Premier League Table: Updated 2015 EPL Standings Following Matchday 29 Results
Chelsea didn't take full advantage of Manchester City's 1-0 defeat at Burnley. The Premier League leaders were held to a 1-1 draw at home by a typically resilient Southampton.
Elsewhere, Arsenal continued their scorching home form in Week 29 of the Premier League season, beating West Ham United 3-0 to take their streak at the Emirates to eight wins in a row.
Burnley put together a fantastic performance to shock defending champions Manchester City, who slumped to a 1-0 loss and remain six points behind leaders Chelsea after the latter's draw on Sunday.
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The Tim Sherwood effect clearly hasn't worn off yet as Aston Villa beat Sunderland 4-0, while Crystal Palace easily beat Queens Park Rangers 3-1.
Here's what the schedule looks like:
| Saturday, March 14 | Burnley | 1-0 | Manchester City |
| Saturday, March 14 | Crystal Palace | 3-1 | QPR |
| Saturday, March 14 | Arsenal | 3-0 | West Ham |
| Saturday, March 14 | Leicester City | 0-0 | Hull City |
| Saturday, March 14 | Sunderland | 0-4 | Aston Villa |
| Saturday, March 14 | WBA | 1-0 | Stoke City |
| Sunday, March 15 | Chelsea | 1-1 | Southampton |
| Sunday, March 15 | Everton | 3-0 | Newcastle |
| Sunday, March 15 | Manchester United | 3-0 | Tottenham |
| Monday, March 16 | Swansea | 0-1 | Liverpool |
The current standings:
| 1 | Chelsea | 28 | 19 | 7 | 2 | 58 | 23 | +35 | 64 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 29 | 17 | 7 | 5 | 59 | 28 | +31 | 58 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 29 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 56 | 30 | +26 | 57 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 29 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 50 | 26 | +24 | 56 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 29 | 16 | 6 | 7 | 43 | 30 | +13 | 54 |
| 6 | Southampton | 29 | 15 | 5 | 9 | 40 | 21 | +19 | 50 |
| 7 | Tottenham | 29 | 15 | 5 | 9 | 46 | 42 | +4 | 50 |
| 8 | Stoke | 29 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 33 | 35 | -2 | 42 |
| 9 | Swansea | 29 | 11 | 7 | 11 | 33 | 38 | -5 | 40 |
| 10 | West Ham | 29 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 39 | 37 | +2 | 39 |
| 11 | Newcastle United | 29 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 32 | 46 | -14 | 35 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 29 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 34 | 40 | -6 | 33 |
| 13 | West Bromwich Albion | 29 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 27 | 36 | -9 | 33 |
| 14 | Everton | 29 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 36 | 41 | -5 | 31 |
| 15 | Hull | 29 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 26 | 37 | -11 | 28 |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 29 | 7 | 7 | 15 | 19 | 38 | -19 | 28 |
| 17 | Sunderland | 29 | 4 | 14 | 11 | 23 | 43 | -20 | 26 |
| 18 | Burnley | 29 | 5 | 10 | 14 | 26 | 47 | -21 | 25 |
| 19 | Queens Park Rangers | 29 | 6 | 4 | 19 | 30 | 52 | -22 | 22 |
| 20 | Leicester | 28 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 24 | 44 | -20 | 19 |
Monday Recap
Liverpool maintained their fine run of away form on Monday evening as Brendan Rodgers came away from the Liberty Stadium with a 1-0 win to seal a league double against his former team.
Jordan Henderson was somewhat fortunate to find the back of the net 22 minutes from time, but the Reds are nevertheless claiming any points on offer, with the BBC's John Bennett noting their success in 2015:
The result also saw Henderson score his third goal in four games, although Rodgers would assuredly like to see Daniel Sturridge rediscover his golden touch in front of goal.
The former Swans helmsman will take all the positives he can, though, and as pointed out by Bet365 and Squawka, this latest win was a landmark victory for the Merseysiders:
Swansea may count themselves somewhat unfortunate not to have made more of an impression on Simon Mignolet, although the south Wales hosts were outdone in shots at goal, per WhoScored.com.
Liverpool have no time to rest on their laurels, however, and play host to Manchester United on Sunday, hoping to claim an Anfield victory over their fierce rivals and climb into the top four.
Sunday Recap
Chelsea never really got going against the Saints despite an early headed goal by Diego Costa. Southampton drew level when Dusan Tadic converted a penalty following sterling work from Victor Wanyama and the very impressive Sadio Mane.
The latter was a constant menace to Chelsea's plodding back four. It didn't help the Stamford Bridge club that their own attacking players were wasteful in possession.
In particular, passing master Cesc Fabregas endured a very erratic outing, per WhoScored.com:
Chelsea did turn up the heat during the second half, but Brazilian schemer Oscar wasted two excellent chances. In the end, that's just what this result represents for Jose Mourinho's table-toppers: a wasted opportunity.
Manchester United and Everton didn't waste their chances to create some daylight in tight races at both ends of the table. The former thrashed Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 at Old Trafford, all but knocking the north London club out of the top-four race.
After witnessing a trio of first-half goals, Manchester Evening News reporter Rob Dawson was full of praise for the Red Devils' showing:
United are now just two points shy of second place.
As for Everton, the Merseyside club smashed three past an increasingly hapless Newcastle United. The result moves The Toffees six points away from the bottom three.
Saturday Recap
Arsenal cruised to a 3-0 win over West Ham, as Olivier Giroud broke the deadlock just before half-time and Mathieu Flamini and Aaron Ramsey added goals in the second half. Per Squawka Football, the Gunners have now won eight in a row at the Emirates, a new record:
Sam Allardyce's squad came out with a very defensive game plan and were lucky to hold on to the 0-0 scoreline for so long, as Arsenal dominated from start to finish.
Ramsey in particular put together an excellent match, but overall the entire squad looked in excellent form. In fact, the side looked so good that some fans started to dream of a late title push.
The Blizzard's Jonathan Wilson couldn't help himself:
Arsenal now hold a four-point gap over Manchester United, who host Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
George Boyd scored the only goal in Burnley's shock 1-0 win over Manchester City, as the Clarets now sit just one point behind Sunderland in the battle against relegation.
The Citizens have been slumping since the start of the new year and really needed some momentum heading into a crucial match at the Camp Nou against Barcelona, but the squad took a collective day off on Saturday.
Despite their horrible performance, fans were still shocked when Boyd opened the score. So was Bleacher Report UK:
The hosts held on for a famous win, adding another wrinkle to the relegation battle and a massive blow to City's title chances.
Saturday's biggest story was undoubtedly Aston Villa's 4-0 demolition of Sunderland, with all goals coming in the first half. The Villans looked dead in the water just one month ago, but the appointment of Tim Sherwood has certainly made a difference.
Cue the memes and general craziness, via Eurosport.com:
Christian Benteke and Gabriel Agbonlahor each bagged a brace for the visitors, who now sit three points above the relegation zone.
Meanwhile, Sunderland manager Gus Poyet should start fearing for his job after yet another disappointing performance from his squad, per Football365's Daniel Storey:
Queens Park Rangers continue to sink in the Premier League standings, and Saturday's 3-1 loss against Crystal Palace certainly didn't help. Manager Chris Ramsey is starting to get desperate:
West Bromwich Albion beat Stoke City 1-0, while Leicester City and Hull City played out a 0-0 draw.
League leaders Chelsea host Southampton on Sunday, while Tottenham visit Old Trafford in the matchday's marquee fixture.
