Just another day in the Premier League...
Man United supporters expressed their displeasure with David Moyes in the most dramatic way possible. Jose Mourinho got so upset while getting beat by Tony Pulis that he threatened a child. Cardiff gifted West Brom a go-ahead goal in the 94th minute, only for the Baggies to return the favor a minute later. Alan Pardew was finally allowed back in a football stadium only to see his Newcastle side get mauled at Southampton. Hull lost to Stoke and Swansea throttled Norwich. And Arsenal rebounded from a terrible week to earn a point that very few expected them to get against title favorites Man City.
Man U 4 - Villa 1
Moyes's team responded to their many detractors with a good performance today. After falling behind early, Man United scored 4 unanswered goals to win 4-1 against a Villa team that posed a lot of problems, but failed to capitalize on their chances.
I believe Moyes deserves more time to turn the ship around at Man U, as I do not think the squad he inherited was truly that great. While I do think Man U mismanaged the transfer window this summer, I also think Moyes has taken an unfair share of the blame for a squad that frankly overachieved the past few seasons. Replacing Sir Alex Ferguson was never going to be easy, and I think Fergie didn't do his successor any favors by relying on many players over the age of 28 in his final title run. I plan to go into further detail in defense of Moyes later this week.
Crystal Palace 1 - Chelsea 0
While Mourinho's interaction with the Palace ballboy will take most of the headlines, to me the most glaring observation to take from this game was how poor Fernando Torres played, and how much Chelsea misses Samuel Eto'o. Chelsea leads the league despite not having a complete squad. Their lack of quality strikers is obvious to everyone. But Eto'o was in good form when he went out injured against Arsenal last week, and Torres struggled yet again to replace him.
If I ran Chelsea, I would explore the possibility of swapping Torres back to his boyhood club, Atletico Madrid, for the excellent Diego Costa. The problem is Torres's form has been so bad that Atletico may not even want to take him back. Now aged 30, the explosive quickness that used to terrify defenders is long gone, and Torres's decline is as steep as I can remember for a player who cost Chelsea 50 million pounds just a few seasons ago.
Even though John Terry's own goal proved to be the only goal in the game, Crystal Palace could (and should) have scored a few more. Joe Ledley had a few great chances, as did Jason Puncheon, and Cameron Jerome struck the post. This looked like a Chelsea team that was more worried about their midweek game vs PSG than Crystal Palace, and Tony Pulis's team took advantage. This may be the result that keeps Palace up.
Arsenal 1 - Man City 1
Arsenal rebounded from a slow start to draw with Man City in the late game. Thoroughly dominated in the first 50 minutes, Arsenal nearly conceded another embarrassing own goal before scoring the equalizer through Mathieu Flamini in their next possession.
Lukas Podolski put in his usual "Jekyl and Hyde" performance, as he assisted the crucial goal, but his inability to track back proved problematic for most of the game. City had their way down Arsenal's left hand side through Jesus Navas and Pablo Zabaleta. In fact, it was City's own decision to sub Navas out in the second half that changed the game more than anything, as they struggled to deal with Arsenal's high pressure when missing Navas as an outlet late in the game.
Give credit to Arsenal for coming back and taking hold of the game after a very trying week. Cazorla, Rosicky, and Flamini particularly impressed, and although Arsenal showed signs of both mental and physical fatigue, perhaps the home fans were able to provide the adrenaline boost to overcome that fatigue. The Gunners will take momentum into a crucial game at Goodison next Sunday.
Everton/Fulham and Liverpool/Spurs to come tomorrow. Liverpool will win the league if they win their remaining 7 matches. Tune in and enjoy the show.
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