MATCH REPORT: Liverpool vs Stoke City [Capital One Cup semi-final]

Joe Allen scored the winning penalty in a tense shoot-out to send Liverpool to Wembley for the Capital One Cup final. 

Jurgen Klopp's men beat Stoke 1-0 in the first leg of the tie through a Jordan Ibe goal, giving themselves a big boost going to Anfield.

Stoke weren't ready to sit back and go down without a fight though and they really took the game to Liverpool and possibly deserved a win at the end of the game due to the performance they had put in. 

Early on in the game, Stoke got a foothold in the game and really tested the Liverpool defence as they pushed forward. Jonathan Walters was the first to get into the box as a nice through ball was played to him. He decided to take on the long-range shot and it deflected out for a corner. 

He then had another chance minutes later when he made a brilliant run from the halfway line into the Liverpool box. He pulled away from Mamadou Sakho and directed his shot to the bottom corner across the face of goal, but his shot was just wide of the target. 

Liverpool only managed a few half chances before they were finally given the chance to get the ball into the box with a free kick. Emre Can moves into some space and he tries to curl his effort into the far post, but it is just wide of the post and Jack Butland had it covered. 

That's when Stoke picked up their game again and got their reward on the stroke of half time. The ball is played neatly through the Stoke midfield and out to Bojan on the right flank. He plays a cross into the box to Marco Arnautovic and he was left with a simple tap in under the keeper. 

Arnautovic puts Stoke ahead on the night but under controversial circumstances
Image from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3417783/Liverpool-FC-vs-Stoke-City-Capital-One-Cup-LIVE-score-Jurgen-Klopp-s-aim-avoid-semi-final-defeat.html

Sakho had dropped deeper than the rest of his defenders to try and challenge Bojan for the ball, but Arnautovic was ahead of him as he made his run into the box for the goal. The linesman didn't raise his flag though and the goal stood, levelling Stoke on the aggregate score line. 

Liverpool came out for the second half with a point to prove though. Early on in the half, a free kick was whipped into the box and Jordan Henderson touched the ball onto Roberto Firmino hit the ball towards the goal only to see it bounce back off the post and cleared. 

Then, Sakho almost drew his team level on the night when another free kick was crossed into the box and he rose to get his head to the ball. He aimed his header down at the ground, meaning that the bounce took the ball wide of the target. 

The only other stand out chance in the full time came for Liverpool. Alberto Moreno crossed the ball into the box to Christian Benteke but the forward missed it and landed at the feet of Jon Flanagan. He wasn't expecting the pass and he tried to take the ball around Benteke, who was still on the floor, but Stoke managed to clear the ball without much difficulty. 

Jurgen Klopp giving his team their instructions before the start of extra time
Image from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3417783/Liverpool-FC-vs-Stoke-City-Capital-One-Cup-LIVE-score-Jurgen-Klopp-s-aim-avoid-semi-final-defeat.html

Liverpool were the first to challenge their opponents in extra time as Firmino created some space and hit his shot down the centre of the goal, but Butland was in the perfect position to collect the ball. 

From then, the major chances fell to Stoke. Peter Crouch flicked the ball onto Marco van Ginkel in the box and he got away from two defenders before he smashed his shot at goal, only to see it rebound off the outside of the post and out of play. 

He had another chance minutes before the final whistle blew as well. Crouch once again set up the chance and van Ginkel hit the shot sweetly, but Simon Mignolet did brilliantly to stretch across his goal line to catch the ball and prevent a late Stoke winner. 

So, this meant that penalties would follow. The first two penalties were scored by Walters and Adam Lallana respectively, but then the drama really stepped up. 

Crouch and Can both stepped up and failed to convert their spot kick for the second round of penalties. From then, it was completely equal between the two sides, even as the game entered the sudden death stage. 

Van Ginkel and Lucas both scored the first set of sudden death penalties, but then Marc Muniesa was denied brilliantly by Mignolet meaning the pressure had mounted on Allen stepped up for his goal, which he scored without any problems, sending Liverpool to Wembley in February.

Allen celebrates with his teammates after scoring the penalty that won the match for Liverpool
Image from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3417783/Liverpool-FC-vs-Stoke-City-Capital-One-Cup-LIVE-score-Jurgen-Klopp-s-aim-avoid-semi-final-defeat.html

Mark Hughes will feel that his Stoke side have been very hard done by after they out performed Liverpool by a mile in the second leg of this tie. Stoke put in an all-round great performance as they were defensively solid and posed a massive threat when going forward.

On the other hand, Liverpool did perform the better of the two sides in the first leg, which Liverpool fans will probably say is the reason that they deserve to be in the final. In many ways, the away side did get lucky in this tie, but sometimes, luck is the thing you need to win you matches.

FA Cup Third Round [2016]

It's that time of year again when all the teams around the country are pulled together into one competition to form some of the best entertainment a football fan can find. This is the competition where form doesn't come into consideration and even the least likely winners can come forward. And so, as the Premier League and Championship teams joined in, the fun commenced...

The first game of the weekend saw League Two Exeter City face Premier League Liverpool at their home ground, and it was a game that Liverpool would be expected to win. However, it wasn't quite the game many expected. Exeter gave Liverpool a very tough time in the game and two goals from Tom Nichols and a brilliant one scored from a corner by Lee Holmes on either side of a goal by Jerome Sinclair put some real pressure Jurgen Klopp's side. 

Brad Smith managed to pull one back for Liverpool to earn a replay, but the outcome could have been very different if Exeter had managed to convert some of their chances when they were 2-1 up. 

Tom Nichols applauding the fans after his great performance against Liverpool
Image from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35155398

The shock of the round actually happened today though. Oxford United of League Two welcomed Swansea City and the away side seemed to get off to a brilliant start as a superb goal from Jefferson Montero took them into the lead. Oxford rallied brilliantly though. A debatable penalty was awarded and scored by the home side on the stroke of half time and switched into another gear when they came out for the second half. 

Kemar Roofe was the player to truly rub the salt into Swansea's wounds as he scored two wonderful goals and gave his team some breathing space. Bafetimbi Gomis did pull one back for Swansea, but it was a little too late meaning that they exited the competition. 

Oxford players celebrate a brilliant win against Swansea City
Image from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35216450

Cardiff City were another team that were beaten by a lower league team and had to exit the competition. Andy Mangan of Shrewsbury Town headed the visitors into the lead on the hour mark and the League One side held onto their lead as Cardiff wasted many chances that could possibly have earned them a replay. 

It wasn't the exit to a lower league side that would have been embarrassing for Cardiff, but the fact that less than 5,000 people attended the game in total to watch the game. So all-in-all, not a great day for the home side. 

There was a lot of late drama in the game between Tottenham and Leicester. Christian Eriksen drew first blood early in the first half after the keeper parried Nacer Chadli's shot back into the penalty, but Leicester soon fought back. Marcin Wasilewski and Shinji Okazaki pulled the game back for the away side and Spurs were handed a lifeline. 

