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Find out who impressed in the Premier League as Chelsea kept their nine-point gap at the top and Sunderland picked up a massive result against relegation rivals Crystal Palace.
We asked Premier League Daily guest Peter Beagrie to give each side a grade, based purely on their weekend performance.
So, how did your team fare? Do they get a stunning A, a woeful F, or perhaps something in between? Read on to find out…
It’s a mini league down at the bottom and, against your relegation rivals, Sunderland’s win is three points Crystal Palace can’t get. Sunderland managed to play some decent football under pressure and that’s what got them the result at Selhurst Park. Also, they played with superb spirit. There seems to be good togetherness at Sunderland and that will help as they continue the fight against the drop. They scored when they were on top and it is top of the class for Jermain Defoe for me. None of Sunderland’s January acquisitions catch the eye but keeping hold of Defoe was the best bit of business in the window. Without him I’m sure they would have been cut adrift.
It’s now four wins on the trot at home in all competitions for Hull. It’s always said the fate of the teams down at the bottom will be decided because of their home form. Since Marco Silva has come in he’s been tremendous. He’s made fundamental changes, he’s made them resilient, stronger at the back and the people he’s brought into the club have had a massive bearing on their turnaround in fortunes. He’s changed the whole dynamic at the club. There’s now an air of positivity after what has been an amazing turnaround.
Chelsea were under pressure going into the game in terms of keeping or extending their gap at the top, so that comes into consideration when looking at their performance. They did everything right and had champions written all over them. They are back to where they were before when they last won the league which is strong, resilient and they can do the ugly things needed to win tough games. That’s what they’ve got over the other teams at the top of the league. For me, they deserve an A.
United are getting better and better. I think they are favourites to get a top four spot because they are better defensively than both Arsenal and Liverpool. They have a great chance of getting back into the Champions League and that would be a successful season for United and it will give them a good base to build off.
There were a lot of questions surrounding West Ham a few weeks ago but Andy Carroll coming back into the fold has really helped them. Southampton’s not an easy place to go and to come away with three points is a huge bonus for Slaven Bilic. Any three points away from home against a top team, which Southampton can be on their day, shouldn’t be sniffed at.
Sometimes you’ve got to find a way to get over the line and they did just that with Gabriel Jesus grabbing the late goal to seal all three points at home against Swansea. It wasn’t convincing at all from City but they found a way to win. They were excellent in the first half but sometimes it’s difficult to break down teams that sit in and deny space in between the lines. That’s where David Silva flourishes but there wasn’t much space for him to dictate play like he normally does. However, they got the two goals through Jesus and I think it’s a masterstroke from Pep Guardiola to rest Sergio Aguero. I honestly think it’s a rest and that’s all it is because he’s come back from international duty on a couple of occasions after long journeys with a few niggles. He should come back a lot fresher and that will benefit City in the long run.
There are pluses and minuses for Everton. The minuses are the three goals they conceded but when you go forward at will, pick an attacking line-up and vacate the midfield area against a side like Bournemouth, you will have problems at the back. However, I thought Ronald Koeman’s side were absolutely terrific going forward. I know Romelu Lukaku took the headlines with his goals and Tom Davies has been superb in recent weeks, but under the radar Ross Barkley has been flourishing. He’s been amazing in the last six or seven games and that’s a positive sign for both Everton and England. Despite the goals scored though, it’s only a B for Everton because of the goals they conceded.
The scoreline shows this game to be tighter than it actually was. Spurs were dominant and could have added a few more goals. I look at the job Mauricio Pochettino has done since coming in at White Hart Lane and it’s an amazing transformation. What I look for is development as a team alongside the individual development of the players. All the individuals have improved under his tutelage in every aspect of the game. They haven’t got a soft under belly anymore and you look at Harry Kane, he’s in brilliant form. However, it’s just a B for Spurs as they should have scored a few more goals.
It’s so important to build on a big result like Watford’s in midweek against Arsenal. That’s what they’ve done and Watford are another club who continue to grow in belief, stature and the quality of the squad. The departure of Odion Ighalo could have affected them but it hasn’t. They’ve got on with it and the results have followed. Things are looking good for them at the moment.
You’ve got to win your home games, it’s imperative. This was a typical Tony Pulis result. It was all hands to the pump at times but they defended really well. They were under a lot of pressure at times but they defended their box very well to keep their good form going.
On their day Arsenal can beat anyone but those days are now becoming few and far between. When I look at Arsenal I see a team that are not improving. We’ve seen that result so many times before in terms of the scoreline and the manner of the defeat.
As far as Bournemouth are concerned if they are brave enough, like they were on Saturday in the second-half at Goodison Park, they will pick up points. For me, they’ve got goals in them. I think they’ve got a few more goals in them than teams in and around the bottom. I think they have enough to avoid relegation.
Southampton are very Jekyll and Hyde. They pull some great results out of the bag but they can just as easily get beaten when you least expect them to. Southampton will be very disappointed with the result against West Ham. It’s one they would have looked at and targeted for three points.
Going into the game the focus was on Burnley’s poor away record and while it’s another defeat on the road for Sean Dyche’s men, the early sending off didn’t help them. Ill-discipline does cost you and it was a poor tackle from Jeff Hendrick. He’ll know that when he looks back because he’s gone in over the ball. That will be disappointing for him and the club because they’ll miss him when he’s suspended.
Stoke were in good form going into the game at West Brom and will be disappointed with the result. However, the Hawthorns is not an easy place to go and they came up against a typical Pulis performance from a good West Brom side.
The scoreline flatters Middlesbrough in all honesty. It wasn’t until the latter stages that they came into the game but before that it could have easily been three or four. However, it’s no disgrace to lose at White Hart Lane so it’s a C.
Swansea never give up. They showed their battling qualities and you need that when you are down at the bottom. Paul Clement’s done a superb job since he’s come in and in Gylfi Sigurdsson, he’s got a player who could play for any of the top four sides and not look out of place.
For the first 30 minutes there wasn’t a lot between Leicester and Manchester United. This has been a problem for Leicester because they haven’t been able to keep their good performances going for 90 minutes. No two halves are the same for them and they haven’t got the consistency they had before. they’ve got so many individuals who are so far away from where they were last year. It was a disastrous result for them really, especially at home where they haven’t been too bad.
Everything that could have gone wrong for Sam Allardyce and his side went wrong. It’s a poor result anyway you look at it, but especially at home and especially against a relegation rival. Allardyce now has a huge job on his hands.
It’s defensive deficiencies again for Liverpool. It’s the same old story with goalkeeping errors and individual errors. When I look at where they were to where they are now, out of both cups and 13 points adrift of Chelsea at the top of the table, they are miles off the pace. On Saturday, Arsenal had lost and Tottenham were not playing until later in the day so they had an opportunity to go second for a period of time but they couldn’t capitalise. Again it was a defeat against a team in the bottom half. Does that raise questions about their attitude, application and their concentration levels? It was another poor day for Jurgen Klopp and his side.
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