It was another wild week of Premier League action as we approach the midway point of the Premier League campaign. Matchweek 18 marked the beginning of the festive fixtures, which will see 40 matches played in 12 days time.
The festive period officially began on Friday with the kickoff of Liverpool v. Wolves. Wolves, riding a three game winning streak, were looking to slow down Liverpool's high flying offense at home. However, this is much easier said than done. It was Liverpool who got off on the front foot, through a great finish in the box by Mo Salah. Despite Wolves' attacking pressure, they failed to score, and the game was essentially killed off when world class center back Virgil Van Dijk got on the end of a Salah cross in the 68' minute to double the lead. Liverpool secured their league-leading 11th clean sheet of the season, and secured their spot atop the Premier League table at Christmas. The team that has been top of the league at Christmas has gone on to win the league each of the last four seasons. The last time the team that was top of the league failed to do so was none other than Liverpool in 2013-2014.
With Liverpool already securing three points, Manchester City knew they would have to beat Crystal Palace at home in order to remain just one point behind the leaders. City hit the front in the 27' through Ilkay Gundogan, and it looked like it would be smooth sailing for the defending champions yet again. However, Palace responded through a tremendous solo effort by Jeffrey Schlupp just six minutes later. The Eagles continued to pressure City, and just two minutes after the equalizer, Andros Townsend produced what was easily one of the goals of the season. After a headed clearance by Bernardo Silva, Townsend connected with a thunderous volley with his left foot that flew past Ederson, giving him no chance. Palace took their lead into halftime, and continued to pressure in the second half. Soon after the break, Townsend got on the end of a cross, but his header came back out off of the post. However, Max Meyer was first to react, and City's Kyle Walker made a rash challenge, brining the winger down in the box and thus giving away a penalty. Palace captain Luka Milivojevic calmly buried the penalty, giving his side a two-goal advantage. City pushed and found a second goal through a cross-turned-shot by Kevin De Bruyne, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit. Palace held on for a massive win in Manchester, which helps to distance themselves from the drop zone. This loss marks City's second in their last three matches after an undefeated first 15 matches, and leaves them four points off of the leaders.
Chelsea played host to Leicester City on Saturday, but things didn't quite go according to plan for Maurizio Sarri's men. Chelsea had the better of chances in the first half, and went close when Eden Hazard struck the crossbar. It was Leicester that came out stronger in the second half, though, when James Maddison cleverly found Jamie Vardy, who finished emphatically past Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa. Leicester were able to hold on for their first win in four matches, which powers them back into the top half of the table. Chelsea remind fourth, even on points with Arsenal.
Arsenal played host to struggling Burnley. It didn't take long for Arsenal to hit the front, and the opening goal came through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, as he got on the end of a Sead Kolasinac cross. Aubameyang netted his second of the match just after halftime after good work from his strike partner Alexandre Lacazette. Burnley pulled one back through Ashley Barnes, but it would prove to not be enough to get anything from the match. Alex Iwobi added a third for Arsenal in stoppage time. Burnley remain in the relegation zone on 12 points, two points from safety.
Tottenham traveled to Everton on Sunday looking to keep pace with Liverpool and City. Spurs have always enjoyed playing in Everton, specifically star striker Harry Kane, who had scored a brace in each of his last three trips to Goodison Park. However, it was the home side that found the net first, through former-Arsenal attacker Theo Walcott. Spurs responded quickly though, as red-hot Son Hueng-Min pounced on a mix-up between Jordan Pickford and Kurt Zouma to equalize. Spurs continued with their momentum as Dele Alli found the net on a rebound and then Kane did the same just before halftime to take a 3-1 lead into the break. Christian Eriksen joined the party three minutes into the second half, with a powerful volley from outside the box. Glyfi Sigurdsson pulled one back for Everton three minutes after that, but Spurs killed the game off with second goals by Son and Kane, respectively. The match ended 6-2 and Kane was able to extend his streak to an impressive four away matches in a row with a brace against Everton. Spurs remain six points behind Liverpool and two points behind City.
