Due to the FA Cup fixtures last weekend, there were only five league games to focus on this week. But the Premier League is never short of entertainment.
Before the trip to Merseyside, Hotspur were on a 12 league game unbeaten run, a record in the club’s Premier League history. However, it ended at Anfield stadium in a five-goal thriller, which saw Liverpool fighting back to finish it 3-2. The pre-game media hype of the direct contest between two “Player of the Year” contenders, namely Gareth Bale and Luis Suárez, lived up to expectations as both of them had great games.
Luis Suárez scored his 22nd league goal this season
Luis Suárez scored the opening goal for the Reds, after some sublime tiki-taka football that tore the Spurs defense apart. He also created the winning penalty, which was converted by captain Steven Gerrard. Bale has scored in his last five games but failed to score in his sixth consecutive league game, which would have been an EPL record. Nevertheless he contributed an assist for Jan Vertonghen, and it was his free kick that led to Spurs’ second goal.
Queens Park Rangers managed two league wins in a row after beating Sunderland 3-1 at home. Although still at the bottom, they narrowed the gap with Wigan and Reading, their two relegation competitors, to just one point. On his arrival at the club, Harry Redknapp was quoted as saying keeping QPR up was “the most difficult job in my career”, but the west London club has shown some hope of extending their Premier League life beyond this season after all.
Newcastle United continued their good form after the winter transfer window by beating Stoke City 2-1, and the relegation battle seems a long way away now for the Magpies.
Not shaking hands? An old feud was reignited between these two gentlemen!
Let’s not forget the big game in the sixth round of the FA cup! Chelsea took on Manchester United, who was knocked out from the Champions League by Real Madrid last week. The Red Devils led 2-0 in the first half through “Chicharito” and Wayne Rooney’s goals, but Chelsea’s manager’s substitutions in the second half changed the momentum of the game. After losing their two goal advantage when it got back to 2-2, it would have been a huge relief for Sir Alex to see Juan Mata’s tricky strike in the dying minute saved by a brilliant David de Gea. At this stage of the season, both parties will not welcome the replay at Stamford Bridge, while the refusal-to-shake-hands issue between Alex Ferguson and Rafa Benítez will certainly reignite the old feud of the pair.
