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Results At A Glance
Joe Cole got the weekend’s football action off to a bang, scoring inside the opening four minutes of West Ham United’s 3-3 draw with West Bromwich Albion at Upton Park. Nicolas Anelka’s brace in the final five minutes of the first half, allowed the Frenchman to become only the ninth player to score for six different Premier League clubs.
Manchester United were forced to batten down the hatches versus a feisty Norwich City side, completing a total of 90 defensive actions throughout the match – 17 interceptions, four blocked shots and 69 clearances – as the Canaries knocked at the door in search of a goal. Man United stood strong however, picking up a 1-0 victory in the hunt for the prized Champions League positions.
Crystal Palace resisted a whirlwind of Manchester City pressure at the Etihad, as the hosts poured forward in search of a goal. Manuel Pellegrini’s men could only breach Palace’s seemingly impenetrable human wall on one occasion, securing an unexceptional win courtesy of Edin Džeko.
George Boyd and Matty Fryatt both scored their first Premier League goals during Hull City’s 6-0 demolition of Fulham at The KC Stadium. Fellow team-mate Tom Huddlestone was another of the players to get his name on the score sheet, ending the self-imposed charity haircut ban that’s lasted since 2011.
Aston Villa and Swansea City’s 1-1 draw gave both teams a share of the spoils, while a single point was also awarded to Cardiff City and Sunderland. The Bluebirds had looked on course to win the match 2-0, but Steven Fletcher and Jack Colback had other ideas, scoring two late goals to level the match in the final 12 minutes.
Sunday’s action began with Arsenal’s trip to the North East to take on Newcastle United. Olivier Giroud’s eighth goal of the campaign claimed a crucial 1-0 victory for the Gunners, allowing them to travel the lengthy trip back to London in the knowledge that first place in the Premier League was theirs once more.
Southampton’s 2-1 loss to Everton at Goodison Park saw Adam Lallana achieve the lowest Performance Score (-46) of any outfield player to play the full 90 minutes. And finally, Tottenham Hotspur thrashed a lacklustre Stoke City 3-0, while Chelsea defeated fellow rivals Liverpool 2-1, aided by 78% pass completion and 51% possession.
Tactical Titbits
With 76 goals between them heading into the fixture, Chelsea’s top-of-the-table clash with Liverpool was always going to be frenetic, exciting and tactically absorbing encounter. Not least because it pitted José Mourinho against former student Brendan Rodgers in a battle of wits. How would Chelsea’s boss set his side up to face an opposition manager with inside knowledge?
Mourinho deployed a high block, constructed and aligned in a 4-2-4 formation when out of possession. Oscar would move alongside Samuel Eto’o in the heart of Liverpool’s defence, closing down the available passing lanes for Martin Škrtel and Mamadou Sakho, while Eden Hazard and Willian harassed the opposition full-backs down the flanks with vigour and relentless pressing. In effect, this quashed one of Brendan Rodgers’ preferred tactical philosophies; playing out from the back.
Seven interceptions were completed by Chelsea inside Swansea’s half (see diagram above) in an attempt to stifle Liverpool’s passing options throughout central midfield and towards the ominous Luis Suárez.
It’s not the first time Mourinho has utilised this tactical strategy, as during Chelsea’s 1-0 victory against Swansea City on 26 December, the Blues completed 10 interceptions (26 in total) from around the half-way line and inside Swansea’s half.
In conclusion, Chelsea’s 4-2-4 high block restricted Liverpool’s natural 3v2 advantage in central midfield, hampered easy passing options from defence, but more importantly, the relentless pressing from their energetic attacking quartet limited the number of times Suárez received the ball to feet, which in turn stopped the prolific Uruguayan from roaming into space and running at the ageing John Terry.
Success Story
Hull City recorded their biggest ever victory in the Premier League on Saturday when they defeated Fulham 6-0 at the KC Stadium. All six goals arrived in 39 second-half minutes – a goal every six and a half minutes.
Hapless Horrors
Aston Villa may have secured a point against Swansea City, but the passing statistics don’t make for good reading.
The Villains achieved a total of 140 passes (58% accuracy) throughout the entire match, with loyal striker Gabriel Agbonlahor completing six passes (40% accuracy) in 90 minutes – the lowest total of any outfield player to play a full match over the weekend. Brad Guzan (5), Nathan Baker (7) and Ciaran Clark (10), along with many other Villa players, also made a paltry amount of completed passes.
Stat Of The Weekend
No other side has completed more passes in a single Premier League match this season than Manchester City (719), during their tricky encounter with Crystal Palace.
Matija Nastasi? (99) and Javi García’s (98) contribution played a major factor in City’s impressive statistic, with the pair achieving a combined total of 197 passes between them.
