Huddersfield Hi-Tech aim for play-off success

Huddersfield Hi-Tech netball team compete against some of the best clubs in the country at the weekend as they fight for a place in the Premier League.

They will compete over the two days in the England Netball Premier 3 playoffs against other Premier League sides that are aiming to avoid relegation and other Northern League sides chasing promotion. 

Anna Harrison, who has played every game in the Northern League this year as goal keeper and goal defence, has had her say on how the team feel going into the big games at the weekend:

Last season was clearly a good time for the team after winning the quadruple, will that be used as inspiration going into the playoffs?

We have enjoyed fantastic success over the last few seasons, winning the quadruple for the last two years, the triple this season and finishing 2nd in our first season in the Northern League. We’ve achieved so much for a relatively small and unknown club. The competition in the Northern League has been extremely competitive, challenging and a big step up from the regional league.

The success we have had this season has definitely given the team a greater desire and appetite to achieve even more. Knowing that we have been selected by Yorkshire Netball for these playoffs will certainly be used as inspiration going into the weekend’s matches.

How confident do the team feel as they prepare for something as important as this?

The team are used to winning, having only lost a handful of matches in recent years and while we know this weekend will be the biggest test we have ever faced, confidence in the team is high. The national Premier League playoffs is the next step up for us and while we have not experienced this level of netball before, we are looking forward to the challenge...with maybe just a little nervous excitement! 

Preparation for the playoffs has been good, we’ve worked hard with regular local league matches, not to mention a team building night out at the bingo! As long as we play our own game and enjoy the opportunity playing against some of the best teams in the country, we know we will have a good weekend.

The team had also received well wishes from other local teams, does that give an added boost going into the playoffs?

Definitely! The support from the netball community and other clubs across the North has been amazing and has given our confidence such a boost. Many of the messages are from teams who are usually our rivals so it’s great to see they’re all supporting our journey and are behind us every step of the way.

As the playoffs are at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield we’re hoping to get lots of local (and vocal!) support over the weekend to cheer us on which will be an added advantage over the travelling teams. Having this extra support makes us even more hungry to go out on court to win and to put on a performance to make everyone proud.

Do you feel that the team's success in recent seasons can help to bring more prominence to the game in the area?

We have gained some great coverage from the local press on our success in recent years and also for the playoffs which has definitely helped to raise the profile of netball and the club in the community, hopefully with continued success we can gain even more!

As our team is a mix of backgrounds, ethnicities and ages, we hope our success will inspire others into the game at every level.  Having an outlet like Netball in the Huddersfield community is only a good thing.

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...

MATCH REPORT: Arsenal vs Chelsea

Guus Hiddink's Chelsea carry on their undefeated win as they beat 10-man Arsenal 1-0 at the Emirates. 

If you look at the statistics for previous meetings between the two, then it would have been obvious that the game would end with a Chelsea win; Arsenal have failed to beat Chelsea since 2011 and Chelsea are yet to lose a game since Jose Mourinho left the club. 

However, Arsenal have been in excellent form this season and if they had won today, they would have gone back to the top of the table which would have been the best way to celebrate Theo Walcott's 10 year anniversary at the club. It just wasn't meant to be though.

In the first 2 minutes of the match, both teams had already registered a good chance. Joel Campbell was played in by a great cross from Walcott and he had to adjust slightly to get to the ball but he didn't catch it right and his volley ends very wide of the target. 

Down at the other end seconds later, Laurent Koscielny plays a slack pass straight into the path of Oscar who was just outside the penalty area. With little time to get his shot away, the midfielder hit the shot to catch Petr Cech out, but the keeper got down low to turn it away.

Out of the two sides, it was Arsenal who looked the most likely to score. Campbell played a one-two off Olivier Giroud on the edge of the box and found Mathieu Flamini in the middle of the box. His touch is poor though and he lost control of the ball, leaving Thibaut Courtois with an easy save. 

Not long after, that's when things started to heat up in the match. A brilliant ball is played over the top to Diego Costa and his first touch allows him to go past the defender and he was in the clear. Per Mertesacker, as the last defender, rashly slid in to the back of Costa, which left the referee no choice but to send him off the pitch. 

