope of a top ten finish.

Swansea's poor form has seen them edge towards the bottom three and a trip to ninth place Newcastle seemed to be just what they needed as they came away with a 2-1 win despite going behind to a rare goal from Shola Ameobi in the 23rd minute. Swansea were level at the break when the in-form Bony struck in the 45th minute and his scoring spree continued with the vital winning goal in the 90th minute.

Crystal Palace guaranteed they will remain in the Premier League after a 1-0 win away to West Ham who are close to safety but could still be caught by the bottom sides. The vital goal came just before the hour mark when Jedinak converted a penalty to push his side to 43 points and continue a fine run that sees them only one point away from the top half.

After blowing a 2-1 lead away to Manchester City midweek, Sunderland faced another of the title challengers as they travelled to Chelsea and when Eto'o put the hosts in front after 12 minutes, many could be forgiven for thinking Sunderland were in trouble. However, their fighting spirit could see them stay up as they levelled six minutes later through Wickham with his third goal in two games.

The sides were level with ten minutes to go and Sunderland were awarded a penalty that could prove pivotal both at the top and the bottom as Liverpool loanee Borini converted well and Sunderland completed a stunning win and week with 4pts from trips to two of the league's top three and are now only two points from safety.

Super Sunday saw a trio of games beginning with Liverpool's midday game at Norwich and the league leaders made a brilliant start as Sterling gave them a fourth minute lead, Suarez doubled the lead in the 11th minute with his 30th league goal of the season and the lead held firm until the 54th minute when Hooper took advantage of an empty net to tap home.

Sterling claimed his second and Liverpool's third with a deflected effort that left Ruddy helpless but again Norwich responded and Snodgrass made it 3-2 with 13 minutes to go but Liverpool held on to go five points clear at the top while Norwich are only two points from the bottom three and with a nightmare of a run in ahead of them.

Arsenal improved their chances of a fourth place finish with a comfortable 3-0 win away to Hull with Ramsey putting them in front on the half hour with Podolski making it two just before half-time. In what is a dress rehersal for the next month's FA Cup final, Hiull will hope to far better as they went further behind in the 54th minute when Podolski claimed his second to ensure his side went four points clear of fifth placed Everton.

Knowing they were four behind Arsenal, Everton knew a win against former manager David Moyes and his Manchester United side was a must and they went in front just before the half-hour when Baines converted from the penalty spot, Mirallas finished cleverly in the 43rd minute to put the hosts two goal in front and that was how it remained until the end.

Everton now sit a point behind Arsenal and with a six point gap back to sixth placed Tottenham while Manchester United as a result now cannot qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 18 years and are managerless with the sacking on David Moyes earlier today.

Manchester City hosted West Brom in the Monday Night Football game that saw the hosts take an early lead with Zabaleta scoring after three minutes with the lead doubled seven minutes later by Aguero and thought of a high-scoring win entered the mind. However, West Brom pulled on back in the 16th minute through Dorrans but were unable to equalise and Demichelis made it three Argentinians on the score-sheet with a strike in the 36th minute that proved enough to secure the win for title challengers meaning the title cannot be won this coming weekend.

Top Four Race Hosts Up

Ahead of what could be a vital Easter weekend, three games took place this midweek as six teams looked to turn games in hand into points.

Tuesday saw Arsenal host West Ham with hopes regaining fourth place but they suffered a blow when Jarvis put the Hammers in front in the 40th minute but Podolski levelled for the Gunners just before half-time. Giroud put Arsenal in front in the 55th minute and paid homage to the 96 Hillsborough victims by kissing his black armband and looking to the sky in tribute.

The match was settled with 12 minutes to go as Podolski scored his second and to secure a 3-1 win that puts Arsenal back into fourth, a point clear of Everton.

After being displaced by Arsenal, Everton hosted Crystal Palace last night but were stunned after 23 minutes when Puncheon extended his scoring streak by putting Palace ahead the damage increased for Everton four minutes into the second half when Dann put Palace 2-0 up.

Everton pulled one back when Naismith struck on the hour-mark but the two-goal deficit returned in the 73rd minute when Jerome made it 3-1 to the visitors. Mirallas scored a second for Everton with four minutes left but Palace held on to claim a surprise win that puts them on 40 points in 11th and leaves Everton with work to do to regain fourth place.

After slipping back in the title race on Sunday, Manchester City had to use their re-arranged game at home to Sunderland to catch up on the top two and had  the perfect start with Fernandinho putting them in front inside three minutes. Sunderland stunned the Etihad crowd when Wickham equalised in the 73rd minute before hitting a second ten minutes later to put City's title hopes on a knife-edge and give Liverpool and Chelsea a massive boost.

