Early afternoon match:
QPR 0 Norwich City 0
3pm kick-offs:
Arsenal 1 Stoke City 0
This match was played at The Emirates Stadium, as 6th placed Arsenal hosted a tough Stoke side after their enthralling 2-2 draw during midweek at home against Liverpool.
The main story coming into this match in London was that new Arsenal left-back Nacho Monreal would start his first match in the EPL today.
Arsenal started the match well, with midfielder Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott combinating to give The Gunners pace and skill injection going forward.
French striker Olivier Giroud was denied a goal with a great save by goalkeeper Asmir Begovic in the 31st minute, and the hosts were pressing throughout the match for an opener. Defender Laurent Koscielny was also denied a headed effort as Begovic used his reflexes to stop the shot from going in.
Walcott was fouled just otside the box by Stoke defender Wilkinson, and Podolski stepped up to take the free-kick. His shot was well-struck, and it took a deflection off the wall before bouncing into the net past Begovic to break the deadlock after 77 minutes on the clock.
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| Finally: Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski scores a deflected free-kick to break the deadlock in the 77th minute. |
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| 8 for the season: Podolski celebrates his goal with team-mates Arteta and Sagna. |
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| Impressive: Arsenal's new £7million left-back signing Nacho Monreal played well today against Stoke. |
Everton 3 Aston Villa 3
This match was played at Goodison Park, as 5th placed Everton looked to continue on their quest for Champions League qualification next season with a win at home against strugglers Aston Villa.
Belgian striker Christian Benteke made sure that the away side got off to the perfect start with a nicely done strike in the 2nd minute with a cool finish past Tim Howard.
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| Clinical: Belgian striker Christian Benteke broke the deadlock with a nice finish past Tim Howard after 2 minutes. |
Everton's Nigerian striker Victor Anichebe showed why he is keeping Croatian striker Nikica Jelavic out of the team, with a powerful showing to get past two defenders before equalising for the hosts in the 21st minute with a strike past Brad Guzan.
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| Powerhouse: Victor Anichebe equalised for Everton in the 21st minute after bulldozing past two defenders. |
Forward Gabriel Agbonlahor restored Villa's lead with a header inside the box in the 24th minute, before Benteke gave Villa a comfortable 2-goal cushion in the 61st minute with a fabulous header after getting past defender Johnny Heitinga with pace and strength.
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| Again: Agbonlahor celebrates his header to give Villa the lead again with team-mates Benteke and Weimann. |
Anichebe made an assist after setting up Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini to give the hosts a lifeline in the 70th minute with a deflected strike past Guzan, before Fellaini scored again with a last-minute header inside the box.
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| Back in it: Fellaini's strike gives Everton hope of a late equaliser with 20 minutes to play. |
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| Tower: Fellaini scores a last-minute header to equalise late on for the hosts. |
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| Comeback: Fellaini celebrates his 2nd goal of the day to seal a point for Everton at home. |
Newcastle United 3 Chelsea 2
Newcastle's new French signings were again on show today at St.James Park, as the hosts looked to provide a shock to 3rd placed Chelsea who drew 2-2 on Wednesday despite going 2-0 ahead.
Striker Demba Ba broke his nose on his return to St.James Park after a collision with defender Fabricio Coloccini, in the 32nd minute when he tried to take a shot inside the box.
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| Ouch: Coloccini accidentally kicks former team-mate Demba Ba in his face, and breaks his nose in the process. |
The match was still level at this time, but not for long when midfielder Jonas Gutierrez broke the deadlock for the hosts in the 40th minute as Chelsea failed to clear left-back Davide Santon's cross into the box, and Jonas headed the ball straight into the corner of the net.
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| Ahead at home: Jonas leaps above the Chelsea defender to head Newcastle ahead at home in the 40th minute. |
Chelsea equalised in the 55th minute, when legendary midfielder Frank Lampard unleashed a shot from 20 yards out out of nowhere and the ball flew into the top corner of the net, out of reach for Holland goalkeeper Tim Krul.
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| Legendary: Frank Lampard celebrates scoring his 10th goal of the season to equalise for Chelsea to make it 1-1. |
In the 61st minute, Newcastle failed to deal with Serbian right-back Branislav Ivanovic's cross into the box, and the ball fell to Juan Mata who had a lovely curling finesse shot that dipped into the bottom of the net to give The Blues the lead.
Newcastle equalised soon afterwards in the 68th minute, when they went on the counter attack with Cisse, Sissoko and Gouffran all on the attack before Gouffran's shot was parried away by Petr Cech.
The ball span away from the goalkeeper, and Sissoko stumbled before tapping the ball into the net.
Moussa Sissoko eventually won the match for Newcastle United in the 90+1st minute, after he got himself into a good position before having a nice 1-2 passing play with Santon.
The ball was laid off for him from 20 yards out, and his strike was low and hard past Cech into the net.
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| Last-minute: Newcastle midfielder Moussa Sissoko celebrated scoring a late winner for the hosts to sink Chelsea. |
The match finished 3-2, with Newcastle and Chelsea playing in an exciting 5-goal thriller.
Reading 2 Sunderland 1
A Jimmy Kebe double ensured all 3 points for Reading at home against Sunderland, despite a penalty goal from Craig Gardner to level the match after 30minutes.
West Ham United 1 Swansea City 0
On-loan striker Andy Carroll scored the only goal of the match for the hosts at Upton Park in the 77th minute.
Wigan Athletic 2 Southampton 2
4 goals at The DW Stadium today, as Wigan forward Shaun Maloney scored a late equaliser in the 90th minute to ensure a point at home.
5:30pm kick-off:
Manchester United 1 Fulham 0
English striker Wayne Rooney scored the only goal of the match to sink Fulham at home at Old Trafford. United move 10 points clear of local Manchester rivals Manchester City who play against Liverpool tomorrow afternoon at 4pm.
Thank you for reading my EPL Blog today, and I will be back tomorrow for a double upload including a Double Bill LIVE from 1pm, as Tottenham Hotspur travel to West Brom and Manchester City look to close the gap down to 7 points on EPL leaders Manchester United with a win against stubborn Liverpool.
Have a nice night, and stay safe! :)
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