Mark Clattenburg shows Mertesacker a red card for a bad challenge
Image from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/match-centre/arsenal-vs-chelsea-live-reaction-7209910

Following Mertesacker's dismissal, Arsene Wenger decided to bring on Gabriel Paulista for Giroud to try and keep some defensive solidarity in his team. This decision wasn't received well from both the fans and Giroud, but the need for another defender seemed to weigh on Wenger's decision. 

The manager's decision didn't have the desired effect. Branislav Ivanovic was left in some space down the Chelsea right and he played an excellent ball into the Costa in the box. The forward got around Gabriel without much difficulty and easily stroked the ball past Cech at the near post. 

From there, it was all Chelsea in the first half. Cesc Fabregas swung a cross towards the far post which cleared the head of Hector Bellerin and landed with Costa. He tried to hit the shot on the volley but failed to get a clean connection with the ball and the shot finished off target.

Costa stepped up again not long before half time when Willian played a square ball into him. The forward took the ball around the defender to get a one-on-one with the keeper, but he couldn't direct the ball past Cech at his near post.

The pressure mounted minutes later as Chelsea swung a corner into the box and it was Ivanovic who rose best to power a header towards goal. Cech was diving across his goal line, and he would have got there, but Nacho Monreal cleared the ball off the line to keep his team in it. 

Costa getting the better of the Arsenal defence and slotting the ball into the back of the net
Image from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/match-centre/arsenal-vs-chelsea-live-reaction-7209910

Chelsea had the upper hand in the second half, and they will feel that Arsenal got very lucky just before the hour mark. Fabregas got away from his defender and drifted into the box and with no other cover, Koscielny went across and barged into him, causing him to topple to the floor in the penalty area, but the referee simply waved play on. 

Arsenal were still pushing for a goal though, and it looked most likely to come from a corner. As the ball was into the box, Chelsea made a huge mess of defending it. Arsenal had a few shots on goal, but the ball pin-balled off the defenders and they eventually cleared the danger out of their box. 

Towards the end of the match, Chelsea struggled to deal with another Arsenal corner. This time it was the keeper as he failed to hold onto the ball twice and just about managed to shield the ball from the Arsenal players while his defenders cleared the box. 

It was Arsenal who finished the match the stronger of the two. After the introduction of Alexis Sanchez and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arsenal seemed to see a lot more of the ball and cause problems for the Chelsea midfielders and defenders.

The last big chance of the game came when Oxlade-Chamberlain took a swing at the ball in the penalty area and instead of hitting the target like he planned, the ball bounced into the path of Flamini. He couldn't sort his feet out quick enough though, leaving Courtois with an easy catch and a quick clearance. 

Chelsea remain in the bottom half of the table but also have an unbeaten record under Hiddink
Image from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/match-centre/arsenal-vs-chelsea-live-reaction-7209910

So, Arsenal missed their chance to go back to the top of the league table after falling behind both Leicester and Manchester City. Nobody is writing off their chances of winning the Premier League trophy just yet, but if they want to keep up with the other title challengers, they will need to bounce back from this loss pretty quickly. 

As for Chelsea, they have bounced back very well in the past few weeks and have put more space between themselves and the relegation zone, which they will feel they were too close to. If the results continue this way, then they might be able to push for a higher finish in the table than many people thought possible only a couple of months ago...

MATCH REPORT: Crystal Palace vs Chelsea

Today's game definitely showed a lot of promise for last season's champions as they beat Crystal Palace 3-0 away from home. 

Many Chelsea fans would be hoping for that New Year cliché of 'new year, new me' to apply to their team after they suffered through a horrendous start to the season which saw their team sitting in 16th place with only 20 points. Guus Hiddink had already overseen two games which resulted in two draws against Manchester United and Watford; the latter of the two could have been a win if Oscar hadn't missed a late penalty. 

It was Palace that started the game brighter out of the two teams. Their first chance came after Joel Ward put a great ball into the centre of the box where Fraser Campbell had the perfect opportunity to put Palace ahead, but his shot was deflected which took the ball wide of the post. 

They had a second not long after which came from Wilfried Zaha who put a lot of power behind his long range shot but the ball simply skimmed across the surface and past the far post.

They followed this up not long after through another two good chances for them to take the lead. Damien Delaney wriggled away from his defender on a corner but he didn't make the most of this opportunity as he couldn't control his header and the ball looped up and into the waiting gloves of Thibaut Courtois. 

