QPR 2-2 Stoke
A game of two very similar halves at QPR: in both periods, the visitors swept in front then watched the hosts waste chances before equalising late on.
Harry Redknapp's side twice went behind through goals crafted by Victor Moses. Playing on the left of Stoke's 4-2-3-1, the Chelsea loanee attempted an unsurpassed 7 dribbles during the game, and in the 11th minute his cross picked out Peter Crouch, who beat Rio Ferdinand to nod down for Mame Biram Diouf to easily head home.
That didn't delight the locals, who seemed to have an issue with Stoke manager Mark Hughes on his first return to QPR since his sacking in November 2012, but Loftus was lifted just before half-time when Steven Caulker escaped Ryan Shawcross's marking to nod home Jordon Mutch's corner through a clutch of Potters on the goal-line.
Moses and Crouch had continued to combine, and in the 51st minute the Nigerian's cross was skilfully turned home left-footed by the boyhood QPR fan for his first goal since March. The home side then had the better of the game, although hardly overwhelmingly – they finished with 53.3% possession and 318 passes completed to Stoke's 280.
Where the Hoops did well exceed the Potters was in attempting, and missing, efforts on goal. Between the 45th and 83rd minutes, they had 8 attempts, 0 of which were on target – 2 were blocked, 6 wafted wide left or over Asmir Begovic's right-hand post. In all, QPR managed 21 shots on goal but only 5 on target – a 24% accuracy rate compared to Stoke's 50% (4 of 8 attempts on target).
The chief culprit was Niko Kranjcar, 0 of whose first 4 shots bothered Begovic; it's possible that the Croatian, playing at the tip of Redknapp's midfield diamond, may have been subbed had the home side not been forced into two switches through injuries to Barton and Jordon Mutch, along with the traditional introduction of Bobby Zamora. But the 30-year-old, whom Redknapp has signed four times, came up trumps in the 88th minute with a superb free-kick.
Match facts
- Mame Biram Diouf’s goal was the first that Stoke have scored before half-time in the Premier League this season (in their 5th game)
- After 10 Premier League appearances without a goal or assist, Peter Crouch scored and assisted for Stoke in this match.
- The last 3 occasions that Crouch has scored and assisted in the same Premier League match have come against former sides (Aston Villa twice, QPR)
- 6 of Steven Caulker’s 8 Premier League goals have been headers.
- Jordon Mutch's last 6 assists in the Premier League have come in home games (5 for Cardiff, 1 for QPR).
- Niko Kranjcar scored his first Premier League goal since February 2012.
- Kranjcar has now scored 3 Premier League goals against Stoke, making them his favourite opponents in the competition.
- Stoke are now unbeaten in their last 5 Premier League away games (W2 D3), their best run since April 2010 (6 games) and only the second time in PL history that they have gone 5 away games without defeat.
Aston Villa 0-3 Arsenal
Villa's run of difficult games started well with victory at Anfield, but after this home defeat they'll feel sick and tired. Literally, because having lost Nathan Baker and Darren Bent to a virus, they were forced to withdraw the vomiting Ashley Westwood during the warm-up and substitute Andy Weimann at half-time – while their visitors, having blitzed them with three goals in 105 seconds, punished them by using 71.9% possession to mount up 812 passes with a 90% completion rate.
Arsene Wenger had also tweaked his XI during the warm-up, with Alexis Sanchez withdrawn to the bench alongside Jack Wilshere. Aaron Ramsey (rather than Sanchez's replacement Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain) dropped deeper alongside Mikel Arteta, while Mesut Ozil was much more central than of late, often switching with Santi Cazorla.
The German No.11 completed 20 of his 21 last-third passes, combining particularly well with Danny Welbeck: each found the other 9 times, and just after the half-hour they exchanged assists for each other after typically thoughtful build-ups. First the striker sent the World Cup winner through to calmly slide past Brad Guzan; 80 seconds later the favour was returned with a left-wing pull-back finished first time for Welbeck's first Arsenal goal.
The £16 million signing from Manchester United has long had an excellent rate of ball retention, losing possession unusually infrequently for a striker and bringing his colleagues into the game; with Arsenal's cavorting cavalry of attacking midfielders, he has plenty of options to pick out, and at Villa he completed 31 of 32 passes – a 97% success rate.
