Can Arsenal still be Champions?

This has been tipped as the year that Arsenal will regain the Premier League trophy after that famous victory in 2004 that belonged to 'The Invincibles'. 

Don't get me wrong, most years that Arsenal show a good fight between around November to February is a year that gets fan in the footballing world excited for them. For the past three or four seasons, there have been huge shouts that it is once again going to be Arsenal's year. 

This year, the cries seemed stronger than ever. Leicester were obviously sitting comfortably at the top of the table (much to the shock of pretty much everyone, but it's definitely well-deserved) but Arsenal gave them a reason to keep checking over their shoulders. 

In the last round of Premier League matches, Arsenal was the team that was written all over the back pages.

They faced Leicester at the Emirates and after going behind to a Jamie Vardy goal just before half time, it looked like the league leaders would have the better of the match, but it didn't quite work out that way as they pulled a goal back through Theo Walcott. 

The plaudits were shown to Danny Welbeck though who was brought on towards the end of the match after coming back from injury and sealing the game for his team when he scored an injury time goal to win the three points. 

In the past week though, all this work seems to have been flipped on its head in a way. After rallying together and being rewarded with so many good results, Arsenal have struggled in the past week. 

It started with their FA Cup tie against Hull City at the Emirates. This is the third time the teams have met in the same amount of seasons in the competition, and Hull have never just sat back and made things easy for Arsenal.

Arsenal players with heads in hands as they fail to score against Hull
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/12165715/Arsenal-vs-Hull-City-FA-Cup-fifth-round-live.html

Hull made things difficult for Arsenal though and Eldin Jakupovic had an excellent game which included a lot of important saves that denied Arsenal and kept the score at 0-0. Now, the Gunners have added another fixture to their already hectic calendar and many people are saying this is a game that they should have won. So why didn't they?

In this case, I think Arsene Wenger may have underestimated Hull slightly. He will most likely have had one eye on the Barcelona game on Tuesday so he rested some of the big names in his squad in preparation for this. 

As holders of the FA Cup for the second time in two seasons though, that should mean this competition is still a big priority for Arsenal. If this is the case, then it does beg the questions: why didn't Wenger send a full-strength team out onto the pitch that day? I guess only he'll know...

Like I mentioned earlier though, he did have that very high profile game against Barcelona just around the corner and who wouldn't want to make sure that their main players are ready for that when they'll be facing a player like Lionel Messi. 

I'm not sure how many people expected Arsenal to be able to go out and put on a brilliant show that made Barcelona look like amateurs, but I do know that some people did think Arsenal might just be able to edge the game due to their talent, which isn't too surprising. 

The first half of that game did belong to Arsenal. The home team did brilliantly to keep Barcelona quiet and create some dangerous chances, which if they'd taken, would mean the game could have taken a very different turn. 

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has a brilliant chance against Barcelona
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/12170664/Arsenal-vs-Barcelona-Champions-League-TV-live.html

It didn't quite happen that way though and Messi pulled some magic out of the bag for the Barcelona for the first goal and Mathieu Flamini made a mistake to give away the penalty that gave Messi his second goal. 

Could it have been the pressure of the 0-0 draw from the FA Cup tie playing on Arsenal's mind during this game? Or are they may be losing their touch after such a strong display in the league over the past few months?

This was an important week for Arsenal and the results they had had weren't exactly morale boosting as they went into their game against big rivals Manchester United. 

Arsenal were the big favourites to win this game due to their league position and the fact that they brushed aside United 3-0 earlier in the season, but it didn't quite turn out the same way for them yesterday. 

United's teenage debutant Marcus Rashford made a name for himself on the big stage as he beat Petr Cech twice in the first half an hour, but that didn't stop Arsenal from clawing a goal back just before half time through United old-boy Welbeck.

Welbeck's header pulls a goal back for Arsenal just before half time
Image from: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3467383/Manchester-United-vs-Arsenal-English-Premier-League-LIVE-score-Plus-Tottenham-vs-Swansea-Premier-League-action.html

They just couldn't do enough though to win the game. A goal from Ander Herrera, which took a horrible deflection off Laurent Koscielny, took the game out of the visitor's grasp even though Mesut Ozil did manage to pull another goal back. 

