English premier league: Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United post victories

The top teams in the English Premier League all posted victories over the weekend—with the exception of Arsenal who had to scrap out a draw in another disappointing performance.  Chelsea defeated Aston Villa 2-0, Man U prevailed by the same score over the Blackburn Rovers and Liverpool pulled out a dramatic victory 3-2 over Manchester City.  Arsenal, meanwhile, finished all level with Sunderland 1-1.

Chelsea used two first half goals by Joe Cole and Nicolas Anelka to easily dispatch Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge.  The outcome was never really in doubt and Chelsea could have padded the margin at will had they not been content to sit on their lead in the 2nd half.  Nevertheless, the stat sheet was indicative of a rout—Chelsea outshot Aston Villa 35-10, with Villa only getting one shot ‘on goal’.  They took 7 corner kicks to one for their opponent, and maintained a lopsided 61% to 39% possession advantage.  The victory kept them tied atop the Premier League table with Liverpool, both with 17 points.

For its part, Liverpool didn’t have anywhere near as easy a time of things.  Manchester City erupted to a 2-0 halftime lead on its home field and appeared en route to a victory.  Liverpool came roaring back in the 2nd half with three straight goals, the first two by Fernando Torres.  Dirk Kuyt netted the game winner in dramatic fashion during stoppage time to keep Liverpool knotted with Chelsea atop the EPL standings.  The stat sheet wasn’t indicative of the heart stopping Liverpool victory—it showed a 17-6 shot advantage for the visitors and a 66% to 34% time of possession edge.

Manchester United continued its effort to claw back into contention after a lackluster start with a 2-0 road win over the Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.  It was almost as workmanlike as the Chelsea win, with a first half goal by Wes Brown and an early 2nd half tally by Wayne Rooney combined with solid possession football earning the victory.  Like Chelsea, Man U enjoyed a 61% to 39% possession advantage.

Arsenal again displayed dominance on the stat sheet but were held scoreless for much of the game as they were life and death to salvage a draw with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.  Arsenal outshot Sunderland 18 to 6 and held a 68% to 32% possession advantage.  The game was scoreless until the 86th minute when Sunderland’s Grant Ledbetter smashed in a goal to put his side up 1-0.  It appeared that Arsenal was destined to go down to defeat when Cesc Faberges nailed a header into the opposing net in stoppage time to salvage a point in dramatic fashion.

With Chelsea and Liverpool tied for Premiership supremacy, Arsenal is 4 points behind tied for 4th but only 1 point behind Manchester City for third.  Manchester United is quietly creeping up the table, and they now sit in eighth place six points out of first.  It’s important to keep in mind, however, that Man U has played one fewer game to date that the other top EPL sides.