:00:52. > :00:57.. Good evening and a Happy New Year - we start 2014 with a bang - all 20
:00:58. > :01:01.Barclays Premier league clubs on the way in the next 90 minutes. We might
:01:02. > :01:34.need some Fergie time to pack it all in.
:01:35. > :01:38.After Jose Mourinho moaned about too many Liverpool pundits on television
:01:39. > :01:44.we've got two former Manchester City men in the studio - Didi Hamann and
:01:45. > :01:48.Robbie Fowler. We start at the Emirates. Leaders Arsenal faced
:01:49. > :01:52.Cardiff knowing the team top on New Year's Day has won the League for
:01:53. > :01:56.the last four years. Watching the game with Cardiff owner Vincent Tan
:01:57. > :02:04.was a Gunnar - Ole Gunnar, the man expected to replace Malky Mackay.
:02:05. > :02:10.Steve Wilson is your commentator. Like white smoke over the chimneys
:02:11. > :02:15.of the Vatican, the appearance of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer surely
:02:16. > :02:25.indicates a new manager for Cardiff is imminent. Arsenal bring back
:02:26. > :02:41.Monreal, Arteta and Podolski, whose last start was in August.
:02:42. > :02:58.McNaughton starts for the second time this season.
:02:59. > :03:08.Cardiff can't afford to give the ball away 15, 20 yards outside the
:03:09. > :03:17.penalty area. A difficult one to control and not a great angle. Well
:03:18. > :03:20.they were statistically the best side of 2013, but it won them
:03:21. > :03:37.nothing. Nothing given and Medel brings it to
:03:38. > :03:43.safety. Wilshere was convinced he was fouled by Medel. They both
:03:44. > :03:48.seemed to make contact with man rather than ball and Wilshere might
:03:49. > :04:07.be entitled to be unhappy. The referee says play on. But no
:04:08. > :04:16.help, he will have to do it on his own. He brings a save from Szczesny.
:04:17. > :04:36.He was on his own, Jordan Mutch. But he still tested Szczesny.
:04:37. > :04:43.Walcott hits the side netting. Well he, puffs his cheek out in
:04:44. > :04:49.frustration, because he has had a couple of decent opportunity,
:04:50. > :04:55.Walcott, and he has not taken it. Tan and Ollie? Will it be another
:04:56. > :05:05.fine mess? We will have to wait and see!
:05:06. > :05:13.Podolski couldn't find Cazorla who was waiting. They looked certain to
:05:14. > :05:20.score here. If it wasn't going to be Walcott, it looked like it would be
:05:21. > :05:22.Podolski and if not Podolski, then Cazorla. But in the end it was none
:05:23. > :05:36.of them. That came off a hand - Monreal. A
:05:37. > :05:42.big shout. The cross hit Monreal on the hand. The hand was raised. It
:05:43. > :05:45.may deflect up on to his arm, I am not sure you can give a penalty for
:05:46. > :06:05.that. Good decision. It has gone all the way through and
:06:06. > :06:09.Cardiff get a free kick. It went through a forest of legs and another
:06:10. > :06:15.chance goes astray. It was a bit of a mantra in the first half of the
:06:16. > :06:22.season, what will Arsenal do if Giroud gets injured? Well here we
:06:23. > :06:29.are. Outside of the post there. Hit it really well, Jack Wilshere. Here
:06:30. > :06:39.is a double Arsenal change, Podolski is coming off and Bendtner replaces
:06:40. > :07:02.him and Rosicky is coming on for Flamini.
:07:03. > :07:10.It needs a good ball - got one and Mertesacker wastes the chance of the
:07:11. > :07:15.game. They don't come much freer than that. They don't come much more
:07:16. > :07:19.central than that. And David Marshall has still bearly had a save
:07:20. > :07:35.to -- barely had a save to make. Declan John puts it behind for
:07:36. > :07:42.another Arsenal corner. Mertesacker, oh, he has missed another one! Well,
:07:43. > :07:47.two in the space of a couple of minutes. Inviting for Mertesacker
:07:48. > :08:05.and missed by Mertesacker. Glancing the outside of the post.