So, what's the excuse for this one? Both teams played well in the game, but Arsenal had a nearly full-strength team compared to United's injury hit squad which included a lot of young players. 

There's still time in the season for Arsenal to get their rhythm back and put together a brilliant run that could knock Leicester off the top and lead to them lifting the trophy in May, but if performances and results like this week keep pulling them back, it might prove to be a very hard task. 

If you work out the maths behind the table, then it is very possible for them to be in the position that so many predicted, but that's not taking into account the solidity of both Leicester and Spurs at the moment. 

Arsenal didn't sign any outfield players this season, and this could prove to be the thing that costs them the most because they didn't add any more depth to the squad.

Looking to the end of the season, if Arsenal fail to win the league, this might just be Wenger's last chance at the club. For such a long time now, he has guided Arsenal to a top four finish, but that's not going to be enough anymore.

Maybe Arsenal can still be champions, but it might just take a horrible mistake from Leicester and Spurs for that to happen if they're going to let that slip now...

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: 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. 

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: Top 5

Tottenham Hotspur - 5th (64 points)
This was just another season of transition in a line of many for Spurs after hiring Mauricio Pochettino as their third manager inside a year during the summer. It wasn't exactly a bright season for the team, minus some new talents coming through from the academy. Pochettino was still left with a lot of work to get the squad working well together. 

They made a winning start to the season after a 1-0 win over West Ham, which they then followed up with an emphatic 4-0 win over QPR. This was followed by a run of 4 games without a win though, which pretty much summed up Spurs' season. They would earn a really good win one week, but then follow it up with a number of weeks without a win. 

By November, Harry Kane had made a name for himself after being brought in from the youth team and became the first-choice striker for the club. This seemed to boost the morale of the team, and their form was slightly more consistent than earlier in the season. The festive period especially proved to be a good period for Spurs. They went unbeaten in these games, and it was topped by a brilliant 5-3 win over eventual champions Chelsea on New Year's Day. 

Although they made an early exit out of the FA Cup, they did make it to the final of the Capital One Cup, but went on to lose in the final 2-0 to Chelsea. Despite this, it did look like they were going to enjoy a much better second half to the season and possibly push on to challenge for a top four spot. 

Again though, their consistency proved to be a big problem as they dropped many points in games they would be expected to win. They recorded good wins over local rivals Arsenal, as well as the likes of Leicester and Newcastle, but ultimately, it seemed they had started their challenge for Champions League too late. They finished the season on a positive note after two consecutive wins which secured their fifth place finish and Europa League place.

Manchester United - 4th (70 points)
It was a second new start for United in as many season as Louis van Gaal took charge of the club. Even though they had a near perfect pre-season in terms of results, coupled with the array of new names brought in, van Gaal just couldn't get his team going when the time came. 

Before the first international break of the season, United struggled to win. In their first 10 games of the season they only managed to record 3 wins. During this spell, they also lost 5-3 to Leicester, and were held to draws by Burnley, West Brom and Sunderland. Along with this came the embarrassing 4-0 Capital One Cup defeat to League One's MK Dons. This sequence of results was brought to an end on their 1-0 derby defeat to Manchester City.

A 1-0 win over Crystal Palace marked the start of better times for the club. Following this, United went on a 10 game unbeaten streak which saw them through from November to January. They registered good wins against Arsenal, Southampton and Liverpool in this time before Southampton beat them in the reverse fixture 1-0. However, United still weren't convincing in the manner that they won these games, but it seemed to help in boosting their confidence during the second half of the season. 

At the quarter final stage of the FA Cup, after a relatively easy run in the competition compared to their opponents, United old boy Danny Welbeck - a player van Gaal judged to be an unneeded asset to his team - sealed their fate after scoring the winning goal for Arsenal. 

They did have a brilliant run of performances and results from mid-March to mid-April after the convincingly dispatched of Spurs, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Man City. However, their form for the majority of the season was inconsistent, which was proven as they lost 3-0 to Everton not long after this run. Van Gaal will also be hoping he can get the best out of his record signing Angel di Maria as he pushes for a higher league finish next time out. 

