Full Round-Up & Recap of Week 12 in the Premier League

BY NISAR KHAN

Football

Premier League

WEEK 12

The Premier League indeed hit the ground running following the International break. With Manchester City quick out of the blocks decimating Tottenham, an epic derby, thrilling draws and plenty of late goals, it was another remarkable weekend of Premier League action.

In the weekend's games, all matches saw at least one goal following the 80th minute. Late drama struck proving for some edge-of-your-seat entertainment.

An enticing three-all draw between Merseyside rivals would prove for the best game of the season to date.

Everton 3 - 3 Liverpool

GOALSCORERS: Coutinho 5', Mirallas 8', Suarez 19', Lukaku 72' & 82', Sturridge 89'
MAN OF THE MATCH: Romelu Lukaku
REPORT: Read the match report here
HEADLINE: Daniel Sturridge Scores Late Equalizer in Six-Goal Merseyside Thriller

Daniel Sturridge scored on the 89th minute to pull back a point for Liverpool in an incredible Merseysid Derby.

Philipe Coutinho scored his first goal in the derby just five minutes in, scoring after Luis Suarez flicked the ball onto him from Gerrard's corner.

Kevin Mirallas would hit back for the hosts merely minutes after, capitalizing on poor defense of Leighton Baines' free-kick to equalize.

Luis Suarez took advantage of a poor wall set-up to curl a free-kick into the bottom right which gave Liverpool the lead going into the break.

Simon Mignolet had a busy afternoon in between the sticks having to defy fellow Belgian Romelu Lukaku time and time again. But eventually, Lukaku would score twice within ten minutes of two set-pieces to put the Toffees ahead once again.

Referee Phil Dowd came under some criticism for a delayed sanctioning of Kevin Mirallas as he only received a booking for a high challenge on Luis Suarez that could have easily made him see red. That was one of a few typical Derby fouls that included Steven Gerrard colliding with fellow compatriot Gareth Barry mid-air.

Trailing by a goal, Brendan Rogers looked towards Daniel Sturridge and the potent SAS striking partnership, as he substituted Daniel Sturridge on. And that would have an impact, as Daniel Sturridge scored from a header off Steven Gerrard's free quick to score the sixth goal of the game.

Daniel Sturridge heads home a huge equalizer. Image Courtesy: Reuters

Stoke 2 - 0 Sunderland

GOALSCORERS: Adam 30', N'Zonzi 81'
MAN OF THE MATCH: Geoff Cameron
HEADLINE: Stoke Topple Controversial 10-man Sunderland

Charlie Adam and Steven N'Zonzi scored in Stoke's home win over Sunderland in a game where Wes Brown was controversially sent off.

Right on the half-hour mark, Charlie Adam scored off N'Zonzi's assist to put Stoke ahead at the Britannia.

Wes Brown was controversially sent off six minutes following the goal for a challenge on Charlie Adam. On further inspection, Adam seemed to win the ball cleanly, yet was the recipient of a red card.

After assisting the first, N'Zonzi scored with minutes remaining of the game to secure the victory.

Outrage: Stoke's players debate the decision.

Hull City 0 - 1 Crystal Palace

GOALSCORERS: Bannan 81'
MAN OF THE MATCH: Barry Bannan
HEADLINE: Late Bannan Goal the Difference as Eagles Tame Tigers

Barry Bannan scored in the 81st minute to record Crystal Palace's second league win as they beat Hull City away.

It was Crystal Palace's first win since beating Sunderland in August.

Goalless up to the late stages, Tony Pulis watched from the stands having signed a deal as manager earlier on that day.

Yannick Bolasie was sent off with around twelve minutes remaining and the odds were stacked against the visitors.

But, the 10-man Palace side would take the lead with nine minutes of normal time remaining. Fantastic work by Cameron Jerome allowed him to cut back to Barry Bannan to score an easy goal from close-range.

Hang-Time: Barry Bannan leaps to the air as he celebrates the winner. Image Courtesy / Copyright: Getty

Newcastle 2 - 1 Norwich

GOALSCORERS: Remy 2', Gouffran 38', Fer 80'
MAN OF THE MATCH: Shola Ameobi
HEADLINE: Magpies Comfortably Fly to Win over Canaries

Gouffran and Remy's first-half goals picked up three points for Newcastle when they eased to victory at St James' Park.

Loic Remy scored just two minutes into the action with a header off Yohan Cabaye's corner kick. The goal was significant for the hosts with an early lead established.

Yoan Gouffran fired the second for the Magpies following John Ruddy's parry from Shola Amerobi's shot, giving the home-side a threshold of the game going into the break.

Newcastle were in for a shaky finish to the game with Leroy Fer's header to pull one back for the Canaries, but alas in vein as Newcastle went on to take all the points.

Fulham 1 - 2 Swansea

GOALSCORERS: Hughes 56' (OG), Parker 64', Shelvey 80'
MAN OF THE MATCH: Scott Parker
HEADLINE: Jonjo Shelvey Scores Winner off the Bench to Ground Fulham

Jonjo Shelvey was substituted on and scored in the 80th minute as Swansea picked up their first win in six games.

Fulham had a lackluster start to the game of which was symbolized with Aaron Hughes' own goal, summing up a frustrating day for Martin Jol.

Captain Scott Parker put his side on level terms with a curled shot to put Fulham back into it, but it would soon change again.

