The Barclays English Premier League table is continuing to take shape and a number of clubs positioned themselves as contenders to Arsenal over the weekend, as the Gunners continued to lead the table while Chelsea and Manchester City are chasing the top club after wins on Sunday, with the Blues winning over Southampton and Man City defeating Swansea City.
The first game on Sunday had Tottenham and Manchester United play to a draw early with Wayne Rooney scoring two goals and they ended up being very important, as the team was down 2-1 against the Spurs before Rooney put in a penalty. Kyle Walker got the scoring started for the Spurs and Rooney tied things up before Sandro scored a goal and then Rooney gave Man United the draw later in the match at the 57th minute. Hull City upset Liverpool with a 3-1 score that was surprising and the club could only get one goal from Steven Gerrard and they were unable to gain any ground on the table.
Chelsea was impressive against Southampton after going down early on a quick goal, as the team got scores from Gary Cahill, John Terry and then later Demba Ba for the 3-1 and they put themselves in better position to challenge Arsenal for the top spot. Chelsea allowed a goal 13 second into the match and now they are behind the Gunners by four points and the match between Manchester City and Swansea City was also one sided. Man City had a goal eight minutes in and added two in the second half from Samir Nasri to take the 3-0 victory.
Arsenal is first on the Premier League table with 31 points, Chelsea is second with 27 points, while Manchester City is third with 25 points, one ahead of Liverpool.
Check here for the table standings for the EPL.
Wayne Rooney equalized twice for United in a 2-2 draw at Tottenham Hotspur which left them nine points off the pace and Liverpool, who began the day in second, endured a miserable afternoon, going down 3-1 at Hull City and hearing that striker Daniel Sturridge will be out for around eight weeks.
Struggling Fulham predictably sacked Martin Jol and Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas, himself in the media spotlight after his team's faltering form, showed the strain with a rant at his post-match news conference.
Chelsea and Manchester City offered compelling evidence that they will lead the pursuit of leaders Arsenal and champions Manchester United lost further ground on a Sunday that brought the third managerial casualty of the Premier League season.
Jose Mourinho's Chelsea recovered from conceding a goal after 13 seconds at home to Southampton, scoring three times in the second half to win 3-1 and close the gap on Arsenal to four points with a third of the season gone.
Free-scoring Man City are third, two points further adrift, after spanking Swansea City 3-0 to take their home goal tally to 16 in their last three games. Seven minutes later Terry celebrated his 400th Premier League appearance with a towering header before striker Demba Ba rounded off the victory with a late third. City were not quite as rampant as they were in a 7-0 win over Norwich and a 6-0 drubbing of Tottenham last week but they were too strong for a Swansea side missing leading strikers Michu and Wilfried Bony.
Alvaro Negredo curled in an eighth-minute free kick to give City the lead, although they had to wait until the second half to secure the points through Nasri's brace.
City's task is to emulate their home form on the road where they have been woeful, starting at West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday when Chelsea go to Sunderland and Arsenal host Hull. Under pressure Spurs boss Villas-Boas accused reporters of having an agenda against after his side's draw with United, a verbal spat that overshadowed an improved showing by his side after their humiliation at Man City.
Kyle Walker fired Spurs in front after 18 minutes with a free kick that went under United's four-man wall but Rooney showcased his poacher's instinct to level after 32 following a dreadful mistake by Walker.
United manager David Moyes said he was concerned that the gap to Arsenal was growing. Villas-Boas, whose side remained ninth but only three points off the top four, praised his side but spent most of his news conference arguing with a journalist. Hull, who had never beaten Liverpool, opened the scoring on 20 minutes thanks to a huge slice of good fortune, Jake Livermore's shot from distance cannoning off the boot of Martin Skrtel and looping over keeper Simon Mignolet.
Liverpool leveled thanks to a curling free kick from Steven Gerrard but their lacklustre performance was punished in the second half when David Meyler latched on to a loose ball and buried it into the bottom corner. Skrtel deflected in a Tom Huddlestone shot with three minutes remaining to wrap up the points for Hull.
(Reuters)