 However, Sunderland's luck went from good to bad in the 88th minute when Nasri's shot was fumbled by Mannone and the 'keeper flailed at the loose ball twice before it crossed the line and put City level at 2-2 which was how the game finished, Sunderland's hopes of survival could hinge on Mannone's error while City's failure to win means Liverpool can drop points and still win the title.

Hull And Arsenal Advance

The FA Cup reached the semi-final stage this weekend with some history made in both ties one of which included eight goals and the other going right to the wire in a penalty shootout.

Saturday saw holders Wigan look to extend their cup run into a second consecutive final as they took on Arsenal who were two wins away from a first trophy in nine years. A tight game came to life in the 63rd minute when Wigan were awarded a penalty and Gomez slotted past Fabianski to sent the Latics fans wild but with eight minutes to go their dreams were dented as Mertesacker rose highest to head past Carson for 1-1 and the game went into extra time.

Neither side were able to gain an advantage so the place in the final was decided by a penalty shootout, strangely Wigan chose Caldwell for the first attempt over Gomez who had already scored from the spot and the fate was a miss, Arteta struck well to put Arsenal in front, Collison stepped up for Wigan but another miss left them needing a miracle when Kallstrom made it 2-0. Beausejour scored for Wigan but when Giroud made it 3-1 to Arsenal, it seemed the tie was close to a conclusion, McArthur made it 3-2 but Cazorla stepped up and slotted past Carson to confirm a 4-2 win.

Hull will make their FA Cup final debut in five weeks after a 5-3 win against Sheffield United but fell behind after 19 minutes when Baxter put the Blades in front, Sagbo levelled in the 42nd minute but United went into the interval ahead when Scougall put them 1-2 up a minute before half-time.

The sides were level four minutes into the second half when Fryatt made it 2-2 and Hull led for the first time five minutes later when Huddlestone struck in the 54th minute, the tie seemed to be settled in the 67th minute when Quinn made it 4-2.

United made sure it would be a frantic ending when Murphy made it 4-3 in the last minute of normal time only for Meyler to seal the win for Hull in injury time with the fifth goal in a 5-3 win.

Liverpool and Chelsea Move Clear

An exciting weekend at both ends of the table ended with a superb Super Sunday as the country remembered the 96 fans who went to Hillsborough 25 years ago for an FA Cup semi-final and never came back, a brilliant memorial for the fans came as every game kicked off seven minutes later than planned in remembrance of the 3.06pm abandoning of the tragic game in 1989.

Crystal Palace gave their survival hopes a massive boost with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa who themselves are still not safe, Puncheon's rich scoring form continued with the winning goal in the 76th minute that puts the Eagles above their opponents into 12th place.

Fulham moved to two points from safety with a 1-0 win over Norwich who now sit just above the Cottagers ahead of a nightmare run-in with Rodallega striking the crucial winner in the 40th minute.



Cardiff stunned Southampton as the Bluebirds edged closer to safety with a 1-0 with the crucial strike coming from Cala in the 65th minute while Stoke secured a 1-0 win at home to Newcastle with a superb strike from Pieters in the 42nd minute, his first goal in six years after fooling Krul from a cross-like shot.

Everton took advantage of Arsenal being in the FA Cup to overtake the Gunners in the race for fourth place with a 1-0 win away to Sunderland who as a result find themselves seven points away from safety at the bottom but with two games in hand with the vital goal coming in the 75th minute as Brown hit into his own net.

 After five minutes of their game at home to Tottenham, West Brom looked on for a rare win as they led 2-0 with goals from Vydra and Brunt and went one better as Sessegnon made it three inside 32 minutes. However just like in their previous home game, they blew the lead and had to settle for a point as Tottenham came roaring back with an Olsson own goal and a strike from Kane before levelling in the final minute through Eriksen for 3-3.

Super Sunday began with a five-goal thriller between title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City with the hosts leading 2-0 thanks to goals from Sterling in the 6th minute and a Skrtel header in the 26th minute.

City came back in style with two goals in five minutes with Silva tapping in from a Milner cross before having a shot deflected in by Johnson for 2-2 just after the hour mark but Coutinho sealed a 3-2 in in style after a mistake from Kompany and Liverpool held on despite the late dismissal of Henderson to go five clear at the top.

Chelsea knew a win would close the gap to Liverpool while creating one between themselves and Manchester City when they faced Swansea and got an early helping hand as Chico was dismissed for Swansea and Ba continued where he left off in midweek with the winning goal in the 68th minute to put his side five clear of third-placed City.

