Premier League Table: Updated 2014 EPL Standings Following Matchday 8 Results
Chelsea kept their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table intact on Saturday, as they beat Crystal Palace 2-1 after Manchester City's 4-1 win over Tottenham earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, West Ham moved themselves up into the Champions League spots by prevailing 3-1 over Burnley at Turf Moor.
Here are the updated standings in the English top flight:
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| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Chelsea | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 8 | 15 | 22 |
| 2 | Man City | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 17 |
| 3 | Southampton | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 5 | 14 | 16 |
| 4 | West Ham | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 13 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 13 |
| 6 | Man Utd | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 12 |
| 7 | Arsenal | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 11 |
| 8 | Swansea | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 11 |
| 9 | Tottenham | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 11 | -1 | 11 |
| 10 | Stoke | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 9 | -1 | 11 |
| 11 | Hull City | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 10 |
| 12 | A Villa | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 12 | -8 | 10 |
| 13 | Everton | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 9 |
| 14 | W Brom | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 11 | -1 | 9 |
| 15 | Leicester | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 13 | -2 | 9 |
| 16 | C Palace | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 14 | -3 | 8 |
| 17 | Sunderland | 8 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 15 | -7 | 8 |
| 18 | Newcastle | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 7 |
| 19 | Burnley | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 13 | -9 | 4 |
| 20 | QPR | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 18 | -12 | 4 |
Southampton's 8-0 drubbing of Sunderland stands out amongst the results from Matchday 8:
| Manchester City | 4 - 1 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Arsenal | 2 - 2 | Hull City |
| Burnley | 1 - 3 | West Ham United |
| Crystal Palace | 1 - 2 | Chelsea |
| Everton | 3 - 0 | Aston Villa |
| Southampton | 8 - 0 | Sunderland |
| Newcastle United | 1 - 0 | Leicester City |
| QPR | 2 - 3 | Liverpool |
| Stoke | 2 - 1 | Swansea |
| West Brom | 2 - 2 | Manchester United |
Monday Update
West Brom 2-2 Manchester United
Manchester United once again failed to win on the road on Monday but did manage to snatch a late draw at the Hawthorns against West Brom.
The Baggies twice took the lead—first through Stephane Sessegnon and then Saido Berahino—but goals from Marouane Fellaini and a late Daley Blind strike levelled things up.
The Red Devils now sit in sixth and continue to struggle for any type of consistent form with tough encounters against Chelsea and Manchester City to come in the league.
Sessegnon opened the scoring for West Brom after just eight minutes with a sumptuous strike from the edge of the box after Andre Wisdom had split the defence, per 101 Great Goals:
Alan Irvine had much reason to be impressed with his side's first-half performance as the hosts were the better team and took their lead into the break.
However, Louis van Gaal put Fellaini on in place of Ander Herrera for the second half, a move which almost immediately paid dividends.
Three minutes into the second period, a ball from Angel di Maria—United's biggest threat throughout the first half—was controlled by Fellaini on his chest before he fired a terrific finish into the back of the net.
The Red Devils looked as though they would go on to score again as they dominated proceedings following their equaliser only for Berahino to beat the offside trap and put his side ahead once again in the 66th minute, continuing his fine goalscoring form, per Opta:
However, United were not to be denied a point and Blind's first goal for the club three minutes from time from 20 yards out meant the match finished a draw, the home side likely relatively happy considering the Red Devils were pressing well for the winner in the dying minutes.
Van Gaal expressed his disappointment after the match but claimed it had been his side's best performance of the season so far, per Squawka:
Indeed, he may well be correct as far as away matches go considering their three other Premier League games on the road have ended in a defeat to Leicester, a goalless draw at Burnley and a 1-1 stalemate against Sunderland.
With table-topping Chelsea visiting Old Trafford next weekend, United desperately need to shore up their defence or else the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Oscar, Eden Hazard and Diego Costa—if fit—will make them pay for any mistakes.
Sunday Update
QPR 2-3 Liverpool
Four goals in the space of just eight minutes at the end of a dramatic tie at Loftus Road saw Liverpool eventually emerge as 3-2 victors in Sunday's early kick-off, greatly aided by two own goals from QPR defenders.
Two late equalisers from Chilean Eduardo Vargas twice appeared to have rescued a point for embattled Harry Redknapp and his side—rooted firmly to the bottom of the table—but Rangers once more failed to defend their point as Steven Caulker accidentally turned home Raheem Sterling's ball across goal in injury time.
The result will come as a bitter blow for Redknapp given his side's predicament, having shown fight that has been absent in some recent outings. Liverpool, meanwhile, continue to display the defensive vulnerabilities that have hindered them so greatly over the past 18 months.