The ball hit Nathan Dyer's hand in the penalty area as he tried to tackle Danny Rose and the ref awarded a penalty which Harry Kane converted to earn the replay. However, it is debatable as to whether it was actually a penalty or not as the handball didn't seem deliberate, but I'm sure the Spurs team will be happy they get another chance to get to the fourth round. 

Harry Kane converts a late penalty to earn Spurs a replay at the King Power Stadium
Image from: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/fa-league-cups/fa-cup-third-round-live-oxford-vs-swansea-chelsea-vs-scunthorpe-and-tottenham-vs-leicester-city-a6804636.html

For West Bromwich Albion, it was almost a shock exit as well. They took the lead halfway through the second half through Saido Berahino, but Bristol City managed to flip the game in their favour when Jonathan Kodija scored from close range and minutes later Kieran Agard added a second. 

It looked like they might just come away with the win, until James Morrison pulled a goal back in the dying minutes of added time in the second half to earn his team a replay and stop any celebrations from the Bristol City faithful.

There were, of course, the results that everybody expected in this round. Manchester City played well away against Norwich and Sergio Aguero started off the flurry of goals in the 3-0 result. 

Last season's winners Arsenal also pulled together to win 3-1 after they went behind to a Jeremain Lens goal for Sunderland. 

Chelsea didn't have the smoothest of games, but they still managed to overcome Scunthorpe with a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Diego Costa and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Manchester United were another team that struggled against lower league opposition as Sheffield United put on a brilliant and resilient defensive display at Old Trafford. However, the visitors suffered heartbreak in the third minute of added time as a penalty was given away and converted by Wayne Rooney. 

And so comes the end to another FA Cup weekend. The replays will be played in just over a week and it will be interesting to see if any teams who almost pulled off a great shock in this round will be able to finish off what they almost started. For the fans of those teams that did make it through to the next round, the draw will happen tomorrow and the next round of predictions about possible upsets will make their appearance pretty soon after. 

The only question left is whether or not any of the underdogs will cause the upsets so many fans crave during that round. 

MATCH REPORT: Stoke City vs Liverpool [Capital One Cup semi-final]

Jordan Ibe gives the Reds an advantage over their opponents going into the second leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final tie. 

Liverpool were going into this game on the back of a "passive" defeat to West Ham in the league. At least that was the view of Jurgen Klopp after the match. The manager was looking for a strong comeback but they faced tough competition. However, the Liverpool injury list included a lot of the team's big names which meant that this wasn't the strongest team that Klopp would have liked to field today, and it didn't get much better for him during the match as three more players were added to this list.

Dejan Lovren leaving the field with a hamstring injury, adding to the long list of already injured Liverpool players
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/12081866/Stoke-City-v-Liverpool-Capital-One-Cup-semi-final-first-leg-live.html

Stoke City may have lost to West Bromwich Albion last weekend due to a goal in added time, but they had beaten Everton and Manchester United emphatically in the weekends previous to this, which meant that Liverpool would have to find a way to deal with that front trio of Bojan, Marco Arnautovic and Xherdan Shaqiri. 

It was the away side that started the match the stronger of the two and they pushed forward from the starting whistle. They didn't get their first chance until the eighth minute though when Roberto Firmino played the ball across to Adam Lallana. He had a little bit of space so he decided to take the shot on from outside the box and it forced a good first save out of Jack Butland who turned the ball away with a strong hand. 

Liverpool also got the second chance this time coming from Firmino. The ball was cleverly worked into the Stoke box once again and the midfielder fired the ball towards the goal on the turn but the Stoke defender got across well to send the ball out for a corner before it could cause any problems.

Ibe replaced Philippe Coutinho who left the field with a hamstring injury and he had a chance minutes after he entered the field. He made a direct run at the defence and took it on himself. He didn't set himself right though and the ball swerved high and wide of the target. 

Stoke registered their first chance of the half towards the half hour mark when they won a corner. The ball was swung in low to the penalty spot where Bojan had made a run behind the Liverpool defence. He completely misjudged his touch causing the ball to ricochet off his body. A few seconds later the ball landed to Glen Johnson and he decided to have a go, but his shot didn't come close to hitting the target. 

In the 37th minute, Liverpool finally got their reward. James Milner, who had replaced the injured Lovren, played a great ball down the right flank to Lallana who beat the offside trap. The midfielder crossed the ball into the box and Joe Allen tried to hit a shot at Butland's goal, but he got his touch wrong and instead played a square pass to Ibe coming into the box. The winger did what Allen couldn't and curled the ball under the diving keeper and the covering defender. 

Ibe and Firmino celebrating the important Liverpool goal
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/12081866/Stoke-City-v-Liverpool-Capital-One-Cup-semi-final-first-leg-live.html

Stoke didn't sit back after this; instead they went straight down the other end with Johnson whipping a brilliant cross into the box. Arnautovic got ahead of his defender and made a connection with the ball but the wet ball skimmed across his head and finished wide of the far post. 

Just before the end of the first half, Shaqiri won his side a corner and Johnson almost pulled his side back into the game. He beat Allen to the ball and hit his shot on target, but a brilliant save from Mignolet protected Liverpool's first half lead. 

The second half was definitely much brighter for the home side. Less than 10 minutes in, Kolo Toure gave away a free kick which is crossed into a dangerous area of the box and Glenn Whelan is the first player to the ball, but he was knocked off balance as he went to take the shot. Ryan Shawcross was next to have a go and he managed to fire his shot at a Liverpool defender on the turn. The last of the chances was a wild shot that ended up flying high over the crossbar. 

Liverpool did have a few chances though. Ibe was keen to add to his tally and he made a direct run into the box from the left side before cutting back to get some space from his defender. He decided to hit the low shot towards the near post, but he could only find the side netting. 

Butland suffered a scare not long after when he was played the ball back by one of his defenders. The keeper tried to clear the ball from his penalty area with his first touch but only managed to rebound the ball off Firmino on the edge of the box. Much to his relief though, the ball landed neatly back into his gloves instead of causing him any problems. 

At the other end of the field, Ibrahim Afellay tried to hit a low, hard shot at goal from outside the box, but it took a deflection off a defender. This caused the ball to loop up and Simon Mignolet had to back track quickly to tip the ball over his crossbar before it could sneak into the goal. 

In the dying moments of the match, Jonathan Walters got some space in the Liverpool box and instead of taking on the shot first time, he seemed to hesitate. He still managed to get his shot away before the defenders closed him down but the ball skimmed past the far post. 

Klopp applauds the travelling Liverpool fans after his team beat Stoke
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/12081866/Stoke-City-v-Liverpool-Capital-One-Cup-semi-final-first-leg-live.html

This result gives Liverpool a good advantage going into the second leg of this semi-final, especially as they will be playing it at Anfield. Klopp will also be impressed by an improved performance from his side compared to the West Ham game. However, he should feel slightly worried as Coutinho, Lovren and Toure were all added to the very long growing injury list.