Arsenal - 3rd (75 points)

It was a very up and down season for Arsenal. They suffered their worst start to a season since 1982 which saw a lot of pressure piled onto Arsene Wenger once again, but after Christmas, they were the in-form team which had the fans dreaming of a title success. 

Their opening games didn't include any losses, but it did include a lot of needlessly dropped points in their collective draws. One of the biggest problems for Arsenal seemed to when they faced off against the big teams. In the beginning of the season, they managed to rack up a couple of points, but they struggled to beat them in the early stages. 

Their Champions League campaign also didn't start great as they lost to Borussia Dortmund, but they qualified the group stages with ease with only one other slip up. It also looked like they would reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2010 after they drew Monaco, but they threw this chance away after a terrible result in the home tie. Although they won the return leg, it just wasn't enough to take them through. 

They did improve dramatically after Christmas which saw them rocket up the table to sit snugly in the top four, very close to the top and to the leaders Chelsea. They went on a long unbeaten streak and secured good wins against Manchester City and Liverpool, as well as good draws against Chelsea and Manchester United. They did endure some frustrating games and losses to the likes of Swansea towards the end of the season, but they still finished the season on a high. 

After their final weekend win against West Brom, they faced Aston Villa in the FA Cup Final. Last season, Arsenal didn't start quickly enough and needed an extra time goal to seal their win. This season, it seemed they had learnt their lesson. With a few brilliant goals, they sealed their trophy win in style, while overtaking all other teams to become the one with the most FA Cup wins. 

Manchester City- 2nd (79 points)
Man City started the season as the defending champions and added two additional players to the squad in the hopes of retaining their trophy. However, just like the last time they were in this situation, they struggled to maintain performance levels in order to challenge Chelsea throughout the campaign. 

They had a particularly good first half to the season. In this period, they suffered only two losses - to Stoke and West Ham - but also dropped a lot of points through draws in games they would normally be expected to win. During the previous season, Yaya Toure proved to be a star player by helping to push his team to the title by scoring 20 goals, but his 2 goals by late November definitely didn't reflect this, and results for City also showed this. 

Their Champions League group stage wasn't the brightest, but they put together enough good performances at the end of it to see their name in the draw for the last 16. This included a brilliant performance to earn a 3-2 win over Bayern Munich. They went out to the eventual champions Barcelona at this stage after a 3-1 aggregate defeat, which could have been a lot worse if it hadn't been for keeper Joe Hart. 

In the Premier League, there was no separating City and Chelsea at the top of the table on New Year's Day, but they were unable to keep their momentum. After this, they went 4 games without a win, which included a lucky last-minute draw with Hull. It was their consistency that let them down during the second half of the season. After losing two consecutive games to Crystal Palace and Manchester United at the beginning of April, they managed to turn it around. 

The season ended with City rediscovering their form from the beginning of the season. They finished in style by recording 6 consecutive wins, including a very good performance to beat QPR 6-0. Even though they had such a strong finish to the season, by not winning a trophy this term, their under-achievements were highlighted as this is the first time this has happened since the season that Mark Hughes started at the helm. 

Chelsea - 1st (87 points)

The summer signings that Jose Mourinho brought in at the beginning of the season proved to be the best business by a mile. Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas proved their worth instantly. Costa scored 7 goals in his first 4 appearances alone and the latter easily earned the title of top play maker. Along with bringing Thibaut Courtois back to the club and installing him as the number 1, he created a team that was pretty much unstoppable. 

They hit the top spot on the Monday night after beating Burnley and became the dominant team from then onwards. They picked up 36 points in their first 14 games which included some magnificent performances. They put 6 past Everton, beat Liverpool at Anfield and eased past Arsenal. They also earned two good draws against both Manchester teams. 

They did suffer a few blips along the way, but they only suffered three losses in the league to Newcastle, West Brom and Spurs. The last of the three was quite a heavy defeat, but it was a reality check for them. After this match they went 16 Premier League games unbeaten which left them extremely well off as they hit the home straight before they claimed their trophy. 

They did wrap up the title with three games to go. A lot of people mocked the performances of Mourinho's team in the latter stages of the season, but it still proved to be effective for them which is why Mourinho defended his tactics so relentlessly. 

The Premier League wasn't the only trophy they picked up this season. They beat Spurs 2-1 to lift the Capital One Cup at Wembley, and although many fans thought they could go on to win the quadruple, they were proved wrong. 

