EPL Results Week 17: Premier League Scores, Top Scorers and 2014 Table Tracker
Manchester City increased the pressure on Premier League leaders Chelsea in Week 17, beating Crystal Palace 3-0 to (momentarily) pull level with the Blues at the top of the standings.
Christian Benteke and Radamel Falcao scored in the 1-1 draw between Aston Villa and Manchester United, while Charlie Austin continued his fine season by bagging a hattrick in Queens Park Rangers' win over West Bromwich Albion.
On Sunday, Arsenal and Liverpool drew 2-2 at Anfield, while a last minute goal from Adam Johnson settled the match between Newcastle United and Sunderland.
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Chelsea will be top of the table at Christmas, as the league leaders put in a clinical performance to win 2-0 against Stoke City. The full schedule for Week 17:
| Saturday, Dec. 20 | Manchester City | 3 - 0 | Crystal Palace |
| Saturday, Dec. 20 | Aston Villa | 1 - 1 | Manchester United |
| Saturday, Dec. 20 | Hull City | 0 - 1 | Swansea City |
| Saturday, Dec. 20 | Queens Park Rangers | 3 - 2 | West Bromwich Albion |
| Saturday, Dec. 20 | Southampton | 3 - 0 | Everton |
| Saturday, Dec. 20 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2 - 1 | Burnley |
| Saturday, Dec. 20 | West Ham United | 2 - 0 | Leicester City |
| Sunday, Dec. 21 | Newcastle United | 0 - 1 | Sunderland |
| Sunday, Dec. 21 | Liverpool | 2 - 2 | Arsenal |
| Monday, Dec. 22 | Stoke City | 0 - 2 | Chelsea |
The current Premier League standings:
| 1 | Chelsea | 17 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 37 | 13 | +24 | 39 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 17 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 36 | 14 | +22 | 39 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 17 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 30 | 18 | +12 | 32 |
| 4 | West Ham | 17 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 29 | 19 | +10 | 31 |
| 5 | Southampton | 17 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 28 | 13 | +15 | 29 |
| 6 | Arsenal | 17 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 30 | 21 | +9 | 27 |
| 7 | Tottenham | 17 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 22 | 23 | -1 | 27 |
| 8 | Swansea | 17 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 22 | 19 | +3 | 25 |
| 9 | Newcastle United | 17 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 18 | 23 | -5 | 23 |
| 10 | Liverpool | 17 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 21 | 24 | -3 | 22 |
| 11 | Everton | 17 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 21 |
| 12 | Aston Villa | 17 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 21 | -10 | 20 |
| 13 | Stoke | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 23 | -5 | 19 |
| 14 | Sunderland | 17 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 15 | 24 | -9 | 19 |
| 15 | West Bromwich Albion | 17 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 23 | -6 | 17 |
| 16 | Queens Park Rangers | 17 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 20 | 32 | -12 | 17 |
| 17 | Crystal Palace | 17 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 27 | -8 | 15 |
| 18 | Burnley | 17 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 26 | -14 | 15 |
| 19 | Hull | 17 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 24 | -9 | 13 |
| 20 | Leicester | 17 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 29 | -14 | 10 |
| 20 | Leicester City | 17 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 29 | -14 | 10 |
The Premier League's top scorers:
| 1 | Sergio Aguero | Manchester City | 14 |
| 2 | Diego Costa | Chelsea | 12 |
| 3 | Charlie Austin | QPR | 11 |
| 4 | Alexis Sanchez | Arsenal | 9 |
| 5 | Wilfried Bony | Swansea | 8 |
| 5 | Graziano Pelle | Southampton | 8 |
| 7 | Saido Berahino | WBA | 7 |
| 7 | Papiss Demba Cisse | Newcastle | 7 |
| 7 | Diafra Sakho | West Ham | 7 |
| 7 | Robin van Persie | Manchester United | 7 |
Monday Recap
Chelsea beat Stoke City 2-0 in a feisty final game of the weekend thanks to goals from John Terry and Cesc Fabregas either side of half time.
The Blues knew they were going to be in for a physically demanding contest at the Britannia Stadium, so Jose Mourinho will have been delighted to see his side get off to the best possible start. Terry—making his 650th appearance for the club—wriggled free of his marker in the second minute and put a thumping header past Asmir Begovic
The corner came in from Spanish magician Fabregas and he has been an inspired creative force since making a summer move from Barcelona, per Squawka Football:
After that fast start, the game quickly become a very volatile clash. And the main flashpoint in the first 45 minutes was a reckless challenge from Phil Bardsley on Eden Hazard which, as we can see here courtesy of 101 Great Goals, was high and late:
Both sets of fans were furious—Stoke's with perceived playacting, Chelsea with the hosts' rough-house tactics—and the managers were also at each other's throats throughout the course of an ill-tempered first half.
On the field, Fabregas was causing big problems again, but Diego Costa fired wide after being put through one-on-one with Begovic by the former Barcelona man. Really, the forward should have burst the net.
At half time, debate raged on about the aforementioned tackle on Hazard, with Sky Sports MNF pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher disagreeing on the colour of the card that should have been issued:
The second half saw Fabregas and Hazard continue to probe at the hosts' defence, while Terry and co. looked unshakeably authoritative at the back. All that was missing for the Londoners was a second goal and even though Stoke caused minimal problems for the league leaders, they still had a sniff of a chance with the score standing at 1-0.
