Sunday Football Review

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A review of Sunday's action in the Premier League. - ( December 11th) 2016


Third-placed Liverpool lost further ground on Premier League leaders Chelsea after another questionable performance from goalkeeper Loris Karius in the 2-2 draw at home to West Ham.

Divock Origi's fourth goal in as many matches salvaged a point after a Dimitri Payet free-kick and Michail Antonio's first non-headed strike of the season had turned things around following Adam Lallana's fifth-minute opener.

But despite four goals all the focus was on the goalkeepers as Karius and West Ham's Darren Randolph both made costly errors.

Diego Costa's fifth goal in six games broke West Brom's stubborn resistance and sealed Chelsea's ninth consecutive Premier League victory.

Premier League

Chelsea 1 - 0 W Brom
Man Utd 1 - 0 Tottenham
So'ton 1 - 0 M'boro
Liverpool 2 - 2 West Ham

Premier League Results

The Blues won out 1-0 at Stamford Bridge courtesy of Costa's strike, a goal that owed everything to the Spain international's hard running.

The relentless Costa robbed Gareth McAuley on the right flank before firing past a helpless Ben Foster in the Albion goal.

Chelsea can now seriously contemplate breaking their Premier League record winning streak of 11 matches, with Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Stoke all still to come this month.

West Brom marked the in-form Victor Moses out of the match, boss Tony Pulis pulling a masterstroke by tasking Matt Phillips with the specialist treatment.

But Costa's 12th goal of the Premier League campaign carried Chelsea back to the top of the table, with the Blues still yet to lose in the league since their 3-0 defeat at Arsenal on September 24.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan's thumping strike saw Manchester United overcome Tottenham 1-0 and their Old Trafford struggles, but the in-form Armenian's injury took the edge off Sunday's much-needed victory.

Premier League

1 Chelsea 37
2 Arsenal 34
3 Liverpool 31
4 Man City 30
5 Tottenham 27
6 Man Utd 24
7 Watford 21
8 W Brom 20
9 Everton 20
10 So'ton 20
11 Stoke 19
12 B'mouth 18
13 Burnley 17
14 Leicester 16
15 C Palace 15
16 M'boro 15
17 West Ham 13
18 Swansea 12
19 Hull City 12
20 S'land 11

last updated 11/12 18:25

Promising displays have not brought with them anywhere near enough points this season, but United brought a frustrating run of four successive home Premier League draws to a timely halt.

Mkhitaryan marked another fine display with an excellent first-half strike against Tottenham, securing a victory that the attacking midfielder was unable to celebrate properly after exiting on a stretcher - although manager Jose Mourinho played down fears the injury was a serious one after the game.

It was a disappointing end to an impressive United display, with this victory crucial as they try to catch the top four.

Sofiane Boufal's first Premier League goal was one to remember as his stunning 25-yard strike secured Southampton a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough.

Boufal joined Saints in a club-record deal worth £21million last summer and the Moroccan's moment of magic proved decisive at St Mary's in a game of few clear-cut chances.

Southampton's victory moves them up to 10th in the table while Middlesbrough remain 16th, after just one win in five games.