Liverpool took the lead from a quickly taken free-kick after 67 minutes, with veteran defender Richard Dunne unable to prevent himself from turning in Glen Johnson's low cross.
However, Vargas appeared to have rescued a point for his side with just three minutes left when he reacted quickest to turn home Charlie Austin's return ball across the face of goal.
Some poor defending just moments later, though, allowed Brazilian Philippe Coutinho time to cut in onto his right foot and unleash a shot at goal. But QPR were not done yet and quickly equalised through Vargas once more.
Caulker's moment of misery was still to come, however, as Liverpool sprung on one last counter following a QPR corner with Sterling's dangerous ball across the edge of the area prodded home by the former Cardiff player.
According to BBC Sport, Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers admitted his side were lucky to come away with three points, saying:
"QPR certainly did not deserve to lose. We were lucky to win, but we showed tremendous character.
QPR definitely deserved something from the game. Overall, we were fortunate.
"
Former US international Alexi Lalas did, though, poke fun at the Reds' eagerness to admit that they were fortunate to emerge with three points on the day:
Stoke 2-1 Swansea
Substitute Jonathan Walters was Stoke's match-winner at the Britannia Stadium in a game that left Swans manager Garry Monk fuming after an earlier penalty award for a foul on Victor Moses.
Charlie Adam converted from the spot to pull his side level, with Swansea having taken an early lead through another penalty from Wilfried Bony.
However, it was to be Walters who sealed the result—although he may not take the headlines—when he headed home Oussama Assaidi's second-half cross.
Monk, though, will likely face punishment in the coming days following strong words aimed at the referee post-match. Per BBC Sport, he said:
"The second is a disgraceful decision. Not in a million years is it a a penalty. And the problem I have now is that this season a lot of match-changing decisions are going against us.
I looked straight at the Stoke bench and even they couldn't believe. That tells you everything.
It was a clear dive, he has cheated the ref and the referee has cheated us. And it came at vital time. We should have been in 1-0 up at half-time and then it is a different game.
"
The controversial incident occurred in the 42nd minute of the encounter when Moses fell at the slightest touch of an arm from defender Angel Rangel, changing the course of the clash.
However, for all the understandable disappointment at the nature of his side's defeat, Monk's comments will now be the main talking point of a clash that saw Stoke move level with their rivals on 11 points.
Saturday Update
Manchester City 4-1 Tottenham
Sergio Aguero bagged all four goals for City, as they eventually thrashed Spurs at the Etihad Stadium in Saturday's early kick-off.
However, Mauricio Pochettino's men were very much in the game for the vast majority of it until Federico Fazio was sent off on debut with 20 minutes to go, and Aguero made it 3-1 from the resulting penalty.
It was the Argentine's third effort from the spot, the second having been saved by the legs of Hugo Lloris in the first half after a contentious first put City 2-1 up, per James Ducker of The Times:
Christian Eriksen equalised two minutes after City's 13th minute opener and was Spurs' best player for much of the match.
However, the north London outfit were very poor in defence, and Roberto Soldado also had a penalty saved by Hart with the score still at 2-1.
Chelsea responded to City's win with their own victory at Selhurst Park, but the Sky Blues stay in second after a confident display.
It was Tottenham's first loss on the road this season and saw them slip to eighth while continuing a worrying trend of failing to pick up points against the league's bigger teams.
Arsenal 2-2 Hull
Danny Welbeck managed to snatch a point for the Gunners, as he scored in stoppage time to draw things level and avoid an embarrassing home loss to Hull.
Alexis Sanchez opened the scoring for Arsene Wenger's side after 13 minutes only for Mohamed Diame to equalise moments later with a controversial strike, per the BBC's Mark Pougatch:
However, Hull's second through an Abel Hernandez header was a matter of very poor defending by a back line that included Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal due to Laurent Koscielny's injury and Calum Chambers' suspension.
Wenger admitted as much in his post-match press conference, via Gunnerblog:
While Welbeck's goal spared major blushes, Arsenal looked poor with their lack of defensive depth glaringly obvious.
They have won just two from eight games and now sit 11 points back from Chelsea in sixth, while Hull must still be happy with a point, which sees them in the ninth spot.
Southampton 8-0 Sunderland
In a quite remarkable match, Ronald Koeman's Saints tore visiting Sunderland to shreds, boosting their goal difference significantly and keeping them in third spot in the Premier League.
A dire Black Cats defensive performance saw two own goals and five different Southampton scorers get in on the action, with Graziano Pelle getting a double.
Santiago Vergini's spectacular own goal was clearly a sign of things to come, as Saints went 1-0 up after 12 minutes, per Bleacher Report UK:
Most certainly it was a match to forget for Gus Poyet and his team, and Sunderland sit just one point above the relegation zone after neighbours Newcastle crucially won against Leicester.