As if two goals in 80 seconds weren't enough, 55 seconds later it was three as Kieran Gibbs's shot deflected off Aly Cissokho, and that was effectively game over: Welbeck had the Gunners' only on-target effort of the second half, again set up by Ozil. If he starts to show composure in front of goal and continues to link up well with those midfield runners going beyond him, Arsenal – and England – could have a really effective player.
Match facts
- Mesut Özil scored and assisted a goal in the space of 80 seconds.
- This is only the second occasion that Özil has scored and assisted in the same Premier League game.
- There were just 105 seconds separating Arsenal's 3 goals against Aston Villa.
- Arsenal benefitted from an own goal in a Premier League game for the first time since New Year's Day 2013.
- Danny Welbeck has scored 4 goals in his last 3 Premier League starts against Aston Villa. He has now scored more goals in the PL against Aston Villa (4) than any other opponent.
- Arsenal made more passes today (814) than in any Premier League game since April 2012 (828 vs Wolves).
- Aston Villa have attempted just 8 shots on target in 5 Premier League games this season, fewer than any other side.
Burnley 0-0 Sunderland
This match was always going to struggle not to be last on Match of the Day, and Burnley's third successive 0-0 leaves the Lancastrians still winless in the league and goalless in over eight hours of football in all competitions: they haven't troubled the scorers since the 14th minute of the season.
But wait, don't give up on it yet: this was one of the better 0-0s. The sides shared 31 attempts on goal, with half-a-dozen each on target – in Burnley's case, twice as many as they've managed in any other league match this season. And like last week's saved penalty at Crystal Palace, they had a golden chance to win it late on when Ashley Barnes hit the bar with five minutes left, which could have given Burnley the type of clean-sheet victory they celebrated 16 times last season.
Last season, Sean Dyche could rely upon league goals from Sam Vokes (20) and Danny Ings (21), but with Ings temporarily hamstrung and Vokes still out with ligament injury, Burnley's usual 4-4-2 paired Lukas Jutkiewicz with Marvin Sordell. Targetman Jutkiewicz topped the charts for aerial duels (winning 6 of 10), shots (3 of 6 on target) and final-third passes (completing 13 of 21), while nobody created more than his 3 chances – and he could have won a penalty in each half after being pushed by Wes Brown and felled by Emanuele Giaccherini.
Sordell, on the other hand, was all but anonymous before being withdrawn for Barnes on 63 minutes: 0 shots, poor ball retention – he received 15 passes and completed 6 – and little appetite for aerial duels, winning 1 of his 2; he also wasted a great chance when he failed to connect properly with Jutkiewicz's pull-back.
For their part, Sunderland had more possession (56.5%) and completed more passes (394 to Burnley's 264) but struggled to create clear-cut chances, despite the best intentions of Adam Johnson and Jack Rodwell. And when both sides threatened late on, the woodwork kept it scoreless: shortly after sub Barnes's deflected effort hit the bar, Van Aanholt's 35-yarder hit the post and bounced harmlessly off goalkeeper Tom Heaton to safety. Like the match, close but no cigar.
Match facts
- The Clarets got 6 shots on target in this game, twice as many as they have in any of their other Premier League matches this season.
- Burnley scored with their first shot on target in the Premier League this season, but haven't scored with any of their 14 since.
- Burnley have won just 1 of the last 13 matches in all competitions against Sunderland (W1 D6 L6).
- Burnley have become the first team to draw 3 Premier League games 0-0 in a row since Blackburn Rovers in December 2009.
- Sunderland are yet to win (4 points from 5 games) in 2014/15; last season they took only 1 point from their opening 8 Premier League games.
- Sunderland have failed to score in consecutive Premier League away games for the first time in 2014.
- There were 26 unblocked shots in this game – no Premier League goalless draw has seen more since Norwich 0-0 Cardiff (29) in October 2013.
Newcastle 2-2 Hull
The build-up was all about Pardew, but the result was all about Papiss. Senegalese striker Cisse, one of the big success stories of Alan Pardew's early Newcastle career, rose from the bench to rescue a point – and possibly Pardew's job – by scoring as many league goals in 15 minutes as he had in the previous 17 months.
