Premier League Table: Updated 2014 EPL Standings Following Matchday 16 Results
Chelsea and Manchester City each dispatched of lowly opposition on Matchday 16, meaning Jose Mourinho’s men preserve their three-point lead atop the Premier League table.
The Stamford Bridge club had too much for Hull City, as goals from Eden Hazard and Diego Costa gave the Blues a 2-0 win. The champions were made to work a little harder against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium, but they triumphed 1-0 thanks to Frank Lampard’s 175th Premier League goal.
The star attraction on Sunday will come at Old Trafford when Manchester United take on Liverpool, and after Saturday’s results, the Red Devils can go three points clear in third place should they get the better of their longstanding rivals.
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Here’s a look at the table following an engrossing Saturday in Week 15 of the Premier League:
| 1 | Chelsea | 16 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 36 | 13 | 23 | 39 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 33 | 14 | 19 | 36 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 16 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 29 | 17 | 12 | 31 |
| 4 | West Ham United | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 27 | 19 | 8 | 28 |
| 5 | Southampton | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25 | 13 | 12 | 26 |
| 6 | Arsenal | 16 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 28 | 19 | 9 | 26 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 16 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 20 | 22 | -2 | 24 |
| 8 | Newcastle United | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 18 | 22 | -4 | 23 |
| 9 | Swansea City | 16 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 21 | 19 | 2 | 22 |
| 10 | Everton | 16 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 27 | 24 | 3 | 21 |
| 11 | Liverpool | 16 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 19 | 22 | -3 | 21 |
| 12 | Stoke City | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 18 | 21 | -3 | 19 |
| 13 | Aston Villa | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 20 | -10 | 19 |
| 14 | West Bromwich Albion | 16 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 20 | -5 | 17 |
| 15 | Sunderland | 16 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 24 | -10 | 16 |
| 16 | Crystal Palace | 16 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 19 | 24 | -5 | 15 |
| 17 | Burnley | 16 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 24 | -13 | 15 |
| 18 | Queens Park Rangers | 16 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 17 | 30 | -13 | 14 |
| 19 | Hull City | 16 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 15 | 23 | -8 | 13 |
| 20 | Leicester City | 16 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 15 | 27 | -12 | 10 |
| Saturday, Dec. 13 | Burnley | 1-0 | Southampton |
| Saturday, Dec. 13 | Chelsea | 2-0 | Hull City |
| Saturday, Dec. 13 | Crystal Palace | 1-1 | Stoke City |
| Saturday, Dec. 13 | Leicester | 0-1 | Manchester City |
| Saturday, Dec. 13 | Sunderland | 1-1 | West Ham |
| Saturday, Dec. 13 | West Bromwich Albion | 1-0 | Aston Villa |
| Saturday, Dec. 13 | Arsenal | 4-1 | Newcastle |
| Sunday, Dec. 14 | Manchester United | 3-0 | Liverpool |
| Sunday, Dec. 14 | Swansea City | 1-2 | Tottenham |
| Monday Dec. 15 | Everton | 3-1 | QPR |
Monday Recap
Everton and Queens Park Rangers served up an entertaining fixture to close out Week 16, with the Toffees booking a 3-1 win.
QPR played far better than the final score suggests but were unlucky to concede two goals off deflections, while goalkeeper Rob Green had a nightmare outing that didn't help his team's cause. Squawka Football's shared his stats deep in the second half, and they didn't look pretty:
There was nothing the stopper could do about Ross Barkley's opener, a stunning strike that took a slight deflection off Mauricio Isla and disappeared into the top corner.
Former England international Gary Lineker was impressed:
"There's a special Xmas treat, right there, from Ross Barkley!
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) December 15, 2014"
He was again beaten by a deflection just before half-time, as Kevin Mirallas' free-kick radically changed direction at the wall, wrong-footing the unfortunate goalkeeper.
Mirallas had a strong outing on Monday, constantly beating Richard Dunne with pace and trickery. According to Paddy Power, that isn't such an accomplishment:
Joey Barton and Steven Naismith also put in solid performances, and they fired up the crowd by constantly trash-talking and going after each other. The latter would have the last laugh, however, making it 3-0 in the second half.
A dreadful free-kick from Green was worked to the side and Naismith was wide open to head home the cross at the far post, matching his goal-tally of the 2013-14 campaign before Christmas, per Squawka:
Bobby Zamora pulled one back for the visitors inside the final 10 minutes, latching onto a loose ball to slot home from close range.
The win sees Everton climb to withing five points of the European spots, while QPR continue to struggle in the relegation zone.
Sunday Recap
Manchester United Beat Rivals Liverpool
Manchester United convincingly defeated heated rivals Liverpool 3-0 on Sunday, but the hosts needed a fantastic performance from goalkeeper David de Gea to make the scoreline look so one-sided.
Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Robin van Persie all found the back of the net for the Red Devils, who sit just behind Manchester City near the top of the Premier League standings. The Reds' struggles in the 2014-15 campaign continue, sitting just 10th.
Scoring the opener after just 12 minutes, Rooney put together perhaps his best showing of the season in midfield, and as shared by Sky Sports, he was deservedly given a big round of applause when he left the pitch:
Liverpool had their chances through Raheem Sterling and Mario Balotelli, but Spain international De Gea was flawless on Sunday, determined to keep the clean sheet. Club legend Ole Gunnar Solksjaer told Sky Sports it was perhaps the best performance he had seen at Old Trafford, via Goal's Stephen Darwin:
"I've seen quite a few [outstanding performances] with the goalkeepers I've played with in [Peter] Schmeichel and [Edwin] Van der Sar but today was probably the best one I've seen at Old Trafford from a United goalkeeper.