The FA Cup and the Champions League were the only major disappointments for them. Chelsea breezed past Watford in the third round of the FA Cup, but came unstuck after a brilliant comeback from Bradford in the next. They also looked pretty comfortable after the group stages of the Champions League. They got the ever important away goal in the first leg, and after scoring a penalty in extra time of the second, it looked good for them, only for a late goal from PSG which sealed their fate. This leaves Mourinho room to improve for next season though as they are once again going in as favourites. 

MATCH REPORT: Manchester United vs Arsenal

This game could be the one that determined which team finished in third in the Premier League table. If Manchester United won the games, they would leapfrog their opposition ahead of the last weekend, but a result other than that would see their playoff place in the Champions League confirmed, meaning Arsenal would have the knowledge of sitting safe in third even with two games left to play. 

In the opening exchanges, it was Arsenal that were keeping the ball and being smart with the possession that they had. If they got the chance to push forward, they would do so, but they didn't have any quality in the final third where it mattered the most. This didn't last long though, as it didn't take United, or Ashley Young in particular, to get into their stride. Young created some space for himself after cutting onto his right foot and decided to take on the shot himself, but it was blazed high over the crossbar. He did have the option of Marouane Fellaini in the middle of the box, which was probably the better option. 

Young is on hand to cause Arsenal some more problems when he delivered a fine ball from a corner which Marcos Rojo did well to get up to meet and flicked it on for Chris Smalling. The captain had a lot of space on the edge of the area and he chested it down to take the shot on the half volley but it was deflected behind by an Arsenal defender. United had the chance to cause even more bother for the Arsenal defence after Juan Mata won a free kick on the edge of the area and he took it. He tried to curl it up and around the wall and it was on target to nestle in the bottom left corner, but David Ospina got down well to hold onto the ball. 

Arsenal did look like they could get a goal in the game though. Alexis Sanchez made a couple of good runs towards the United box, but the United defenders weren't allowing him much space to get his passes in. Olivier Giroud also made some good runs that caused Phil Jones a lot of problems, including an instance that caused a mix up between the defender and David de Gea, as Jones passed the ball back as de Gea was coming out of his box to clear it. They did manage to sort it out, much to their relief, as de Gea stuck out his leg and the ball rebounded off it and out of play. Ospina was constantly trying to play the long ball up to Giroud, but between Jones and Daley Blind, they managed to cut out any attempt of this pass every time they tried it.

It was United that made the first break through though. It did take until the half hour mark, but it was Young that was causing all sorts of problems for the Arsenal defence once again. The ball was played across to Young on the left by Fellaini, who then made a run into the centre of the box which pulled the defenders towards him. Young did well to miss out all of the defenders in the box and the ball landed with Ander Herrera who was left unmarked at the far post. All that was left for him to do was side foot the ball into the back of the net and get it past Ospina, which he did easily, even though the keeper was quickly closing down the space he had to aim at. 

Young came back for more minutes later as he made another run down the left wing. He decided to take on his defender, who he got the better of, and cut the ball back for Mata on the edge of the box, but the pass was played just behind him. This allowed Arsenal to push forward and try and create something on the counter attack, and it looked promising. Mesut Ozil bought his team some time by holding the ball up around the edge of the box and as the move was coming to a close, a mix up happened between him and Giroud which saw the chance go to waste. 

Young had another decent opportunity to put in a good ball from another set piece, this time which Fellaini won. Instead of crossing the ball, he got the better of the Arsenal defence again by pulling the ball back to Blind who was waiting around the penalty spot with no one around him. He hit the shot well, but Smalling was in the way of the shot and it deflected off his team mate and back into open play. This was the final chance of the first half, and the beginning of the second half saw a change in fortune for the away side as they finally managed to find their feet in the game. 

Giroud, who had suffered a frustrating first half, came out for the second and began to win a lot more aerial duels with the two players marking him. He managed to flick on the ball to Sanchez who made a run towards goal along the left side of the box, but when he eventually took the shot, the ball cleared the crossbar. At the other end though, Arsenal's defending didn't improve. United had a few attempts which followed some great build-up play and Arsenal just couldn't clear their lines. The ball fell to Rojo outside of the area, and he was quickly being closed down so he took on the shot first time, but he didn't hit it cleanly and it fell easily into the gloves of Ospina. 

