Aston Villa 1 - 2 Chelsea

Branislav Ivanovic struck a superb winner as
Chelsea defeated Aston Villa 2-1 and extended
their advantage at the top of the Premier League to
seven points.
Victory was Jose Mourinho's first at Villa Park in
five attempts, and Chelsea's day was made even
more enjoyable with Manchester City's surprise
1-1 draw at home with Hull City.
Eden Hazard had given Chelsea an early lead
inside 10 minutes, before Jores Okore ended Villa's
long goal drought with a header at the start of the
second half.
Before the defender's effort, Villa had gone 659
minutes without finding the net – the fourth longest
barren spell in Premier League history.
But for Paul Lambert and Villa, the end of their
scoreless run will be of little consolation to a side
that is now winless in nine league matches and
just two points above the relegation zone.
Chelsea, meanwhile, will be buoyed by putting
further daylight between themselves and City, as
they go in search of a third league title under
Mourinho.

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Atletico Madrid 4-0 Real Madrid

A stunning 4-0 win over bitter rivals and La Liga
pacesetters Real Madrid reignited Atletico Madrid's
title defence in glorious fashion.
Atletico Madrid's La Liga title defence received a
major boost as the champions continued their
recent dominance over bitter rivals Real Madrid
with a spectacular 4-0 win on Saturday.
Diego Simeone's men would have fallen 10 points
behind Real with defeat at the Vicente Calderon,
but the Liga pacesetters were rolled over in
ruthless fashion by a rampant Atletico side.
Victory extends Atletico's unbeaten run against
their neighbours to six games this season, Real
having been out-fought and out-thought as they
failed to display the performance expected of a
side at the top of the table.
Ancelotti, who insisted his men were "not scared"
of Atletico, was able to call upon the services of
Cristiano Ronaldo again following his suspension,
but the visitors looked in trouble from the off
and Tiago opened the scoring with 14 minutes
gone.
Saul, an early substitute for the injured Koke,
doubled their tally with a delightful bicycle kick four
minutes later, leaving Real completely stunned.
The visitors rarely looked capable of mounting a
response and Atletico added further goals
through Antoine Griezmann and Mario Mandzukic
to move within four points of Real at the summit.
Atletico began the contest with purpose and looked
particularly threatening down the right flank
through Arda Turan, who caused problems inside
the first 10 minutes.
The hosts were dealt the blow of losing Koke to a
hamstring injury in the 10th minute, but produced
a marvellous response to the setback, taking the
lead four minutes later.
In truth, there was a hint of fortune about the goal,
as Tiago met Mandzukic's well-weighted pass on
the edge of the area and drilled a low effort at Iker
Casillas, who allowed the ball to squirm under him.
There was no doubt over the quality of Atletico's
second, which came in the 18th minute.
Guilherme Siqueira produced a marauding run on
the left wing, riding two challenges on his way, and
then picked out a precise cross for Saul, whose
acrobatic overhead kick flew in off the post.
Real picked things up after the half-hour mark, but
Atletico continued to look lethal in attack and
should have been awarded a penalty in the 34th
minute when Sami Khedira blocked Diego Godin's
goal-bound effort with his arm.
Atletico started the second half strongly and
Griezmann tested Casillas with a stinging drive
from the edge of the area, before sending a
bicycle kick just over the crossbar.
The lively France star was not to be denied in the
67th minute, though, as Griezmann latched on to
Saul's header across goal and poked in ahead of
the sluggish Raphael Varane.
Real made a laboured attempt to salvage a
consolation towards the end, but Atletico ultimately
sapped them of their remaining pride as Mandzukic
headed in substitute Fernando Torres' cross for a
fourth, handing Simeone's side and second-placed
Barcelona – who face Athletic Bilbao on Sunday –
a huge boost in the title race.

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Stuttgart 0-2 Bayern Munich

Arjen Robben's rich vein of form continued as
Bayern Munich beat beleaguered Stuttgart 2-0 in
the Bundesliga on Saturday to secure their first
competitive victory of the year.
Bayern coach Pep Guardiola dismissed talk of a
crisis after the champions drew 1-1 against
Schalke on Tuesday following a 4-1 hammering at
Wolfsburg, and normal service was resumed by the
Bavarian giants at the Mercedes Benz Arena.
The leaders were not at their best against Huub
Stevens' strugglers, but Robben took his goal tally
to eight goals in his last nine games and 14 for
the season with a fine strike to open the scoring
late in the first half.
Defender David Alaba then opened his Bundesliga
account for the season with a sublime free-kick six
minutes after the break to ensure Bayern remain
eight points clear of second-placed Wolfsburg, who
beat Hoffenheim 3-0.
While Bayern remain on course for yet another title,
Stuttgart are now bottom of the table and have
secured only five points at home this season.

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Freiburg 0-3 Dortmund

A superb performance from Pierre-Emerick
Aubameyang saw Borussia Dortmund win 3-0 at
Freiburg to move off the foot of the Bundesliga
table.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored two goals and
set up another as Borussia Dortmund earned a
vital 3-0 win over fellow strugglers Freiburg at the
Mage Solar Stadion on Saturday to move off the
foot of the Bundesliga table.
A dominant start from Dortmund was rewarded on
nine minutes, Marco Reus tapping into an empty
net after Aubameyang had rounded the goalkeeper,
before the Gabon international slotted home
himself just after half-time.
The ever-threatening Aubameyang popped up again
18 minutes from time to finish off a superb team
move on a comfortable afternoon for the visitors.
Victory eases the pressure on coach Jurgen Klopp,
who earlier in the week dismissed talk of stepping
down following a rotten run that had left the 2013
UEFA Champions League finalists propping up the
division.
A first win in six Bundesliga games sees Dortmund
leapfrog Freiburg into 16th, adding to the
relegation worries of Christian Streich's men, who
are now level on points with bottom-of-the table
Stuttgart.

