Premier League Table: Updated 2014 EPL Standings Following Matchday 12 Results
Premier League leaders Chelsea continued their unbeaten run with a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, as Matchday 12 of the 2014-15 campaign saw plenty of the top clubs pull through with pivotal wins.
Manchester City came from behind to beat Swansea City 2-1 while Alan Pardew and Newcastle United continued their resurgence with a 1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers.
West Ham United lost 2-1 at Everton, giving Manchester United to leap into the top four with a 2-1 win over Arsenal.
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Tottenham caught a lucky break to grab the win over Hull City on Sunday, while Liverpool's 2014-15 struggles continued with a 3-1 loss at Crystal Palace.
The full results for Matchday 12:
| Saturday, Nov. 22 | Chelsea | 2 - 0 | West Bromwich Albion |
| Saturday, Nov. 22 | Everton | 2 - 1 | West Ham United |
| Saturday, Nov. 22 | Leicester City | 0 - 0 | Sunderland |
| Saturday, Nov. 22 | Manchester City | 2 - 1 | Swansea City |
| Saturday, Nov. 22 | Newcastle United | 1 - 0 | Queens Park Rangers |
| Saturday, Nov. 22 | Stoke City | 1 - 2 | Burnley |
| Saturday, Nov. 22 | Arsenal | 1 - 2 | Manchester United |
| Sunday, Nov. 23 | Crystal Palace | 3 - 1 | Liverpool |
| Sunday, Nov. 23 | Hull City | 1 - 2 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Monday, Nov. 24 | Aston Villa | 1 - 1 | Southampton |
The current Premier League standings:
| 1 | Chelsea | 12 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 11 | 19 | 32 |
| 2 | Southampton | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 6 | 18 | 26 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 24 | 13 | 11 | 24 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 15 | 4 | 19 |
| 5 | Newcastle United | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 15 | -1 | 19 |
| 6 | West Ham United | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 16 | 4 | 18 |
| 7 | Swansea City | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 18 |
| 8 | Arsenal | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 20 | 15 | 5 | 17 |
| 9 | Everton | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 22 | 19 | 3 | 17 |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 17 | -1 | 17 |
| 11 | Stoke City | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 15 | -2 | 15 |
| 12 | Liverpool | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 15 | 18 | -3 | 14 |
| 13 | West Bromwich Albion | 12 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 17 | -4 | 13 |
| 14 | Sunderland | 12 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 19 | -7 | 13 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 21 | -4 | 12 |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 17 | -11 | 12 |
| 17 | Hull City | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 17 | -3 | 11 |
| 18 | Leicester City | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 18 | -7 | 10 |
| 19 | Burnley | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 20 | -12 | 10 |
| 20 | Queens Park Rangers | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 23 | -12 | 8 |
Monday Update
Aston Villa held Southampton to a 1-1 draw in Monday's fixture, but Paul Lambert's men will be left disappointed at giving away the lead inside the final 10 minutes.
Southampton took control early of the match, putting a tremendous amount of pressure on Villa's back four and dominating possession in the centre of the pitch. Morgan Schneiderlin was his usual excellent self, distributing the ball to all areas of the pitch.
The hosts showed exactly why they're the worst-scoring team in the Premier League, displaying little creativity in the attacking third and losing the ball quickly on those rare occasions they were able to steal possession.
Just as it looked the hosts would get run over, Gabriel Agbonlahor gave his team a shock lead, beating Fraser Forster to a long ball and easily converting the chance. As shared by OptaJoe, the goal ended a fantastic run for the Saints:
The Daily Telegraph's Henry Winter was not impressed with Forster's rash decision to leave his line:
Southampton were visibly shaken by the setback, and it took until the 38th minute for the visitors to muster another chance, with Brad Guzan needing to pull off a fantastic save to deny Sadio Mane.
Villa looked a lot brighter early in the second half, and Agbonlahor had several chances to put the match to bed. Andreas Weimann also looked very lively, and Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe liked what he saw from the 23-year-old Austria international:
The hosts looked to be on their way to a massive upset, but a defensive lapse with just 10 minutes left on the clock allowed Nathaniel Clyne to equalise for the visitors.
A low cross wobbled onto the edge of the box, and with every Villa-defender staring at the ball, the right-back latched onto it the quickest, beautifully slotting it home. Tighe thought it was a head's up pay, even if there was some luck involved:
Southampton continued to press for a late winner but had great difficulty breaking down Villa's defences, and the draw was never truly in doubt inside the final 10 minutes.
Sunday Recap
Liverpool's struggles continued on Sunday with a 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace, and Brendan Rodgers' position as manager of the Reds is coming under more pressure with every passing week.