Giroud managed to create a chance for himself from point blank range as he was left one on one with de Gea, but just as he took on the shot, de Gea got down well to make sure that the ball would be turned past his goal post. Shortly following this attempt, both de Gea and Rojo, who had been having good games, were replaced, with de Gea's definitely being due to an injury. This caused some slight unrest for the United team and Arsenal took full advantage of this when the timing was right. 

The game had become very scrappy at this point, with a few challenges being thrown in to try and prevent the other team from getting through. It was Theo Walcott that came on and made the telling difference towards the end of the 90 minutes for Arsenal though. He made a darting run into the box from the right hand side and was aiming to put a very low cross into the centre of the box where Giroud was stood waiting. However, the ball took a deflection off Tyler Blackett, who hadn't been on the pitch long, and this looped the ball over the head of Victor Valdes, who had no chance of stopping the ball after he'd already moved into position to stop the cross. 

Smalling took it upon himself in his captain's role to try and rally the team to get the win after this point. He kept making runs towards the opposition penalty area, which caused some confusion for the Arsenal defenders, and had a chance from a header, which was aimed directly at Ospina. Robin van Persie also had a chance against his old team to win the points for his current one, but he managed to get his foot caught under the ball and eventually took the ball up and over the crossbar.

So, the two rivals shared out the points for the game after another entertaining contest between the two teams. Although both their places in the Champions League were already confirmed before the kick off, both knew that the bigger prize of no qualifying place was at stake, and Arsenal moved a step closer to this with the draw they earned at Old Trafford. However, it also left the table nicely poised going into the last weekend, because if Arsenal couldn't secure a result in their last two games, United might just pip them to the post in the final moments. 

MATCH REPORT: Chelsea vs Manchester United

Manchester United have faced a lot of tough opposition in their recent run of games, but have looked good during this period after pulling together a winning streak of six games that included wins over rivals Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City. Chelsea have also been hard to beat though as they come into the game with a six game unbeaten run as well. Chelsea know that they only need three wins from their last run of games, but United know that with a win they can leapfrog Arsenal into second place, leaving both teams with a pretty good incentive to win. 

It was United that started the brighter of the two teams and had a good chance to take the lead within the first five minutes. The ball was played in behind the defence to Luke Shaw who was able to run past his defender without any difficulty. A few of the United forwards were in the box waiting for the cross and drew the Chelsea defenders with them. Shaw decided to cut the ball back to Wayne Rooney who was waiting on the edge of the box. His shot was very close to going into the goal, but it was inches wide of the post, causing some of the fans, and his goalkeeper, to start their celebrations a bit too early. 

Chelsea did get an early chance as well when Cesc Fabregas got the ball into a dangerous position on the edge of the six yard box. The angle was extremely tight though, and he manages to keep the ball in play, but can only let his cross find its way onto the gloves of David De Gea. It was the only chance that Chelsea created for themselves in the opening half an hour though as they allowed United to play the ball around in front of them and keep possession as long as it was in front of their defence. 

Shaw and Ashley Young were causing the Chelsea defenders throughout the first half. Shaw played the ball back to Ander Herrera, who was on the run towards the penalty box, but he felt like he had little time on the ball and took the shot on straight away and his shot went well wide of the left post. He could possibly have played in Juan Mata who was in a better position at the far post. Paddy McNair was allowed to make runs forward from defence as well, and he had the confidence to make a run directly towards the Chelsea box and his powerful shot took a deflection which stopped it from causing Thibaut Courtois any problems. 

The home team were not being allowed any time on the ball and when they did try to push forward and release their forward players, they were making mistakes that wouldn't normally be associated with their team. Jose Mourinho was changing his shape around often to try and gain some control in the game, but they just couldn't handle their opposition. Eden Hazard was at the middle of most of the chances that Chelsea did manage to create and was able to cut out a pass from Antonio Valencia. He turned to run at the defence and put in a good ball to Fabregas in the box, but he had come back from an offside position which fizzled out the move. 

