Chelsea Still Five Clear

After a week off to accommodate the League and FA Cup rounds, the Premier League programme resumed with the top two meeting on Saturday evening while all but one of the top six sealed victories.

 Saturday's early kick-off saw struggling Hull remain in the bottom three after a 3-0 humbling at home to Newcastle who moved for a few hours at least would be in the top half, Remy Cabella put the Magpies in front in the 40th minute before Sammy Ameobi added a second just five minutes into the second half. The win was sealed with 12 minutes to go by a third from Yoann Gouffran.

Everton ended a poor run of form with a narrow 1-0 win over Crystal Palace who missed the chance to leapfrog their opponents after letting the Toffees in early with the crucial strike coming inside two minutes from Romelu Lukaku.

Liverpool continued their stay at the top of the form table with a 2-0 win at home to West Ham United who slipped below the Reds as a result, Raheem Sterling put the hosts in front in the 51st minute before Daniel Sturridge took just ten minutes after coming off the bench to make an instant impact after five months out injured with a strike in the 80th minute to seal the points.

After suffering a 5-3 loss in the reverse fixture after leading 3-1, Manchester United learned from their mistakes with a 3-1 win at home to Leicester who remain bottom of the table,  Robin van Persie put the hosts in front in the 27th minute with Radamel Falcao adding a second just five minutes later.

The game seemed to be safe at the interval after Wes Morgan's own goal in the 44th minute but Leicester did get some consolation as Marcin Wasliewski struck his first goal for the Foxes ten minutes from the end.

Stoke moved into the top half with a comfortable 3-1 win at home to struggling QPR with Jon Walters putting the Potters in front after 21 minutes before adding a second just 13 minutes later. QPR pulled one back though Niko Kranjcar two minutes later but the hero of the day proved to be Jon Walters as he completed the win in the final minute with his hat-trick strike. 

Sunderland distanced themselves from the bottom three with a 2-0 win at home to Burnley who despite the loss remain above the relegation zone, Connor Wickham opened the scoring for the hosts in the 20th minute before a first goal for the club came from Jermain Defoe in the 34th minute to seal the win.


Tottenham sit sixth after a comfortable 3-0 win away to West Brom which saw Christian Eriksen flip his recent form of late goals into an early strike with an opener in the sixth minute. Harry Kane added a second in the 15th minute before confirming the win.

The late kick-off saw the top of the table clash between Chelsea and Manchester City which saw the sides claim a point each to ensure the hosts remained five clear at the top. Loic Remy looked to have sent the hosts into the interval in front after a 41st minute opener but David Silva's leveller in the 45th minute sealed a point or City.



Super Sunday began with Aston Villa's trip to Arsenal which turned out to be a miserable one for the visitors as the Gunners strolled to a 5-0 victory, Olivier Giroud started the rout with an eighth minute opener before Mesut Ozil added a second in the 56th minute. Theo Walcott made it 3-0 in the 63rd minute with the win sealed by Santi Cazorla's 75th minute penalty. However, Arsenal added the icing on the cake in the final minute with a strike from Hector Bellerin.


The weekend ended with the match between Southampton and Swansea which saw the Saints leave Liverpool as the only unbeaten team in 2015 after an 83rd minute strike from Jonjo Shelvey sealed the win which ended badly for the hosts with the dismissal of Ryan Bertrand in the 89th minute.