:08:06. > :08:14.A great header from Sagna, a brilliant save and it is in at last
:08:15. > :08:22.and it is bepter in with a -- Bendtner with a huge goal for
:08:23. > :08:27.Arsenal. Two minutes to play. And Bendtner, often maligned, turns
:08:28. > :08:33.match winner. Injured in the process. But Arsenal have won it
:08:34. > :08:39.now. And Bendtner is the man who has scored. A great header at the back
:08:40. > :08:48.post from Sagna. Got in front of his man. It is a good save by Marshall,
:08:49. > :08:55.but Bendtner hammers gleefully home. Three crucial points have surely
:08:56. > :09:06.been secured. And Bendtner goes out having surely won the game.
:09:07. > :09:18.Walcott in on goal - 2-0! That is cruel to Cardiff. So stubborn for so
:09:19. > :09:29.long, Cardiff City. But undone not once but twice at the death. And
:09:30. > :09:34.Walcott clips home to put the icing on Arsenal's cake.
:09:35. > :09:40.In the first half it took us a while to get in our stride. In the second
:09:41. > :09:46.half we did all right, but we couldn't take our chances. And they
:09:47. > :09:51.defended very well. We knew we would be good enough to set up and soak
:09:52. > :09:56.the pressure. Not many teams can do that. But we had the belief and we
:09:57. > :10:00.nearly pulled ate off. Lucky, we got a break, we have a big game on
:10:01. > :10:05.Saturday against Tottenham. But we have got a rest in the league and we
:10:06. > :10:11.can sit back and evaluate the season so far, how far we have come and
:10:12. > :10:16.then go again. Given Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was watching, do you feel
:10:17. > :10:22.this was your last match? If I was a gambling man I would probably say
:10:23. > :10:26.yes. That was fair enough. It is the old cliche, if you're going to win
:10:27. > :10:30.things, sometimes you have to win badly and Arsenal got the points.
:10:31. > :10:36.Yes and they picked up a lot of points by not playing at their best.
:10:37. > :10:41.Today was another day. They had to be patient. But this year they have
:10:42. > :10:44.got a tenacity and belief in the team to keep going and their
:10:45. > :10:53.defensive record is the best in the league. They only need to score one
:10:54. > :10:58.to win. People said with no Giroud they would struggle, but the goals
:10:59. > :11:06.came from two forwards. Yes and Bendtner came in and had a huge
:11:07. > :11:12.impact. He hammers the ball home and gets injured. Giroud, I don't think,
:11:13. > :11:17.is too far from coming back. Podolski has been out for a while.
:11:18. > :11:22.Wenger said he lacked sharpness. But this is an area they will need to
:11:23. > :11:27.look at in January. They may need another player. Do you think Arsenal
:11:28. > :11:30.can't win it? No, I think they can. Because they have not been at their
:11:31. > :11:37.best and to go to Newcastle and grind out a 1-0 win was great and
:11:38. > :11:42.the return of Walcott is a massive plus. And it is also another option
:11:43. > :11:47.to play him up front. It only took him two or three minutes to score
:11:48. > :11:54.and I think they are title contenders. Your former club, one of
:11:55. > :12:00.them, Cardiff, they have it looks like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Is he the
:12:01. > :12:05.right appointment for Cardiff and it is the right job for Ole Gunnar
:12:06. > :12:11.Solskjaer? Well I will be surprised if he is not the manager. His record
:12:12. > :12:17.in Norway has been great. Two leagues one cup and why not?
:12:18. > :12:22.Everyone will behind him. Vincent tan will give him money to buy more
:12:23. > :12:26.players. We all have seen what happened with Malky Mackay and he
:12:27. > :12:32.will want to prove to people he can stand by his managers and he will
:12:33. > :12:36.every wacking -- backing from the chairman. Seven wins from eight have
:12:37. > :12:41.moved Manchester City into second. Today they travelled to take on
:12:42. > :12:49.Swansea who have picked I p just points -- picked up just two points
:12:50. > :12:58.from the last few games. Manchester City are great at home, but have net
:12:59. > :13:06.to win successive away games. It is a cold, grey and wet new year's day
:13:07. > :13:17.lunchtime. Rangel and Routledge come in for Swansea.
:13:18. > :13:31.Five changes for the visitors. Silva is suspended.