Campbell stepped up minutes after him after Jason Puncheon played a brilliant cross into the box from the left wing. The cross sailed over the head of Scott Dann, and Campbell was waiting at the far post. He connected with the ball, but it wasn't a great touch and the ball finished well wide of the post.

Palace didn't make the most of their chances at the beginning of the first half and Chelsea punished them just before the half hour mark. Cesc Fabregas played a great ball in behind Delaney who mistimed his clearance and Diego Costa carried the ball into the Palace box. Instead of taking on the shot himself, like many of the Palace players expected him to, he squared the ball back to Oscar who calmly slotted the ball into the open net to put Chelsea ahead against the run of play. 

From left to right: Pedro, Oscar, Costa, Willian and Cesar Azpilicueta celebrating Oscar's goal
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/12077653/Crystal-Palace-vs-Chelsea-Premier-League-live.html

Palace didn't let this deter them though. They went straight back up the other end and Chung-Yong Lee received the ball in the box and he tried to direct the ball on target with his first touch but instead hit the ball high over the crossbar. 

At the other end of the field minutes later, Lee lost Azpilicueta and the defender was left in a lot of space when inside the box to try and catch Wayne Hennessey out at his near post. Hennessey got down well to clear the ball away with a little help from his defender for the rebound. 

However, if the first half had been all about Palace, Chelsea certainly proved their worth in the second half, with a much brighter performance than they've shown in recent weeks. Mile Jedinak gave away a free kick which allowed Willian to whip the ball into far post where Kurt Zouma got his head onto the ball, but he couldn't find the target with his header. 

Palace did have a couple of half chances in the second half, but one chance stood out from the rest after the Chelsea team seemed to stop. They felt they should have had a free kick which the referee didn't give, and Campbell carried on going and passed the ball through to Zaha. He hesitated before taking the shot though which allowed the Chelsea defence to get back and his final attempt was tame and easy for Courtois to save.

The keeper set his team off quickly following the Palace attack and the ball was passed into Fabregas who quickly played in Oscar. Just before he could run into the box, he was tripped and Willian took the ball from him and with his first touch he sent the ball flying into the top corner of Hennessey's net with some power and it was a truly stunning goal from Chelsea's star player this season. 

Willian scores a brilliant goal which soars past the Palace defender and keeper to double Chelsea's lead
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/12077653/Crystal-Palace-vs-Chelsea-Premier-League-live.html

Just over five minutes later, Palace were really made to rue the many chances they had missed throughout the game. Willian was at the centre of the build-up play once again as he made a direct run into the Palace box and from the right side he squares a ball across the front of the keeper. Hennessey sensed the danger of the ball and got down to palm the ball away but only got it as far as Costa at the far post and he was left with a simple finish to finish the game for Chelsea.

Chelsea remained in complete control of the game after this and Palace were unable to get their foothold in the game again. Chelsea only really had half chances for the last part of the game and Palace did well to snuff them out and prevent any more damage being done.

Chelsea did have one last stand out chance in the match just before full time when Willian was left in a lot of space down the right and he gave the ball to Costa once again at the far post. Costa pulled back to hit the shot on the volley, but the ball was sent into the stands over the crossbar. 

Oscar and Costa celebrating after Costa's goal sealed the points for Chelsea
Image from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/12077653/Crystal-Palace-vs-Chelsea-Premier-League-live.html

So, Chelsea kicked off the new year with their first win under Hiddink and if performances carry on in this way, they should be able to turn their situation around and climb back up the table and forget the beginning of this season. 

Palace may not be smiling after this match, but their silver lining is that they finished the day in 7th position which is a much improved position compared to the lowly 16th they found themselves in last year. Surely, Alan Pardew and his team will see this as a blip in their progress and will turn their full focus to the task ahead of them in the FA Cup next weekend. 

MATCH REPORT: Arsenal vs Manchester City

There was quite a bit at stake for both teams in this match as both needed the points to close the gap between themselves and Leicester City, who occupy top spot for Christmas. If Arsenal won the match it would give them some breathing space in second spot above their opponents, whereas if Manchester City won the game, it would allow them to leapfrog Arsenal into second place. Sergio Aguero was back for the away side and thrown straight back into the mix, and his team needed him as they hadn't exactly been the luckiest in front of goal when not at the Etihad and it's been three months since their last away goal. It could prove to be a big match for Petr Cech who needed only one more clean sheet to break David James' record. 

