Winners and Losers from Saturday's Premier League Games
Week 12 of the Premier League began on Saturday with six fixtures—packed with controversy, goals and talking points aplenty.
With the game of the weekend—Manchester United vs. Arsenal—not being played out until Sunday, it gave the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea a chance to cut the deficit at the top of the table.
Ahead of the international break, clubs had a chance to lay down a marker ahead of the Christmas period, and some did not disappoint. Some however, left their fans disappointed and will be frustrated heading into the next round of international fixtures.
Here, Bleacher Report takes a look at the biggest winners and losers from Saturday's batch of fixtures, with plenty of controversial bases covered throughout.
Agree? Disagree? Get involved with the debate by leaving your comments below.
Winner: Luis Suarez (Liverpool)
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Liverpool again underlined their title credentials on Saturday with a thumping victory over a struggling Fulham side. And, whilst the early part of the season was exciting enough, the return of Luis Suarez has made things mouthwatering for Liverpool fans.
Suarez now has a staggering eight goals this campaign—despite missing the first six games of it due to suspension. He got another brace on Saturday, and things are looking rosy for the Anfield club going into the international break.
His partnership with Daniel Sturridge is getting stronger by the week, and with the huge derby against Everton next up after the break—a game in which Suarez will thrive—expect Liverpool to keep the pressure up at the top.
Loser: Martin Jol (Fulham)
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Whilst Liverpool were undoubtedly excellent value for their 4-0 victory, Fulham were visibly poor. They are seriously struggling at the moment, and the pressure is growing on manager Martin Jol.
With Norwich getting a vital win to ease the pressure on Chris Hughton, Jol is now a firm favourite in many people's eyes to be the next manager to lose his job in the Premier League.
Defeat to Liverpool is certainly no reason to be sacked, but the performance was abject and 4-0 does not make good reading for any Fulham fan.
If Stoke avoid defeat against Swansea today, then the men from Craven Cottage will be in the bottom three going into the international break.
Jol needs a quick turnaround of results if he is to salvage Fulham's season—and his own job.
Winner: Mauricio Pochettino (Southampton)
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Southampton continue to impress in the Premier League, and they rolled over Hull with a 4-1 victory to keep their brilliant form going.
Not content with playing well and picking up victories, they are doing it with a core of English players, which makes them a credit to the Premier League.
Credit must also go to Mauricio Pochettino for that too. Southampton have spent a great deal of money as they look to become a top Premier League side, but Pochettino has stuck with the likes of Luke Shaw, Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana.
He even managed to avoid the curse of being named manager of the month in the Premier League on Saturday too.
It's fantastic to see Southampton's English-driven side doing so well, and long may it continue.
Losers: West Ham United
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With all the talk of pressure at the likes of Norwich and Fulham, West Ham's dismal start to the season seems to be slipping under the radar.
Saturday's 3-1 defeat against the Canaries means it is just two league wins all season for Sam Allardyce's men, and they could drop to fourth-bottom should results go against them on Sunday.
Is Allardyce under pressure? They have only scored nine goals all season and look in desperate need for Andy Carroll to return as soon as possible.
The emergence of Ravel Morrison has been a positive to their season so far, but West Ham may find themselves embroiled in a relegation dogfight before too long.
Winner: Adam Lallana (Southampton)
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Yes, it's another mention for Southampton, but boy does Adam Lallana deserve a mention.
Roy Hodgson finally summoned Lallana back into the international fold, and surely he will get his debut against Chile on Friday night for the country.
He has been with Southampton through the lows of League One and now captains a side who sit third in the Premier League. Lallana's story is a great one, and his performances continue to impress.
Lallana's goal was of the highest quality on Saturday—a Cruyff turn left his marker for dead before he slotted home with pure style—all in front of the England manager, who was watching in the crowd.
If Southampton are to challenge for Europe this season, then their captain will continue to play a key role. At this moment in time, he is one of the best midfielders in the division.
Loser: Andre Marriner
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Without doubt the biggest talking point of the day came at Stamford Bridge.
West Bromwich Albion were superb value for a massive upset when they led Chelsea 2-1 in stoppage time. Referee Andre Marriner then took centre stage, as he awarded Chelsea a ludicrous penalty.
To give a penalty for nothing more than a coming together between Steven Reid and Ramires was an appalling decision and robbed the Baggies of two points that could be telling come the end of the season.
It will only add more fuel to the suggestion that bigger clubs seem to get decisions in their favour at home—and Marriner could well be enjoying an outing in the Football League after that horror decision.
Chelsea will not be complaining though, as they salvaged their unbeaten home league record under Jose Mourinho with that last-gasp goal.