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Swansea City 1-1 Sunderland

Sunderland were denied a win by former loanee Ki Sung-yueng in a 1-1 Premier
League draw at Swansea City on Saturday.
Ki Sung-yueng returned to haunt former club Sunderland as his second-half header
rescued a 1-1 Premier League draw for Swansea City on Saturday.
The South Korea international, back in the starting XI after reaching the Asian Cup
final with his country, spent the majority of last season on loan at Sunderland.
And the midfielder, who also had a goal ruled out in the first half, made a decisive
contribution when he stooped low to meet Kyle Naughton's cross in the second half
at the Liberty Stadium – denying Sunderland what would have been back-to-back
league wins for the first time this season.
Swansea were somewhat unfortunate to go into the break 1-0 down after wasting
several chances, with Jermain Defoe – who opened his Sunderland account in last
weekend's 2-0 win over Burnley – showing his finishing skills with a low drive
shortly before half-time.
The hosts' pressure finally told with Ki's header and a draw was no more than Garry
Monk's men deserved for their efforts.
A point leaves Swansea in ninth, while Guy Poyet's Sunderland remain 14th.
Swansea, who handed Jack Cork a debut in one of three changes from the 1-0 win at
Southampton, engineered the first shot on goal in the ninth minute when Bafetimbi
Gomis fizzed a low strike wide of the right-hand post.
Sunderland, who named two changes to the side that beat Burnley including a first
league start for Danny Graham since the last game of the 2012-13 season, gradually
grew into the game and former Swansea midfielder Jordi Gomez flashed an effort
wide.
Their threat proved brief as Swansea reasserted themselves and Gomis was denied
by a smart save from Costel Pantilimon, who was out quick to save the striker's low
shot after he latched on to Jonjo Shelvey's throughball.
The French striker went close again on the half-hour mark when he stretched to meet
a teasing cross from Modou Barrow – making his first Premier League start – with
his right foot, but he failed to make clean contact.
It appeared as though the pressure had paid off when Ki side-footed home Shelvey's
free-kick, only to see his goal ruled out for offside.
Sunderland made the most of the reprieve in the 41st minute as Swansea's defenders
backed off Defoe allowing the England international to fire a clinical strike low into
the bottom left-hand corner from 18 yards.
Shortly after the restart Sunderland's Ricky Alvarez – rewarded with a start after
scoring in Tuesday's 3-1 FA Cup win over Fulham – thought he should have had a
penalty when he was tripped by Ashley Williams in the penalty area.
The hosts continued to enjoy the majority of possession and their reward finally
came in the 66th minute when January signing Naughton's cross was met with a
diving header from Ki that beat Pantilimon.
Buoyed by the goal Swansea continued to probe and Shelvey bent a free-kick wide
from 30 yards.
Sunderland were forced to survive a few anxious moments in the closing stages, but
– despite substitute Nelson Oliveira testing Pantilimon's reflexes late on – Swansea
were left frustrated in their pursuit of a winner.

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Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal:Kane brace gave Tottenham a great comeback win.

Harry Kane's 21st and 22nd goals of the season turned things around for Tottenham
as they recorded a 2-1 Premier League win over rivals Arsenal in the north London
derby.
Mesut Ozil had given the visitors the lead early in the first half with a brilliant finish
to a Danny Welbeck cross flicked into his path by Olivier Giroud, though Spurs were
rarely without threat to reply.
Such a response was finally delivered through Kane in the 56th minute when the
young striker was the first to pick up on the rebound from David Ospina's smart save
from a header at a corner.
And Kane was on call again in the dying minutes of normal time when he rose to
meet Nabil Bentaleb's cross with a superb header past Ospina to secure the points.
It brought to an end Arsenal's five-match winning run in all competitions, Tottenham
leapfrogging their rivals into the top four.
The hosts edged a cagey opening, with Ospina forced to tip wide Kane's early effort
before the Colombian easily collected Danny Rose's disappointing delivery from the
left.
However, in Arsenal's first purposeful foray forward, the recalled Welbeck burst past
a surprisingly sluggish Rose to square for Giroud in the centre. The Frenchman
cleverly helped the ball onto Ozil , with the Germany international able to angle his
body and volley past Hugo Lloris to score for a third game running.
An increased intensity from both sides saw chances flow before the half-hour mark,
with Rose threatening Ospina's goal twice more down the left. However, the Arsenal
defence stood firm to soak up Spurs' pressure - wasteful finishing from Christian
Eriksen and Ryan Mason helping their opponents' cause.
Welbeck was required to clear Eriksen's dangerous free kick late in the first half and
Spurs started the brighter after the break.
A lack of cutting edge in the final third continued to prove their downfall until Kane
drew his side level with a cool finish at the back post after Ospina had failed to palm
Erik Lamela's corner out of danger.
The goal was no more than Spurs' pressure deserved but Welbeck almost put Arsenal
back in front soon after - his curling effort kept out at full stretch by Lloris.
Ospina was called on again to deny Kane - having initially saved from Nabil Bentaleb
- but the 21-year-old would not be denied as he further cemented his status as
Spurs' latest fan favourite.

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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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