THE BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE AFTER MATCHDAY 21 on January 12, 2014.
Barclays English Premier League MATCHDAY 21 Round up......
STOKE CITY 3-5 LIVERPOOL
Luis Suarez scored twice and Daniel Sturridge marked his return with a goal as Liverpool overcame Stoke City 5-3 in a pulsating encounter in the rainswept Potteries.
The Merseyside club looked to be coasting to their first Barclays Premier League win at the Britannia Stadium when Aly Cissokho's speculative strike went in off Ryan Shawcross and Suarez scored his 21st league goal of the season.
Stoke had other ideas, though, as former Liverpool duo Peter Crouch and Charlie Adam struck in a pulsating first half to peg Brendan Rodgers' side back.
Steven Gerrard put Liverpool back in front from the penalty spot on his 650th appearance for the club after referee Anthony Taylor awarded a spot-kick for a foul by Marc Wilson on Raheem Sterling.
Fit-again striker Sturridge was the architect for the prolific Suarez's second goal before Jon Walters set up a tense finale when he pulled a goal back.
But Sturridge then scored a goal of his own to seal the points and ensure Liverpool held on to leapfrog neighbours Everton into fourth place in the Premier League.
Defeat for Stoke was only their second at home in the league this season and Mark Hughes' side remain 12th, just four points above the relegation zone.
Sturridge was named among the substitutes after recovering from an ankle injury, while Kolo Toure paired Martin Skrtel at the heart of the Liverpool defence in the absence of Daniel Agger (calf).
Walters and Crouch returned to Stoke's starting line-up in place of Kenwyne Jones and Oussama Assaidi, who was ineligible to face his parent club. Goalkeeper Jack Butland made his first Premier League start as Thomas Sorensen was left on the bench.
Liverpool took an early lead at the Britannia Stadium last season and were in front after only four minutes on this occasion courtesy of a major stroke of luck.
Cissokho's long-range strike was never going to trouble Butland until it struck the unfortunate Shawcross and flew past the wrong-footed Stoke goalkeeper and into the net.
Stoke could do nothing about the opening goal, but they only had themselves to blame for Liverpool's second after 31 minutes. Wilson failed to get enough purchase on his attempted header back to Butland and the alert Suarez slotted home after Shawcross failed to clear.
The home side responded and Crouch gave them a lifeline eight minutes later with Stoke's first headed goal of the season after he was picked out by Marko Arnautovic.
Butland got down well to deny Philippe Coutinho and Shawcross nipped in to clear the rebound, and suddenly Stoke were level, just before the break, when Adam let fly with a fine left-foot strike from 20 yards out that flew into the far corner.
Wilson was subsequently adjudged to have brought Sterling down and Gerrard sent Butland the wrong way from the spot to restore Liverpool's lead.
Sturridge made his eagerly awaited comeback 65 minutes in and the England striker took only five minutes to demonstrate his telepathic understanding with Suarez as his delightful backheel presented the Uruguay international with the opportunity to find the far corner with a clinical finish.
Walters was denied by a fine save from Simon Mignolet, but the Stoke forward beat the Belgium international with a tame finish six minutes from time.
Sturridge had the final say, though, as he was first denied by Butland, but kept his composure to fire home the rebound with his left foot. There was still time for Crouch to be denied by the post in an incredible end-to-end encounter.
NEWCASTLE UNITED 0-2 MANCHESTER CITY
Manchester City climbed to the top of the Barclays Premier League with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Newcastle United on Sunday.
Edin Dzeko put the visitors ahead early on as the visitors made a bright start, but Man City met stiff resistance from a Newcastle side displaying all the mettle in defence and purpose in attack that had earned them victories over Chelsea and Manchester United earlier this season.
A disallowed goal for Cheick Tiote late in the first half also strengthened the hosts' resolve to get something out of a match which only eluded them in added time when they were caught out by Alvaro Negredo's breakway goal.
The result is City's 10th consecutive victory over Newcastle and lifts them a point clear of Chelsea at the summit of the table.
City's successful day was, however, marred by an apparent knee injury to Samir Nasri, as the France international was brought to ground by Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa in the second half and had to be carried from the field on a stretcher.
Alan Pardew made three changes from Newcastle’s last Premier League outing –- a 1-0 defeat to West Brom on New Year’s Day – and handed Steven Taylor a first top-flight start since the opening day of the season at City.
The visitors, who have endured a busy schedule of late with matches in the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup since the turn of the year, stuck with the in-form attacking duo of Negredo and Dzeko in the continued absence of Sergio Aguero.
And Manuel Pellegrini's men were quick out of the blocks, going ahead in the eighth minute through Dzeko.
Aleksandar Kolarov found the Bosnian with a superb low cross from the left, allowing him to fire into the roof of the net from close range for his 13th goal of the season in all competitions and his second against Newcastle, having netted in City’s League Cup victory at St James' Park in October.
City continued to dominate as Newcastle struggled to keep hold of possession, with Kolarov sending a dangerous ball across the face of goal and agonisingly out of the reach of an outstretched Negredo, before the Spaniard headed over from a Nasri cross.
But Pardew's side started to settle as Taylor guided the ball wide of the left-hand post from a corner and Yohan Cabaye blazed over from the tightest of angles.
Tiote had the ball in the back of the City net moments later – drilling in a sensational effort from 20 yards out – but, after consultation with his linesman, the goal was ruled out for offside.
Joe Hart was called into action shortly before the hour mark as he dived to his right to deny a fizzing Cabaye effort, before getting down well to deny Loic Remy after the French striker was sent clean through on goal.
Fernandinho headed against the crossbar for City, but Negredo had better fortune in stoppage time as he slotted into the back of the net after reacting quickest to Krul's save from his initial effort – the Spaniard's fifth goal in his last three matches.
Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew: "We were so frustrated, we put in a hell of a performance – we were up against a great team, we couldn’t have played any better and we're so disappointed not to be level at half-time.
"I don't think 2-0 is a fair reflection of the game."
Man City manager Manuel Pellegrini: "Newcastle are a very tough team here – ask Man United and Chelsea – they have a direct style with pushing, grabbing and hard tackles.
"Everyone is talking about the amount of goals we score, we try to attack and be creative but I always say how important it is to defend well.
"Newcastle have a high intensity, to not allow us to play so today we didn’t have the possession but without the ball we had more goals and more clear chances.
HULL CITY 0-2 CHELSEA
In the Lunch-time kick-off on Saturday,Chelsea temporarily reached the Barclays Premier League summit as Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored in a 2-0 victory at Hull. After a goalless first half, Hazard broke the deadlock 11 minutes into the second period with a low drive beyond Allan McGregor, who had an otherwise impressive game in Hull's goal.
Torres then got the better of Alex Bruce three minutes from time to burst into the danger area and slide the ball beyond the Scotland goalkeeper to make sure of the points. The win is Chelsea's fifth in a row in all competitions and, with Arsenal not playing until Monday,the result puts them in 2nd place in the English top flight.
FULHAM 1-4 SUNDERLAND
Adam Johnson's hat-trick inspired Sunderland to a 4-1 win at fellow relegation contenders Fulham as they took a giant step towards survival, rising off the bottom of the Barclays Premier League.
After coming off the bench to devastating effect in Sunderland's Capital One Cup semi-final first-leg win over Manchester United in midweek, Johnson made his first league start since early December and produced a match-winning display. The winger gave the visitors the lead when he expertly converted a free-kick before he was involved again just before half-time as he assisted Ki Sung-Yong in scoring Sunderland's second.
The hosts were resurgent at the start of the second period and quickly pulled a goal back through Steve Sidwell, but Johnson grabbed his second of the match with 21 minutes left to effectively wrap up the three points. Second-half substitute Jozy Altidore's quick feet in the final stages earned the away side a penalty to put gloss on the scoreline, and Johnson dispatched the spot-kick to ensure he claimed the matchball as Sunderland took a giant leap towards safety.
CARDIFF CITY 0-2 WEST HAM UNITED
West Ham United moved out of the relegation zone with a 2-0 win at Cardiff City to ease the pressure on manager Sam Allardyce after a run of seven Barclays Premier League matches without a win. Carlton Cole scored shortly before half-time at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday, before Mark Noble sealed the points in second-half stoppage time to ensure Cardiff replace Allardyce's men in the bottom three on goal difference.
West Ham had to dig deep for the victory as James Tomkins was sent off for a second bookable offence 18 minutes from time, and they also lost Guy Demel to what appeared to be a serious injury in the first half. They were not to be denied three precious points, though, and Andy Carroll also made his first appearance of the season as a second-half substitute, the striker and record signing setting up Noble's goal as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was beaten in his first home match in charge of Cardiff.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2-0 CRYSTAL PALACE
Crystal Palace replaced Sunderland at the bottom as Jermain Defoe began his month-long farewell from Tottenham Hotspur with a first Barclays Premier League goal this season in the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
The striker's February move to MLS side Toronto FC was confirmed on Friday, and he was greeted warmly by the White Hart Lane faithful before an assured finish secured a fourth victory in five unbeaten league outings under new head coach Tim Sherwood.
Jason Puncheon had missed from the penalty spot in a first half that Palace dominated, their front two of Marouane Chamakh and Cameron Jerome providing a constant threat. But Christian Eriksen's third goal in four league games settled the nerves of the home fans, who were then able to salute their soon-to-be-departed striker.
EVERTON 2-0 NORWICH CITY
Everton climbed to fourth place in the table on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Norwich City at Goodison Park. Gareth Barry's 50th Barclays Premier League goal and Kevin Mirallas's effort allowed Everton to claim all three points and move above Liverpool, who travel to Stoke City on Sunday.
Barry's powerful strike, his third goal since arriving on a season-long loan from Manchester City, sailed in from 25 yards midway through the first half, and Mirallas sealed his side's win with an exquisite free-kick in the 59th minute. Everton presented new signing Aiden McGeady to fans before the match.
SOUTHAMPTON 1-0 WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Pepe Mel watched on from the stands as his West Bromwich Albion side lost 1-0 to Southampton thanks to Adam Lallana's second-half strike. The former Real Betis coach, who signed an 18-month contract at the West Midlands club on Thursday, took a watching brief on Saturday as his new side's unbeaten Barclays Premier League run of four matches came to an end.
Lallana struck the only goal of the game midway through the second half, collecting Gaston Ramirez's clipped pass to slot home and hand Southampton just their second win in 10 league games.
MANCHESTER UNITED 2-0 SWANSEA CITY
In the late kick-off on Saturday,Manchester United ended their three-match losing streak by overcoming Swansea City 2-0 at Old Trafford. Michael Laudrup's side knocked Man United out of the FA Cup last Sunday but there was no repeat shock as goals by Antonio Valencia, two minutes after the restart, and Danny Welbeck's eighth Barclays Premier League goal of the campaign just before the hour-mark, earned David Moyes' side a vital victory,as they look to save their season.
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE TOP SCORERS RANKING AFTER MATCHDAY 21
Rank Player Goals
1 Luis Suárez 20
2 Sergio Agüero 13
3 Loïc Remy 10
3 Yaya Touré 10
5 Daniel Sturridge 9
5 Eden Hazard 9
5 Romelu Lukaku 9
5 Wayne Rooney 9
9 Aaron Ramsey 9
9 Danny Welbeck 9
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