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: Everton vs Manchester City [Capital One Cup semi-final]

Everton rally at Goodison Park to earn a 2-1 advantage going into the second leg of their semi-final tie against Manchester City. 

After a good night for the team across the city from Everton last night, many felt that this would give the Merseyside team a little more incentive to really put up a good fight against City. It has been 20 years since they last lifted a major trophy and their performance tonight gave them a good push in the direction of this year's final. 

City have been in this position quite often in recent years and at this stage in the competition, they have really showed their true class. One of these performances was a 9-0 aggregate win against West Ham, but they just couldn't recreate anything close to this tonight. 

The beginning of the first half was very boring from a neutral perspective. City were dominant in possession in the opening 10 minutes and Everton struggled to get any sort of foothold in the game, and this carried on. No clear cut chances were carved out by either team for a long period of the game. 

It wasn't until the 19th minute that Kevin De Bruyne decided to take the first shot of the game. The slight frustration at the lack of forward play was showing in the players and De Bruyne took on the shot from a long range but it way off its target.

Minutes later, City had another chance that finally brought some excitement into the game. De Bruyne swung in the City corner and Nicolas Otamendi beat John Stones to the ball and put some power behind his headed shot but the ball finished just wide of the near post.

It was Everton who looked closest to drawing first blood after that. Leighton Baines dropped a free kick into a good position in the box and Ramiro Funes Mori squared the ball back across the box with his head where Stones fired the ball into the back of the net. However, the offside flag had gone up after Baines' first pass as Gareth Barry and Funes Mori had drifted offside. 

Everton played a long ball up field to Romelu Lukaku minutes later and he headed the ball into the path of Gerard Deulofeu who made a direct run into the City box. Instead of taking on the shot himself, he passed the ball into Lukaku and the forward slotted the ball under Willy Caballero only to see the offside flag raised by the linesman again. 

Despite the growing Everton pressure, Sergio Aguero still looked dangerous at the other end. He hit his first shot on the turn at the near post and forced Joel Robles into his first save, only for the rebound to land at Aguero's feet again. The Argentine hit another powerful shot towards goal, but Funes Mori was in the right position to block the shot. 

Then just before the half time whistle, Everton won a corner which Tom Cleverley swung into the box. It did bounce through the box to the feet of Ross Barkley and he hit the shot well and Caballero could only palm the ball away to Funes Mori who side-footed the ball into the net without any challenge from the City defence to put Everton ahead. 

Funes Mori scoring the first goal of the match for the home side
Image from: http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2016/jan/06/everton-v-manchester-city-capital-one-cup-semi-final-first-leg-live

Everton started the second half as they had finished the first and were very close to doubling their lead early in the half. Barry played the ball across the ball in a dangerous position and Lukaku flew forward and was centimetres from getting to the ball, but even if he had found the net, the flag was raised once again. 

City fought back though and the first clear cut chance for them came from a corner. Jesus Navas, who had replaced Fabian Delph, whipped the ball into the box after a corner and Fernandinho climbed the highest and got his head to the ball. He headed the ball into the ground though and Joel was perfectly placed to prevent the goal. 

Straight after, Joel played a long ball up the field for Barkley to chase. Otamendi was with him all the way but made the mistake of not clearing the ball when he had the chance, allowing Barkley to run into the box with the ball. From a tight angle, he directed his shot on target, but Caballero did well to put the ball out. 

With only 15 minutes left of the tie, Everton wasted another opportunity from a corner and Fernandinho set up a City counter attack with a long field ball up to Aguero who took the ball down with an incredible first touch. He turned from his defender and spotted Navas on the run to his left and squared the ball to the winger. Navas took the ball into the Everton box, waited for Joel to leave his line and then slotted the ball under the keeper to level the score. 

Navas levelled the scoring for City after some excellent work from Aguero
Image from: http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2016/jan/06/everton-v-manchester-city-capital-one-cup-semi-final-first-leg-live

It wasn't over yet though. From the kick off, Everton started pushing forward, looking for an opening to get their lead back, and it didn't take them long. After some patient play from the home side, Barry put a great cross into the box that sailed over the head of Martin Demichelis and onto the head of Lukaku. The forward managed to time his run perfectly this time to stay onside and Caballero had no chance of stopping the ball this time as it hit the back of his net.

So, both Liverpool teams take a slender lead into the second tie of this year's Capital One Cup semi-final. Everton did well in the game tonight after they survived the dominant start made by City, and also managed to hold City off in the closing moments as they were down to 10 men due to Seamus Coleman going off injured. 

Lukaku celebrates scoring what proves to be the winning goal for his team
Image from: http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2016/jan/06/everton-v-manchester-city-capital-one-cup-semi-final-first-leg-live

This does leave the tie nicely poised for the second leg which will take place at the Etihad Stadium in three weeks' time. These two teams do face each other in the Premier League in this time as well, so it will be interesting to see who comes out on top in that match and if it will be reflected in this competition. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MATCH REPORT: 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.