The half an hour mark seemed to be a turning point for Chelsea and they finally looked settled in the game. Hazard was allowed some space when his team took a quick throw, but luckily for United, Chris Smalling got back to cover him. The resulting corner looked dangerous in the beginning but United blocked all of the shots that went towards their goal well. It took until the 38th minute for a bit of quality to produce the first goal of the game. The ball was slipped in to Oscar who back heeled the ball; it seemed without looking around him, into the feet of Hazard. He was left with a lot of room on the left side of the box and he kept his cool long enough to slip the ball between the legs of De Gea and into the back of the net. The goal went against the run of the first half, but Chelsea had been building up to it in the last few minutes.

For all the possession that United had in the game, it all seemed to be in front of the Chelsea defence as they tried to play their way into the box. The Chelsea defence have been one of the best throughout the season and they were proving this as United tried to break them down repeatedly, and failing. However, when the home team did get the ball on the counter attack they looked dangerous. Herrera needlessly gave the ball away in midfield to a Chelsea player whose first thought was to pick out Didier Drogba who didn't have any United players around him as he ran towards the opposition goal. He chipped the ball over the keeper who couldn't get his hand up to push the ball away, but the shot was heading wide of the target. Hazard was with him though and tried to turn the ball in with the outside of his right boot, but the ball was hit against the post and De Gea could collect it. 

United were dominant throughout the match, which was reflected in the possession stats of the game. Chelsea were still sitting back, which allowed McNair to make another run from defence and take another shot which is well struck and did cause Courtois a problem this time, but he pushed it away from goal. They tried to play the ball out from the back, but Shaw, who had a great game, won back the ball and put in a dangerous cross which Mata was first to, but his shot was hit well over the bar. After another good cross from Shaw again, Marouane Fellaini was able to control the ball and play a short ball into Rooney whose shot was deflected just wide of the post. 

Radamel Falcao tried hard to get his name on the score sheet as well as he is another player allowed time on the ball outside the box. He tried to direct his shot across goal to the far post, but slips just as he takes the shot and it swerved away from goal. Another great chance is presented to him minutes later after Fellaini brought the ball down from a throw in. Falcao was the only United player in the box and is the player to win the ball when Fellaini put it into the box. He takes the shot quickly and Gary Cahill, stood close to the forward, stuck out a leg which the ball rebounds off. His hat trick of chances ended after he turned Kurt Zouma and ran at the goal. The angle was tight, meaning he couldn't get the ball across the box, so he took the shot on but could only find the post. The chances were rounded off after Hazard created another chance for Chelsea, but the final shot didn't test De Gea.

United did have a very late penalty shout turned away by the referee, also resulting in a yellow card for Herrera who had been judged to have dived. Replays of this event prove that the midfielder did play for the foul and stuck his leg out so that be tripped by the defender in the box. This was the final call of the game, and also summed up United's afternoon. For all of their forward play they just didn't create enough clear cut chances that could possibly earn them any points from the game. 

This leaves Chelsea only two wins away from their title now, even though this one was a narrow win. They do have to play Arsenal in their next game though, which could prove another challenge. Although, up to now, they have proved that they can handle these challenges well. United can leave Stamford Bridge knowing with positives that even though they didn't get anything out of the game, they played well enough to deserve it. They still sit in third, but with their recent form, they should be fine going into their last few games of the season. 

MATCH REPORT: Manchester Derby

The Manchester derby is a game whose meaning has become even more important in recent seasons as the blue side of Manchester has begun challenging their city rivals for titles and managed to beat United to it a couple of times. City have won the last four derbies with an aggregate score of 10-2, which isn't a good record to go into an important game with. However, this game presents a different picture. United went in as favourites instead of City for the first time in a long time after a run of good results and performances, and City have a poor record of only 4 wins in 14 games. Form does go out of the window in the big games though; would this match prove to be another great challenge between the two fierce rivals?

It was certainly City that started the brightest. They were pressing United high up the pitch and wouldn't let their opposition get a foothold in the game as they looked to pass the ball with ease. They almost topped this great bit of play with a goal as Jesus Navas sprinted into the box, coming in from the right wing, and running at David De Gea who spread himself wide to stop the shot from becoming the goal to break the deadlock. It only took 8 minutes for the visitors to get something that mirrored their good start and that came after David Silva was left in a lot of space down the left hand side. He ran at goal on an angle, causing De Gea to run across to try and smother his shot, but the Spaniard instead chose to square the ball across the six yard box to Sergio Aguero who effectively ended his goal drought by slotting the ball into the empty net. 