Stoke will still feel that they can take this tie from Liverpool as they are only behind by one goal. Mark Hughes also knows that his side can perform in the big games as they have already beaten a number of big teams this season. He will need to figure out a way to get that brilliant trio into the game in the next leg though as Liverpool seemed to deal with them very well and snuff out most of their chances during the build-up play. 

MATCH REPORT: Manchester United vs Liverpool

Ah, the big rivalry of Manchester United and Liverpool is upon us once again. However, the usual hype that surrounds this game wasn't the same this time around. It was the stories off the pitch that made the headlines instead of what was going to happen on the pitch. Both teams were also without their usual captains in Wayne Rooney and Jordan Henderson respectively. The only question left was whether or not this would be a match as memorable as some of those in the past. None the less, for both sets of fans it is a fixture they look forward to from the moment the new fixture lists are released.

The first half was boring though. United were keeping a lot of possession throughout the half, meaning Liverpool didn't get a lot of time to create any chances. The game lacked the passion that people have enjoyed watching in the past. The passion that the likes of Steven Gerrard or Gary Neville, for example, carried into the game. The home team looked calm on the ball and were playing at a slow pace. The away team though, looked the opposite. At the beginning of the half, the defence and goalkeeper for Liverpool looked extremely nervy and made a couple of mistakes that they could maybe have been punished for. They did grow into the game more as the game went on, but it was extremely tight-knit and neither side had created any clear-cut chances when the whistle blew for half time. 

Both teams did have a half-chance each in the first 45 minutes though. In the 7th minute, Simon Mignolet came out and caught the ball from a cross and decided to try and calmly roll the ball to the defender in front of him. He didn't judge the roll properly though as the ball bounced off Juan Mata's heal and into the path of Marouane Fellaini who rushed his chance and looped the ball over the crossbar, much to the relief of Mignolet. Liverpool's first dangerous move forward came halfway through the half. The first ball into the box was cleared by Luke Shaw but only into the path of James Milner outside the box. He didn't get a clean contact though and could only direct the ball wide of the post with the outside of his boot. 

The second half was a completely different story. United kept a lot of the ball again in the opening moments of the half, but they were moving it with more pace than they had in the first half. Louis van Gaal brought on Ashley Young in place of Memphis Depay, and it was Young's first run towards the Liverpool box that caused the problems. Nathaniel Clyne gave away the free kick by blocking him off just outside of the box. Mata takes the free kick and squares it back across to the middle of the box where Daley Blind was waiting to fire his shot first time into the top corner of the net without any pressure from the Liverpool players. 

At the other end of the pitch 10 minutes, the other goalkeeper also made a mistake. David de Gea, who made his return to the team after signing a new four year deal, cleared the ball poorly and it landed at the feet of Lucas who played the ball neatly to Clyne before Roberto Firmino had the chance to cross the ball into the box, but United cleared it eventually after some messy defending. They had another chance not long after when Dejan Lovren played his header forward to Danny Ings on the edge of the six yard box. The forward didn't make great contact with the ball, but he still forced de Gea into making a great save to turn the ball out. 

After the goal, Liverpool threw a lot more into their attacking moves and they were agonisingly close just after the hour mark. Milner swung his corner in and Martin Skrtel got the first flick before Ings directed it towards the centre of the goal where Blind cleared the ball off the line and back into play. It was Firmino with the follow up chance from point-blank range and he looked like he might be able to put it into the back of the net but instead he puts it wide of the post he is stood next to. 

So, Liverpool didn't take their chances, but Ander Herrera certainly took his. Shortly after that chance for Liverpool, Michael Carrick played a forward ball to Herrera who made a run into the box when Joe Gomez goes to ground and takes Herrera with him to give away the penalty. After winning the spot kick, Herrera stepped up to take it and emphatically hits it into the roof of the net to double United's lead. Mignolet did go the right way, but there was nothing the keeper could have done to stop it. 

This really forced Liverpool to inject some pace into their game. Following the penalty, they had a lot more chances to try and make a comeback within the match. Milner set up the first chance after being left in a lot of space on the right wing to put in the cross and found Christian Benteke, who had a miserable beginning to the match, but he put his header wide. Jordan Ibe caused a few problems for Shaw down the right side and for his chance, came inside onto his left foot and curled the ball around to the far side of the goal, but de Gea pulled off a great save to turn it out for a corner. 

The corner was played across the pitch to Ibe on the right who instantly put a cross into the box. Blind got up and headed the ball, but couldn't get any distance on his clearance. It was that header that carried the ball into the path of Benteke on the edge of the six yard box and he twisted in the air to fire his overhead kick into the back of the net, giving the keeper no chance of saving it. Liverpool had looked dangerous in the moments leading up to the goal, so it looked like they might just be able to pull another goal back before the end of the match. 

This wasn't the case though. United's new signing, Anthony Martial was introduced to play midway through the second half but didn't see much of the ball at the beginning of his debut. Only minutes after Benteke's goal though, Young played him in around the halfway line and the teenager made a darting run into the Liverpool penalty area, weaved his way past three Liverpool defenders without any trouble and curled his side-footed shot under the keeper and into the far bottom corner of the net; effectively finishing the game off for the home side. 

At the beginning of the match, it was said that both managers were under some pressure, and if that is the case, then some more might have just been heaped onto Brendan Rodgers. He went to Old Trafford with a defensive set-up in mind, but when it came to his attacking tactics, they didn't look very strong. Unlike Liverpool sides of old, they didn't look like they were there to take the game by the scruff of the neck and going to win. However, the latter end of the second half might have been a slight positive to take from the game in an attacking sense. For United, it looks like they will see their new signing in the headlines in a positive light following the match after a lot of pressure had been put on Martial due to the price tag he carried. One thing is for sure though; he has already made his mark on the Premier League. 

Transfer Overload?

So, as the transfer window in Britain came to a close yesterday, a few big stories made their way onto the back pages. There was of course, the carry-ons of the big stories that have been circulating around the footballing world for the past two or three months, and then some surprises that the fans weren't expecting. The fans were expecting something from their clubs on this day though as they always are. 

The biggest transfer story over Monday and Tuesday was the collapse of a deal between Manchester United and Real Madrid. This is a deal that has been in the news since about January, sometimes in glaringly obvious articles and other times just subtle hints as people guessed what would happen on the market. This was one of the deals that everyone expected to happen, including the United fans who genuinely thought they would see their keeper leave in this window. If that was the case, it seems to be a mystery that Real didn't make a bid that would make United happy earlier in the window instead of leaving it so late. By Monday night, it looked like people would be waking up to see David de Gea standing in Madrid with his new shirt in hand telling everyone how happy he is to see the deal happen. Only that wasn't the case. Both clubs are pointing the finger at each other when asked who was late with the paper work, so it doesn't look like there will be actual answers any time soon. To add to all of this, it is now said he is thinking about signing a contract extension and will be reintegrated into the team. I don't think you'll ever see an opinion change as quickly as that for a long time again...

