Because of the midweek games, I decided to do a two for one on the recaps this week. Here is what happened in the 20 league matches from the 6th to the 11th of April.
April 6th-8th
Swansea 0-2 Newcastle
Papiss Cisse has easily been the best January signing in the league and his brace gave Newcastle another win, while Swansea dropped their second in a row.
Sunderland 0-0 Tottenham
I’ll save everyone some time and just say that this was a pretty boring game that lacked chances and creativity. Neither team got anything going and both left with a point.
Bolton 0-3 Fulham
Clint Dempsey scored twice, one a curling free kick, and handed out an assist (for Mahamadou Diarra) to give Fulham the away win. Just when it seemed like Bolton was about to gain momentum and stay up, they respond with a 3-0 home defeat. Owen Coyle’s men have to do better than that.
Chelsea 2-1 Wigan
Anyone watching this match had to feel for Wigan. They came to Stamford Bridge to win and looked like they were at least going to get a draw when Mohamed Diame let loose a left footed rocket to tie it up after Branislav Ivanovic wrongly (he was offside) gave Chelsea the lead. Wigan hung on and could’ve scored again but it was Juan Mata who was there to bundle in Fernando Torres’ spectacular volley that caromed off the post. Both teams needed wins and Chelsea was lucky to get one.
Liverpool 1-1 Aston Villa
What do you know, yet another home draw for Liverpool. This time it was the struggling Aston Villa who came in and got a point. Chris Herd gave the Villains the lead inside of ten minutes and it took until the 81st for Luis Suarez to snatch the equalizer.
Norwich 2-2 Everton
Everton finally climbed all the way up the table and actually jumped their rivals, Liverpool, in the standings with their win last weekend. On Saturday they would travel to Norwich and get a draw. Nikica Jelavic gave the Toffees the lead twice, on either side of a Jonathan Howson goal, but Grant Holt rose to the occasion and preserved a draw for his side with a goal in the 75th minute.
West Brom 3-0 Blackburn
West Brom hit Blackburn right in the mouth in this game and forced the away side to remain in the relegation zone. Goals from Marc-Antoine Fortune and Liam Ridgewell, coupled with the earlier own goal by Martin Olsson, gave West Brom the three goals to go along with the three points.
Stoke 2-1 Wolves
This has to be the death nail for Wolves as they lose yet another match, this time at Stoke. Michael Kightly actually got the opener for Wolves but Robert Huth and Peter Crouch reversed the scoreline to give Stoke the victory.
Manchester United 2-0 QPR
The United train kept rolling along on Sunday with another professional performance. Their first goal came on a Wayne Rooney penalty that was given when Ashley Young went down incredibly easy and the QPR captain, Sean Derry, was sent off for the challenge. Oh, plus Young was offside. Nonetheless, QPR hung for a while but you just knew the Red Devils weren’t giving this one away. Paul Scholes added a screamer to the lead and pushed United’s advantage in the table to eight points.
Arsenal 1-0 Manchester City
That United lead would stay at eight after Manchester City failed to get anything at the Emirates and looked sluggish in attack all afternoon. It took until the 87th minute but Mikel Arteta’s rocket gave the Gunners a well-earned victory to regain third place in the table. City’s title hopes are toast. By the way, Mario Balotelli was sent off again. Typical.
April 9th-11th
Everton 4-0 Sunderland
After a scoreless first half, Everton broke loose and put four past Sunderland in the second. The four goals came from four different scorers, Magaye Gaye, Steven Pienaar, Leon Osman, and Victor Anichebe. This means that Everton will stay ahead of Liverpool in the table heading into their FA Cup semi-final clash.
Newcastle 2-0 Bolton
With this 2-0 win, Newcastle drew level on points with Tottenham for fourth place. To their credit, Bolton played well, and really should’ve scored at some point in the second half. But, Hatem Ben Arfa scored the first of the match after an unreal run through the entire Bolton defense. Papiss Cisse, of course, scored again and sealed the win for Newcaslte.
Tottenham 1-2 Norwich
Spurs cannot lose to Norwich at home if they want that last Champions League spot. Norwich came in and played great, with Anthony Pilkington getting the opener. The away side then had a penalty shout at one end, and maybe should’ve got the call, but seconds later Jermaine Defoe put the ball in the back of the net to level. Both clubs created chances in the second half, including a great Gareth Bale run and shot that rattled the crossbar. Elliott Bennett would be the hero for Norwich, though, as he smashed home the winner in the 66th minute.
Aston Villa 1-1 Stoke
Villa is trying to stay clear of the relegation fight while Stoke is comfortably in the mid table for yet another season. A draw seemed fair on the night and Andreas Weimann, for Aston Villa, and Robert Huth, for Stoke, got the goals for their respective clubs.
Fulham 1-1 Chelsea
Chelsea really needed three points here but left with one when Clint Dempsey (again) scored late to salvage a draw for Fulham. Frank Lampard gave Chelsea the lead right before halftime with a penalty, low and to the left as usual, after Salomon Kalou was brought down. Dempsey’s late header gave him 16 league goals on the season and makes him, quite possibly, the most in-form player in the EPL.
Blackburn 2-3 Liverpool
This was a win the Liverpool had to have and they looked well on their way after two Maxi Rodriguez goals inside of 15 minutes. Then the match got strange. Doni, who was starting in goal for Pepe Reina, was sent off and third string keeper, Brad Jones came on to face Yakubu on the penalty shot. Jones saved the terrible penalty but Yakubu wasn’t done on this night. The Nigerian’s header cut the lead in half before halftime. In the second half, it was another strange goalkeeping mistake as Jones hit Yakubu with a clearance and in the ensuing fight for the ball, Jones fouled Yakubu and another penalty was given. This time the Yak put it away for 2-2. This would’ve been a great draw for Blackburn but Andy Carroll ended up the hero with a header to win in the 90th minute for Liverpool.
Wigan 1-0 Manchester United
The title race is possibly back on after Wednesday’s results. Wigan’s 1-0 defeat of United was well deserved. Shaun Maloney got the lone goal, and what a goal it was. He picked up the ball off a short corner and took advantage of the space he was given and curled a shot past David de Gea. It seemed like one of those games where the Red Devils would score late and break Wigan’s hearts but the goal never came. Roberto Martinez got his win of the season just at the right time.
Manchester City 4-0 West Brom
City responded well to the disappointing loss at Arsenal on Saturday with a 4-0 thrashing of West Brom on Wednesday. Carlos Tevez got his first start since returning to the club and actually looked pretty good. City put on their best attacking display in awhile with Sergio Aguero leading said attack. He scored the first two while Tevez got his first goal after returning to the club. David Silva looked back on form and added the fourth goal with a great chip over Ben Foster. Back on track and maybe back in the race.
Wolves 0-3 Arsenal
Wolves were pretty much down already but after this match there was no question who would finish at the bottom of the table. The home side was down to ten men and down a goal inside of ten minutes when Sebastian Bassong brought down Theo Walcott for a penalty that Robin van Persie put away. Walcott then doubled the lead with a nice finish. Yossi Benayoun got on the score sheet in the second half to make it three for Arsenal on the night and three points in the bag.
QPR 3-0 Swansea
If Swansea isn’t careful, they themselves may get dragged into the relegation battle. QPR is looking like they might stay up after a couple of decent performances lately. Joey Barton’s first half goal, combined with Jamie Mackie and Akos Buzsaky’s goals in the second half, gave the home team a comprehensive, 3-0 win.
It has been a wild few days in the Premier League and the games don’t stop this weekend with the FA Cup semi’s and six Premier League matches. It is just five to go now, though, and the tension is palpable in every match.
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