This seemed to be the thing that United needed to get their game going though. After a poor free kick from United, they ball was played back to De Gea who wasted no time in putting the ball back up the pitch and into Ander Herrera who was able to put a dangerous cross into the ball that Ashley Young was first to. His first shot wasn't hit well, but he got a second chance to put the ball into the back of the net as the City defenders struggled to get anywhere near the ball. He made no mistake on his second try, and from point blank range powered the ball into the back of the net, giving Joe Hart no chance of getting to the ball. 

This didn't stop City playing their pressing game though and they had a couple of moments where they caught out the United defence. Unluckily for them, no real chances were made when this happened, and United took this chance to take the lead in the game. Young played a big part in this goal as well as he was allowed time and space on the ball just outside of the box. He put in an inch perfect cross to Marouane Fellaini at the far post who headed the ball downwards into the back of the net, again giving the keeper little chance of preventing it. Gael Clichy possibly had a chance to prevent the goal, but didn't get close enough to his man to put in a real challenge. 

United did have a penalty shout not long after their goal had been scored. Fellaini had once again won a header to set up Wayne Rooney in a good position in the box, but couldn't get it under control. The ball then bounced up and appeared to bounce off the arm of Martin Demichelis. However, in the build-up to this, Fellaini had been caught offside, much to the relief of the City defenders. They almost used this to their advantage as well, as James Milner had a chance at the other end. He was outside of the box when the ball came to him, and chose not to push further forward and take the shot while he had space around him, but it was a wild swing and the ball flew well over the crossbar. 

Minutes before the half time whistle blew; City had another heart in mouth moment as their captain slid in strongly with a tackle on Daley Blind. The tackle appeared to be high on Blind's leg and Vincent Kompany went in with his studs first. After a talk with his linesman, the referee decided that it was only a yellow card for the skipper. Again, it was really for the City camp, but everyone knew it could quite easily have been a dismissal, quite possibly the reason he was removed at the beginning of the second half?

The City defence had struggled during the first half with the likes of Fellaini and Young. They had allowed Fellaini in particular way too much room and Yaya Toure and Kompany just could not get tight on him. He looked unplayable in the United midfield, and this carried on through the second half as the defence still didn't pick him up in dangerous situations. 

United remained strong during the second half as well, pressing City high and not allowing them to see much of the ball. In the 53rd minute, United had a number of chances to extend their lead, which started with a free kick taken by Rooney which Hart got across to save well, but he could only parry the ball back into the box and a few United players managed to get their boot to the ball and aim a shot on target without being able to actually find the net. It was scrappy, but the defenders did well to smother all of the chances that they did. 

It took until the 67th minute for another goal to bring the stadium to life once again. Fellaini won the ball in midfield after making a run back in from a forward position, effectively bringing Demichelis out of his defensive position at the same time. Rooney held the ball up well and slipped it across to Juan Mata who was able to run into the space that Demichelis had left for him. He ran at Hart and slotted the ball through the keeper's legs and into the bottom corner. Mata had ran offside just as Rooney played the ball to him, but the linesman didn't spot this, allowing the goal to stand. 

City looked ready for the game to end at this point, and the players looked like a team that hadn't won in a long time, which contrasted against the confident performance that the home side continued to perform. 

United continued to pile misery on the defence as the game continued as well; in the last quarter of an hour in the game, United won another free kick in a dangerous position. Young stepped up to take it, and again provided a wonderful cross that found Chris Smalling free at the far post as he powerfully headed the ball into the back of the net. Once again though, the City defence could have been the cause of their own downfall. Most of the defenders were holding a high line as the free kick was taken, but Eliaquim Mangala stepped up too late, playing Smalling onside. 

The game still wasn't over though. With five minutes left of the game Aguero managed to provide some light for his team once again as he pulled back another goal. Pablo Zabaleta burst into the box to win the ball and pull his cross back towards the penalty box where Aguero was waiting to hit his shot on target. De Gea did get a hand to it, but couldn't get enough on it to stop the ball from hitting the back of the net and gifting the striker with his 100th goal for City. 