Then of course there was the constantly rejected bids from both Chelsea and Tottenham for John Stones and Saido Berahino respectively. Everton dealt really well with the advances from Chelsea and turned down all of the bids with seemingly easy decisions. There was some confusion at one point when Stones handed in a transfer request that wasn't a transfer request, but the news quickly blew over and he still seems to be an important player for him team as they move forward. 

Berahino was another story. Now, I've been told that we shouldn't judge him too harshly due to a rough childhood and that he should be better protected by his agent instead of being allowed free reign when it comes to social media and the press. He obviously isn't happy at West Brom, as he has made clear in the not so distant past, and he wants to move onto "bigger things". However, there is probably a right way to do it, and many people would agree that it is not by sending out a rash tweet while you're angry stating you never wants to play for them again. He's been given time off (most likely to think about what he's said and cool down a little bit) but it'll be interesting to see what comes of him in the next few weeks. 

There obviously were deals that actually happened that got the fans excited, and not just sat staring at their phones and TV screens to see how the drama played out. Watford had a lot of new players come into the squad (15!), not big name signings, but players that show a lot of potential to shine for their team if they can get them to gel properly. Stoke was another team to add a lot of names to their squad list, including the good signing of Xherdan Shaqiri who got his first game for them recently. Again, if they can get the team to gel, they look like they might be in with a good chance of pushing for a top table finish. 

Then, there was the big spenders at Manchester City. Over the recent seasons, they have been known to splash their cash on some great quality players, and this season looks to be no different. Raheem Sterling was another well talked about transfer in the lead up to the window, and City pulled together the deal really quickly so they would have him ready for their pre-season. He seems to have settled in really well, and got his first goal for the club recently, and has already forged a partnership with David Silva that looks very dangerous. Then there was the other big money signing of Kevin De Bruyne from Wolfsburg a couple of days before deadline day. He was another player with a lot of speculation surrounding him, and it seems the club pulled through. On top of that, they managed to snatch the deal of Nicolas Otamendi who looked on his way to their city rivals and Fabian Delph. After an already sparkling start to the season and a strong intake of players, it looks like City could be on their way to another brilliant season. 

Speaking of Fabian Delph, in some ways it looked like Aston Villa might struggle after some of the players they lost. Delph was the captain last season and they also lost Christian Benteke to Liverpool; two of their best players leaving early on in the window. However, Tim Sherwood did some good business to rest his fans at ease. He strengthened the defence, firstly by bringing in Micah Richards at the beginning of the window and on deadline day, adding Joleon Lescott as well. It was a signing up front though that proved to be worth it. Rudy Gestede coming in from Blackburn looks like he might just be able to fit into the space that Benteke vacated. On his debut, he managed to lead Villa to a win, and if he stays fit and can find a constant rhythm in his form, it looks like he will be in for a good season. 

Swansea were another team that made a great signing when it came to the forward position. Andre Ayew, a free transfer, has already scored in three of his first four appearances which isn't a particularly easy thing to do, but it proves to be even more impressive when you realise that two of those appearances were against Manchester United and last season's champions Chelsea. There are of course other players brought in by Gary Monk, but Ayew has certainly got that star quality that not a lot of people would have expected from him. So far though, he has been brilliant and if he pulls more performances like that one out of the bag, then a lot of football fans will be clamouring to watch him. 

As last season's champions, a lot of people expected Chelsea to bring in some reinforcements for an already brilliant squad. Last season they looked almost unstoppable, and although many fans expected them to start right where they left off, it doesn't seem to have quite happened like that. A stand out from his debut for them was Pedro who they brought in from Barcelona, and having scored on his debut in a match that Chelsea won (not as comfortably as they thought they would in the end though), it looked like they might have just found another quality player to help them with the goals this season. They also brought in Radamel Falcao, who scored his first goal for them at the weekend, so their attacking options are looking particularly strong. They maybe could have done with another defender being brought in. Even though they were solid last season, it doesn't look to be the same this time out. They tried and failed to secure Stones, but maybe with the power and confidence of their forward players, their defence will get back up to the expected heights. 

Manchester United saw a host of new players come into the club, but it was the long list of players that left the club that had people talking about that as much as the de Gea saga. The British record transfer signing Angel di Maria had insisted that he would be staying at the club instead of leaving after a relatively lacklustre first season at the club. However, it all seems to have been an empty promise as he left for Paris Saint Germain pretty early on in the transfer market. The United fans also saw two of their strikers leave in Robin van Persie for Fenerbache and fan favourite Javier Hernandez for Bayer Leverkusen. It seems that Hernandez especially struggled to earn a place under Louis van Gaal after he was also loaned out to Real Madrid last season. Van Gaal also chose to send Adnan Januzaj out on loan to Borussia Dortmund after assuring fans he wouldn't be leaving the club, but he will be back next summer as there is no option to buy at the end of the deal. So, van Gaal is clearly marking United as his own as he works to building his perfect side that could win the title. The list of departing players is more than likely to carry on growing though as time goes on. 

Arsenal always seem to leave their big money signings until the last minute, leaving their fans guessing up until the dying moments. Sometimes it looks like there might be nothing happening before the news filters through that a big name player or one with a lot of potential has turned up at their training ground or is heading to his medical; kind of like the deals of Mesut Ozil and Danny Welbeck. This year though, something felt different. They brought in Petr Cech very early in the season, who is a great keeper and looked like he would give the solidarity at the back (first match aside that is). While Arsenal fans waited as the minutes counted down to the deadline, nothing else was happening and when it closed, they only had one new name on their team sheet. There was of course rumours about Karim Benzema and Edison Cavani possibly putting pen to paper, but the rumours fizzled out pretty quickly. Arsene Wenger is clearly happy with the squad he has though, and it will be good to see if his belief in them truly pays off. 

I feel like there is so much here that I haven't had chance to comment on, but the amount of players moving between clubs is too much to keep up with, coupled with the amount of rumours flying around. It looks like some fans are still unhappy with the signings not made at their clubs though, depending on whether or not that marquee signing did or didn't show up at their training ground. And with another record breaking spending (£870million!) it looks like the transfer market is growing ever bigger as the years go back. Now though, the stress is over and the fans can relax and finally enjoy the football with the knowledge that their favourite player is still going to be wearing that team's kit as the weeks go by. 

MATCH REPORT: Arsenal vs Liverpool

It was another Premier League weekend that was marked with a clash between two of the heavy weights in the league. Liverpool sit the highest of the two in the table at the beginning of the night and would be looking to record their third consecutive win to maintain their 100% start to the campaign and sitting level with Manchester City with 9 points at the top of the table. Arsenal would be looking to build on last weekend's win and register their first home win of the season after a horrible start to the League against West Ham on the opening weekend. However, both teams were forced into making changes that affected their normal set ups, so the game was nicely poised between the two.

