Premier League Table: Updated 2014 EPL Standings Following Matchday 15 Results
Leaders Chelsea suffered their first defeat of the season, as they fell at the feet of a buoyant Newcastle United at St James' Park.
Jose Mourinho's men could not rescue a point in the north-east, despite the Geordies being reduced to ten men in the final period of the match.
The Blues eventually surrendered to their northern hosts, losing the match 2-1 after two goals from Papiss Cisse.
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Arsenal also suffered a huge shock, losing 3-2 at the Britannia Stadium against a revitalised Stoke City.
It was the Gunners' ninth game of their 15 Premier League matches to end without collecting a win.
Here, we provide you with the updated standings after Saturday's fixtures:
| 1 | Chelsea | 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 34 | 13 | 21 | 36 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 15 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 32 | 14 | 18 | 33 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 24 | 16 | 9 | 28 |
| 4 | West Ham United | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 26 | 18 | 8 | 27 |
| 5 | Southampton | 15 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 24 | 10 | 13 | 26 |
| 6 | Arsenal | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 24 | 18 | 6 | 23 |
| 7 | Newcastle United | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 18 | -1 | 23 |
| 8 | Swansea City | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 20 | 17 | 3 | 22 |
| 9 | Liverpool | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 21 |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 18 | 21 | -3 | 21 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 19 | -9 | 19 |
| 12 | Everton | 15 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 24 | 23 | 1 | 18 |
| 13 | Stoke City | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 17 | 20 | -3 | 18 |
| 14 | Sunderland | 15 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 23 | -10 | 15 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 23 | -5 | 14 |
| 16 | West Bromwich Albion | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 20 | -6 | 14 |
| 17 | Queens Park Rangers | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 27 | -11 | 14 |
| 18 | Hull City | 15 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 21 | -6 | 13 |
| 19 | Burnley | 15 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 24 | -14 | 12 |
| 20 | Leicester City | 15 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 26 | -11 | 10 |
| Date | Home | Score | Away |
| Saturday, Dec. 6 | Newcastle United | 2-1 | Chelsea |
| Saturday, Dec. 6 | Hull City | 0-0 | West Bromwich Albion |
| Saturday, Dec. 6 | Liverpool | 0-0 | Sunderland |
| Saturday, Dec. 6 | Queens Park Rangers | 2-0 | Burnley |
| Saturday, Dec. 6 | Stoke City | 3-2 | Arsenal |
| Saturday, Dec. 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0-0 | Crystal Palace |
| Saturday, Dec. 6 | Manchester City | 1-0 | Everton |
| Sunday, Dec. 7 | West Ham United | 3-1 | Swansea City |
| Sunday, Dec. 7 | Aston Villa | 2-1 | Leicester City |
| Monday, Dec. 8 | Southampton | 1-2 | Manchester United |
Sunday Recap
West Ham United Continue Fine Season, Beat Swansea
West Ham United came back from an early deficit to beat Swansea City 3-1 on Sunday, climbing to third in the Premier League standings in the process.
Maligned striker Andy Carroll is starting to find his best form and was on point for the Hammers with two goals, and Paddy Power couldn't help himself:
Wilfried Bony had given the visitors the lead after 19 minutes with Swansea's first real chance, calmly finishing an expert counter-attack. West Ham pulled one back before half-time, however, with Carroll beating Lukasz Fabianski with a looping header.
Swans completely fell apart in the second half—Carroll added a second off a corner before Fabianski saw a controversial red card for impeding Diafra Sakho well outside his box, although the latter appeared to handle the ball and was able to continue the attack, hitting the post.
Writing for the Daily Mail, Graham Poll says the official made the right decision:
"First impressions were that we were seeing textbook refereeing, with Foy playing advantage: had Sakho scored it seemed that Foy’s vision would have saved the Swansea keeper from the red card as the obvious goal scoring opportunity would not have been denied.
Replays, however, showed Foy had blown his whistle immediately after the collision. Fabianski would have been dismissed even if Sakho had ‘scored’ and that goal wouldn’t have stood.
I would have preferred Foy to have played advantage, but I can’t agree with the TV analysts who questioned the red card.
"
He went on to claim Sakho's hand-ball would be accidental and caused by the shove he received from Ashley Williams.
