Arsenal 5-0 Aston Villa

Arsenal cruised to an emphatic 5-0 victory over Aston Villa at the Emirates with a
victory that makes it three straight Premier League wins for the first time this
season.
Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott were back in the starting line-up after long absences
and set up an important victory, which sees Arsene Wenger's men climb above
rivals Tottenham and into fifth position.
The German World Cup winner, making his first league start in four months, set up
Olivier Giroud for Arsenal's early opener and the roles were reversed after half-time
as Ozil made it 2-0.
Walcott added a third and there were further goals for Santi Cazorla, from the
penalty spot, and Hector Bellerin as Paul Lambert's men faded badly.
Villa remain just three points above the relegation zone and are without a win in
eight league matches, having failed to score in their last six - a new club record.
Alexis Sanchez was not risked but was barely missed as Arsenal exhibited their
counter-attacking best in the second half and Villa's wait for a goal stretched past
10 hours.
The additions of Ozil and Walcott - the latter making his first league start since
January 2014 - were the only changes Wenger made to the team that beat
Manchester City last time out in the Premier League.
Both were involved early on, Walcott's pace enabling him to threaten in behind
straight from the kick-off, before Ozil teed up the opening goal after just eight
minutes.
The attacking midfielder showed the type of creative touch that persuaded Arsenal
to make him their record signing, his smart flick-on putting Giroud clear on goal.
Giroud appeared to get the ball stuck under his feet as he went through one-on-
one, but recovered to clip delicately past Brad Guzan.
Guzan was beaten again in the 26th minute, only the post preventing Cazorla from
doubling Arsenal's lead as his effort bounced back off the frame of the goal .

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Southampton 0-1 Swansea City

A late goal from Jonjo Shelvey was enough to give Swansea victory
over Southampton at St Mary's as Ronald Koeman's side slumped to a surprise
1-0 defeat.
The midfielder settled a low-key affair in the 83rd minute when he took aim from
25 yards and arrowed a shot into the top right-hand corner, before Southampton
lost Ryan Bertrand to a straight red card in the closing stages for a dangerous
challenge on Modou Barrow, who had to be carried from the field on a stretcher.
Shelvey had earlier struck the left-hand post with a low drive, but that was a rare
threat for Swansea as Southampton dominated the ball for much of the encounter.
For all their possession, however, Southampton's best chance saw James Ward-
Prowse superbly denied by Lukasz Fabianski inside the opening 10 minutes, as
Ronald Koeman's side fell to a first Premier League defeat in seven.
Victory marked Swansea's first in the Premier League over the south coast club,
and also ended a four-match winless streak in the league.
Southampton miss out on the chance to climb back above Manchester United into
third, while Swansea's win sees them move up a place to ninth at the expense of
Stoke City.

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Chelsea 1-1 Manchester City

Champions Manchester City failed to make inroads into Chelsea 's five-point lead
as the Premier League's top two shared an absorbing 1-1 draw.
Jose Mourinho continued his tempestuous relationship with the media by shunning
a pre-match interview with Sky Sports – apparently angered by both a £25,000 fine
for comments about referees and Diego Costa's retrospective ban for a stamp on
Emre Can during the League Cup semi-final second leg this week.
That indiscretion earned the Spain striker a three-match suspension, but the man
to benefit from Costa's absence - recalled striker Loic Remy - took centre stage at
Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
He gave the hosts a 41st-minute lead, before a rare mistake from Chelsea
goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois allowed David Silva to equalise in the final minute of
the first half.
Although Manuel Pellegrini's team controlled much of the second period, their
winless league run extended to three matches.
City overhauled deficits in late runs to the Premier League crown in 2012 and 2014,
and a similar effort may now be required, as Mourinho's men remain in the driving
seat with 15 games remaining.

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Eibar 1-3 Atletico Madrid: Griezmann and Mandzukic goals gave Atletico Madrid a confident victory over Eibar.

Antoine Griezmann and Mario Mandzukic were in sparkling form as Atletico Madrid
bounced back from Copa del Rey elimination to beat Eibar 3-1 at a sodden Ipurua.
Diego Simeone's men crashed out of the Copa after a 3-2 home defeat by
Barcelona on Wednesday and they were greeted with torrential rain in the Basque
Country – initially plunging the game into doubt - but the Liga champions
produced an instant response as they cruised in testing circumstances.
Eighth-placed Eibar rarely looked capable of causing a splash on Saturday, with
Griezmann's eighth league goal from his last six outings giving Atletico a seventh-
minute lead.
The France international was then the architect for Atletico's second, crossing for
the equally sharp Mario Mandzukic to prod home.
Mandzukic added his 10th Liga goal of the season in the 27th minute and, sensing
the match was already won, a stubborn Atletico sat back and tightened their grip
thereafter.
Eibar improved after the break, though Federico Piovaccari's consolation goal came
a minute from time and did little to change the outcome as Atletico remain four
points off the pace of rivals Real Madrid in the Liga title race.
Despite the saturated pitch, Atletico did not resort to a direct style of play and their
commitment to playing the ball was rewarded after just seven minutes.
Griezmann peeled away to the left and was played into the area by Raul Garcia,
the French attacker slamming a precise effort into the bottom-right corner.
Eibar were not quite so keen to stick to the principles of short passing, though,
often pumping the ball into the box to give Miguel Angel Moya something of a
physical test.

