Manchester City continued their fine form as they beat Cardiff City 4-2 at the Etihad Stadium. City opened the scoring on 14 minutes when Edin Dzeko’s scuffed shot from David Silva’s cutback crossed the line and the goal was awarded.
It was their 100th goal of the campaign but goal was not befitting to mark such a milestone. City came close to doubling their lead on several occasions but Cardiff drew level on the half hour mark when Craig Noone did well to beat Vincent Kompany before shooting past Joe Hart. Jesus Navas restored the lead just 4 minutes later but it was all the hosts could score until the 76th minute. Jordon Mutch and Noone drew saves from Hart in the second half. Yaya Toure made it three after a brilliant run and Sergio Aguero made it four after 3 minutes. Fraizer Campbell pulled another back for Cardiff in injury time from a corner.
Manchester United’s hopes of retaining the title were dashed by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as the Blues comfortably beat the reigning champions 3-1. Samuel Eto’o was the star of the evening as he scored all three goals. Ashley Young had the first chance of the game as early as in the 2nd minute but his shot after a neat give and go with Danny Welbeck was saved well by Petr Cech. Eto’o put the Londoners in front on 17 minutes when he easily went past Phil Jones and his shot took a slight deflection off Michael Carrick’s outstretched foot and found the top corner. Eden Hazard was dispossessed in his own half by Patrice Evra but the Frenchman hit the side netting. Adnan Januzaj did well to retain possession under pressure from David Luiz but his low cross into the six yard area was not met by anyone. Januzaj had another cross find Danny Welbeck but the striker seemed to have been upended by Cesar Azpilicueta as he was getting ready to pull the trigger. His tame effort was easily saved by Cech. Oscar sent an overhead kick high and wide but Eto’o made it two to the good just before the break when he tapped in Gary Cahill’s low cross following a corner. Chelsea started the second half just as they had ended the first with Eto’o completing his hat trick on 49 minutes. Cahill’s header from Willian’s corner was saved by David De Gea but the Cameroonian was the first to react and stab home from point blank range. Cech almost gifted the visitors a goal in the 70th minute when he failed to control Cahill’s back pass and with Javier Hernandez sliding in to slot the ball in, the keeper managed to keep possession and get the ball away. United pulled one back 7 minutes later, albeit a mere consolation. Welbeck’s cut back was directed towards goal by Jones but Hernandez had the last touch in guiding the ball into the net. David Moyes’ evening went from bad to worse when Nemanja Vidic was sent off for a rash tackle on Hazard in injury time. Rafael was lucky not to have been sent off as well for a two footed challenge.
Arsenal continued their march towards the title with another win as they beat fellow Londoner’s Fulham 2-0 at the Emirates. The Gunners could have taken the lead after 4 minutes when Jack Wilshere sent Mesut Ozil through but the German’s poor cross was cleared by Brede Hangeland. Ozil hit the wall from a free kick and Olivier Giroud shot wide after being set up by Serge Gnabry. Dimitar Berbatov’s cross was headed away by Bacary Sagna but only up to Steve Sidwell and his thunderous volley was palmed away by Wojciech Szczesny. The Polish keeper did well to come off his line to deny Ashkan Dejagah the chance to get on the end of a through ball. Cazorla won a free kick just outside the area and his effort ricocheted off the wall to Sagna whose shot was saved by Maarten Stekelenburg and Giroud’s rebound was also kept out. Per Mertesacker cleared Dan Burn’s goal bound header early in the second half after which it was all Arsenal. Gnabry drew a save from Stekelenburg after some good close control and Sagna had an effort cleared off the line from a Cazorla free kick. The Spaniard broke the deadlock on 57 minutes when he slotted home Wilshere’s pass after having started the move from the left flank. He made it two 5 minutes later when he sent an effort into the bottom corner after Nacho Monreal’s cross was cleared only up to him. Substitute Lukas Podolski had a twenty yarder tipped onto the post by Stekelenburg. Darren Bent had the chance to pull one back but with Szczesny out of his goal, the striker could not wrap his foot around the ball enough to tap into an open goal. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain sent a header over and Pajtim Kasami had a free kick held by Szczesny after a dangerous fumble.
Liverpool had to come from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Anfield against Aston Villa. Gabriel Agbonlahor was the first to threaten the Reds’ goal as he sent an effort just wide and Ashley Westwood shot straight at Simon Mignolet. Ciaran Clark lost his marker but headed a corner onto the post. Andreas Weimann opened the scoring when he ran half the length of the pitch before tapping in Agbonlahor’s cross from close range. Christian Benteke made to 2-0 on 36 minutes when he headed Agbonlahor’s cross into an empty net after Mignolet and Glen Johnson both tried to attack the ball. Liverpool pulled one back before the break when Daniel Sturridge kept his cool to lift the ball over Brad Guzan after Jordan Henderson had flicked Luis Suarez’s ball onto his path. Steven Gerrard restored parity from the spot after Guzan had brought down Suarez inside the box. Fabian Delph sent a curling effort just wide and Guzan did well to save Henderson’s low drive. Suarez sent a free kick just wide as Villa held on for a valuable point.
Everton had to settle for a point as they drew 1-1 against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns. Kevin Mirallas put the Toffees in front in the first half but Diego Lugano restored parity for the Baggies with 15 minutes to play. Emmanuel Adebayor scored a brace in Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-1 win away at Swansea City. Chico Flores scored an own and Wilfried Bony pulled one back for the Swans.
Sunderland came from two goals down to draw 2-2 at home against Southampton. Jay Rodriguez and Dejan Lovren put the Saints in front but Fabio Borini and Adam Johnson pulled the Black Cats back into the contest. Jason Puncheon’s goal was enough for Crystal Palace as they beat Stoke City 1-0 at Selhurst Park. Norwich City beat Hull City 1-0 at Carrow Road thanks to Ryan Bennett’s strike. Tom Huddlestone was sent off in the dying minutes of the game. Yohan Cabaye scored a brace and Loic Remy scored another as Newcastle United beat West Ham United 3-1 at Upton Park. Michael Williamson scored an own goal.
Spanish La Liga
Real Madrid reduced the deficit between themselves and the joint league leaders to just one point. Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Angel Di Maria and Alvaro Morata scored as Real hammered Real Betis 5-0 away from home. Gerard Pique equalised for Barcelona as they were held to a 1-1 draw away at Levante. David Villa’s opener was cancelled out by Ivan Rakitic’s penalty as Atletico Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by Sevilla.
Italian Serie A
Arturo Vidal scored a brace with Fernando Llorente and Paul Pogba also scoring as Juventus beat Sampdoria 4-2 at home. Roma beat Livorno 3-0 at home while Napoli drew 2-2 away at Bologna. Fiorentina beat Catania 3-0 and Genoa beat Inter Milan 1-0. Lazio beat Udinese 3-2 and Clarence Seedorf’s first game in charge of AC Milan ended in a 1-0 win over Hellas Verona at the San Siro.
French Ligue 1
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a brace as Paris Saint-Germain thrashed Nantes 5-0 while AS Monaco beat Toulouse 2-0 away from home.
Dutch Eredivisie
Ajax Amsterdam 1-0 PSV Eindhoven
PEC Zwolle 1-2 Vitesse Arnhem
Twente Enschede 3-1 Heracles Almelo
FC Utrecht 2-5 Feyenoord Rotterdam
Portuguese Liga
Arouca 1-2 Sporting Lisbon
Benfica 2-0 Maritimo
FC Porto 3-0 Vitoria Setubal
