A week of much needed wins

We are past the halfway line of the season and Christmas is over. In other words, the hard work begins in the business end of the season. iSport’s Pulasta Dhar does a round-up of Gameweek 22 of the Premiership….

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LIVERPOOL vs STOKE CITY

Liverpool needed a win….desperately!! The club is in absolute shambles and a victory was the only thing needed to get some hope injected into the Merseyside club. But football can be cruel and Liverpool know that very well. Into the dying seconds of the match, Robert Huth poked in a goal to cancel out Kyrgiakos’s first Liverpool goal in the Premier League. 1-1 to Stoke and Liverpool are almost out of Champion’s League contention too.

CHELSEA vs SUNDERLAND

Sunderland are a much better team than the scoreline said. 7-2 in abominable! If I try and describe every goal of this match, I will need to write a new article. Well, let fellow Chelsea fan and iSporter Suraj do that and underline his team’s title credentials. To be short and sweet, Lampard and Anelka scored a brace with Ashley Cole, Ballack and Malouda adding more sweeteners. The pick of the goals would go to Cole who was simply stunning on the left hand side of the pitch. Sunderland got 2 goals to take home which came from Zenden and Bent.

MANCHESTER UTD vs BURNLEY

The first match of the season was replayed this time at Old Trafford. They often say that you cannot hold on forever at the Theatre of Dreams, no matter how well you play. United were lazy in the first half but pushed on the pedal in the second and got their rewards in a match which Burnley did not deserve to lose 3-0. Berbatov’s classy finish was followed by a Rooney goal. Antonio Valencia was a threat throughout 90 minutes and is United are slowly forgetting Ronaldo. His brilliant long ball set up Mame Biram Diouf’s first United goal as he headed over a stranded Jansen before doing a back-flip.

TOTTENHAM vs HULL CITY

Myhill and Gardner were the two reasons why Hull managed to escape from an inevitable loss. Spurs were on them all the time but the Tigers managed to get a few counter attacks only to be stopped by the towering Dawson every time they entered the box. 0-0 was the final score and a bad result for Spurs, especially since Man City and Liverpool also dropped points.

WOLVES vs WIGAN

The two W’s clashed and it was a good battle from both the sides. Rodallega missed a penalty but set up 2 goals for his team, one from McCarthy and the other a superb individual effort from the in-demand Charles N’Zogbia. A much needed away win for Wigan and a bad loss at home for the Wolves.

EVERTON vs MAN CITY

Mancini tasted defeat for the first time in his reign as City manager. Moyes had fearlessly criticized City in his program notes and got an extremely well deserved result. Everton dominated proceedings as Robinho wasted chances and was taken off even after being put on as a sub. Sure to get the rumour mills started eh? Pienaar is in hot form and scored a goal while Saha continued from his scoring run in a good return to first team football. 2-0 to Everton and it will do a world of good for the blue side of Merseyside.

ASTON VILLA vs WEST HAM

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The Hammers were waiting for an impending take over and the players wanted to prove that Zola is a good guy to keep as manager. Both the teams were excellent in attack and defense but Robert Green stood out as the best performer for an excellent job between the sticks. Under pressure Zola will be happy with this away draw, especially given the credentials Villa now have. 0-0 this one.

BLACKBURN vs FULHAM

It was a week of much needed wins and Blackburn showed what playing on the set piece means. A goal from a corner and a freekick proved too much for Fulham, even though Clint Dempsey showed some fantastic touches. He was brilliant! The lows of the match were Dempsey and Konchesky both taken off injured and this will be a massive loss to the London club. 2-0 to Blackburn and Big Sam was beaming!

BOLTON vs ARSENAL

Bolton are a good team at home and tough to beat. But when you have a player the quality of Fabregas, nothing can stop you! His return was marked by a good goal from the Spaniard and he was the nerve center of all the attacks on Jaaskelainen, most of which he thwarted. The Bolton goalie had a great game but Fran Merida, touted as the next Fabregas put the game out of reach with a well taken finish to give Arsenal a 2-0 win and put them one win close to number one spot on the table.