It was the away side who created a lot of the early chances in the match as well; obviously keen to make a quick start to avoid a repeat of previous results against the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. They had two very similar chances within the opening 10 minutes, one falling to David Silva and the other to Fernandinho in a similar position. Both players had the same idea and hit the ball with some power but the ball sailed high over the crossbar and didn't prove much of a threat to Cech.

After a couple of half chances for both sides, Kevin De Bruyne carved out a his first of two chances when he shifted the ball to his stronger foot to fire the shot towards the bottom corner of the goal, but Cech did well to get down to save the shot. Minutes later in the game, De Bruyne was left in a lot of space down the right wing and he used this to almost expose the Arsenal defenders. He did have the option of Silva in the middle of the box, but he decided to take on the shot himself and the ball ended up fizzing just wide of the far post. 

He would feel like he should have done a lot better with his chance, especially after Arsenal did exploit the weaknesses in City's defence seconds later with their first chance of the game. Laurent Koscielny moved his team forward with a great lofted ball to Mesut Ozil who simply touched it onto Theo Walcott at the edge of the City box. He brought it back inside and created some space between him and his defender before firing his shot around Joe Hart and into the bottom of the net.

The goal knocked City back a bit, but they suffered an even bigger setback in the game with the last kick of the first half. Eliaquim Mangala tried to play out from the back but his pass into the midfield was very slack allowing Arsenal to move forward with the ball. It was Ozil again who played in Olivier Giroud this time, and he timed his run perfectly to stay onside before slotting the ball under Hart and into the far bottom corner of the City net to add to his brilliant run of scoring. 

Olivier Giroud getting the better of Joe Hart to double Arsenal's lead
Image from: http://www.emirates247.com/sports/football/walcott-giroud-fire-arsenal-to-win-over-city-2015-12-21-1.614633

City had to endure a hard second half as well as Arsenal threw everything they had at their opponent's to try and finish the game off, and they had the perfect chance very early on. Nacho Monreal got the ball on the left side and crossed the ball low into the centre of the six yard box. Nicolas Otamendi looked like he would clear the ball easily, but badly misjudged his clearance and Joel Campbell, running onto the ball, sliced the ball high over the crossbar instead of converting the chance. 

It didn't end there though, with Arsenal having even more turns on Hart's goal to try and steal a third goal. Campbell had another good chance minutes later when he was left in acres of space on the right side and with no flag pulling him back, he raced into the box and toe-poked the ball on target, but Hart did well to turn the shot away with his foot. 

Aaron Ramsey followed this up with two chances that should have put Arsenal out of sight as well. The first followed another good piece of play from Arsenal which finished with Campbell touching the ball on for Ramsey who was left one-on-one with Hart in the centre of the goal and the keeper did well to spread himself to turn the shot away. The second one was created from a brilliant ball from Giroud which found Ramsey on the edge of the box, and if he had been able to bring it down then it could easily have been a goal. Instead he had to improvise to stop the defenders around him from nicking the ball away and when he finally got the shot away, it sailed high over the crossbar.

City did eventually get their first real chance of the second half around the 80 minute mark. Jesus Navas found himself with the ball in lots of space on the right side and was allowed to run straight at the box without much threat from the Arsenal defence who struggled to catch him. When he was left in front of goal with a perfect opportunity, he tried to square the ball across the box to another City player instead of going for goal himself. By this point, the Arsenal defence were back in numbers and the ball was cleared before a City player could get anywhere near it.  

The away side did manage to steal a goal back though. Yaya Toure played a one-two before finding himself in the perfect position to threaten Cech's goal. The ball was played back to him and with his first touch he lazily side-footed the ball towards the goal and it rose to land in the top-right corner out of Cech's reach. None of the Arsenal team really reacted as Toure took on the shot, and Cech didn't move from his starting position, and this goal means that Cech will have to wait before he can break James' record. 

Both sides did get another chance a piece, but neither could finish them off with another goal. Ramsey was found at the other end of the pitch moments after the goal and he had a brilliant chance to give Arsenal their two goal cushion back, but his shot finished just wide of the far post. It was Toure with the last City chance as he played another one-two with De Bruyne on the edge of the box, but isn't balanced as he takes the shot and the ball finishes wide of the post without troubling Cech. 