:13:32. > :13:43.Bony, a little bit of room to attack, Kompany. Bony with a shot.
:13:44. > :13:50.Looking for his 11th goal of the season.
:13:51. > :14:01.Negredo making a run through the middle. Zabaleta on the overlap.
:14:02. > :14:04.Manchester City corner. Nasri across to take. Swansea have brought
:14:05. > :14:09.everybody back into their own penalty area to try and keep out
:14:10. > :14:18.this corner kick from Nasri. It might drop nicely here. Power driver
:14:19. > :14:21.in by Danny Fearnehough. With the first Premier League goal of the new
:14:22. > :14:25.year. Everybody back here for Swansea. They are all in a line.
:14:26. > :14:33.Although three of them converge on Fernandinho, you can see him there,
:14:34. > :14:37.he is in so much room. The low shot, Tremmel wasn't going to get there.
:14:38. > :14:51.Manchester City lead at the Liberty. First blood to Pell. -- Pellegrini.
:14:52. > :15:05.Almost fell there for Manchester City and Negredo. Swansea will now
:15:06. > :15:11.come forward. Touch from Bony. Jonathan De Guzman. Hart just got
:15:12. > :15:15.there with a one-handed save. Terrific football from Swansea,
:15:16. > :15:25.straight lieu the middle, Hart denies the Swansea leveller. --
:15:26. > :15:33.through the middle, Hart denies the Swansea leveller. Dzeko's touch
:15:34. > :15:38.clearly taking a deflection there. Manchester City looking for their
:15:39. > :15:45.first Premier League victory here at the Liberty, it was 0-0 when the
:15:46. > :15:53.sides met in May. Swansea won here the previous season.
:15:54. > :16:04.Swansea ending this first half strongly. Shelvey, Bony! The two
:16:05. > :16:13.best chances for Swansea this half have both fallen to Bony. The look
:16:14. > :16:18.on Joe Hart's face tells you all you need to know about the relief that
:16:19. > :16:31.that shot went wide. Swansea so close to an equaliser.
:16:32. > :16:44.In towards Bony! 1-1. He came so close a few moments ago. But now,
:16:45. > :16:48.Wilfred Bony has brought Swansea City back on level terms in
:16:49. > :16:56.stoppage-time at the end of the first period. Is Bony offside, let's
:16:57. > :17:01.have a look? May very well be. It is his 11th goal of the season. Nothing
:17:02. > :17:08.Joe Hart can do about that. Swansea City, have you to say, deservedly on
:17:09. > :17:16.the balance of play are back on terms.
:17:17. > :18:00.Toure, away from Canas. Toure, goal number 12 of the season for Yaya
:18:01. > :18:08.Toure. Manchester City are back in front. When Toure picked it up
:18:09. > :18:12.there, you can see how many Swansea players were in front of him. The
:18:13. > :18:18.shot might have got a touch on the way. Past Tremmel. It's fired in,
:18:19. > :18:25.comes off Williams. Trem can't get to it. There is the touch. It was a
:18:26. > :18:30.decisive touch as well from Ashley Williams. Manchester City restore
:18:31. > :18:41.their lead. Swansea 1, Manchester City 2.
:18:42. > :18:51.Toure is up ahead of him. Dzeko on the other side. Kolarov might not
:18:52. > :18:58.need any of them. He doesn't. It's his third goal of the season.
:18:59. > :19:03.Kolarov, having picked up the ball inside his own half, has put
:19:04. > :19:10.Manchester City 3-1 ahead. Toure making the middle run. Dzeko was to
:19:11. > :19:15.his right. Kolarov decided to go for glory himself. Deflection on the way
:19:16. > :19:25.through as well. The slightest of touches there, off Canas. Harry --
:19:26. > :19:32.Manuel Pellegrini's team look set for three points.
:19:33. > :19:43.BPy, will place it himself. Hart with the save. Lamah let's it go out
:19:44. > :19:51.for a corner. The power of the shot here from Bony. Hart knocked
:19:52. > :19:56.backwards by the force of the shot. Hart has missed it completely. As
:19:57. > :20:03.did Ashley Williams. What a chance for Swansea to pull a goal black.
:20:04. > :20:09.Hart with a clear shout of "keeper" doesn't get it. Ashley Williams, an
:20:10. > :20:16.empty goal there to aim for, and he put it wide.