Liverpool certainly saw the better of the chances in the first half and looked increasingly dangerous as the half went on. In the early moments of the game, Emre Can set up Christian Benteke on the edge of Arsenal's 18 yard box, but his shot was narrowly wide of the near post. Only a minute later, the team was presented with another golden opportunity and this time it was Benteke who set up the chance. Philippe Coutinho took on the shot with his first touch and swerved it around, aiming for the far netting, but instead saw it bounce off the post before rebounding into play and getting cleared by Arsenal. 

Arsenal did get a couple of chances in front of goal, but they were wasteful. Nacho Monreal put a great cross in from the left to the far post where Alexis Sanchez tries to turn his header towards the goal, but he sent it just wide of the post. His second chance came within minutes after Liverpool failed to clear their lines. Martin Skrtel and James Milner both had their chances and it almost came back to them, but Sanchez missed the first attempt and was swiftly judged offside. It was another offside decision that stopped Arsenal from taking the lead as well. Santi Cazorla played a brilliant through ball to Aaron Ramsey on the edge of the 6 yard box who then slipped the ball under the keeper just before the flag went up. However, he was wrongly judged offside, and Arsenal fans weren't too happy about that decision. 

Arsenal's defence looked extremely shaky throughout the rest of the first half without Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny. 15 minutes in, Calum Chamber gave the ball away inside his own penalty area instead of clearing the ball, but Francis Coquelin made a good tackle which prevented the shot being taken. None of the Arsenal defenders were closing down the ball either which allowed Milner to make a run into the box where Coutinho played him in after being gifted the ball. Milner's first attempt at a square ball to his team-mate was cut out but he got a second chance but saw it turned off the near post by Petr Cech.

Benteke had another good chance as the half came to a close as well. Roberto Firmino, in his first start for the club, squared the ball across the box in a dangerous position that prevented the Arsenal defender from a sliding clearance at the risk of an own goal, and Benteke came onto the ball at the far post and almost got the better of Cech, but the keeper did well to get down and turn the ball away. Coutinho pulled off some fancy footwork to work his way into space and took on the shot from close range, but for the second time in the half saw the woodwork come to Arsenal's rescue after a fingertips save from Cech.

It was Arsenal who saw the best of the second half though. Their defensive frailties seemed to have been left behind, and they looked a lot brighter, and it looked as though they might just be able to steal this came out from underneath Liverpool. Something that certainly seemed to have changed was the speed of Arsenal's play as they pushed the Liverpool defence back. Olivier Giroud alone had a lot of good chances. The first of these was only a half chance though, as the ball came across to the forward, but Skrtel had matched him and beat him to stop the danger and the second was an attempted first touch finish that ended wide of the far post.

On the hour mark, Sanchez had a great chance following a set-up from Mesut Ozil, and he took the shot from a very close, tight angle which almost came off for him, but instead the woodwork of the goal got in the way of yet another chance and the danger passed. Giroud racked up another chance after this when he was left in a lot of space in the Liverpool area after the defenders had been led away. He slipped as he took on the shot, but still managed to poke it towards the goal, but Mignolet's brilliant reaction save prevented him from getting his goal. 

Ramsey also got a couple of chances towards the end of the half, and he was desperate to score after having his earlier effort ruled out. His first shot was a curled effort around the defender (the initial pass to play him in was from Giroud), but Mignolet was left with a comfortable save in the end. His second chance did cause the Liverpool keeper some problems though. Ramsey carried the ball through a good run, and took on the long-range shot which was low. Mignolet needed two attempts, but managed to hold onto it before any of the Arsenal players could collect the rebound. 

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain proved to be a handful for Joe Gomez when he came onto the pitch, and one of his first contributions was a whipped cross into the box which Skrtel got his boot to in a clearance, and although he cleared it, it was almost at the expense of an own goal. Oxlade-Chamberlain also had a long-range shot that curled round towards the far post turned away by Mignolet deep into added time which marked the end of the match.

In the end, a draw probably served as the right result between the two teams. Both had their own dominant half in the game, and although there definitely should have been more goals if either team had taken their chances, it was a strong display overall, especially defensively from Liverpool's points of view. This means the away side continue their unbeaten run at the beginning of the season, not quite level with Man City's record, but they are still sitting pretty at the top of the table for the time being. However, Arsenal's home form might be a slight worry for Arsene Wenger, but this early on in the season, there is still a lot of time for things to improve.

Premier League: Opening Weekend

The new Premier League season was kicked off with a big fixture as Manchester United faced off against Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs were particularly dominant in the opening exchanges of the match, and had two chances from Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane to prove this. However, they didn't make the most of this period and they came to regret it after a sloppy piece of play by Nabil Bentaleb which gave the ball to Juan Mata. He played the ball across to Matteo Darmian on the right, and he put a brilliant cross into Wayne Rooney in the six yard box. He hesitated to take the chance, and Kyle Walker tried to clear the ball out from behind, but instead saw the ball nestle neatly into the corner of his own net. United grew in confidence following this, but didn't create any more clear cut chances until the second half. Spurs did have the chance to possibly snatch a late goal, but their pressure came too late, and United secured all three points thanks to debutant goalkeeper, Sergio Romero. 

Leicester seemed to pick up exactly where they left off. Even though Sunderland had the better chances early on, it was the home side that recorded the first goal through Jamie Vardy after he flicked the ball in off the inside of the post from a free kick. Riyad Mahrez followed this with two goals in quite quick succession. The first was a header flicked into the side netting from a Marc Albrighton cross and the second was from the spot after Lee Cattermole gave away the penalty kick. He sent the keeper the wrong way and calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner. Sunderland had a reply though; Adam Johnson slipped the ball into the box where Jermain Defoe was in place to slot the ball under the keeper. Leicester weren't done yet though. After a number of failed attempts, Albrighton eventually managed to deflect his shot off Younes Kaboul which took it past the keeper. Steven Fletcher added another goal for Sunderland, but it came too late for them to mount a successful comeback.

Another team to pick up where they left off was Crystal Palace. Early in the first half, Wilfried Zaha had already put his team ahead. Jason Puncheon came down the right and put a brilliant cross into the box, which missed all the other players and landed to Zaha, in space, who turned the ball into the goal off the keeper. Damien Delaney followed this up from a Palace corner. Pape Souare made a last second run into the box, so wasn't picked up and headed it to Delaney on the post who calmly nudged it over the line. Norwich had a lot of chances in the game, but they didn't take any of them until the second half. Nathan Redmond managed to create something out of nothing as he took on the shot from outside the box and caught the keeper of guard as it hit the net. Cameron Jerome also had a great volleyed goal wrongly disallowed, as the referee pulled play back for a high boot. Yohan Cabaye rounded it all off for Palace though as he timed his run perfectly before he tucked the ball under the keeper.