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Hector Bellerin and Olivier Giroud celebrating their win at the end of the match
Image from: http://www.theguardian.com/football/gallery/2015/dec/21/premier-league-arsenal-v-manchester-city-in-pictures

For Arsenal this was another big step to proving that maybe this year could be their year to win the Premier League trophy for the first time since the season of 'the invincibles'. They closed the gap between themselves and Leicester to only two points going into the busy Christmas period. For City, it means that they may have quite a hard task ahead as they face these coming matches without their captain Vincent Kompany who they are missing greatly as was proved again in this match. Either way, if this game did prove anything, it's that Arsenal don't look to be letting up any time soon. Ozil added another two assists to his tally along with Giroud adding another goal and if they carry on performing the way they are, they will prove to be a big force to be reckoned with. 

The Special One: Sacked

There you have it. The breaking news of today. I must admit, even though it has been one of the most talked about things this season I didn't actually see it coming. Chelsea had decided to sack Jose Mourinho after the beginning to a season that has been one of the worst in their history. The team currently sit 16th in the Premier League, only three points above the relegation zone and have endured a dismal run of nine defeats in 16 games. 

After reading statistics like that, it may come as no surprise that Mourinho has been sacked. However, he did lead his team to the success of his third Premier League trophy only last season, which he won with an 8-point margin over Manchester City in May. His team last year soared to the top of the League and every team feared the date on their fixture list when they read the name 'Chelsea' next to it. So what changed?

I think that is still a question that a lot of people, including the Chelsea fans and the owner, are trying to figure out the answer to. Only a few changes were made to the squad that did so well last year, like the signing of Pedro from Barcelona. Many people asked why they weren't making more changes, but why would they need to? The squad was already strong and had proved that the season before and they would be expected to perform exactly the same way to get the same results, just like any other team that wins the Premier League. 

Jose Mourinho watching his side draw with Tottenham
Image from: skysports.com (http://www.skysports.com/football/news/15116/10102525/jose-mourinho-where-next-now-hes-left-chelsea-a-second-time)

However, football is a game where the results matter. No matter how badly the players are doing, the burden always falls onto the manager's shoulders as they should be the person that can change everything and get the right results again at the end of a bad spell. In some ways, Mourinho did manage to do this. He turned the tables and led his team to a place in the knock-out stages of the Champions League as winners in their group. In the League, this has been a little more than just a bad spell for Chelsea though. 

They never really kicked off their season. It started with a draw and since the opening day, they have only managed to scrape together 4 wins, hence why they are at the bottom of the Premier League table. They're poor run isn't just the lack of wins though, because Chelsea have lost to big rivals Manchester City and Liverpool already this season and have lost to Stoke, West Ham and newly promoted Bournemouth. The final straw for Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, seems to have been the 2-1 loss on Monday to League leaders Leicester City as talks about Mourinho's future followed on from this game. 

So, what's next for Chelsea? They have a game against Sunderland on Saturday afternoon and the news is that the owners have sent Mourinho on his way with a new manager in mind to take over. Who is this man though? Many names will circulate in the next few days, but it will be interesting to see if they bring in another former manager of if they bring in someone completely new to try and put their own spin on the team. Either way, the person that steps up will have a big task ahead of them and it will be interesting to see if they can get Chelsea out of the tight spot they find themselves in at the moment. 

MATCH REPORT: Tyne-Wear Derby

This Tyne-Wear derby felt like it had more riding on it than the ones in previous seasons. Sam Allardyce lead his new side into the derby yet to win a match and their opponents went into the match with a very convincing 6-2 win under their belt from their previous match. Both teams also sat in the bottom three going into this game, meaning that the winner of this would take an even bigger boost than they would normally. Not only would they get the derby win bragging rights, they would also lift themselves closer to the teams sitting nervously above the bottom two. It may only be early in the season, but both teams needed something magical to kick start their season for good. 

In the first half, it looked like the team that would go on to win it would be Newcastle. From the first whistle, the away side were pushing forward and trying to find the gaps in the Sunderland defence and had a very good chance early into the game. They won a free kick in a brilliant position and the delivery into the box was at the perfect height for Aleksander Mitrovic to flick on the ball to Fabricio Coloccini. The defender attempted an overhead kick from close range and forced Costel Pantilimon into a fine save to turn it away. 