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Real Madrid 4-1 Real Sociedad: Benzema brace gave Real Madrid a comeback win at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Karim Benzema starred in the absence of the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo by
scoring twice in Real Madrid's 4-1 win over Real Sociedad on Saturday.
Ronaldo received a two-match ban after lashing out at Cordoba's Edimar in
Real's last league outing, but the leaders marched without the Portugal forward at
Santiago Bernabeu.
Sociedad, who beat Carlo Ancelotti's side 4-2 at the Anoeta in September, were
out to record their first away win over Real since 2004 and they enjoyed a fine
start, as Aritz Elustondo headed them in front in the first minute.
James Rodriguez equalised just two minutes later, but Sociedad carried a serious
attacking threat until Carlos Vela's injury 17 minutes in.
The hosts began to take control after the Mexico striker's substitution and Sergio
Ramos put them ahead eight minutes before the break with his 41st Liga goal,
with Benzema adding a third early in the second half.
Real saw several chances go begging in the second half, but Benzema completed
the scoring in spectacular fashion with 14 minutes to go as Real moved four points
clear of Barcelona, who face Villarreal on Sunday

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Sunderland 2-0 Burnley: Defoe scored his first goal for his new club Sunderland.

Jermain Defoe scored his first goal for Sunderland as Gus Poyet's side cruised to a
comfortable 2-0 home victory over fellow Premier League strugglers Burnley.
The former Tottenham man arrived from MLS outfit Toronto earlier this month, and
marked his third appearance in all competitions with a simple close-range finish
shortly after the half-hour mark.
Sunderland were already one ahead by that stage, as both Burnley centre-halves
Jason Shackell and Michael Keane were drawn to the presence of Defoe inside the
box, leaving Connor Wickham with an easy header from Anthony Reveillere's cross.
The goals earned Sunderland just their second win in 13 league outings, and sealed
a potentially crucial three points against a side likely to be embroiled in a
relegation scrap come the end of the season.
Burnley had mounted stirring comebacks in each of their last two away games, at
Manchester City and Newcastle United, but there was to be no repeat performance
at the Stadium of Light as Sean Dyche's side failed to create any clear-cut
chances.

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Liverpool 2-0 West Ham: Sturridge gave Liverpool a welcome back gift with his goal

Daniel Sturridge was on target in his first Premier League appearance since August
as he rounded off the scoring in Saturday's 2-0 win over West Ham at Anfield.
Sturridge has been plagued with groin and thigh injuries so far this term, but came
off the bench to add to Raheem Sterling's opener after the forward had given
Liverpool the lead shortly after the break.
The mood was positive around Anfield prior to the fixture due to Sturridge being
named on the bench and Sterling added to the feel-good factor by helping maintain
Liverpool's mid-season revival with a smart finish following a clever pass from
Philippe Coutinho.
Chances continued to prove few and far between, but Sturridge's return for the
final 22 minutes gave Liverpool added impetus.
The England international then finished from close range to put the game to bed
and extend Liverpool's unbeaten run in the league to seven matches as the hosts
leapfrogged Sam Allardyce's side into seventh.
Andy Carroll made his first Anfield appearance since leaving permanently in 2013
and wasted little time in making his presence felt - the striker perhaps fortunate to
escape punishment for catching Emre Can in the face with his elbow.
It was Liverpool who were on the front foot early on as Lazar Markovic went close
from inside the area and Coutinho tested Adrian with a side-footed effort after
some slick build-up play.
Despite struggling to create much of note on the attacking third, West Ham went
closest before the break with Carroll's header from inside the area after the half-
hour mark.
Strong running from Sterling created a chance that Adam Lallana was unable to
finish, while Markovic spurned another opportunity late in the half when he shot
wide following careless play in possession from Stewart Downing.

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Manchester United 3-1 Leicester City: Falcao and Van Persie goals keep Manchester united in third position in EPL

Manchester United avenged their humiliating defeat to Leicester City earlier in the
season by recording a 3-1 victory over the Premier League's basement club.
Louis van Gaal's side were beaten 5-3 at the King Power Stadium in September,
but they never looked in danger of suffering a similar fate at Old Trafford on
Saturday.
Robin van Persie opened the scoring with his first goal in five matches in all
competitions - a well-taken 27th-minute effort following a teasing ball over the top
from Daley Blind.
That strike was swiftly followed by Radamel Falcao's bundled second, before Wes
Morgan sent the ball beyond his own goalkeeper just before half-time.