:20:17. > :20:28.It really is teeming down here at the Liberty. Bony's shot.
:20:29. > :20:32.Brilliantly placed. At this late stage in the match, it is surely no
:20:33. > :20:40.more than a consolation second goal for Swansea. What a strike it was
:20:41. > :20:47.though from Wilfrid Bony who just benefitted there as the ball fell
:20:48. > :20:52.kindly from the challenge. Swansea get a second goal. It's surely too
:20:53. > :20:55.late to affect the result. We started scoring the first goal and I
:20:56. > :21:02.think that the offside goal that they scored, the last of the first
:21:03. > :21:07.half, gave them a lot of (inaudible) for the second-half. It was very
:21:08. > :21:11.close the second-half until Yaya Toure scores his second goal. We had
:21:12. > :21:15.more possession. We were more confident in what we are doing. You
:21:16. > :21:20.must be happy with your own personal goalscoring form? Looking like I'm a
:21:21. > :21:25.striker. It's fantastic. I'm lucky sometimes I'm in the right place.
:21:26. > :21:32.Hard work for a couple of seasons, the team make my game ease, the
:21:33. > :21:37.backers were fantastic. Today all the team deserve it. When you play
:21:38. > :21:41.world-class players even if you feel in the moment you are on top of the
:21:42. > :21:45.game you always know in just a second or in a few minutes they can
:21:46. > :21:50.just turn the game around. That was what happened today. I think in part
:21:51. > :21:56.because, as I said, in a couple of the goals we could and should have
:21:57. > :21:59.done better. Eight wins out of nine for Manchester City, plus they are
:22:00. > :22:05.starting to sort their form out away from home. You looked at Toure, 10
:22:06. > :22:08.Premier League goals, an extraordinary record for a
:22:09. > :22:13.midfielder. You are not convinced about his total input towards the
:22:14. > :22:17.side? No. I think at times, especially away from home he can be
:22:18. > :22:24.a liability. He likes to go forward. Here is Fernandinho. Time and time
:22:25. > :22:29.again in the first half, this is... This is Shelvey running off Bony, De
:22:30. > :22:36.Guzman, Shelvey going, running off the back of him. A few chances from
:22:37. > :22:43.20 yards out. He get in behind them. This is what the defend don't want,
:22:44. > :22:47.players running at them. Good chance for De Guzman, good save by Hart.
:22:48. > :22:55.The less defensive responsibilities he has, the better he is. We can see
:22:56. > :23:00.what he is capable of. He read the game well, broke things down, passed
:23:01. > :23:08.it easy. He had a lot of stick since he came to the club, Garcia, this is
:23:09. > :23:13.a miss-hit. City looked in control after Garcia came on. Just thinking
:23:14. > :23:16.in weeks to come they place Barcelona, I'm not sure if he can
:23:17. > :23:22.play with Fernandinho and Yaya Toure. You get taken apart in the
:23:23. > :23:27.middle of the park. He doesn't want to defend. First time I heard you
:23:28. > :23:32.say that Torres is a liability. What a liability he is. Good play kers
:23:33. > :23:38.adapt to who they play against. Maybe a little bit disrespectful to
:23:39. > :23:41.Swansea. Swansea are not one of the top sides, against Barcelona and the
:23:42. > :23:46.Champions League it will be different. The centre midfielders
:23:47. > :23:50.will be more disciplined. They lost four games away from home. They made
:23:51. > :23:54.individual times, at times they give him too much space and give the
:23:55. > :23:59.opposing team too much time on the ball. Don't protect the back four
:24:00. > :24:07.enough. Game for Swansea though, Bony no doubt the bonus there. 2013
:24:08. > :24:10.ended without a Chelsea striker scoring away from home in the league
:24:11. > :24:13.all year. Today, Jose's Mourinho's men travelled to face a Southampton
:24:14. > :24:17.side with just one win in eight. Simon Brotherton was at St Mary's
:24:18. > :24:23.Stadium. Schneiderlin returns after suspension for Southampton. There is
:24:24. > :24:26.a first league start of the season with Ramires and Lambert is left on
:24:27. > :24:32.the bench. Ramires is back after a one match ban, Fernando Torres leads
:24:33. > :24:36.the attack. He is the last Chelsea striker to score away from the home
:24:37. > :24:44.in the League. It came over a year ago now. At Sunderland in December
:24:45. > :24:48.of 2012. Atrocious conditions at St Mary's on the South Coast where it
:24:49. > :24:55.has been raining non--stop throughout the day, it's extremely
:24:56. > :25:02.windy as well. Torres, still going, first chance! In the third minute of
:25:03. > :25:06.the game, Torres quickly on to it, away from two. The deflection
:25:07. > :25:10.carrying it wide of the goal. Chelsea's only defeat in the last
:25:11. > :25:11.eight matches with Southampton came last season here, 10 months ago.