On paper, it looked like new boys Watford would have a tough game against Everton as their first, but they made quick work of the match. They settled into Premier League life relatively quickly, and looked confident on the ball. Miguel Layun was in the right place on the penalty spot to lift the ball up and over the keeper to settle in the goal when Everton failed to clear their lines. Everton didn't have many good chances until midway through the second half. Seamus Coleman crossed the ball into Arouna Kone on the edge of the box, who had his back to goal, so he teed up Ross Barkley who put some power behind his shot and watched it pinball through the players before it flew over the keeper. Watford took the lead again though when Odion Ighalo took the ball past John Stones and curled the ball around the defender and the keeper. However, it was Kone who had the last say in the match when he converted his late goal from a tight angle on the right side of the box. 

Bournemouth also looked comfortable in their first half against Aston Villa, and they created a lot of chances that would have allowed them to take a foothold in the game. Villa did well to defend against these chances though and came out for the second half looking like a different team. It was new boy Rudy Gestede who proved to be the difference between the two sides. From a Villa corner, he rose above everyone else in the box and powered his header past the keeper and into the back of the net. Bournemouth just couldn't get past the defence though, and they learnt the hard way that they need to take their chances to go further in the Premier League. 

The defending champions faced off against Swansea as they mounted their challenge to retain their trophy. Swansea came closest to scoring at the beginning of the match, but it was Oscar who put his name on the score-sheet. A free kick taken from outside the left side of the box was whipped across the front of the crowd of players and settled into the side netting. Swansea had a reply for this shortly after though. Swansea had a number of chances before Andre Ayew eventually slotted the ball under Thibaut Courtois following this. They weren't level for long however, after Willian went up the other end and crossed the ball into the box, but it looped off Federico Fernandez and over his keeper. However, the game was flipped on its head when Courtois saw red and gave away a penalty for preventing a goal-scoring opportunity. Gomis sent the keeper the wrong way and the goal gave Swansea a new sense of confidence. Chelsea did rally towards the end, but it was too late to get anything. 

Arsenal were looking confident at the beginning of their match after last week's Community Shield win over Chelsea. They had a particularly good spell at the beginning of the half, one in which they didn't take their chances, which allowed West Ham to really come into the game. Both teams had half chances in the lead up to half time, but this was when West Ham found their breakthrough. A free kick is looped into the box and Petr Cech came flying out of his goal to punch the ball away, but Cheikhou Kouyate beat him to it and powered his header into the empty net. Arsenal looked clumsy and laboured after this goal, and it carried on into the second half. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain couldn't clear his lines and was dispossessed by Mauro Zarate on the edge of the box. He turned and fired the shot into the bottom corner past a wrong-footed Cech. Although Arsenal had more chances towards the edge of the game, West Ham did well to defend their lead. 

Newcastle under their new manager in this game looked a completely different side to the one that finished last season. They made a bright start to the match and confidence flowed through them as they registered the better chances of the two teams. Against the run of play though, it was Graziano Pelle that put the visitors ahead. Cedric Soares put a brilliant ball into the box and Pelle got up well and had no trouble powering his header past the defenders and Tim Krul. Just before half time, Newcastle fought back. Massadio Haidara's cross looped up off Sadio Mane and Papisse Cisse simply had to chest the ball over the line from close range. Newcastle took the lead through a counter-attacking goal when Gabriel Obertan whipped his cross into the box where Georginio Wijnaldum guided the ball into the net past the stranded keeper. Shane Long finished the game off with another perfectly placed header when he beat his defender to the ball at the far post.

Fans had high hopes for the match between Stoke City and Liverpool after Stoke recorded a 6-1 thrashing over their visitors. This match couldn't have been more of an opposite from that one though. The beginning of the game was extremely cagey and very lacklustre compared to that game when Stoke were 5-0 ahead by half time. The home team did have the better of the first half chances though, the best of which came from ex-Liverpool defender Glen Johnson when he hit the ball over the crossbar. The second half saw Liverpool grow into the game though, but Stoke were still managing to contain them and turn away the chances. Late in the game, Liverpool picked the ball up midway through the Stoke half and Philippe Coutinho turned past Steve Sidwell and sent his long-range strike into the top of the net and over Jack Butland. Stoke had a few late chances, but were ultimately unlucky not to get anything out of the game. 

The opening weekend ended at the Hawthorns with a first half that was dominated by City, and although Tony Pulis set his team up in a defensive set-up, it just didn't work. Yaya Toure got two goals within a short period in the first half. His first is a slight doubt between him and David Silva. Toure scuffed his initial shot and it took a deflection off Silva and Craig Dawson before nestling into the bottom of the net. The second certainly had no doubt over it though. From the edge of the box, he found the top of the net with a brilliantly struck shot that just cemented City's dominance in the game. West Brom were a lot better at the beginning of the second half, and managed to create a few chances which the City defence turned away. It was all over from a Silva corner though. Vincent Kompany made a run towards the near post and ended up turning the ball into the net using a mixture of his head and his shoulder. Even though it seemed like the visitor eased off after their third goal, West Brom just couldn't get past their defence to get their goal. 

Premier League Review: 6-10

Crystal Palace - 10th (48 points)

After Tony Pulis, the man who turned Palace's season around last year, decided to leave the club only 48 hours before the opening game, a lot of people wrote them off. When Neil Warnock started his second stint in charge of the club, people still didn't know what was going to happen. 

In their first four games, they picked up two wins and two draws. It was starting to look up, but all too soon, things turned around. In this period of poor form they did pull together for a memorable win over Liverpool at Selhurst Park in late November, but that was the only bright spark at this time. They went their next 6 games without a win. By the time the club came to the decision to sack Warnock at the end of December, he had a dismal record of only 1 win in 12 games which had landed his team in the bottom three.

This was the point in the season where everything turned around again, but this time for the better. Alan Pardew was installed as manager and he injected some new life into his squad. He brought the best out of many of the players, including Yannick Bolasie, Wilfried Zaha, Jason Puncheon and Glenn Murray among others. His first match in charge saw him lead them to a 4-0 win against Dover in the FA Cup, and he followed this up with a 2-1 win over Spurs in the Premier League. After winning 10 games out of Pardew's first 15, Palace started their move up the table. Other highlights of their season was their 2-1 win over Manchester City and a Bolasie hat-trick that helped to seal a 4-1 win away at Sunderland. 

However, they did have a small slip up towards the end of the season and went on a run of four consecutive defeats after the win at Sunderland. These losses included very narrow defeats to both Chelsea and Manchester United, but they bounced back in brilliant style. Three of the players that had been invigorated under Pardew helped their team to come from a goal down to ruin Steven Gerrard's final farewell at Anfield. Taking all of this into consideration, the future for Palace looks extremely bright.

Stoke City - 9th (54 points)
This was a brilliant season for Stoke in many ways; they've never won as many games or accumulated as many points in a Premier League season before. However, many fans, along with Mark Hughes, will be left wondering just how different things would have been if they had found some much needed consistency. 

It took Stoke until the third weekend to register their first win of the campaign, and they did it in style. A 1-0 win over Manchester City at the Etihad looked like it would propel them onto a good run, but this wasn't the case. It took another 3 games for Stoke to register their next win. 

