English Premier League Round 11 Review – Memorable Moments Of The Weekend

By Uday Telkar
13 years Ago

If you thought the previous Premier League season was crazy, then this season is more exciting than playing pac-man after 10 years. The blue half of Manchester had to put up an unexpectedly tough fight against newly promoted QPR. Sheikh Mansoor was a happy man when the final whistle blew, as he watched his side make their way back to the dressing room with an away victory. Switching lanes to the red half, it was a special day for the Manchester United contingent, as Sir Alex Ferguson completed his 25 years at the club. Former Red Devil Wes Brown must have noticed the lack of gifts next to Sir Alexai??i??s throne, and decided to gift him an own goal and grace the occasion with a Manchester United victory. Yes, Gary Neville left the commentary box and joined the team for drinks.

The Magpies are making their way up to the top like someone was chasing them up a tree. Alan Pardewai??i??s men devoured the Toffees, who had hoped to hit the pubs for some freshly brewed beer after an antithetic result. Chelsea made sure Blackburn Rovers remain in the relegation zone following a narrow 0 ai??i?? 1 victory at Ewood Park; and Fernando Torres missed again. Well, moving onai??i?? It looks like the netai??i??s gone invisible at Anfield, as Liverpool walked away with yet another unconvincing draw against Swansea. It appears that they are finding it hard to move on from the Roy Hodgson era.

Back at the Emirates, it looks like Arsene Wenger is able to see everything happening on the pitch, as his side picked up their fourth consecutive victory with a 3-0 home win over West Brom. Oh poor Roy! Must be rubbing his chin vigorously now! On the other end, is Van Persie now the new Flying Dutchman? Keep us updated on that. Aston Villa managed to get the better of Norwich, finally showing some ai???Villanousai??? character following two losses and a draw in their previous three matches.

Wolverhampton have pushed Wigan deeper into the relegation tunnel after their victory at home. This is the Laticsai??i?? seventh consecutive loss this season. May be we should start buying some cards. Speaking of the relegation zone, Bolton Wanderers earned an easy victory against Stoke City and have overtaken Blackburn Rovers to the 18th spot. Spurs ensured they are in the race to finish in the top four after beating Fulham away from home – not really the kind of reunion Martin Jol was looking for.

Match Of The Weekend

QPR 2 ai??i?? 3 Manchester City

After watching them dismantle their evil twin 1 ai??i?? 6 at Old Trafford, a non-Citeh fan wouldai??i??ve switched off the television when this game was aired,Ai?? thinking he/she knew the result of this one. However, things panned out slightly differently at Loftus Road on Saturday night..

QPR started the game with an attacking instinct and immediately start piling on the pressure on the Citizens. Their efforts paid off in the 28th minute, when Jay Bothroyd slotted the ball past the ever-reliable Joe Hart. Although it wasnai??i??t the start City were expecting, it didnai??i??t take long for them to switch to a higher gear. Towards the end of the first half, Edin Dzeko scored the equalizer, unleashing a thunderous ground strike.

Balotelli was still trying to get his bib off, and so Roberto Mancini couldnai??i??t really ask him to come on as a substitute in the second half. Anyway, little Silva made another huge impact, his quick feet getting the better of QPR defenders and fetching his side the lead.

After that, just like in a Harry Potter movie, QPR found a fighting spirit lingering around Loftus Road and immediately went on the counter against City. Heidar Helguson did justice to this fight-back by bringing his side level around the 70th minute. However, Mancini was in no mood to again speak a lot in the post-match interview (that, being in English), and Yaya Toure saved him from this ordeal when he scored the winning goal in the 74th minute. By now, QPR were ready to fight tooth and nail to get anything out of this game and were never shy of hurling themselves against City. Unfortunately, their efforts were futile, and City walked away with a victory yet again. Anyone getting a feeling this trend is leading somewhere?

Star Player Of The Weekend

Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa)

In what was bound to be a tough fixture at Villa Park, Gabriel Agbonlahor was the shining star of the evening for Alex McLeishai??i??s side. The England international partnered well with Darren Bent, providing him with two assists. The first of these was a low pass pushed into the box from the left, setting up Bent for an easy finish.

Agbonlahor scored a goal himself in the second half, after a defensive lapse from Norwich left him alone on goal; getting past the keeper was as easyAi?? as plucking flowers. The second assist from his end was a similar to the first, but from the right side of play – and again, Darren Bent was there to finish things off. All in all, a good night for Aston Villa and a fantastic field day for Gabby.

Historic Moment Of The Weekend

The Sir Alex Ferguson Stand

He has completed 25 glorious years after making the switch from Aberdeen FC. No matter how much you do, no tribute can be fitting enough for Sir Alex Ferguson. His chewing gum might be a little old, but his mind is as fresh as a sunflower. The northern stand at Old Trafford isAi??named after himAi??and was unveiled on Saturday. Besides this, a statue is also said to be erected outside the stadium. The Scot is a living legend and is now a part of the soul at the Theatre of Dreams.

