A much anticipated London derby failed to live up to its expectation, as Tottenham and Chelsea battled it out to win a point apiece at White Hart Lane. Arsenal had a night to forget on Sunday, after winning only a point against a resolute Norwich outfit, in addition to losing two players to injury. Liverpool were frustrated for long periods of the match against a disciplined Swansea side but a second-half James Milner penalty was enough for Jurgen Klopp’s men to move to 6th place in the standings.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Chelsea was undeniably one of the games of last season, as the Lilywhites thumped their rivals 5-3 but this time around the result was rather underwhelming as both sides were happy with a point. Jose Mourinho who had a bust-up with Deigo Costa midweek in the Champions League but supposedly made-up, left the Spaniard on the bench in this crunch encounter. The home side started brightly and Harry Kane’s shot from the edge of the box was fluffed by Begovic but thankfully for the Chelsea shotstopper, there was no one to pounce on the loose ball. In the 21st minute, Pedro’s swiveling shot went over inches over the crossbar, before Moussa Dembele’s powerful left-footed drive in the 30th minute was kept out by Begovic.
After a goalless first-half, meaningful chances were few and far between and Son came closest to scoring for Spurs, when he played a clever one-two with Erik Lamela but could only send his weak shot straight at Begovic. A few minutes later, Chelsea had the best chance of the game, when Branislav Ivanovic’s curling ball over the Tottenham defence met Eden Hazard at the left-flank and the Belgian’s thunderous first-time left-footed shot from a narrow angle was somehow kept out for a corner by Hugo Lloris. Mourinho sent Costa to warm-up at the sidelines but eventually didn’t bring the striker on and the former-Atletico Madrid man was visibly livid, when he took off his training bib with his back to his manager and threw it in disgust in Mourinho’s direction. The striker has scored only four goals this season and rumors are buzzing around Stamford Bridge that Mourinho wants to get rid of him. Following this stalemate, Tottenham are fifth in the table with 25 points, 5 off leaders Manchester City, while Chelsea are at 14th place with 15 points.
An Arsenal side ravaged with injuries visited Carrow Road on the back of a commanding European victory but it quickly turned sour for Arsene Wenger when Laurent Koscielny limped off with a suspected hip problem. At the half-hour mark, Alexis Sanchez pounced on a poor John Ruddy clearance and slipped in a clever ball to Mesut Ozil, who nonchalantly chipped the ball over the onrushing English goalkeeper to hand his side the lead. After being denied a clear penalty a few minutes earlier, Norwich deservedly got the equalizer, when Lewis Grabban latched on to Robbie Brady’s pass and turned around Gabriel with ease to finish past Cech.
Arsene Wenger had admitted before the match that Alexis Sanchez had problems with his fitness, particularly his right hamstring, but chose to risk the Chilean anyway. Needless to say, the gamble didn’t pay off, as the winger pulled up at the hour mark and now faces a lengthy lay-off. The Gunners pushed for a winner but the hosts held on as the game ended 1-1. After a bright start to the season, things are taking a turn for the worse at Arsenal and Wenger must some buys in January to bolster his injury-stricken squad.
After failing to replicate their away form at Anfield, Liverpool pressed hard in the opening stages but failed to find a way past a dogged Swansea outfit. As the first-half waned, the visitors began to threaten on the counter-attack but neither ‘keeper made a save in the first half, although Kyle Bartley almost scored an own-goal when his tackle-clearance struck the post. At the hour-mark, the referee awarded Liverpool a penalty, when Jordan Ibe’s cross struck Neil Taylor’s arm in the 18-yard box. Although the penalty was given under dubious circumstances, captain James Milner slammed his spot-kick straight down the middle to give the Reds the lead. In the end, Liverpool held on and it was nothing pretty, as Milner later quoted, but Jurgen Klopp’s men got the job done and the Liverpool faithful will be pleased and rather relieved with the returns of the Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge.
West Ham wasted a host of golden chances against West Brom, as the Mauro Zarate’s glorious free-kick was cancelled out by a Winston Reid own-goal, as it finished 1-1 at Upton Park.
Gareth Bale scored his first goal since August and Cristiano Ronaldo converted a late penalty to seal all three points against Eibar in La Liga, to remain at 3rd place in La Liga, 6 points behind leaders Barcelona