:25:12. > :25:31.They were beaten 2-1. Torres is wide. Torres, still going.
:25:32. > :25:36.Great play by Torres. Rising all the time. Torres is looking likely here.
:25:37. > :25:42.Southampton will try and breach their backline here. Could be a
:25:43. > :25:49.chance. Ashley Cole stepped in there just as Rodriguez was looking to
:25:50. > :25:50.pull the trigger. Played on by Azpilicueta, Ashley Cole stepping
:25:51. > :26:01.in. Green space in front of here. It
:26:02. > :26:07.could be a chance. It's Lallana. Great block by Azpilicueta. He took
:26:08. > :26:15.that in the guts. He stays on the ground. The danger should be cleared
:26:16. > :26:19.by Mata. Teed up by Lallana. Stretching to keep it out
:26:20. > :26:25.Azpilicueta. Mitt Roy Hodgson who will be watching, Adam Lallana,
:26:26. > :26:35.Southampton's captain. Ramires, powerful surging run, great skill.
:26:36. > :26:37.Over the top by Davis. Lovely close control. Bringing the save from the
:26:38. > :26:49.Southampton goalkeeper. Chambers for Southampton. Trying to
:26:50. > :26:57.get away from the clutches of Schurrle, which he does. A dangerous
:26:58. > :27:06.one. Cahill scoops it away behind for a corner. Lovren shoots. It was
:27:07. > :27:15.blocked by Azpilicueta. Cech coming out to smother and make the block.
:27:16. > :27:22.Lovren with the initial effort, then Fonte. Cech made the save. Double
:27:23. > :27:29.substitution for Chelsea. Mata coming off, and Schurrle Schurrle,
:27:30. > :27:34.the other player. -- Schurrle, the other player. Mata, not happy with
:27:35. > :27:44.that decision to take him off at all. Still mumbling and grumbling
:27:45. > :27:50.about the substitution. Lovely ball in. Great chance. Oscar, down he
:27:51. > :27:57.goes. Oscar is being booked for simulation. Chelsea thought they
:27:58. > :28:03.might have had a penalty kick. Martin Atkinson was quick to blow
:28:04. > :28:06.there. The decision goes against Chelsea for diving in the penalty
:28:07. > :28:10.area. Oscar looked as if he was caught by the goalkeeper there. He
:28:11. > :28:14.knew the challenge was coming in. The referee with a clear view there,
:28:15. > :28:22.adjudging that Oscar was going down before the contact. Willian. Oscar
:28:23. > :28:32.to his left. Ramires. Torres, in the centre. Oh, it's hit the post.
:28:33. > :28:39.Torres is there. Chelsea ahead. Instant reflexes of Fernando Torres.
:28:40. > :28:46.A Chelsea striker scores away from home in the league for the first
:28:47. > :28:51.time in 13 months. The ball ricochetting off the foot of the
:28:52. > :28:55.post. Fernando Torres, with his third league goal of the season,
:28:56. > :28:59.first to react. Chelsea make the breakthrough. A little deflection
:29:00. > :29:01.there changing the flight of the ball initially. Joy for Chelsea as
:29:02. > :29:14.they have the lead after an hour. Lambert was in there. Ricky Lambert,
:29:15. > :29:36.not long on the field. Willian goes for goal and finds it -
:29:37. > :29:43.what a strike. 2-0 Chelsea, a tremendous finish from Willian. Good
:29:44. > :29:53.play by Oscar. Willian, the side-step and then the sharp finish,
:29:54. > :29:59.beyond the dive of Davis and Willian has his second goal for the club and
:30:00. > :30:01.Chelsea's second of the afternoon. Chelsea starting to look ominously
:30:02. > :30:18.good as the season wears on. It is 3-0 and there will be no
:30:19. > :30:21.coming back from this. Oscar, who created the second goal, has now
:30:22. > :30:25.scored the third and Southampton are heading for their sixth defeat in
:30:26. > :30:32.the last nine in the league. For Chelsea, it is onwards and upwards.