It's something the home supporters sensed and they responded as their team pushed forward in search of an equaliser. But Chelsea are a clinical outfit, and when Costa's excellent run cleared the penalty box in the 78th, Hazard found Fabregas with a neat pass, who then scuffed a shot into the corner after a magical first touch, per Sky Sports MNF:
Mourinho's men saw out the final few minutes with typical distinction, and this win means they will be top of the table at Christmas. As we can see here courtesy of Sky Sports Statto, that's something that bodes well for the Blues' title challenge:
The Britannia is a notoriously difficult place to go, but this Chelsea team produced a very professional display to take the three points back down South. Fabregas was once again the standout man for the visitors and he's fast looking as though he could be the signing of the season as Mourinho looks to win his third Premier League title.
Sunday Recap
Arsenal and Liverpool drew 2-2 in a gripping match at Anfield on Sunday. Philippe Coutinho scored for the Reds just before the break, but his goal was almost immediately cancelled out by Mathieu Debuchy’s header. Olivier Giroud bagged a second for Arsenal, but Martin Skrtel's late header salvaged a draw for the hosts.
Liverpool were by far the better side in the first 45 minutes, as their effervescent pressing sapped any rhythm from the Gunners’ play. And they netted a deserved opener on the stroke of half time after Coutinho finished well from the edge of the box.
But the Reds’ perennial problems when it comes to defending set pieces continued, as Debuchy outmuscled Skrtel at the back post just seconds later to head home the equaliser.
That goal robbed the Reds of any momentum going into the break, and it was little surprise to see a more settled Arsenal team in the second half of the game. Their passing was sharper as Liverpool began to ease off in their work off the ball, and an intricate passing move was finished with aplomb by Giroud.
Once again, the home side’s defending left much to be desired, as we can see here courtesy of Nooruddean:
While the Reds were very wasteful with their chances, the Gunners continued their run of forensically accurate finishing, per Squawka Football:
Liverpool applied some late pressure, but their chances looked to have gone when Fabio Borini was shown a red card. But in front of the Kop Skrtel rose highest in the box to meet a stoppage time corner, and snatch a deserved point for the Reds.
In the day's earlier game Adam Johnson snatched a last gasp win for Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby, continuing the Black Cats’ remarkable record in this fixture. Gus Poyet’s side put together a magnificent break in the 90th minute of match, and Johnson finished with distinction to snatch a 1-0 win for his side.
Newcastle United fans must be sick of the sight of the Sunderland winger, as we can see here courtesy of WhoScored.com:
The game was played with typical ferocity and both sides missed a host of chances in what was an engrossing 90 minutes. Steven Fletcher rattled the woodwork in the first half with an excellent volley, while Sunderland goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon made some astute saves to keep out the home side.
A stalemate looked likely, but there was to be one moment of real quality in the dying embers of the match. Johnson surged forward from his own half, laid the ball off and got on the end of Will Buckley’s pull back to send the travelling Black Cats supporters into raptures.
As you might expect, Poyet was delighted with his player's effort, per the club's official website:
"It’s a great moment for us, we knew we needed three points and we didn’t stop believing that we could get them throughout the game.
"
It was a little bit nervy at times, but we had the belief and we defended well and we’ve got a very important result.
The defeat means that Alan Pardew now has an unwanted record as Newcastle boss:
Sunderland looked like a side that were down and out when they lost 8-0 at Southampton. But Poyet has galvanised his group, making them very difficult to beat; today, they had the cutting edge too, even if they were occasionally a little profligate when the chances came around.
Saturday Recap
Manchester City took care of Crystal Palace thanks to a second-half salvo, as David Silva bagged a brace and Yaya Toure added a third to make the final score 3-0.
As shared by WhoScored.com, Silva's conversion rate this season has been close to impeccable:
City came out with James Milner playing in an unfamiliar role, spearheading the attack, and the first half produced little danger of note from the hosts. Mile Jedinak (without the beard) was once again excellent in the middle of the park, as the Eagles comfortably held their own against the defending champions.
The Citizens upped their game in the second half, however, producing some fine passing movements and scoring thrice. James McArthur's effort that seemed to make it 2-1 was ruled out for offside, and as shared by Betfair, the official's decision was the wrong one, to say the least:
The hosts fully deserved the win, however, and Manuel Pellegrini was satisfied with what his squad showed on Saturday, despite the absence of their star strikers. As shared by TV commentator Kelechi Nkoro, he said:
Radamel Falcao returned to the starting XI and scored for Manchester United, but despite a questionable red card for Gabriel Agbonlahor, the Red Devils were held to a 1-1 draw by Aston Villa.
Christian Benteke had opened the score in the first half before Falcao brought his team level, and Agbonlahor was handed a straight red by Lee Mason for what appeared to be a 50-50 challenge on Ashley Young. The London Times' Rory Smith thought it was a dreadful decision:
Southampton ended their four-match losing streak in the league by decisively beating Everton, in large part thanks to an early own-goal from Romelu Lukaku. Squawka Football put the Saints recent struggles into perspective:
The win couldn't have come at a better time for Ronald Koeman, as Southampton really needed some momentum heading into 2015.
Charlie Austin scored a hattrick to bring Queens Park Rangers back from a 2-0 deficit and beat West Bromwich Albion 3-2, lifting the hosts out of the relegation zone.
As shared by Squawka Football, he became the first Ranger to score a Premier League hattrick in over 20 years:
Andy Carroll continued his resurgence by scoring the opener in West Ham United's 2-0 win over Leicester City, showing he has some nifty footwork with a delightful chip. Bleacher Report UK's Sam Tighe was surprised:
Stewart Downing completed the Liverpool connection by making it 2-0 in the second half.
Tottenham Hotspur beat Burnley 2-1, with all goals coming in the first half, while Swansea City recorded a 1-0 win in Hull. Newcastle United will host Sunderland on Sunday, before Arsenal and Liverpool battle it out at Anfield.