Sakho hit the post again minutes later before finally getting his name on the score sheet in the 87th minute, continuing his incredible form, via OptaJoe:
Carroll stole the spotlight with his brace on Sunday, however, and as shared by the league's official Twitter feed, he told reporters his performance was confirmation for the fact his comeback is going well:
Aston Villa also had to come from behind to beat Leicester City 2-1, and not unlike West Ham, they received some help in the form of a controversial dismissal.
Jose Leonardo Ulloa put the Foxes ahead within the opening 15 minutes, but it took Ciaran Clark just five minutes to level things at Villa Park.
The match lost all momentum after that quick one-two, with plenty of fouls and physical battles in the centre of the pitch resulting in lots of cards and few chances. Alan Hutton gave the hosts the lead midway through the second half before tussling with Paul Konchesky, with the latter receiving the red card.
How Hutton only received a yellow card when Konchesky was dismissed is a question everyone, including Footy Accumulators were asking themselves:
The man-advantage made it easier for Villa to hold onto their lead, putting some distance between themselves and the relegation zone.
Southampton and Manchester United will meet on Monday in the final match of Week 15.
Saturday Recap
Chelsea Lose Unbeaten Record
Jose Mourinho finally tasted defeat in the Premier League for the first time this season, after his Chelsea team fell to Alan Pardew's Newcastle.
The Blues were defeated 2-1 by a dogged Geordie outfit, who are now up to third in the Premier League form guide and have won their last four league games at St James' Park.
Chelsea had gone 23 matches unbeaten in all competitions before Saturday's fixture, per PremierLeague.com, with talk they could equal Arsenal's famous "Invincibles" season—where the Gunners won the title unbeaten for the whole campaign.
But any idea of that was blown out of the water by Papiss Cisse, who scored twice to give Pardew the win.
Chelsea dominated the first half—much as they have done with alarming regularity this term—but could not find the breakthrough despite efforts from Cesc Fabregas and Willian.
And it was the home side that struck first against the run of play, as Cisse found the net after 57 minutes.
Mourinho's side continued to control possession and stay on the front foot, but Newcastle showed an immense resolve in defence, lead by captain and man of the match, Fabricio Coloccini.
And the Magpies doubled their lead in the 78th minute, as Newcastle counter-attacked with devastating force and consequence.
It seemed that would be the end of Chelsea's day, but the Blues continued to look for a route back into the match.
And Didier Drogba finally gave his side just the tonic, as he grabbed a goal back with just seven minutes of normal time left.
Despite six minutes of injury time, hotly contested by Pardew and the Geordie faithful, it was not long enough for the west London team to equalise and the three points were secured for Newcastle.
Mourinho came out after the game and said he had no complaints but felt his team were "unlucky" and took a shot at the Newcastle ball-boys and crowd—claiming they "hid the ball."
Scott from Republik of Mancunia, commented on Chelsea losing their chance to match Arsenal's historic unbeaten achievement, criticising the comparisons made between Arsene Wenger's legendary team and Mourinho's present squad:
The afternoon was a huge success for Pardew, as his team once again showed they are better than the team which we witnessed stumble early in the campaign—threatening the manager's popularity among the fans.
Chelsea will come again next week and try and maintain their dwindling lead—but Mourinho will be hoping this is just a blip and not the start of something more severe in terms of results.
In other games, there was a huge shock for Arsenal as they lost 3-2 away to Stoke. The Gunners were 3-0 down in the game before mounting a spirited comeback.
But it was not enough, and Mark Hughes men deservedly took all three points.
Liverpool played out a dull goalless draw with Sunderland, with Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace also unable to score in their tie.
There was a priceless win for Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road, as they beat fellow relegation candidates Burnley, winning the match 2-0.
And in the late kick-off, Manchester City suffered a bittersweet night—beating Everton by a solitary goal but at the huge expense of losing Sergio Aguero. The 26-year-old departed in the opening minutes of the game with a potentially serious knee injury, per BBC Sport.
Aguero has been the fulcrum of City's title challenge this season, and the Argentine wizard left the field of play in tears, to appreciative applause. If his loss is long-term, it could seriously compromise Manuel Pellegrini's title charge and force the Sky Blues into the transfer market in January.
But City have closed the gap on Chelsea to just three points, and they will feel the title race begins in earnest right now.
