Premier League Table: Updated 2015 EPL Standings Following Matchday 24 Results
Chelsea's grip on the Premier League title tightened on Saturday after Manchester City's draw against Hull City widened the gap between the top two.
The Blues put away a plucky Aston Villa side by 2-1, as Paul Lambert's team put in one of its best performances of the campaign.
However, City failed to beat the Tigers at the Etihad, giving Jose Mourinho a comfortable seven-point gap at the summit of the table.
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On Sunday, Manchester United salvaged a late point at West Ham United.
Here are the latest results for Matchday 24 and the current EPL standings:
| Saturday, Feb. 7 | 12.45 p.m. | 7:45 a.m. | Tottenham | 2-1 | Arsenal |
| Saturday, Feb. 7 | 3 p.m. | 10 a.m. | Aston Villa | 1-2 | Chelsea |
| Saturday, Feb. 7 | 3 p.m. | 10 a.m. | Leicester | 0-1 | Crystal Palace |
| Saturday, Feb. 7 | 3 p.m. | 10 a.m. | Manchester City | 1-1 | Hull City |
| Saturday, Feb. 7 | 3 p.m. | 10 a.m. | QPR | 0-1 | Southampton |
| Saturday, Feb. 7 | 3 p.m. | 10 a.m. | Swansea | 1-1 | Sunderland |
| Saturday, Feb. 7 | 5.30 p.m. | 12:30 p.m. | Everton | 0-0 | Liverpool |
| Sunday, Feb. 8 | 12 p.m. | 7 a.m. | Burnley | 2-2 | WBA |
| Sunday, Feb. 8 | 2.05 p.m. | 9:05 a.m. | Newcastle | 1-1 | Stoke City |
| Sunday, Feb. 8 | 4.15 p.m. | 11:15 a.m. | West Ham | 1-1 | Manchester United |
| 1 | Chelsea | 24 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 54 | 21 | +33 | 56 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 24 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 47 | 24 | +23 | 49 |
| 3 | Southampton | 24 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 38 | 17 | +21 | 45 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 24 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 40 | 23 | +17 | 44 |
| 5 | Tottenham | 24 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 37 | 31 | +6 | 43 |
| 6 | Arsenal | 24 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 45 | 27 | +18 | 42 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 33 | 27 | +6 | 39 |
| 8 | West Ham | 24 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 36 | 28 | +8 | 37 |
| 9 | Swansea | 24 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 28 | 31 | -3 | 34 |
| 10 | Stoke | 24 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 27 | 29 | -2 | 33 |
| 11 | Newcastle United | 24 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 30 | 36 | -6 | 31 |
| 12 | Everton | 24 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 31 | 34 | -3 | 27 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 24 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 26 | 34 | -8 | 26 |
| 14 | Sunderland | 24 | 4 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 34 | -12 | 24 |
| 15 | West Bromwich Albion | 24 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 22 | 34 | -12 | 23 |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 24 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 32 | -20 | 22 |
| 17 | Burnley | 24 | 4 | 9 | 11 | 23 | 40 | -17 | 21 |
| 18 | Hull | 24 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 21 | 34 | -13 | 20 |
| 19 | Queens Park Rangers | 24 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 24 | 43 | -19 | 19 |
| 20 | Leicester | 24 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 21 | 38 | -17 | 17 |
Sunday Recap
West Ham United and Manchester United drew 1-1 in an absorbing game at Upton Park. Cheikhou Kouyate scored the opening goal of the game, finishing superbly on the turn for the Hammers in the 49th minute, sending the home side into raptures. But United battled back well and equalised through Daley Blind in stoppage time.
The first half was a tight 45 minutes, but the home side always seemed to boast an edge. They were first to everything in midfield, shutting down the illustrious talents of Wayne Rooney and Agel Di Maria. From set pieces West Ham were a major threat too and David De Gea was on hand on a trio of occasions to thwart efforts at goal.
As noted by Barney Ronay of The Guardian, the United attackers were struggling to make much of an impact:
That trend continued in the second half, as West Ham got the goal their rumbustious play deserved. The ball dropped to Kouyate—filling in as an emergency centre-back on the day—inside the penalty area and he spectacularly juggled it a couple of times before rifling an emphatic striker beyond De Gea.
As noted by writer SamuelJayC, the space and time the West Ham man had didn’t reflect well on the Red Devils defence:
"Man Utd just watched a player dance in their area with the ball & score. Great touches from Kouyate, though. #whufc #mufc
— Sam (@samuelJayC) February 8, 2015"
Louis van Gaal’s side looked for a way back into the game but were unable to conjure any opportunities of real note. But when Radamel Falcao burst through on goal, an equaliser looked inevitable. However the Colombian fired wide from 10 yards; Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe was far from impressed:
The Red Devils did eventually get a breakthrough, though. After some sustained pressure, Blind met a loose ball superbly on the half volley in stoppage time, sending the travelling supporters into delirium behind the goal.