"
He saves them. There's six clear-cut chances that should have been goals. He stands up, David Seaman was the same. He makes it very difficult to score against him.
Reds manager Brendan Rodgers saw the same thing, per the Premier League's official Twitter feed:
United have now won six straight matches, while Liverpool have already lost seven, one more than they did during the 2013-14 season. Things won't get any easier, either, with a fixture against Arsenal next on the schedule.
Harry Kane gave Tottenham an early lead at Swansea City before Wilfried Bony pulled one back for the hosts, and in a frantic finale, Christian Eriksen gave Spurs a much-needed win over Swans.
Kane's header after just four minutes sucked all of the energy out of the home crowd, and it took the bulk of the first half for the Swans to recover. The inevitable Bony tied things up early in the second half, however, and via EPLStuff, that shouldn't come as a massive surprise:
After a bright start, Spurs failed to monopolise the ball the way they would have hoped to, and they weren't aided by several poor performances from some of their key players.
Erik Lamela had an absolutely dreadful match, and Squawka Football shared his statistics 10 minutes before the final whistle:
Tottenham tried to battle back inside the final 10 minutes, and as has so often been the case this season, Eriksen stepped up when his team needed him the most.
Pushing the hosts back inside their own half, a series of shots saw the ball suddenly fall to Eriksen, who didn't hesitate and finished beautifully at the near post.
Everton and Queens Park Rangers will complete Week 16's slate of fixtures on Monday.
Saturday Recap
No Change at the Top
Chelsea returned to winning ways in the Premier League with a routine victory over Steve Bruce’s Hull side at Stamford Bridge . Hazard—who is reportedly on the brink of signing a new deal with the Blues, per Neil McLeman of the Mirror—and Costa struck either side of half-time, and any lingering hopes for the visitors were abated when Tom Huddlestone was sent off in the second period.
The win was a landmark one for Mourinho, achieving a statistic that is a measure of just how consistently brilliant he has been since he rocked up in London just over a decade ago, per the Premier League Twitter account:
Another man who has adapted superbly to English football is Chelsea’s poacher extraordinaire Costa. His manager had been a little critical of him in the week preceding this game, and the Spanish international striker responded with a patented clinical finish following a sumptuous pass from Hazard.
It was a wonderful team goal, as we can see here courtesy of the Mail Online:
That win meant City needed to respond, and although Leicester have been in torrid form as of late, it’s rarely easy picking up three points on the road in the Premier League. In the end, Lampard’s goal was the only strike in this clash, and it was a significant one for the 36-year-old midfielder, per the Manchester City Twitter account:
The win did come at quite a substantial cost, however, as Edin Dzeko was injured in the warm-up and subsequently withdrawn from the starting lineup. And perhaps even more concerning for those of a sky-blue persuasion, their captain Vincent Kompany was forced off with what looked to be a recurrence of his hamstring problem.
In the late game, Arsenal were much improved from their embarrassing display at Stoke City last time out, as they beat high-flying Newcastle United 4-1 at the Emirates. Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla each bagged a brace for the Gunners, as they scored four goals for the second consecutive game.
Ayoze Perez gave the Toon Army a glimmer of hope when his goal made it 3-1, but Alan Pardew's side were unable to replicate the levels they showcased to beat Chelsea last time out.
Giroud is looking back to his best after enduring a substantial injury layoff, and the French forward must love it when the Toon come to town, as we can see here courtesy of OptaJoe:
West Ham United were unable to build on their fine victory over Swansea City last time out, as they struggled to a 1-1 draw against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Jordi Gomez put the hosts in front before Stewart Downing equalised for the Hammers. Although both teams had chances to win the game, a draw was a fair result on the day.
After his wonderful brace against the Welsh outfit last weekend, Andy Carroll endured a frustrating match, something Sunderland—the eternal rivals of his boyhood club Newcastle—seemed to take great pleasure in, per their official Twitter account:
A goal from Craig Gardner helped West Bromwich Albion beat Midlands rivals Aston Villa 1-0 at the Hawthorns. It was a much needed victory for Alan Irvine's team, and they were assisted by some naive play from Villa midfielder Kieran Richardson, as he was sent off early on for a reckless lunge.
Southampton’s recent slump continued as they lost 1-0 to Burnley; having started the season in spectacular form, Saints have now lost their last four games in succession. Dusan Tadic had the chance to put Ronald Koeman’s team ahead from the penalty spot, but it was saved by Tom Heaton, and Ashley Barnes snatched all three points for the Clarets.
As you would expect, manager Sean Dyche was delighted with his team, per the club's official website:
"I’ve said all along that that’s what I believe in and there is some quality within that of course.
But that will, that desire, that energy and their authenticity today to make sure we got a result was on show as much as it has ever been.
They’re a fine side and they’ve come to Turf where we want to make it awkward for teams and we did.
"
Saints remain in a lofty position in the Premier League table, but it’s vital they haul themselves out of this rut if they’re to maintain their heady ambitions. They’ll have an excellent chance to do that next time out, when they welcome an out-of-form Everton to St. Mary’s.
At Selhurst Park, the match between Crystal Palace and Stoke looked set to be a thriller when James McArthur and Peter Crouch both netted within the space of two first half minutes. But neither side could establish any rhythm to their play, and the game petered out somewhat drearily in the second period.