:30:33. > :30:40.Oscar is onside as the ball is played forward. A cool finish. He
:30:41. > :30:46.has got a good drenching, Jose Mourinho, but he won't mind that
:30:47. > :30:52.now. We managed to defend well in some difficult situations that we
:30:53. > :30:58.had in the box, I saw my people fighting and sliding and giving body
:30:59. > :31:01.to the bullets and to the ball and defending with everything we had.
:31:02. > :31:05.When we had the ball we were always dangerous. Since the first minute.
:31:06. > :31:12.December and Janice the time of the season where you can be close to the
:31:13. > :31:18.top, or you can go too far away. So we know that we didn't perform in
:31:19. > :31:25.those months and we were out of the way for the league. But this season
:31:26. > :31:29.it has been different. Any complaints? TRANSLATION: In the
:31:30. > :31:34.first half we were doing well until we conceded the goal. It was unlucky
:31:35. > :31:40.the manner which we conceded that and then Chelsea were superior and
:31:41. > :31:45.we had to risk more to get in the game. Today, we were unlucky,
:31:46. > :31:51.because we created good chances, but nothing materialised. The game is a
:31:52. > :31:56.clear penalty, because I'm 50 metres away. But watching on TV, I
:31:57. > :32:05.understand clearly for me it is a good decision by the ref. He should
:32:06. > :32:10.have just carried on and knocked it in the net. We leavest will leave
:32:11. > :32:16.that, because -- we will leave that one, because Jose Mourinho agrees.
:32:17. > :32:33.No striker had scored away last season for Chelsea. Torres had signs
:32:34. > :32:39.of life. Yes We see him early on anticipating the ball. He toe-pokes
:32:40. > :32:46.it across the face of goal. As soon as the ball is won, he is on his
:32:47. > :32:54.bike, gets away from love Rennes and -- love Rennes and he goes past the
:32:55. > :33:00.defenders and here he has taken a shot, probably too early. But his
:33:01. > :33:07.all round game has been superb and when you're confident, you're in the
:33:08. > :33:12.right position at the right time. That is a good reaction. There is a
:33:13. > :33:17.real strength in-depth about Chelsea. The subs made a difference.
:33:18. > :33:23.Yes, all season we have been talking of Mata not playing, or being in the
:33:24. > :33:29.bad books. But he has had a chance today and the two lads who sl come
:33:30. > :33:34.on -- have come on, Oscar and Willian have changed the game. It
:33:35. > :33:39.shows you Chelsea's depth. They came on and looked good. This goal was
:33:40. > :33:43.brilliant, a little touch and a move to the right and a right foot into
:33:44. > :33:48.the corner. When they came on, it was a totally different game.
:33:49. > :33:54.Chelsea sometimes, everything is going forward, they are great going
:33:55. > :34:03.forward, but I think the defenders deserve credit, the tackles and the
:34:04. > :34:07.blocks were magnificent. Sixth against seventh is not what
:34:08. > :34:16.Manchester United and Spurs would have expected, but four straight
:34:17. > :34:24.league wins for the champions and an improvement since Tim Sherwood was
:34:25. > :34:33.appointed. Both come into the new year in good shape. In good form too
:34:34. > :34:43.is Wayne Rooney, he hasn't trained since the last game.
:34:44. > :34:53.Kyle Walker returns after a one-match ban.
:34:54. > :35:00.There is an omen in this fixture for Manchester United, the last time
:35:01. > :35:05.they won six in a row, the run was ended right there by Spurs on their
:35:06. > :35:13.last visit here in September of 2012.
:35:14. > :35:20.Lloris just managed to keep that out. Only just. Got his hands to it.