Severely disgruntled home fans warned of a mass protest against Pardew, while boyhood black'n'white fan Steve Bruce must have had somewhat mixed feelings about heaping further misery on the Magpies.
In the event, despite a fifth-minute protest to mark the number of wins Newcastle have managed in 2014, the majority of the St James' Park crowd spent most of the game urging their side to come back from going two down to two wonderful goals.
For all the accusations of gutlessness, the home players certainly gave it their all. They rained in 25 shots on Allan McGregor's goal, using their 64% possession to tot up 480 completed passes – almost exactly twice Hull's 241 – and forced the visitors into making an eye-watering 60 clearances. Remy Cabella was at the heart of it, eventually completing 55 of 61 passes, although he faded after the break, making fewer than half as many passes as he had in the first period.
That second half contained all the goals, and Hull's were belters. Shortly after the break, Ahmed Elmohamady crossed for Nikica Jelavic's elastic scissors-kick – and when Mohamed Diame whacked a left-foot 20-yarder into the roof with 20 minutes left, the game looked up for Newcastle… and possibly Pardew.
Enter Cisse. Sent on for the underperforming Emmanuel Riviere in the immediate aftermath of the second goal, the Senegalese halved the debt within five minutes with an angled drive from Cheick Tiote's pass. Then with three minutes left, Moussa Sissoko's deep far-post ball was met by Yoann Gouffran's knock-down and Cisse slapped in an equaliser to spark huge celebration around St James' Park – and a reprieve for Pardew.
Match facts
- Nikica Jelavic has scored 3 goals in his last four Premier League appearances, after scoring 3 times in the previous 13.
- Only Geovanni (11) has scored more Premier League goals for the Tigers than Jelavic (7).
- Hull have scored at least once in 9 of their last 10 away league games.
- Jack Colback was caught offside in the 54th minute in this game, becoming the first Newcastle player to be caught offside in the league all season (in their 414th minute of action).
- Stephen Quinn has provided an assist in all 3 away league appearances this term.
- Mohamed Diame has scored in his first two Premier League appearances for Hull; he never managed to score in consecutive games in 167 apps for Wigan and West Ham.
- Papiss Cisse’s first goal was the second fastest by a substitute in the Premier League this term (excluding own goals).
- Cissé scored as many goals today as he had in his last 30 Premier League appearances (2).
- The Magpies came from two goals down to claim a point in the top-flight for the first time since the famous 4-4 draw with Arsenal in February 2011.
- 0 of the last 7 competitive meetings between Hull and Newcastle have ended as a home win (4 away wins and 3 draws).
- Alan Pardew’s side have conceded 2+ goals in 10 of their last 13 league games.
Swansea 0-1 Southampton
As Swans fans filed out of the Liberty after this defeat, they could be forgiven for feeling peculiar – assuming they weren't still seething with referee Jon Moss for sending off Wilfried Bony. They had just spent the second half watching Swansea get Swansead.
Bony's bone-headed decision to fly into a late tackle from behind on Maya Yoshida, having already been booked for a body-check on the same player, left the home side's outfield decimated – numerically in the Latin sense (removing 1 in 10) and tactically in the modern sense (removing a crucial portion without which the whole cannot function).
Despite being bereft of their focal striker from the 39th minute onwards, Swansea stuck with a 4-3-2-0 formation – and were dominated. Having out-passed Southampton before the break, completing 243 of 289 to the visitors' 113 of 159, they completed just 87 of 120 in the second half – while Saints racked up 330 of 355, a 93% completion rate. Although he replaced Nathan Dyer like-for-like with Jefferson Montero just before the hour, Garry Monk didn't bring on a striker until the 85th minute.
By that point, though, the Saints had done what they usually do on the road: score. In their last 16 league away games, only Aston Villa have held Southampton to nil, although you would have got good odds on the goalscorer.
Victor Wanyama hadn't scored in his first 27 Saints games and only came on because James Ward-Prowse picked up an injury, but after being fed by targetman Graziano Pelle he took his chance calmly to become the Premier League's first-ever Kenyan scorer – and send 10-point Saints into second place.