As noted by Daniel Storey of Football 365, it wasn't exactly a deserved goal for the Red Devils:
Luke Shaw was sent off very late on to blemish United's late heroics but Van Gaal will have been delighted to salvage a point from what was a pretty moribund performance.
Earlier in the day, Burnley and West Bromwich Albion played out an entertaining 2-2 draw at Turf Moor. The hosts came flying out of the traps, roaring into a two-goal thanks to goals from Ashley Barnes and Danny Ings. But Chris Brunt halved the deficit just before half time and Brown Ideye came off the bench to level things up for the Baggies.
Sean Dyche saw his side lose a two-goal lead for the second consecutive home match and he’ll definitely consider this a case of two points dropped. Especially when reflecting on how well they started the game.
Barnes and Ings were causing a reshuffled Baggies back-line problems aplenty in their early stages and the strike partnership combined in the 11th minute to give the home side a deserved lead. Barnes added the finishing touch after a neat pull-back from Ings and the latter doubled Burnley’s advantage in the 32nd minute, heading home George Boyd’s excellent cross.
As noted by Squawka Football, the forward has been vital for the Clarets this season:
West Brom looked down and out at this juncture, but they were handed a lifeline when Brunt headed in a corner in first half stoppage time. Baggies boss Tony Pulis introduced striker Ideye at the break to give his side more of an attacking edge and he was duly rewarded when he rose highest from a corner to put the visitors level.
As we can see, Dyche’s men have a patent for conceding headed goals:
Both sides spurned chances with the clock ticking down, but a draw was ultimately a fair result. Pulis will be delighted with the fortitude showcased by his men to haul themselves back into this match and will be the happier of the two bosses, but on this showing, both teams will be vying to stay in the Premier League come the end of the season.
Sandwiched between those two matches was a 1-1 draw between Newcastle United and Stoke City. The hosts looked as though they had this one won after Jack Colback netted late on, but Peter Crouch came off the bench to head an equaliser for the Potters in stoppage time.
The game itself wasn’t much of a spectacle, but Colback’s goal was a real moment of quality. As noted by former England defender Gary Lineker it wasn’t really in keeping with the rest of the match:
It was the kind of match that look destined to be settled by one goal, but to their credit Stoke came back into it. Indeed, Crouch’s later header was well deserved and as noted by OptaJoe, the England international is a hugely threatening aerial presence:
The two teams on show were very even and they lacked the ingenuity to carve out regular openings. On this evidence, neither side will be in the reckoning for European spots come the end of the season, but they both have the class to avoid being dragged into a relegation battle.
Saturday Recap
The weekend's action started in fine fashion with a pulsating North London derby at White Heart Lane.
And it was Harry Kane and Tottenham who reigned supreme as the home team came from behind to beat its illustrious local rivals.
Arsenal took an early lead in the tie as German international Mesut Ozil continued his fine form with an 11th-minute strike, after great work by Danny Welbeck, on the right.
But Spurs took control of the game as Arsene Wenger's side sat back and invited pressure.
After the break, the home side continued to raid the Gunners' goal and finally made the breakthrough just before the hour, as Kane clinically finished for the equaliser.
However, Spurs had to wait until five minutes from time as Kane beautifully headed the ball to the far post to score once more, giving his side the deserved win.
The Press Association's Simon Peach shared some of the Tottenham fans' obvious jubilation after the win, singing the name of their latest superstar:
The battle for the top of the league took an important twist on Saturday as City once again coughed and spluttered at home to weaker opposition.
The Etihad Stadium has not been the usual fortress it normally is for the Sky Blues, and the team is now four matches without a win at home, per Mandeep Sanghera of BBC Sport.
Hull had taken a shock lead late in the first half when David Meyler found the bottom corner. And it took City all the way until stoppage time at the end of the game to equalize, as James Milner saved the EPL champions' blushes.
The Manchester Evening News' Stuart Brennan berated a poor City after the draw and demanded changes should have been made earlier in the day:
Chelsea had to fight for their three points at Aston Villa, with the home team peppering the Blues' goal at times in the second half.
But after goals from Eden Hazard and Jores Okore levelled the tie, it was left to a sublime volley from Branislav Ivanovic to win the game.
In the day's other matches, Crystal Palace scored a vital win at the foot of the table as they beat Leicester City, 1-0 away. The victory temporarily lifts the Eagles up to 13th place.
Southampton continued their impressive form of 2014-15 as they defeated QPR, who lost Harry Redknapp as their boss last week.
And there were draws for both Swansea City and Sunderland, and Everton and Liverpool, posting results of 1-1 and 0-0 respectively.