Around the 15 minute mark, Newcastle saw a flurry of chances go to waste as the piled even more pressure on Sunderland. Mitrovic got his head to a cross and sent his shot just wide of the far post from the corner of the six-yard box. He then played a part in setting up a chance for Georginio Wijnaldum. The two played a one-two off each other, allowing Wijnaldum to gain some space to take on the low shot and forcing Pantilimon into another good save. Jack Colback had a good chance after some good Newcastle build-up play, and he fired his shot on target from just outside the box, but Mitrovic tried to get a touch to the ball and sent the shot wide of the far post instead. 

Colback had another chance to put his side ahead after Daryl Janmaat picked him out in the box and he made good contact with the ball, but a deflection from a Sunderland player saw the ball out of play. The corner that followed saw another shot sent marginally wide of the target from Mitrovic again and Ayoze Perez failed to make contact with a cross that came into the box minutes after Mitrovic's chance, so another chance went begging. The away supporters must have been starting to wonder whether they would come to rue all of these missed chances. Turns out, they would. 

As the half time whistle was approaching, Sunderland broke with the ball and it was a long ball forward to Steven Fletcher that caused all the problems. Coloccini was level with the Sunderland striker and looked like he would just beat him to the ball, but it appeared as though he shoulder barged Fletcher out of the way to prevent him from reaching the ball. The referee was instantly across to award the penalty and brandish his red card, deeming Coloccini to have been preventing a goal scoring opportunity and being the last defender. It was Adam Johnson who stepped up to the spot and he coolly slid the ball past the keeper and into the bottom right corner of the net - also making himself the joint top scorer for Sunderland in the derby. 

Johnson taking the penalty to score Sunderland's first goal
Image from: http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/sunderland-vs-newcastle-united-better-10342565

The faces of the Newcastle players and their manager looked extremely downcast as they walked into the tunnel at half time, with reason. They had been the dominant force in the game but hadn't managed to convert any of their chances, but being a man down for the second half didn't stop them from having a go at Sunderland. Mitrovic had an excellent opportunity 10 minutes into the half when the ball fell to his feet. He cut back to create some space from his defender, but his finishing shot was aimed straight down the centre of the goal at the keeper. Perez followed this up one minute later after making a charging run down the middle of the pitch and took on the shot when he reached the box, but again aimed his shot directly down the centre of the goal at Pantilimon. 

Sunderland did look more settled in the game as they reached their hour mark and were stretching the game when they pushed players forward. Jermain Lens put a beautiful inside ball through to Fletcher and he was allowed time on the ball to carve out a shot, which he tried to curl round the defender and into the top corner, but the shot was deflected and sent out of play for a corner. From the corner, Jermain Defoe controls the ball brilliantly to allow a clean shot at goal and Billy Jones gave it the touch that it needed to turn the ball over the line and past the crowd of defenders on the line. 

Sunderland players celebrate as Jones doubles their lead
Image from: http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/sunderland-vs-newcastle-united-better-10342565

Newcastle still didn't sit back though. Wijnaldum had a good chance to pull a goal back for the away side as he hit a powerful, low shot aiming towards the far bottom corner, but Pantilimon did extremely well to get down and palm the ball away from danger. They only had one other half-chance towards the end of the match which came from Florian Thauvin. Newcastle played in and around the Sunderland 18-yard box until Thauvin decided to hit the shot when it came to him, but the ball was well wide of the post. 

Johnson could easily have had a second goal in the game as well. He was a long way out, but he cut back inside onto his stronger left foot and powered his shot at goal and was only denied by the crossbar as Robert Elliot had been beaten by the shot. It wasn't over yet though as Sunderland still had one last attack left in them. The home side broke on the counter attack, carrying four of their players against two Newcastle defenders. The cross into the box from Younes Kaboul fell perfectly for Fletcher running into the box and he hit the shot first time on the volley with his left foot for a beautiful finish into the bottom corner to round off the game. 