Match facts
- 5 of Swansea’s last 6 Premier League red cards have come at home; the other one came at Welsh rivals Cardiff.
- Victor Wanyama scored his first goal for Southampton.
- Wanyama became the first Kenyan player to score in the Premier League. Players from 91 different nations have now scored in the PL.
- Graziano Pelle has scored 3 goals and assisted 1 more in his last 3 Premier League appearances.
- Swansea have gone 377 minutes of league football without a goal against Southampton.
- Saints are unbeaten in 6 league meetings against Swansea now, winning 3 and drawing 3.
- There have been just 6 goals scored in the 5 Premier League meetings between Southampton and Swansea.
- Southampton have won 3 successive games for only the third time since returning to the Premier League in August 2012.
- 10 points from five games is Southampton’s best start to a top-flight season since 1988/89 (also 10).
West Ham 3-1 Liverpool
In his Bolton heyday, Sam Allardyce used to love welcoming teams like Liverpool for home games. The game plan would be to ruffle them up, maybe get a goal from a set-piece, then allow players like Jay-Jay Okocha and Youri Djorkaeff to play some attractive football.
Allardyce's recent signings for West Ham may not quite have that creative cachet, and he certainly doesn't enjoy the same support from the home stands, but there were few Hammers fans complaining after Liverpool were dispatched 3-1 in a confident performance inspired by some exciting new players. Alex Song expertly anchored the midfield – only Jordan Henderson contributed more ball recoveries, only Lucas Leiva won more tackles; ever-willing attacker Enner Valencia fired in 6 shots; Diafra Sakho scored an exquisite chip – assuming he meant it; and Morgan Amalfitano sealed a welcome win late on.
That said, the Irons hit Liverpool hard in the second minute with a typically Allardycian set-piece. Stewart Downing pinged a long free-kick beyond the back post, centre-back James Tomkins nodded back across and Winston Reid bundled in from close range. Shortly after, Mark Noble sent Sakho scampering through the inside-right channel and his effort eluded both Liverpool goalkeeper Simone Mignolet and the opportunistic Valencia, floating into the far corner.
Perhaps expecting an aerial onslaught, Brendan Rodgers had reintroduced Martin Skrtel to the back-line, but his presence hardly brought calm at the back. Halfway through the first period, Rodgers brought on Mamadou Sakho for struggling left-back Javier Manquillo; then the substitute clashed heads with Dejan Lovren, who required extensive treatment.
By that time Raheem Sterling had halved the deficit, reacting quickly after Mario Balotelli's majestic takedown and shot rebounded to the edge of the area. But the England flyer was subdued on the right, especially during a first half in which he completed just 5 passes. Rodgers tweaked things again at half-time, bringing on Adam Lallana for Lucas, but the former Southampton man would best be described as tidily ineffective, making just 12 passes.
Rodgers' usual last throw of the dice – throwing on Rickie Lambert, in this instance for the willing but underinspiring Fabio Borini – was immediately countered by Allardyce introducing James Collins for Valencia. At the end of a tiring, uninspiring week, Liverpool proved incapable of breaking West Ham down: from the 70th minute onward, they had just one shot, fired well wide by Skrtel from outside the box. Meanwhile, they were picked off on the break by Amalfitano's goal, created by an intelligent ball slipped through by Anfield reject Stewart Downing. It's been a bad week for Rodgers, but Allardyce won't care a jot.
Match facts
- Liverpool conceded 2 goals inside the opening 10 minutes of a single Premier League game for only the second time and for the first time since February 1994.
- Raheem Sterling has been involved in 9 goals (6 goals, 3 assists) in his last 10 Premier League appearances.
- Liverpool have lost 3 of their first 5 Premier League games of the season – only the second time that this has happened (2012/13 the previous occasion).
- Mario Balotelli has scored just 1 goal in his last 19 Premier League games, despite attempting 37 shots (excluding blocked) in these games.
- Stewart Downing has more assists this season in 5 games (3) than he did in the whole of 2013/14 (2 in 32 apps).
- Liverpool have set a new club top-flight record of scoring in 17 consecutive away games.
- West Ham have only kept 1 clean sheet in their last 17 Premier League games.
