Just one day to go until Christmas is here and as history has shown, the team top at Christmas usually goes on to become champions with the plight of Liverpool last season being the only breach on the record. Top of the tree this year are the blues of Chelsea closely followed by Manchester City.
The weekend began with the Saturday lunchtime kick-off at the Etihad between Manchester City and Crystal Palace, the first half was a tight one with no breakthrough from either side but City opened the scoring just four minutes into the second period through David Silva.
The Spanish midfielder added a second just after the hour to give the Eagles a huge task to comeback, a task which they failed as the points were wrapped up nine minutes from the end by Yaya Toure to secure a 3-0 win.
Manchester United sit comfortably in the top four despite only claiming a point away to Aston Villa who opened the scoring early on with an effort from Christian Benteke in the 18th minute. United drew level in the second half with a 56th minute equaliser from Radamel Falcao before Gabriel Agbonlahor was dismissed for the home side in the 65th minute, a decision which has been overturned at the time of writing and the score remained level for a share of the spoils.
Swansea closed up on the top five with a narrow 1-0 win away to Hull who as a result sit firmly in the bottom three and in a poor run of form. The Swans secured the victory with an early strike from Ki in the 15th minute which was enough to move them up to eighth.
QPR staged a stunning turnaround that saw them claim a 3-2 win over West Brom that propelled the home side out of the bottom three. West Brom will be cursing the luck after letting a 2-10 lead inside the first 20 minutes disappear, Joleon Lescott opened the scoring in the 10th minute before Silvestre Varela doubled the lead in the 20th minute. QPR pulled one back through a Charlie Austin's penalty just four minute later and drew level with Austin's second strike in the 48th minute before he completed a superb comeback with his hat-trick strike four minutes from the end.
Southampton bounced back from a run of defeats with a comfortable 3-0 win over Everton who were unfortunate to go behind in the 38th minute when Romelu Lukaku headed into his own net to give the Saints the lead. Graziano Pelle doubled the lead in the 65th minute with the win sealed late on by a strike from Maya Yoshida in the 82nd minute.
Tottenham edged closer to the top five with a 2-1 win at home to Burnley who sit just inside the bottom three due to other results going against them, Harry Kane put the home side in front int he 21st minute before the Clarets drew level with a strike from Ashley Barnes in the 27th minute The points were sealed by a strike just eight minutes later as Eric Lamela struck his first league goal for Tottenham.
West Ham continued their superb season with a 2-0 win against bottom side Leicester, a win that ensures the Hammers will sit in the top four into Christmas and will do so after a duo of strikes from Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing sealed the points in the 24th and 56th minutes.
Super Sunday began with a thrilling Tyne-Wear derby as Newcastle hosted fierce rivals Sunderland. A tight game saw looked to be ending with the sides sharing the points but Sunderland had other ideas and secured a last-gasp victory with Adam Johnson's strike in the 90th minute.
The second game of the afternoon saw another thrilling face-off as Liverpool and Arsenal shared the points in a 2-2 draw. A tight first half ended with Phillipe Coutinho giving the Reds the lead only to have his effort rapidly cancelled out by an equaliser from Mathieu Debuchy. Olivier Giroud put the Gunners in front in the 64th minute before a collison between the Frenchman and Martin Skrtel led to a significant delay. Liverpool entered the extended added time with the dismissal of Fabio Borini who suffered two bookings in as many minutes before Martin Skrtel salvaged a draw with a 97th minute header.
The weekend came to a close with the Monday Night Football featuring Stoke at home to Chelsea with the league leaders extending their gap at the top with a 2-0 victory which saw them make a perfect start with the opening goal inside two minutes from John Terry.
Cesc Fabregas sealed the win for the Blues in the 78th minute to leave the home side in 13th.
The Spanish midfielder added a second just after the hour to give the Eagles a huge task to comeback, a task which they failed as the points were wrapped up nine minutes from the end by Yaya Toure to secure a 3-0 win.
Manchester United sit comfortably in the top four despite only claiming a point away to Aston Villa who opened the scoring early on with an effort from Christian Benteke in the 18th minute. United drew level in the second half with a 56th minute equaliser from Radamel Falcao before Gabriel Agbonlahor was dismissed for the home side in the 65th minute, a decision which has been overturned at the time of writing and the score remained level for a share of the spoils.Southampton bounced back from a run of defeats with a comfortable 3-0 win over Everton who were unfortunate to go behind in the 38th minute when Romelu Lukaku headed into his own net to give the Saints the lead. Graziano Pelle doubled the lead in the 65th minute with the win sealed late on by a strike from Maya Yoshida in the 82nd minute.
Tottenham edged closer to the top five with a 2-1 win at home to Burnley who sit just inside the bottom three due to other results going against them, Harry Kane put the home side in front int he 21st minute before the Clarets drew level with a strike from Ashley Barnes in the 27th minute The points were sealed by a strike just eight minutes later as Eric Lamela struck his first league goal for Tottenham.Super Sunday began with a thrilling Tyne-Wear derby as Newcastle hosted fierce rivals Sunderland. A tight game saw looked to be ending with the sides sharing the points but Sunderland had other ideas and secured a last-gasp victory with Adam Johnson's strike in the 90th minute.The weekend came to a close with the Monday Night Football featuring Stoke at home to Chelsea with the league leaders extending their gap at the top with a 2-0 victory which saw them make a perfect start with the opening goal inside two minutes from John Terry.Cesc Fabregas sealed the win for the Blues in the 78th minute to leave the home side in 13th.
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