Yann M'Vila celebrating the win with the home fans
Image from: http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/sunderland-vs-newcastle-united-better-10342565

This win for Sunderland means that their historic run of 8 consecutive wins in the derby continues and it should give them the confidence to climb up the table. Newcastle were very unlucky to not take the lead in the first half, or to score at all taking into account the number of attempts they had in the game, but it was Sunderland who were the most clinical in front of goal which allowed them to snatch the game away from their rivals. The red card at the end of the first half definitely affected the game and meant something was missing in the Newcastle performance second half. Either way, Steve McClaren needs to look at a way to get his side on a winning run before they get left behind as the competition in the Premier League heats up even more. 

The Fall of the Champions?

It happens every year (or so it seems). One team absolutely dominates the Premier League and wins the trophy with only a slight blip to their season in terms of results or performances. Last season, that was Chelsea. The season before that: Manchester City. And before that: Manchester United. There's definitely a pattern there. Then at the beginning of every new season, journalists and football pundits sit and they put forward their guess of who is going to win the league based on the previous campaign and their business in the transfer window. This season, there was an almost unanimous vote that Chelsea would go from strength to strength, as they had last season, and win the trophy again due to the sheer talent of their squad and the pure genius mind of Jose Mourinho. 

In no way am I saying that they won't win it. The Premier League can be extremely unpredictable at times and throw up shock results that could flip the table on its head at times. The way Chelsea have started the season though, especially in comparison to Manchester City, it doesn't look like they will be as highly rated to retain their title as we head towards winter. City have had a dominating start to the season, which came to an end on Saturday tea time, but before that they won 5 on the bounce and Joe Hart was still to concede a goal this season. Whereas, Chelsea didn't get off to a winning start and their back line, which was so tough to face last season, suddenly looked very shaky and looked a different 4 people to the ones that lined up last season. 

They have only managed two wins since the beginning of the campaign; an unconvincing performance against West Brom who almost managed to take something from the game after Chelsea had a man sent off, and last weekend against 9-man Arsenal. It isn't completely clear why they are struggling as much as they are. They made a few good signings in the summer which coupled with last season's squad could have been unstoppable, but instead of scoring goals for fun and putting on performances to draw out results that fans are used to, they just can't get it right. 

Like I said before though, this isn't the first time it has happened, and Chelsea certainly won't be the last to suffer because of it. There was the title defence of Manchester United the season after Sir Alex Ferguson retired, which was extremely poor and even saw the team drop out of the Champions League places. It was a big change for the team, but nobody could have predicted that their title defence would have been as poor as it was. The following season, Manchester City just couldn't keep up with the dominant force that was Chelsea. It's almost like the pressure of retaining the title is too much for a team no matter how much the manager tries to improve it. 

Anyway, back to Chelsea. Even though they beat Arsenal at the weekend, it was against a team who they had a 2 man advantage over, so some would say it was a much easier game than it could have been. Even though they did record a win over another top team in the league, people weren't left talking about the brilliant performance of the team, or how they did well to take advantage of the game like they would've last season. No, it was Diego Costa that found himself in the headlines again after the game. Unfortunately, once again it was for all the wrong reasons, and it all started through Arsene Wenger complaining about him not being sent off (which he should have been). Costa is an important player for Chelsea even if he isn't scoring goals for them, but has got a hot headed nature in many of the games he's played. So to have him banned after a retrospective investigation is a big loss to the team, especially when they are struggling so much to get the results that they so badly need. 

If you ask me, I think that Mourinho isn't handling the situation very well. He's always been calm in interviews, never loses his head in a bad situation and has a knack for saying exactly what his fans need to hear, but in recent weeks instead of reassuring the fans, he has looks like he has been trying to please everyone, or so it seems. He claimed that he wanted fans of other teams to enjoy his this period while his team are struggling because it was a rare thing to happen to him before tagging on the end that he would sort out the situation. You'd expect any other manager in his situation to put his own fans first, but then again, Mourinho isn't like the other managers. True to his words though, he has given the fans a lift with the win over Chelsea no matter how they got it.

Now, don't get me wrong, I can see Chelsea bouncing back and going on a strong run in the league. Everyone knows they aren't going to stay 15th and be sucked into a relegation battle (if they are, that is certainly one shock that nobody could have seen coming), but it might take them a while to get back into their stride. What looks like the toughest task for them at the moment will be trying to catch up to Man City who, even though they lost at the weekend, have been so strong that it is unlikely Chelsea would be able to catch them to retain their title. It has been said many times before though, it's a long season, and anything could happen.

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.