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Luis Suarez of Liverpool celebrates with Daniel Sturridge (L) as he scores their fourth goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Stoke City and Liverpool at Britannia Stadium on January 12, 2014
Stoke 3 – 5 Liverpool
The match at the Britannia stadium served up an eight goal thriller. Liverpool took the early lead through a wicked deflection off Ryan Shawcross. Luis Suarez doubled the visitors’ lead after a comedy of errors at the back for Stoke City. However, the hosts showed great character to pull level, scoring two goals within five minutes before the end of the first half. Early into the second half, Raheem Sterling won his team a controversial penalty, which Steven Gerrard slotted home comfortably to give Liverpool the lead in a see-saw affair. Daniel Sturridge came on with 30 minutes to play, and made an instant impact. The Englishman set up his striker partner Luis Suarez for his second of the game, to restore Liverpool’s two goal advantage. The Porters pulled one back to make it 3-4 through Jonathan Walters after shoddy work from Simon Mignolet. However, Daniel Sturridge scored the last goal in the dying minutes of the game to see off Stoke’s late surge to secure a well deserved three points away from home. Liverpool remain in 4th, while Stoke drop 12th.
Newcastle 0 – 2 Manchester City
The scoreline might not be the perfect reflection of how the game went. The visitors took an early lead through Edin Dzeko after great play by David Silva in midfield. The most controversial talking point of the game came when Cheick Tiote scored an absolute scorcher from the edge of the box, but was wrongly ruled out due to offside. However, the hosts did not lose heart, and gave it a good go in the second half where they had their fair share of chances. In the quest for an equaliser, Manchester City nicked one on the break through Alvaro Negredo to seal the victory. Manchester City go top of the table, while Newcastle drop to 8th.
Manchester United 2 – 0 Swansea City
David Moyes and Manchester United earned a vital victory against a dangerous Swansea City. The visitors dominated possession in the early part of the game without creating a gilt-edged chance. The Red Devils grabbed the opener against the run of play through Antonio Valencia. The second came soon, after Danny Welbeck deflected in a Patrice Evra effort on goal. The hosts held on to bag all three points. Manchester United stay in 7th place, while Swansea drop to 13th.
Hull City 0 – 2 Chelsea
Chelsea had to grind out a result against a resilliant Hull side. The visitors broke the deadlock with a beautifully taken goal by Eden Hazard. The second by the resurgent Fernando Torres put the game to bed despite a late surge by the hosts. Chelsea move to 2nd in the table, while Hull City remain in 10th.