:35:21. > :35:25.Got his backside to it and it has gone behind. I was going to say it
:35:26. > :35:30.is lively, but there is only one team lively at the bhoement and that
:35:31. > :35:38.-- moment and that is David Moyes' team in red.
:35:39. > :35:49.A good save from De Gea. The pass of the match that and a very good stop.
:35:50. > :35:54.This was a very good Spurs move. Lennon will feel he should have done
:35:55. > :36:11.better. Welcome to the game, Tottenham!
:36:12. > :36:21.Adebayor's header and 1-0 Spurs! Emmanuel Adebayor makes it four
:36:22. > :36:28.goals in his last five games. A simple shift to the left boot from
:36:29. > :36:32.Eriksen and Emmanuel Adebayor was in front of Smalling. He just had to
:36:33. > :36:37.get the jump timed right. Superb accuracy with the header and Spurs
:36:38. > :36:41.take on the balance of play what is a shock lead at Old Trafford. The
:36:42. > :36:45.former Manchester City man, who has scored twice before here when an
:36:46. > :37:02.Arsenal player. Soldado misses. Just a little more
:37:03. > :37:09.contact and it could have been 2-0 Tottenham. It is a difficult one,
:37:10. > :37:16.but it comes off the knee in the end.
:37:17. > :37:27.Rose went down as though clattered by Welbeck. Manchester United press
:37:28. > :37:37.on with Valencia. Welbeck, tripped was he? A strong shout. Howard Webb
:37:38. > :37:46.waves away the claim and Lennon puts the ball out. That was not
:37:47. > :37:49.conclusive. There is a touch. But it would only take a little touch to
:37:50. > :38:16.send him off balance and sprawling. It is 2-0 to Spurs! Eriksen stoops
:38:17. > :38:21.to head in his second Premier League goal. He netted against West Brom on
:38:22. > :38:25.Boxing Day, this one seems to be a much bigger goal. You knew there was
:38:26. > :38:29.trouble for Manchester United as soon as it was a three on three race
:38:30. > :38:40.from half way. But Lennon scrambled the ball into the box and no one
:38:41. > :38:42.there was as alive as Eriksen was. Spurs could be really in business
:38:43. > :39:01.here. Manchester 0, Tottenham 2. Welbeck is in and just the one goal
:39:02. > :39:06.in it again immediately. Just what Spurs didn't want. Only one goal
:39:07. > :39:22.separating the teams once more. Well-timed from Welbeck, in between
:39:23. > :39:47.Dawson and the sleeping g defender. The noise is cranked up.
:39:48. > :39:52.Manchester United will not just be knocking on the door now, they will
:39:53. > :40:10.be hammering at it. He had options there. He could have
:40:11. > :40:18.seen Walker or Kay. Unbeaten in the Premier League as a boss. OK, it is
:40:19. > :40:25.only game four. Young thinks he has been taken out. Howard Webb is
:40:26. > :40:29.giving nothing. Rooney is chasing him. Every shout gets more
:40:30. > :40:42.desperate, more stronger and much more intense.
:40:43. > :40:53.He is taken out surely? No! No free kick and there is going to be a
:40:54. > :41:01.yellow card for Januzaj who, does collect them, that is his fifth of
:41:02. > :41:06.the season. The keeper is committed and you can see why Manchester
:41:07. > :41:08.United were screaming for it. After that, Januzaj down, but you can
:41:09. > :41:30.hardly blame him for going down. Rooney! Lloris with the stretch and
:41:31. > :41:39.the save. Is that the left glove that has just made sure of a Spurs'
:41:40. > :41:48.win. Lloris is down again to save. It is a red siege taking place.
