Barclays Premier League Review A week of upsets

Barclays Premier League Review A week of upsets

Mourinho blames cows, City lose Aguero, Liverpool can't score for nuts and all big teams are being dominated by smaller teams.

This week was a very important week in Barclays Premier League, especially for those teams who are chasing that elusive fourth spot. The league lived upto its usual standards of springing up surprises as all the big boys slipped up with Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United rode on their luck to buck the trend.

The week began with lunchtime kickoff with Newcastle hosting an unbeaten and table toppers Chelsea. Alan Pardew’s resurgent side shocked Chelsea once again as they handed them their first league defeat of the season. This was the start of a David vs Goliath weekend in Premier League. For the record, Chelsea has failed to win at Sports Direct Arena in their last 10 visits there. Boogey team for the Londoners aren’t they?

Continuing with the theme set by Newcastle United, Stoke City too joined in the party as they shocked Arsenal 3-2 at the Britannia stadium. Three first half goals from the hosts threw the Gunners out of the game but a Alexis Sanchez led fightback couldn't save the misfiring Gunners from going down against Mark Hughes’ side.

Liverpool, too, continued with their woeful form as they were held to a goalless draw by Sunderland at Anfield and can literally not score for nuts even after having Gerrard and Balotelli in the squad sheet. Gus Poyet’s side have kept two cleansheets against the bigboys this season and have managed two draws and a defeat against the current top three teams of the Premier League. Some character shown by Poyet’s boys.

Manchester clubs capitalized on their rivals’ slipups elsewhere in the league as both the clubs fought off a difficult oppositions in their respective ties. City overcame a Ross Barkley inspired Everton 1-0 at Etihad. The win came at a cost to the Champions as they lost Sergio Aguero to a knee injury for almost six weeks.

The red boys from Manchester saw off a stellar Southampton side who deserved at least a point for their performance at St Mary’s. Robin van Persie’s brace ensured Man Utd rose up to the third spot with this win. Reds like their noisy neighbors also had a casualty as they lost their defender Chris Smalling.

The league is entering into the busy Christmas period and the things are starting to get a bit interesting with this kind of results in the league.