Premier League 2017-18 – Match Week 19

Saturday 23rd December 2017

Harry Maguire netted a 94th-minute equaliser as Manchester United were punished for their wastefulness in a 2-2 draw at Leicester.

Somewhat against the run of play, Jamie Vardy finished off a fantastic counter attack in the 27th minute to break the deadlock – his 50th Premier League goal, and his fourth in all competitions against United.

United deservedly restored parity 13 minutes later, as Juan Mata stroked the ball home after good work from Jesse Lingard, before the Spain international curled a delightful free-kick into the net on the hour mark to complete the turnaround.

Harry Kane scored his seventh hat-trick of 2017 as Tottenham moved above Burnley into fifth with a 3-0 victory at Turf Moor.

Kane opened the scoring from the penalty spot on six minutes after Dele Alli, who was lucky to avoid a red card for a wild early challenge on Charlie Taylor, went down in the box.

Spurs dominated from that moment on and should have been further ahead by the time Kane netted two second-half goals to take his tally of goals for club and country in 2017 to 53 goals.

In an eventful match at London Stadium, Senegalese midfielder Henri Saivet played a big role in two goals inside the first 10 minutes.

First, his loose pass was picked up by Hammers forward Marko Arnautovic, who raced into the area before slotting past Rob Elliot.

That lead lasted only four minutes as Saivet – making his first league start under Benitez – atoned for his error with a 25-yard free-kick that sneaked inside Adrian’s near post.

The visitors hit the woodwork twice before they went in front, when Mo Diame fired in from Christian Atsu’s pass.

But they almost ceded their lead immediately – the Hammers winning a penalty when Michail Antonio was brought down by Ciaran Clark, only for Elliot to save Andre Ayew’s low effort.

Atsu soon made it 3-1 with a poked finish after a swift break, but David Moyes’ side gave themselves more than a fighting chance when Ayew smashed home after Andy Carroll’s header was parried.

Newcastle survived a frantic closing spell to secure a victory that brought relief for the travelling fans.

Crystal Palace extended their unbeaten Premier League run to a record eight games with a draw at bottom side Swansea.

Luka Milivojevic fired the Eagles in front from the penalty spot after Ruben Loftus-Cheek had been tripped by Federico Fernández inside the 18-yard box.

But Palace, who picked up their first away win of the season at Leicester last week, failed to make it two wins on the spin away from Selhurst Park as Jordan Ayew salvaged a point for the Swans.

Ayew dance past Milivojevic on the edge of the Palace box and drove the ball across Julian Speroni and into the far corner.

And the Ghana international could have flipped the game on its head in a matter of moments when he then wrapped a curling shot around Speroni’s post minutes later.

Joe Allen and Max Choupo-Moting impress as Stoke City record crucial victory at bet365 Stadium.

Southampton’s winless run extended to six Premier League games as Huddersfield Town earned a draw thanks to Laurent Depoitre’s header.

Laurent Depoitre cancelled out Charlie Austin’s header as Huddersfield Town fought back to earn a 1-1 Premier League draw at Southampton on Saturday.

Austin continued his recent good run of form with his fifth goal in seven appearances – and fifth in his last eight outings against the Terriers – but the striker could face retrospective action from the Football Association for a late challenge on visiting goalkeeper Jonas Lossl.

Aguero scored two goals and brilliantly made another as the Premier League leaders racked up their 17th successive win in the competition.

Pascal Gross struck the winner as Brighton earned their first Premier League victory in eight games – on the day Seagulls defender Connor Goldson played his first competitive game since heart surgery.

Captain Phil Jagielka cleared off the line from Tiemoue Bakayoko and Willian in quick succession to frustrate the visitors, who were without suspended top scorer Alvaro Morata.

Chelsea dominated, but struggled to breach the Everton backline and found goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in good form when they did.

The 23-year-old England World Cup hopeful saved smartly from Pedro’s effort in the first half and tipped a low Eden Hazard drive wide after the break.

Substitute Ashley Williams then headed against his own crossbar as the Toffees at times rode their luck to keep a fourth clean sheet in six games.

Antonio Conte’s Chelsea side stay third, having lost just once in their past 11 league games.

Friday 22nd December 2017

Roberto Firmino’s powerful finish earned Liverpool a draw in an incredible Premier League encounter that had seen Arsenal score three goals in just five second-half minutes.

The Gunners had been trailing 2-0 after Philippe Coutinho scored his first headed league goal in England before Mohamed Salah added a second early in the second half with a deflected strike.

But Arsenal suddenly came alive as Alexis Sanchez headed in Hector Bellerin’s cross from close range before Granit Xhaka’s thumping strike was too powerful for Simon Mignolet’s weak save.

Barely two minutes later Mesut Ozil put Arsenal ahead with a neat clip over Mignolet.

Play swung from one end of the pitch to the other at blistering pace, with both sides looking capable of scoring with every attack.

But it was Liverpool who had the final say in one of the most thrilling Premier League encounters in years as Petr Cech could only take the sting out of Firmino’s shot and the ball bounced over the line.