The favourites going into the game came out on top, and gave a winner's performance as they collected the three points that kept them in sight of the leaders, Chelsea, who they face on Saturday. City though are now in fourth, four points behind United in third, and look to be down and out of the title challenge all together now. Instead, the talk has turned to how long their manager will last following this poor run of results including losses to some of their biggest rivals. Only time will tell, but for the team in blue, time is something they don't have much left of.

FA Cup Quarter Finals [2015]

The final ties in the FA Cup are ultimately the most important. Four teams can show their worth and get the chance to play in the biggest stadium in England, at Wembley. There were some great ties on show this weekend, but would they produce the performances and the results that would turn the eyes of fans across the country?

The weekend started off with a game between the dark horses of the competition, Bradford, against Championship side Reading. Both teams showed a lot of commitment and character within the game, as would be expected with a prize like a semi-final at Wembley at stake. Bradford were definitely the brighter of the two sides and almost clinched a winner through Oliver Norwood with only a few minutes left on the clock, but it just wasn't meant to be. The affair was quite scrappy in the beginning, but the League 1 side were certainly ready for a tie like this. Both sides had some good chances that they just couldn't make the most of, earning them a replay at Reading, and a chance for both teams to make history. End score: 0-0.

Saturday evening saw a Midlands derby take place between Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion. The sides met earlier in the week in a Premier League tie, and this saw Villa battle to a 2-1 win. This game started slow and took a while for both sides to grow into. The passing was quite sloppy and there was no cutting ball when it got into the final third. West Brom did have a couple of good chances, one from Brown Ideye and the other from Joleon Lescott. They didn't get the opener they desperately chased, and instead Fabian Delph took the opportunity he was presented with to put Villa ahead just into the second half. Scott Sinclair doubled the lead for Villa 5 minutes from time and put the tie beyond the opposition. Both teams finished the game on 10 men as the game finished extremely scrappily. Claudio Yacob saw red for what looked like a two footed stamp on a Villa player. Teenager Jack Grealish saw got his second yellow for what the referee judged to be a dive, but this red card didn't affect the result of the game. End score: 2-0.

Liverpool hosted Blackburn in the only kick off on Sunday. Blackburn kept up a spirited performance throughout the game, keeping a good shape and having some of the best chances throughout the first half, especially through Rudy Gestede. The game started in the worst possible way for Liverpool as Martin Skrtel hit the ground and was out cold for about 5 minutes, he was eventually was stretchered off the field, but not before giving a thumbs up to the surrounding crowd to show he was okay. Kolo Toure, his replacement, had one of the best chances of the game as he saw his header rattle the post but not hit the back of the net like he had hoped. Blackburn did well for themselves though, with Gestede proving to be too much to handle in many cases, but the Liverpool defence managed to keep him out. The replay between the two will hopefully prove to be another tight encounter. End score: 0-0.

Easily the tie of the round was between Manchester United and Arsenal. Both sides were quite sloppy in possession throughout the game, but some good sets of play were put together to create some chances. Arsenal did well to push forward as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ran at the United defence and took three players out of the game, leaving Nacho Monreal in lots of space in the box to calmly slot the ball past David de Gea who was coming out to close him down. The lead only lasted 4 minutes though, as United pushed forward and got Angel Di Maria on the ball. His inch perfect cross was met by the head of Wayne Rooney whose shot was too fast for Wojciech Szczesny to get his hand to. It was a feisty affair, not short of passion as would be expected in a game between these two sides, and it took a poor back pass from Antonio Valencia to present former Manchester United player, Danny Welbeck, with a chance to round off the game. This wasn't the end of the tale though, as Di Maria was later booked for simulation and in a moment of madness tugged on the referee's shirt, resulting in a red card being produced seconds after his booking. This set Arsenal on their way to their second FA Cup semi-final in the same amount of seasons after a brilliant contest between the two. End score: 1-2.  

Two replays still to go ahead after four of the teams failed to score on their first try. Both were good contests the first time round, so who knowswhat will happen and who will be facing the two Premier League clubs at Wembley soon. Only time will tell I guess...