"Luis Suárez could fall over and still score and that's a terrible scenario for us."
On weekend seven of the Premier League, the bigwigs were in action with Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and United all registering key wins.
Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at Anfield to move level on points with Arsenal. The Gunners were held to a 1-1 draw away from home to West Bromwich Albion.
Chelsea beat Norwich City 3-1, while Tottenham were beaten 0-3 at home by West Ham United. Champions Manchester United came from behind to beat Sunderland 2-1.
Manchester City climbed to fifth in the points table after beating Everton 3-1. Loïc Remy scored twice as Newcastle United defeated Cardiff City 2-1.
Fulham sealed a 1-0 home win against Stoke City 1-0, while Southampton clinched a 2-0 win over Swansea City. Hull City grabbed a point at home to Aston Villa in a scoreless draw.
Manchester City 3 Everton 1 – 12.45pm KO, Saturday
Manchester City beat Everton 3-1 at home to climb to fifth position in the English Premier League. Manchester City had won just one of their last eight meetings against Everton and the early signs were not so good as on loan Chelsea-man Romelu Lukaku gave Toffees the lead in the 16th minute.
But within a minute Manchester City were level, as Álvaro Negredo slotted home neatly from a Yaya Touré assist. Sergio Agüero’s brace to follow helped Manchester City hand Everton their first loss of the season in a 3-1 win.
It was a much needed win for Manchester City after their midweek defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Liverpool 3 Crystal Palace 1 – 3pm KO, Saturday
Liverpool retained their second position in the points table after beating Crystal Palace 3-1 at Anfield.
Luis Suárez playing his first game at home since returning from a ten match ban opened the scoring for Liverpool in dogged style in the 13th minute. Eight minutes later The Reds were 2-0 up after some magic football from Daniel Sturridge.
Despite a slight recovery by the visitors, it was all Liverpool. Raheem Sterling won a penalty which Steven Gerrard coolly slotted, helping Liverpool to seal the deal. Gerrard’s goal made him the club record holder for scoring in fifteen consecutive seasons.
Despite a consolation goal from substitute Dwight Gayle, Liverpool eventually won the game 3-1.
Crystal Palace manager, Ian Holloway said after the match: “We just got one or two things wrong and this level is so unforgiving. Luis Suárez could fall over and still score and that’s a terrible scenario for us.”
Suárez has scored nineteen goals in his last twenty-two Liverpool games, while Sturridge has nineteen in twenty-five appearances since joining Liverpool in January.
Sunderland 1 Manchester United 2 – 5.30pm KO, Saturday
Adnan Januzaj scored twice as Manchester United beat Sunderland 2-1 away from home.
Craig Gardner shocked Manchester United by giving Sunderland the lead inside the opening five minutes. Manchester United equalised in the 54th minute through some brilliance by eighteen-year-old Januzaj who was playing his first competitive game for The Red Devils.
And five minutes later the teenager lit up the Stadium of Light with a spectacular volley, helping Manchester United end a run of two straight losses to register only their third win of the season. A great way for Januzaj to mark his full debut.
West Bromwich Albion 1 Arsenal 1 – 1.30pm KO, Sunday
Arsenal continued to stay top of the English Premier League, courtesy of a Jack Wilshere equaliser. League leaders Arsenal got a shock in their away game to West Bromwich Albion, as The Baggies went ahead through a header by Claudio Yacob in the 42nd minute.
The Gunners levelled in the second half thanks to a goal from Wilshere. The England midfielder scored his first Premier League goal in almost three years as Arsenal extended their unbeaten run to eleven matches in all competitions and stayed top of the points table.
Arsenal goes into the international fixtures break ahead of Liverpool on goals difference. Fearing the international break, a Facebook post from an Arsenal fan in Pakistan said:
“If you have been watching Arsenal for past few years, you should know that International break always come to ruin our momentum and leave us with injuries to our important players.”
Tottenham Hotspur 0 West Ham United 3 – 4pm KO, Sunday
Tottenham Hotspur’s fall from grace couldn’t have hurt more than if they had lost at home in a London derby.
As good as Tottenham’s defence is, their forward line is letting them down. Jermaine Defoe couldn’t convert any of the several chances that came his way for Spurs. His first Premier League start this season could be the reason.
After going in 0-0 at the interval, the goals didn’t fly in until after the hour mark. Winston Reid put West Ham United ahead. Ricardo Vaz Tê doubled West Ham’s lead with eighteen minutes remaining.
The headlines however, belonged to twenty-year-old Ravel Morrison. His solo effort came about from running through the Spurs half and executing a fine chip for West Ham’s third.
This was West Ham’s first win at White Hart Lane since 1999 against a Spurs side who had only conceded twice before the match.
Norwich City 1 Chelsea 3 – 4pm KO, Sunday
Chelsea overcame Norwich City 3-1 away from home, as Willian scored on his debut for Chelsea.
Chelsea took just four minutes to open the scoring against Norwich City with a goal from Oscar. It took until the 68th minute for Norwich City to equalise through Anthony Pilkington.
With five minutes to go Eden Hazard squeezed the ball under the goalkeeper to help The Blues regain the lead.
One minute later in the 85th minute talented substitute Willian made a blazing impact to score his first goal for Chelsea on his debut. Thus Chelsea registered their first away win of the season with a 3-1 victory.
A jubilant Chelsea fan from India tweeted: “Never underestimate José Mourinho!”
Elsewhere Fulham claimed three valuable points after beating Stoke City 1-0 at Craven Cottage. Southampton moved to 4th position after their 2-0 win over Swansea City.
Following a brief international break, the English Premier League returns to action on 19 October 2013.
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