With the result, the club have now won just two of their last nine matches, via Squawka:
Rickie Lambert scored his first goal for the club to give the Reds a dream start, but it was all downhill from that point. Dwight Gayle's equaliser made sure both teams would be level heading into half-time, and the hosts took over after the break.
Joseph Ledley and Mile Jedinak scored just minutes apart to send Selhurst Park into a delirious state, and Rodgers' men were unable to turn the tide.
Once again, the Reds were lacking any form of creativity in the attacking third, and Steven Gerrard had one of his worst outings in years in the centre of the pitch. Yannick Bolasie dominated in a free role, and the winger deserved a goal for his efforts.
Indeed, while all the talk will be of Liverpool's continued struggles, former England international Gary Lineker reminded everyone this was a fantastic result for the hosts as well:
As shared by the Sunday World's Kevin Palmer, Rodgers understands things will need to change in a hurry:
The Daily Mirror's Oliver Holt thinks he still has plenty of credit with the club, however:
The difference between Liverpool and Manchester United, who occupy the fourth spot in the standings, is still only five points. The Reds are struggling right now, and have been for several weeks, but Champions League progression and a resurgence on the domestic level could turn the season around in a hurry.
Health and momentum will be key moving forward, and as of right now, both present problems for the Reds.
Tottenham needed to come from behind to beat Hull City 2-1, although much will be written about Gaston Ramirez's dismissal that turned the match on its head.
Jake Livermore opened the score after just eight minutes, but the hosts' bid to beat Spurs took a hit when Ramirez was sent off for kicking at Jan Vertonghen. Replays confirmed the Uruguayan did in fact make contact, but the Belgium international theatrically dropped to the pitch to sell the incident.
Tottenham used the man advantage in the second half, equalising after 61 minutes through Harry Kane. The youngster may not always get his chances, but when he does, his conversion rating is pretty special, via Squawka:
Hull were clinging on for dear life, but Christian Eriksen finally broke their resolve with an excellent strike in the 90th minute to bag the three points for the visitors.
Aston Villa and Southampton will finish this week's slate of fixtures on Monday.
Saturday Recap
Chelsea scored twice inside 25 minutes and were able to cruise to an easy win thanks to a red card for Claudio Yacob in the first half, beating West Brom 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Diego Costa and Eden Hazard converted two of the Blues' multitude of chances early, as shared by sports commentator Ian Abrahams:
Costa appeared to be offside when he opened the score after 11 minutes, but with the way the league leaders played on Saturday, few will argue the decision to award the goal had much of an impact on the match.
As shared by Premier League Stuff, Chelsea's record of 32 points in 12 matches makes this their best start to the season in history:
Wilfried Bony scored after just nine minutes to give Swansea a shock lead at the Etihad, but Manchester City battled back, via Stevan Jovetic and Yaya Toure, to record a 2-1 win.
The Ivory Coast international bagged the winner in the 62nd minute with a vintage run through the centre of the defence, once again underlining his tremendous scoring potential, via Squawka:
The Citizens once again held the ball for the majority of the match and created an impressive amount of shots, but their finishing was lacking. The hosts refused to back down, however, and ultimately, their persistence was rewarded.
Vincent Kompany was happy with the result, as shared by the Premier League's official Twitter feed:
Everton beat West Ham 2-1 with the help of another controversial opener, as Romelu Lukaku also appeared to be offside, as shared by former England international Gary Lineker:
"Lukaku strikes for Everton against West Ham but looks offside. Already much to discuss on #MOTD
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) November 22, 2014"
The visitors hit back through Mauro Zarate before Leon Osman won the Toffees the match with just over 15 minutes left to play.
The result brings the hosts to within one point of West Ham, adding yet another team to the race for the European slots.
Newcastle United won their sixth straight, beating Queens Park Rangers 1-0 at St. James' Park. Moussa Sissoko scored the only goal of the match to send the home crowd into delirium, but the fans quickly came down to earth when Ryan Taylor appeared to reinjure his knee.
The 30-year-old was making his first league start in over two years as he recovered from a previous injury, and his teammates had to console him as he limped off the pitch. Lineker couldn't believe it:
Burnley beat Stoke City 2-1 for their second win of the season while Leicester City and Sunderland played out a 0-0 draw.
Arsenal lost 2-1 at home against Manchester United in Saturday's late fixture, with all goals falling in the second half. Kieran Gibbs saw the ball bounce into the back of his net after a bizarre play in which goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny got injured. The Sunday Times' Duncan Castles tried to sum up what happened:
Wayne Rooney doubled the visitors' lead but Olivier Giroud brought some excitement back into the match, setting up a frantic finale. The Red Devils held on for the three points, however, leaping over the Gunners in the standings in the process.
Week 12 of the 2014-15 Premier League season will continue with two matches on Sunday, before Aston Villa and Southampton conclude this week's slate of fixtures a day later.