Manchester United traveled to Cardiff City in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first match in charge of the Red Devils. Cardiff City had won four of their last five home matches, and United were looking to respond after a poor showing against Liverpool. Solskjaer restored certain players that seemed to be out of favor with departed manager Jose Mourinho, namely Phil Jones and Paul Pogba. United looked like a brand new team. They came out flying, and Marcus Rashford exposed Cardiff goalkeeper Neil Etheridge's early movement on a free kick just three minutes in to give United the lead. United found a second goal with Ander Herrera's shot deflected in past a helpless Etheridge. Cardiff were offered a lifeline when Marcus Rashford handled the ball in the penalty area, and Victor Camarasa confidently dispatched the penalty into the top corner. However, it was Anthony Martial who restored United's lead just four minutes later, as he finished off a brilliant passing move. Jesse Lingard had a big second half, scoring a penalty in the 57' and then finishing United's fifth off of an assist from Paul Pogba. Martial has eight goals on the season and Pogba now has five assists.
West Ham played host to Watford looking for their fifth win on the bounce on Saturday. The Hornets showed well for themselves. Watford found the breakthrough when Ricardo Pereyra made inroads into the West Ham penalty area, but was brought down West Ham's Fabian Balbuena. Captain Troy Deeney proceeded to smash the penalty into the top corner to give Watford the lead. West Ham came close to equalizing multiple times, as Michail Antonio fired a shot against the woodwork and Ben Foster registered a handfull of formidable saves in the Watford net. Pereyra continued to be the catalyst for Watford, and he linked up with Gerard Deulefou late in the second on a beautiful one-two, which Deulefou finished off calmly. The 2-0 elevates the Hornets to seventh, two points behind Manchester United.
Bournemouth played host to Brighton as they looked to right the ship after back-to-back losses. Bournemouth's young talent David Brooks continued to established himself as a promising and capable player after the south coast club bought him from Sheffield United during the summer. Brooks curled a shot past Maty Ryan to give The Cherries the lead in the 21'. In the second half, Brighton captain and England international Lewis Dunk was sent off after receiving a second yellow card. Soon after, Ryan Fraser delivered an enticing ball into the box, which Brooks supplied a brilliant flicked header to in order to loop the ball over Ryan and into the net to double Bournemouth's lead. Asmir Begovic and company held onto their 5ht clean sheet of the season, and raise to 8th after the victory. Brighton remain 13th after their 3rd consecutive loss.
Huddersfield Town hosted Southampton in what was an important match in the bottom half of the table. Southampton, coming off of new manager Ralph Husenhuttl's first match in charge, looked to make it two in two for their new boss. Southampton started the more promising, and were rewarded when Nathan Redmond smashed in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's perfectly-weighted through ball for his first goal of the season. Then, in the 42', Danny Ings was brought down in the box by a Huddersfield defender. He then promptly stepped up and slide the penalty into the bottom corner for 2-0. Huddersfield cut the deficit in half when Phillip Billing, who is known for his ability to strike a ball, let fly from distance. The knuckle on the ball helped it find its way past goalkeeper Alex McCarthy, who probably could have done better. McCarthy, though, made up for it by making a couple important stops for his side when the match was poised at 2-1. It was young forward Michael Obafemi who sealed the match in the 71' with his first career Premier League goal. This victory takes Southampton up to 16th and sees them three points clear of the relegation zone. Huddersfield sit in 19th, four points from safety.
Newcastle and Fulham met on Saturday in another match that may prove pivotal at the bottom of the table. The match proved to highlight each team's struggle to score goals, as each team struggled to create real, clear-cut chances. Each side had shouts for penalties. In the first half, Matt Ritchie fired a shot which was blocked and then careened onto the arm of Callum Chambers, but his arm was pulled into his body. In the second half, Solomon Rondon ended up on the ground after jumping to try to get on the end of a cross, but there really wasn't anything in it. Late in the match, former Newcastle striker Aleksander Mitrovic, now applying his trade for Fulham, fired a shot which was blocked by a combination of two sliding Fulham defenders. Despite Mitrovic's fervent claims for handball, referee Martin Atkinson rightly waved it away. The match ended in a scoreless draw, which sees Newcastle remain five points above the relegation zone. Fulham, despite keeping their first clean sheet of the season, remain rooted to the bottom of the table and are four points from safety.
Teams will now turn their attention to the midweek fixtures. The majority of matches will be played on Wednesday 26 December, better known as Boxing Day. Southampton and West Ham will wait an extra day to battle on Thursday. After this next set of matches, the Premier League season will be halfway over. It's been wildly entertaining thus far, but it promises to only get better, as both the title race and the relegation battle will heat up as the season goes on.
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