Spanish Duo Dominate

The Europa League quarter-final second legs took place last night with some interesting results with two games featuring five goals.




Sevilla eased into the last four with a 4-1 victory at home to Porto with Rakitic putting them in front with a fifth minute penalty, Perez hit a second in the 26th minute and when Bacca made it 3-0 minutes later, Porto needed a miracle comeback and got a helping hand when Moreno was sent off for Sevilla in the 54th minute.

The extra man advantage didn't help Porto and Sevilla went further in front in the 79th minute when Gameiro struck for 4-0 and 4-1 overall with Porto getting a spectacular consolation when Quaresma scored in the final minute but Sevilla will go on to meet rivals Valencia in the last four.

Valencia completed a staggering aggregate comeback as they went into last night's game with a 0-3 deficit to Basel coming out with a 5-3 overall win. Garcia put the Spaniards in front after 38 minutes with a quick second from Vargas making it 2-0 at half-time and 2-3 on aggregate.

Garcia added his second in the 70th minute and forced extra time with a 3-3 aggregate with both winning 3-0 at home. Basel's hopes were dealt a double blow as Diaz and Sauro were dismissed in the 101st and 105th minutes and when Garcia completed his hat-trick in the 113th minute, Valencia had completed a stunning turnaround and the win was sealed two minutes from the end when Bernat struck for 5-0 and 5-3 overall.

Juventus are only to games away from a 'home final' after a 2-1 win over Lyon resulting in a 3-1 aggregate victory. Pirlo put the Italians in front after only four minutes but Lyon equalised in the 18th minute through Briand to give them hope but that hope look to have ended when Umtiti hit into his own net to put Juve in control and they held on for the win and will meet Benfica in the last four.

Benfica secured at tie against Juventus with a 2-0 win and 3-0 aggregate victory with a double from Rodrigo in the 39th and 71st minute ending AZ's hopes of reaching the last four and means Benfica edge closer to what would be their first UEFA title.

Surprise Exits For Favourites

The last four of the Champions League have been decided but there are a couple of surprises after a mixed week of second legs.

Real Madrid advanced but by a slim margin as they were stunned by a resilient Borussia Dortmund who won 2-0 thanks to a brace from Marco Reus that gave the Germans hope but they couldn't find that vial third goal that would put them through on away goals and sadly bowed out.

PSG looked to have sealed a place in the last four after their comfortable first leg win but were stunned by Chelsea who overturned the deficit with a 2-0 win with goals from Andre Schurrle and Demba Ba and secured a passage with an away goals victory.

As if the exit of PSG wasn't shocking enough, another favourite bowed out as Atletico Madrid advanced at the expense of fellow La Liga rivals Barcelona after a 1-0 win on the night with the crucial strike coming from Koke in the fifth meaning they reached the last four with a 2-1 victory on aggregate.



Manchester United knew they had to score to advance so when Evra's spectacular effort put them in control on aggregate it was looking like two EPL sides would be in the semi's. However, the joy lasted 22 seconds as Mandzukic levelled on the night and overall for Bayern before Muller put the holders in control nine minutes later and United's hopes ended with 14 minutes to go when Robben made it 3-1 on the night and 4-2 overall and the holders kept their hopes or retaining the trophy intact.

Top Four Race Narrows

The run-in to the end of the season began with an exciting weekend both at the top and bottom of the table.

Manchester City furthered their title hopes with a 4-1 win against Southampton and led early through a third minute penalty from Toure, Southampton's hopes were dented when Rodriguez went off with a serious injury that will rule him out for six months.

Lambert levelled from the spot but a double just before the break from Nasri and Dzeko put City in control. Jovetic completed the win in the 81st minute to put them top of the league.


Fulham gave their survival hopes a boost with a 2-1 win away to Aston Villa with Richardson putting them ahead on the hour mark only to be pegged back by a a leveller from Holt in the 70th minute.

As the minutes ticked towards the end, it looked like the sides would share the points but Rodallega sealed a win for the Cottagers with four minutes to go.


Cardiff's hopes of avoiding the drop suffered a massive blow as they fell to a 3-0 defeat at home to Crystal Palace. Puncheon put the Eagles in front after 38 minutes, Cardiff kept the score to one for 40 minutes but their failure to level allowed Palace to extend their lead with Ledley striking in the 71st minute. Puncheon completed the win with his second in the 88th minute to put his side seven points above the drop.