The home fans also had to wait until the end of September for their team's first win at the Brittania, and other losses to Burnley, Manchester United and Liverpool left them just 3 points above the drop at the beginning of December.

In the game against Arsenal at this point in the season, they put in a remarkable first half performance which saw them take a 3-0 lead at the break, and then hold on for a 3-2 win. This result kick-started a strong mid-season for the team and they only lost 3 of their next 14 games. In this period, Jonathan Walters became the first Stoke player to score a Premier League hat-trick to earn his team a win over QPR, and late goals against Newcastle, Aston Villa and Everton secured the points to lift their team up the eighth. 

Consecutive defeats following this to West Brom, Crystal Palace and Chelsea - despite a wonder strike from Charlie Adam from inside his own half - stopped their brilliant progress. However, they were further boosted again after recording impressive wins over West Ham, Southampton and Spurs. They saved the best until last though when they rounded off the season in style with a 6-1 thrashing of Liverpool at the Brittania Stadium. 

Two three-game losing streaks was as bad as it got for Stoke throughout the season and after registering wins over Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and doing the double over Spurs, they can have a lot of hope and confidence going into the new season.

Swansea City - 8th (56 points)
In Garry Monk's first full season in charge, he led the club to its highest Premier League finish and passed a previous top points tally with games to spare, making this one a very successful season. He also made some great signings in the shape of Federico Fernandez, Jefferson Montero, Lukasz Fabianski and Gylfi Sigurdsson who helped lift Swansea to this position. 

They started the season with three consecutive wins, including an opening day 2-1 win over Manchester United. However, they then followed this up with a 3 match losing streak, which left a lot of people questioning the manager. Swansea did find their form again though for a short time following this which left them in and around the Europa League spots. Monk did suffer through some difficulties such as injuries, suspensions and the big money departure of Wilfried Bony to Manchester City in the January transfer window. This didn't dampen their team spirit in any way though. 

The festive season and into the New Year wasn't exactly great for Swansea, but they still managed to pick up a lot of points from their many draws. The first match of their FA Cup campaign ended in a brilliant 6-2 away victory to boost morale, but it was quickly over for them in the fourth round after defeat to Blackburn. 

Bafetimbi Gomis found his form after Bony left the club, which boosted them and led them to more victories and draws due to his goals. They also managed to do the double over both Manchester United and Arsenal which sent out a strong message to the rest of their opposition. 

Leading towards the final weekend it was looking up for Swansea, especially after a hard fought win in the Arsenal game, but it didn't end in the best way. It looks like Swansea will be in for another good season under Monk if they can recreate even some of the performances from this one. 

Southampton - 7th (60 points)
It's safe to say that Southampton defied all expectations this season. After losing many of their star players - Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Rickie Lambert, Luke Shaw and Calum Chambers - and their manager, many had them tipped for relegation. Instead, Ronald Koeman recruited wisely and had the critics eating their words just a few weeks into the season.

Summer signings Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic surprised many and took the Premier League by storm along with helping Southampton to 11 wins out of their first 14 games. This included a superb display in their 8-0 thrashing of Sunderland at St Mary's and a 2-1 win away at Arsenal in the Capital One Cup. A few hiccups along the way simply remained just that, as the brilliance of the team took them away with another great performance a week later. 

They also recorded another win over Arsenal on New Year's Day which saw Southampton sitting in fourth place with a 2 point advantage over Spurs and their former manager, Mauricio Pochettino. Then, in their next Premier League game, they rallied for a great 2-1 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. These performances looked to have cemented them in their challenge for a Champions League spot. 

However, they couldn't quite recreate their consistency from the first half of the season. Their challenge for a Champions League spot faded over the remainder of the season, but the fans were still left with plenty to cheer about. 

Their challenge for a Europa League place remained alive until the end. Southampton may have had a rocky second half to their season, but they certainly ended it in style. Their last match at home ended in a brilliant 6-1 win over Aston Villa, and Saido Mane scored the fastest Premier League hat-trick in history. Due to Arsenal winning the FA Cup as well, Southampton's seventh place finish earned them a well-earned place in next season's Europa League. 

Liverpool - 6th (62 points)
Last season was an absolute high for Liverpool and for a long time towards the end of the season, it looked like they would be crowned the champions. However, one terrible moment prevented that from happening. Many fans still believed that their momentum would carry them forward into the new season, but everything came crashing down around them instead. They lost both of their main strikers; Luis Suarez made the summer move to Barcelona and Daniel Sturridge was out for the majority of the season with a host of different injuries. 

They did win their first game of the season, but from then, their form was incredibly inconsistent. By the end of November, they found themselves out of the title race due to losing 6 games out of their opening 12, which left them 18 points behind Chelsea. That run included losses to Aston Villa, West Ham, Newcastle and Crystal Palace. At this point, they has also been eliminated from the Champions League after a poor run during the group stages. It was clear to everyone watching just how much they missed the presence and fire power of Suarez and Sturridge. 

The festive period was a turning point for Liverpool though and they seemed to find some much needed form. From the end of December, they went on a 12 match unbeaten run. The return of Sturridge in this period also helped to boost morale and it looked like they would be in with the chance of claiming an unlikely top-four finish and possibly a first trophy win under Brendan Rodgers as well. 

However, semi-final defeats in both domestic cup competitions, by Chelsea and Aston Villa respectively, ended hopes of a trophy. Also, with the knowledge that the final games of the season would mark Steven Gerrard's last games for the club, everyone was hoping for a bright end to the season. They only won once in their last six games though and two of the losses were devastating for them. Gerrard lost his last game at Anfield to Crystal Palace and got thrashed 6-1 by Stoke in his last game in the Premier League. Overall, this is probably a season many Liverpool fans will want to forget in a hurry, but they'll also be in for a rough summer as the transfer saga surrounding Raheem Sterling goes on. 

Premier League: Final Day

At the beginning of the season, whenever somebody reads down for the last matches of the season and sees a date like 'May 24th', it seems like it's a long time away. However, the season is one that goes quick, just like any other time period and it leaves fans and teams alike wondering where all the time went. It also marks the moment when teams can either celebrate or feel the weight of the world fall onto their shoulders. Just like any other last game, this is what it proved to be for so many people. 

Both Burnley and QPR had already been relegated prior to the final weekend, but both would want to go out with a good result that would give their moral a boost ahead of the awaiting Championship campaign. It seemed that since Burnley had been relegated, they felt a lot of pressure lift off them as their results improved, and the final day was another example of this. They faced Aston Villa away, and they faced a tough task as the home team looked completely different to the one they faced earlier in the season due to Tim Sherwood. It was their star man Danny Ings that created the headlines once again after his sixth minute goal gave Burnley the three points that ended their season on a high note. 

For QPR, the story couldn't have ended more tragically. The faced Leicester away from home and that would prove to be a big task as well. Everyone thought that Leicester would be the ones that would be panicking about the last result, but they somehow managed to claw themselves away from danger with relatively little struggle after laying at the bottom of the table for the majority of the season. Leicester certainly ended their season in style after turning 5 goals past Alex McCarthy in the QPR goal to heap the misery on the already relegated team. Charlie Austin did step up and give QPR a consolation goal though after Leicester's fourth, but that's all it proved to be in the end. 