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Stoke City 3-1 QPR: Jonathan Walters' hat-trick gave stoke city a confident win.

Jonathan Walters' hat-trick secured the win for Mark Hughes' side as the
visitors capitulated to an 11th consecutive top-flight defeat away from home this
term.
Mistakes from Karl Henry and Eduardo Vargas gifted Stoke goals in the opening 45
minutes, with Walters converting twice before Niko Kranjcar pulled a goal back.
An injury to captain Ryan Shawcross blighted the first half for the hosts and they
struggled to find their momentum after the break.
QPR failed to take advantage, though, with Asmir Begovic only called into action
once, the goalkeeper saving well from Vargas' acrobatic volley just before the hour.
Joey Barton was denied a late leveller when his free-kick rattled the crossbar, but
the day belonged to Walters as he netted a third to move Stoke into ninth place in
the table, while QPR missed the chance to climb out of the bottom three.
Stoke had the better of possession in a scrappy opening 20 minutes, but it was an
error from Henry that enabled Hughes' side to break the deadlock.
The midfielder allowed the ball to run away from him and Stephen Ireland – in for
the injured Bojan Krkic – was quick to pounce and play Walters in with a
sumptuous backheel, with the striker making no mistake.
Victor Moses almost doubled their lead three minutes later with a superb free-kick
that flew narrowly wide of Robert Green's right-hand post.

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Crystal Palace 0–1 Everton:

Everton picked up all three points after a hard-battled 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Roberto Martinez's visitors made a flying start during a frenetic first half,
with Lukaku sliding in to put them ahead in just the second minute.
Phil Jagielka did well to maintain that advantage when he cleared Dwight Gayle's
clever chip just two minutes later, but despite plenty of opportunities, the hosts
were unable to level before half-time.
Palace, without club captain Mile Jedinak and in-form winger Yannick Bolasie due
to the duo's international duties at the Asian Cup and Africa Cup of Nations
respectively, looked brighter after the restart, but they failed to fashion any clear
openings during a low-key second half.
Everton could have wrapped the points up 13 minutes from time when Lukaku
just failed to connect with Aiden McGeady's cross.
The visitors returned on Tuesday from a six-day training camp in Qatar, and that
break seemed to have rejuvenated Martinez's side when they made a stunning
start - Lukaku putting them ahead just two minutes in.
Damien Delaney's poor attempt at an interception allowed Steven Naismith to
break into the box and when the Scot drilled a low cross towards goal, Julian
Speroni could only parry the ball straight into the path of Lukaku , who bundled
home.

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West Brom 0-3 Tottenham

Tottenham served notice of their Champions League ambitions with a commanding
3-0 victory at West Brom .
Christian Eriksen's midweek brace against Sheffield United fired the London club
into the League Cup final and the Denmark playmaker netted a sixth-minute free-
kick at The Hawthorns to register his ninth Premier League goal of the season.
Kane has endured a relative fallow spell in his breakthrough campaign over recent
weeks but the striker found the net for the first time in five matches to double the
lead for Mauricio Pochettino's men.
West Brom grew into the contest and defender Craig
Dawson struck the crossbar as Tottenham came under
heavy pressure before half-time, although Kane's 20th of
the season - courtesy of a second-half penalty - settled
matters.
A sixth win in eight Premier League outings leaves
Pochettino's side fifth ahead of Arsenal's game against
Aston Villa on Sunday and in fine form leading into next
weekend's derby match with their bitter rivals.
West Brom are three points above the relegation zone
after their first defeat under head coach Tony Pulis.

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Hull City 0-3 Newcastle

John Carver marked his appointment as Newcastle United head coach with a win
as goals from Remy Cabella, Sammy Ameobi and Yoan Gouffran earned a 3-0
victory at struggling Hull City.
Carver was confirmed as Newcastle boss until the end of the season in midweek -
having taken the reins following Alan Pardew's departure earlier in January - and
celebrated his first victory at the fifth attempt to keep Hull in the Premier League's
relegation zone.
Cabella gave Newcastle the lead five minutes before the break when he capitalised
on poor defending to open his account for the club with an impressive strike from
distance.
There was more drama to come on the stroke of half-time as Ahmed Elmohamady
appeared to have levelled - only to have his goal chalked off by referee Phil Dowd
due to a blatant use of his hand, which earned him a yellow card.
Ameobi doubled the visitors' advantage five minutes into the second half when he
let fly from distance to compound frustrations at the KC Stadium.
Gouffran's solo run and deflected strike 12 minutes from time ensured the points
belonged to Carver and Newcastle, leaving Hull with work to do and Steve Bruce
looking to the potential arrivals of Aaron Lennon and Dame N'Doye to brighten
moods.

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