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Goal Of The Weekend

Ryan Taylor (Newcastle United)

Jose Enriqueai??i??s departure to Liverpool surely angered the Newcastle fans. One would also be perplexed with an unwilling prediction of disgust, after learning that Ryan Taylor will be playing out of position to fill in for the Spaniard. But Ryan Taylor silenced his critics this weekend with a screamer from outside the box, which sailed over Tim Howardai??i??s head. Good job Ryan!

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Save Of The Weekend

Keiren Westwood (Sunderland)

In the absence of first choice keeper Simon Mignolet, Keiran Westwood did himself and his team proud with a very good performance at Old Trafford. His stunning double save left all the United players and supporters in disbelief, as the keeper denied Rooney and Evra in quick succession to keep the Black Cats in the game. First, Westwood denied Rooney’s fizzing effort from 10 yards out, but the ball rebounded straight into Evra’s path inside the six yard box. The Frenchman looked certain to score with Westwood lying on the floor, but somehow the young Irish goalie got half up to tip Evra’s shot over the bar from point blank range.

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Miss Of The Weekend

Fernando Torres (Chelsea) / Andy Carroll (Liverpool)

He really is fighting hard to make this spot his! Fernando Torres misfired again this weekend, when he brought Chelsea forward on the counter, passed the ball to Sturridge who in return passed it to Malouda. Well, the video speaks the rest of the story.

Besides Torres, Andy Carroll can also be nominated for this category. The tall Geordie missed a sitter when the ball was played to his feet by Stewart Downing and all he could manage to do so was strike the cross-bar. How do you strike a cross-bar when the ball is at your feet?

So those were 35 million pound and 50 million pound misses. Goals donai??i??t come cheap do they?

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Ai??Best Spirit Of The Weekend

Swansea And Anfield Crowd

Liverpool fans might have taken to the seats with trepidation and what they feared the most happened again. As the Liverpool players were on their way back into the dressing rooms, shaking their heads in dismay, the Redsai??i?? fans gave the Swansea team a sweet memory along with the one point by applauding their efforts and brand of football put on display against Dalglishai??i??s side. The Swans are sitting pretty at the tenth spot, and if they continue to play the way they did on Saturday, then Brendon Rodgers will be a happy man at the end of the season.

Sweetest Revenge Of The Weekend

Bolton 5-0 Stoke City

Stoke City have troubled almost every other Premier League ever since their promotion to the top flight. With just one win in their past six games, you would expect Bolton Wanderers to be the underdogs in this fixture. However, Sundayai??i??s game at the Reebok stadium presented a whole different story altogether.

May be a little bit of luck from that Coldplay song was finally kicking in ai??i?? just two minutes into the game, referee Howard Webb (we know what you’re thinking) decided to award Bolton a free kick inside the box on account of a back-pass and Davies safely placed the ball at the back of the net. Moments later Chris Eagles scored a beautiful, low-lying, long-range goal from outside the box to double the Trottersai??i?? lead. Stoke made things worse for themselves in the second half with some poor defending, and finally handed Bolton a 5 ai??i?? 0 victory at home.

The victory also comes as a very sweet revenge for Owen Coyle’s men who were embarrassed (incidentally by the same scoreline) by Stoke at Wembley in the last season’s FA cup semi-final.

Blunder Of The Weekend

Asmir Begovic (Stoke City)

It was the 24-year old Asmir Begovic who gifted Bolton the driverai??i??s seat in the game on Sunday. First, he picked up what was seen as a back-pass by none other Howard Webb. As if that wasnai??i??t enough, he actually let Ivan Klasnic take the ball from him, place it down and pass it on to Kevin Davies who had an open goal in front of him. Talk about a walk in the park!

One for sorrow, two for joy they say. Moments later, Begovic made himself chief architect of Boltonai??i??s second goal when he provided a terrible clearance that went straight to Chris Eagles. Begovic was off his zone at this point and Eagles made no mistake in executing a wonderful scorcher that doubled Boltonai??i??s lead. Tony Pulis finally took off his cap for the first time this season.

Team Of The Weekend

Michel Vorm (Swansea), Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle United), Thomas Vermaelen (Arsenal), Jose Enrique (Liverpool), Carl Jenkinson (Arsenal), Gabriel Agbonlahor (Aston Villa), David Silva (Manchester City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Scott Parker (Tottenham), Darren Bent (Aston Villa), Edin Dzeko (Manchester City)

Weekend Results:

Newcastle United 2 – 1 Everton FC

Manchester United 1 – Sunderland

Liverpool FC 0 – 0 Swansea

Aston Villa 3 – 2 Norwich City

Arsenal 3 – 0 West Bromwich Albion

QPR 2 – 3 Manchester City

Blackburn Rovers 0 – 1 Chelsea FC

Wolverhampton Wanderers 3 – 1 Wigan Athletic

Bolton Wanderers 5 – 0 Stoke City

Fulham 1 – 3 Tottenham Hotspur

Categories: COVER STORY, English Premier League
Tags: Arsenal FC Asmir Begovic Chelsea FC EPL Gabriel Agbonlahor Liverpool FC Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Ryan Taylor Sir Alex Ferguson