The other two teams in danger of relegation going into the final match were Hull City and Newcastle. Hull needed a win to stand a chance of staying up and if this happened, Newcastle would need a win, but otherwise they would only need to match their result. Hull faced Manchester United at home and gave their all throughout the game. They did have the ball in the back of the net twice, but both were rightly ruled offside. They also looked like they had been handed a gift when Marouane Fellaini got sent off for a stomp on Paul McShane's leg not even 20 minutes after he was sent onto the pitch. The home team couldn't take advantage of this though, and the game ended as a draw, making them the third team to be relegated this season. 

Newcastle faced West Ham at home, which looked like it would be a tough fixture for them after the poor run of form that they have had in the latter end of the season. However, it was like a completely different team was sent onto the pitch on Sunday because Newcastle knew they needed a result to stay in the Premier League. Moussa Sissoko got them the first goal 10 minutes into the second half, but this was overshadowed by the second goal in so many ways. Jonas Gutierrez, who not so long ago didn't look like he would be playing football again for a while, stepped up and wrapped up the three points for Newcastle in what could potentially have been his last game for Newcastle. This was the result that confirmed Hull's relegation, as it took them out of reach. However, West Ham did receive some good news in the shape of Europa League qualifiers due to finishing top of the Fair Play league. 

Then, there was the shock result of the day. Steven Gerrard had already said his farewell to Anfield the previous week, but this was the game that marked his last as a Premier League player. They faced a Stoke team that a lot of fans would expect them to beat to give Gerrard a send off very different to his one at the Liverpool stadium. It just wasn't meant to be though. Stoke held nothing back as they hit Liverpool for 6, 5 of which came in the first half alone. Gerrard was the player that brought one back for Liverpool to reduce the deficit slightly. Peter Crouch then came onto the pitch and made sure that his old team didn't have the last say in the game, marking a devastating end for the Liverpool captain. 

Although everything at the top of the table had been decided, Chelsea rounded of their winning season in style. Although, Sunderland did take the lead and give the champions a scare, their top players were once again on hand to rack up the three points expected of them. Manchester City also cruised to a 2-0 over Southampton, which included a goal for Sergio Aguero who won the golden boot for the 14/15 season. Joe Hart was also among the awards as he kept his 14th clean sheet of the season to win his 4th golden glove. Arsenal and Theo Walcott in particular shone in a 4-1 over West Brom to allow the top three to show their strength one last time before they sign out for the summer. 

MATCH REPORT: Chelsea vs Liverpool

This was the game that would mark Chelsea's first since they were crowned champions and the game that Liverpool needed to win in order to keep hopes of a Champions League place alive. This is the game in the season that proves whether Chelsea can keep going until the final moments even though they've confirmed their prize already. The game got underway after a respectful guard of honour from the Liverpool players and match officials, with a lot of people commenting on the fact that Steven Gerrard was stood applauding his opponents and not walking out alongside them. 

Chelsea started brightly though and looked like they were going to prove all of their critics in recent matches wrong about their 'boring football'. They put some feisty challenges in, especially the midfield players, whenever Liverpool's offensive players got hold of the ball in the opening exchanges. This tactic paid off for them as well as in the first five minutes, Chelsea had won a corner and looked ready to attack. Cesc Fabregas took the corner and swung it in and John Terry was in the perfect position, after getting away from his marker in Rickie Lambert, to get up to head the ball into the back of the net. He rose above two defenders and directed his header so perfectly that it bounced just out of the reach of both Simon Mignolet and Gerrard who were standing on the goal line. 

It didn't take long for Liverpool to get into their stride after the Chelsea goal. Philippe Coutinho had Liverpool's first chance and he took the shot on sweetly from outside the box. It was heading towards the target but Filipe Luis got his head to the ball to flick it past the far post. That wasn't the only chance that he had to try and take his team back onto level terms as he pulled into the box from the left side and managed to get away from Kurt Zouma which allowed him to take the shot on without any contest. Thibaut Courtois took up a great starting position to get down and save the shot with his boot. 

The tempo of the game picked up dramatically as both teams began pushing forward. Chelsea seemed to have sat back and seemed content to pass the ball forward and only go forward occasionally as their new game plan mirrored that of so many of their past ones; defend the lead. Fabregas had a good chance when he got played in on the right side. He ran the ball into the box and narrowed down to a very, very tight angle. He still decided to take on the shot, which caused Mignolet a few problems as he got down to try and save it, and luckily for him, it went just wide of the post, but it could just as easily gone of the keeper and hit the net. 

However, the quality that was demonstrated whenever Chelsea did choose to go forward showed exactly how and why they have been crowned champions in this Premier League season. There were points in the first half that looked like Liverpool were struggling to defend against the home side, but they held their own and soon got their reward. From a situation very similar to the Chelsea goal at the opposite end, the captain was the one who made the difference. Branislav Ivanovic gave away a free kick on the back line just before the half time whistle, not far from the corner flag, which gave Jordan Henderson the chance to swing the ball into the centre of the box. Gerrard did well to lose John Obi Mikel to give himself a free header which he directed in at the far post. 

This began what would be an extremely dominant period for Liverpool that carried on through most of the second half. Chelsea just couldn't find a final cutting ball that would cause Liverpool a problem when they tried to restore their lead. The first chance of the second half fell to Coutinho again, who played a big part in the buildup to the chance as well. Raheem Sterling ran at the defence and into the left side of the box where he was allowed to pass the ball into the feet of Coutinho, who pulled away from Mikel and put a lot of pace behind the shot that ended just wide of the post. 

Chelsea managed to string enough passes together to create a chance when the ball fell to Willian at the right side of the box. He chose to fizz his shot across the face of goal, but the chance was wasted as it went past the far post. Liverpool came out with an aim for the second half and looked the brighter of the two teams throughout. They wouldn't allow Chelsea anytime on the ball or in possession. They followed this with a good chance from Adam Lallana with the help of teammate Lambert. Lambert's run pulled the defenders away from the space that Lallana pulled into to take his shot and he took it quickly in the hopes of catching out the keeper. He didn't quite do that though, as one of the Chelsea defenders got back into position to deflect the ball wide. 

It was a match that proved to be disappointing for Liverpool, who had the better chances and looked the more likely to take the points away from the game. They certainly proved that they could cause a lot of problems for one of the best keepers in the League in Courtois. Coutinho proved to be too much to handle for a lot of the Chelsea defenders and the home team just couldn't get their star man into the game. However, no matter what Liverpool threw at Chelsea, they were equal to their opposition in so many ways, which is what effectively stopped Liverpool from being able to play in the Champions League next season. However, they still have the farewell of Steven Gerrard to look forward to this weekend, and they'll be hoping for a much better result then.