It was a day full of incident in the Premier League, as 5 players were sent off and even more astonishingly, Chelsea and Liverpool slumped to embarrassing home defeats. Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez outperformed Cristiano Ronaldo, scoring a double each, as Real Madrid hammered Real Betis. Thomas Vermaelen saved Barcelona’s blushes with a late strike against Malaga.
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It was Jose Mourinho’s 100th home game in-charge but the occasion soon turned sour as Crystal Palace acted party-poopers to become only the second team to win all three points at Stamford Bridge, after Sunderland accomplished the historic feat a couple of seasons back. Bakary Sako put the visitors ahead in the 65th minute when he smashed the ball past Courtois after a scramble in the box. Radamel Falcao, who had a torrid time on loan at Manchester United, gave his side some hope when he squeezed in a header from a tight angle to level terms. But Joel Ward struck almost immediately when headed the ball past Courtois after a clever piece of play by Bolasie and Sako, to restore his side’s lead. Chelsea piled on the pressure but held on to ensure that Mourinho’s men are languishing in the bottom half of the table.
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A jubilant Liverpool side was humiliated in front of their home fans, after a threatening West Ham side ran riot at Anfield. Debutant Manuel Lanzini gave his side an early lead, when he tapped in Aaron Cresswell’s driven cross, after a poor headed clearance by Martin Skrtel. Dejan Lovren was at fault for the Hammers’ second goal, when he gifted possession at the corner flag and although, the defence managed to block the initial cross, Mark Noble coolly slotted it past the rooted Simon Mignolet. Matters got worse for the Reds when star-man Philippe Coutinho was controversially shown his second yellow-card for a soft yet silly tackle on Payet. The Brazilian, who was visibly distraught, will miss the upcoming mammoth tie against Manchester United. Liverpool pushed on and had a ray of hope, when goalscorer Noble was shown a straight red for yet another seemingly harmless tackle. As Liverpool pressed on, West Ham exploited their defensive frailties, when Sakho slotted home past the helpless Mignolet to compound Liverpool’s misery.
Manchester City created a club record with a 10th consecutive win by rather easily dismissing Watford 2-0 at home. Raheem Sterling opened the scoring and his City account with a tap-in and Fernandinho doubled the lead with a powerful finish from the edge of the box. Ibrahim Afellay and Charlie Adam took early showers as West Brom won 1-0 against 9-man Stoke City. Bad-boy Aleksandar Mitrovic was given his marching orders for a vicious stamp on Francis Coquelin, as Coloccini’s own goal ensured that Arsenal went home with all three points.
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Gareth Bale scored two well struck goals as Real Madrid registered their first win of the season, as James Rodriguez scored two delightful goals in a 5-0 hammering of Real Betis.
Thomas Vermaelen was the unlikely hero for Barcelona, as the former-Arsenal man struck late-on to break Malaga’s resistance. Vermaelen, who spent a year on the sidelines and had less than flattering minutes on the pitch, finally had a moment to cherish in the Blaugrana stripe when he smashed the ball into an empty net after ‘keeper Kameni parried Luis Suarez’s cross away.
Tags: Cristiano Ronaldo Crystal Palace EPL EPL news Gareth Bale James Rodriguez Jose Mourinho liverpool West Ham