Jonjo Shelvey came off the bench to fire past the keeper on the edge of the area, a winner that would pick up a big win for the Swans and further diminish Fulham, and Martin Jol, who came under more criticism following the loss. 



Arsenal 2 - 0 Southampton

GOALSCORERS: Giroud 22' & 82' (pen)
MAN OF THE MATCH: Olivier Giroud
HEADLINE: Giroud Double Topples Third Place Saints as Arsenal Go Four Points Clear

Olivier Giroud scored two for Arsenal to hold off an impressive Southampton performance to put the Gunners four points clear at the top of the table.

It was a gift of a goal for Giroud in his first, as keeper Boruc messed up with a backpass allowing the Frenchman to fire the opener.

GIF: Giroud is gifted the goal.

Giroud's second came in the form of a penalty, as Jose Fonte was caught pulling Per Mertesacker's shirt.

Southampton, proving their worth with a high position in the table, made it a hard task for Arsenal to pick up the win as Adam Lallana came close.

Arsenal went four points clear following their win.

Double-Delight: Giroud. Image Courtesy: TheTimes.co.uk

West Ham United 0 - 3 Chelsea

GOALSCORERS: Lampard 21' & 82', Oscar 34'
MAN OF THE MATCH: Frank Lampard
REPORT: Read the match report here
HEADLINE: Lampard Ends Goal Drought With Double as Chelsea Knock Down Hammers

Frank Lampard ended an 11-game goal drought to score twice in Chelsea's dominant performance over West Ham at Upton Park.

Chelsea started the game with a bombardment of pressure to the hosts. With a few chances coming in the opening minutes, it was becoming clear that Sam Allardyce was in for a tough evening.

Oscar was brought down in the box in the 20th minute by Jussi Jääskeläinen with some poor communication by the players leading up to the penalty. Frank Lampard fired it straight down the middle to beat the Finn and open the scoring.

Jussi Jääskeläinen was beaten thirteen minutes later with a goal that looked so simple, yet so good from Oscar. Dribbling the ball down the centre, he turned and struck it low to silence Upton Park.

West Ham came out looking revitalized in the second half, but were still unable to score as Ivanovic and others provided a stable defense for the Blues.

Frank Lampard scored from 18 yards out after picking up the ball when Oscar's shot was blocked to score Chelsea's third impressively.

Demba Ba could have made it fourth, but celebrations were premature with the disallowed goal as it was offside.



Manchester City 6 - 0 Southampton

GOALSCORERS: Navas 1' & 90+2', Sandro (OG) 34', Agüero 41' & 50', Negredo 55'
MAN OF THE MATCH: Sergio Aguero
HEADLINE: City Thrash Tottenham in Six-Goal Masterclass

Manchester City made a bold statement at the Etihad Stadium as they reinstated title hopes in a 6 - 0 win over Tottenham.

Jesus Navas scored Manchester City's quickest league goal within 14 seconds, capitalizing on Lloris' poor clearance to strike into goal from the right, clipping the post then going in.

Alvaro Negredo's shot was blocked by Sandro before going into goal as Negredo tangled up two defenders on the goalline for City's second.

Sergio Aguero scored off a cross for the Blues' third goal before half time.

A surging run by Yaya Toure before squaring it across to Aguero for the fourth goal would be the cornerstone of a masterclass performance from Manchester City.

Alvaro Negredo scored from 18-yards out with a lovely turn before beating Lloris to further bury the Spurs.

In stoppage time, Jesus Navas scored the sixth goal with a side footed shot. An absolutely dominant performance from Manchester City.



Cardiff 2 - 2 Manchester United

GOALSCORERS: Rooney 15', Campbell 33', Evra 45', Kim 90+1'
MAN OF THE MATCH: Fraizer Campbell
HEADLINE: Cardiff Stun Champions with Stoppage Time Equalizer

Kim Bo-Kyung scored a stoppage time header as Cardiff City stole back a point in triumphant fashion at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Wayne Rooney's opening goal was criticized as many thought that he should have been sent off for kicking a player of which the referee did not fully enforce the sanctions.

Fraizer Campbell scored against his former club for the equalizer, but Evra pulled one back before the half.

As Manchester United looked closer and closer to the win, Kim Bo-Kyung would score a header off a free-kick for the equalizer to cap off a monumental day for Cardiff.



West Brom 2 - 2 Aston Villa

GOALSCORERS: Long 3' & 11',  El Ahmadi 67', Westwood 76'
MAN OF THE MATCH: Shane Long
HEADLINE: Aston Villa Pull Two Back Quick in Dramatic Draw

Aston Villa scored twice within nine minutes to turn the game around and steal back an away point from West Brom.

Shane Long had his side ahead within eleven minutes, scoring two goals as West Brom took control of the game.

However, late surges by Villa and goals from El Ahmadi and Westwood caught West Brom off guard and Aston Villa got back the point.

League Table 

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That's a wrap for week twelve.

Another thrilling weekend delivers some tantalizing action, with Man City re-instating title hopes, epic encounter in Merseyside, triumphant draw for Cardiff and much more.

Sunderland and Crystal Palace are tied on seven points each at the bottom, while the Gunners are four points clear at the top.

We'll have plenty more football coming your way, starting with Champions League coverage on Tuesday 26 November with all the action from every game live. More football on TheSportMatrix.com »

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