Hull kept up hopes of a top ten finish with a 1-0 win over Swansea with the vital strike coming in the 39th minute from Boyd while West Brom moved clear of the bottom three with a 1-0 win away to Norwich who since have sacked manager Chris Hughton. Amalfitano scored his second goal in as many games to secure the win in the 16th minute. 




Manchester United still have an outside chance of finishing in the top four after a 4-0 win at Newcastle with Mata scoring a brace either side of half-time to put them in control with Hernandez making it 3-0 in the 64th minute. Januzaj completed the rout with a strike in the 90th minute to put them to within eight points of fourth place Arsenal.

Chelsea went back to the top in the late kick-off with a 3-0 win over Stoke who missed the chance to Salah put the hosts in front in the 32nd minute and Lampard made it two in the 61st minute but only after collecting the rebound from his own missed penalty.
reduce the gap to Newcastle.

The win was completed by Willian who finished off Stoke with a superb strike that put pressure on Liverpool to win in order to retake top spot on Sunday.

Super Sunday began with the 'Battle For Fourth' between Everton and Arsenal and the Gunners bad away form against the top sides continued as they fell to a 3-0 defeat which means they have conceded 20 away to Everton/Chelsea/Liverpool and Man City.

Naismith put Everton in front in the 14th minute and Arsenal looked to be onto a repeat of their mauling at Anfield when Lukaku made it 2-0 in the 34th minute but Arsenal kept it at two until the hour mark when Arteta got the last touch after a dangerous cross into the Arsenal box to hit into his own net.

A Merseyside double on the day was completed by Liverpool's 2-1 win away to West Ham with Gerrard converting from the spot after a Tomkins handball in the 44th minute only to have it cancelled out by a Demel strike that came controversially after Mignolet had spilled the ball from a foul but the goal was given by the referee.

Gerrard sealed the win in the 71st minute with a second penalty after Adrian had felled Flanagan and Liverpool returned to the top and will look to extend their lead when they face fellow title rivals Man City on Sunday.


Tottenham kept up their hopes of a top four finish by dealing Sunderland's survival hopes a massive blow in a 5-1 win on Monday night. Sunderland led in the 17th minute when Cattermole struck but Adebayor levelled in the 28th minute and the hosts led on the hour mark with a strike from Kane.

Eriksen made it 3-1 in the 78th minute but the win was sealed via a late double from Adebayor and Sigurdsson for a comfortable victory.

Portuguese On Top

The last eight of the Europa League began last night with all four ties featuring clean sheets setting up exciting second legs.


Benfica hold an advantage after winning 1-0 away to AZ with Salvio giving them what could be a vital away goal in the 48th minute while their fellow Primeira Liga rivals Porto also secured a win as Mangala continued his scoring run with the winner in the 31st minute but they will be with out Fernando in the return leg after he was sent off in the 86th minute.

Juventus won a tight game away to Lyon with a 1-0 victory secured by a Bonucci strike in the 85th minute which gives the Italians a vital away goal while in the fourth tie, Basel stunned Valencia with a 3-0 home win leaving the Spanish side needing a miracle in the second leg. Delgado scored twice in four minutes after the half-hour to give the Swiss an early advantage before Stocker made it three and potentially sealed the tie in the 90th minute.

Real And PSG Dominate

The Champions League quarter finals began this week and saw no real surprises as neither English side managed a win while the Spanish sides had the best outcome.

Tuesday began with the all Spanish tie between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid with up at the top in La Liga but it was the visitors who made the breakthrough with Diego putting them in front in the 56th minute to give them what could be a vital away goal.

Barcelona levelled in the 71st minute through Neymar but it will be Atletico who have the advantage after the 1-1 draw courtesy of their away goal.

Manchester United had the tough task of hosting the current holders Bayern Munich and took a surprise lead just before the hour when Vidic gave them the advantage. However, their lead was brief as eight minutes later, Schweinsteiger levelled in the 66th minute but will miss the return leg after his sending off in the final minute.


Wednesday saw both home sides triumph as Real Madrid secured a 3-0 win over Borussia Dortmund and PSG Beat Chelsea 3-1. Madrid had the perfect start as Bale put them in front inside four minutes, Isco added a second in the 27th minute with the tie firmly in Real's hands when Ronaldo made it three just before the hour with a goal that saw him go level with Messi as the highest scorer in a single campaign.

Chelsea have an uphill task after losing in Paris and fell behind to a Lavezzi opener in the fourth minute, Chelsea levelled in the 27th minute when Hazard converted from the penalty spot but  created their own downfall when Luiz scored an own goal on the hour mark. PSG made sure of their advantage in the final minute when Pastore ended a nice move by hitting past Cech to take a two-goal lead to London next week.