:41:49. > :42:02.Off the post! Lennon in the right place. It is Spurs' new year's day
:42:03. > :42:06.in Manchester. It was a stone wall penalty kick and a sending off for
:42:07. > :42:10.the keeper. That happens anywhere else in the pitch. I find it
:42:11. > :42:14.unbelievable that the referee doesn't give a penalty and a sending
:42:15. > :42:19.off. Was it just one, you had a few shouts. Yes, but the one where the
:42:20. > :42:26.keeper come out is the strongest. There is one on Welbeck and then he
:42:27. > :42:30.books him for diving. I found it incredible. But the decision not to
:42:31. > :42:34.give the penalty, I mean the people who employ the referees are going to
:42:35. > :42:38.have to look at that and see they get that right. The boys have done
:42:39. > :42:44.well to grind it out. I thought we could have played better in
:42:45. > :42:49.possession and been sharper. But in the end, I always maintained there
:42:50. > :42:54.is different ways to win a match and you have to show heart and dig in at
:42:55. > :42:59.places like this and the boys were fantastic. He seems to have made a
:43:00. > :43:05.difference with the way Tottenham are playing. Ten points out of a
:43:06. > :43:11.possible 12. He has got a bit of belief back there. He seems to have
:43:12. > :43:16.done it by bringing back some who were out in the cold. Emmanuel
:43:17. > :46:42.Adebayor Beginning of last year Hull were
:46:43. > :46:51.beginning away at Blackpool. Liverpool free-kick.
:46:52. > :47:00.Coutinho to deliver the free-kick. In towards Suarez. Offside flag is
:47:01. > :47:06.up though. He's not back on the goalscoring trail just yet. It's a
:47:07. > :47:14.tight one, but a correct one. Thumping header, six yards out.
:47:15. > :47:30.Suarez, love turn. First yellow card of the day goes to the manager's
:47:31. > :47:36.son. He has to be careful for the remaining 69 minutes. Coutinho again
:47:37. > :47:46.to deliver. This time he went for goal. Comfortable more McGregor. The
:47:47. > :47:50.Hull City owner watching on. Forward from Agger. Fantastic header from
:47:51. > :47:56.Suarez. Sterling is in here for Liverpool. Raheem Sterling, denied
:47:57. > :48:08.by McGregor. Clearest chance of the game so far. Sterling was denied my
:48:09. > :48:20.the Hull goalkeeper. Liverpool play on. Meyler with a strong challenge
:48:21. > :48:24.on Suarez. A Liverpool corner. Suarez certainly felt that
:48:25. > :48:33.challenge. It was the follow-through that caught the Uruguayan. Congested
:48:34. > :48:41.penalty area. Towards Agger. Touched in. Daniel Agger to break the
:48:42. > :48:45.deadlock, nine minutes before half-time, with his first Premier
:48:46. > :48:48.League goal since April. He had a good run at this. Good powerful
:48:49. > :49:06.header. Liverpool are 1-0 up through their
:49:07. > :49:10.captain of the day, Daniel Agger. Suarez goes down under the challenge
:49:11. > :49:20.of Bruce. Again, the referee says play on. Henderson! He doesn't need
:49:21. > :49:27.anyone to tell him that that should have been 2-0 Liverpool. Bruce is a
:49:28. > :49:30.relieved man for that challenge on Suarez. The referee allowed
:49:31. > :49:34.Liverpool to continue with the advantage. Henderson had all the
:49:35. > :49:39.time to steady himself and double Liverpool's lead. His target was
:49:40. > :49:43.always the top four this season. No team that has been top of the league
:49:44. > :49:51.at Christmas have finished out of the top four for 15 years. Coutinho,
:49:52. > :49:57.what a wonderful touch from the Brazilian. Coutinho! Another big
:49:58. > :50:00.chance that goes begging for Liverpool. Great vision from
:50:01. > :50:17.Henderson. Fabulous technique from Coutinho. Sterling. Suarez, caught
:50:18. > :50:24.by Chester. Liverpool free-kick. Two games without a goal. In the current
:50:25. > :50:29.climate for Luis Suarez it's a long time. And he's broken it. What a
:50:30. > :50:34.quality strike from Luis Suarez. Less than five minutes into the
:50:35. > :50:41.second-half, he drills home his 20th goal of this season. Absolutely top
:50:42. > :50:47.drawer. Inch-perfect. Had a long, hard look at it. What about that for
:50:48. > :50:53.execution? No chance what so ever for Allan McGregor. Perfect start to
:50:54. > :51:06.the second-half for Liverpool. Liverpool 2, Hull 0. One Number 7
:51:07. > :51:11.being watched by another pretty good one as well. He would have been
:51:12. > :51:23.happy with that strike. It's still Coutinho. We will see a fabulous
:51:24. > :51:28.solo goal here. Denied by McGregor with The last kick of the game. What
:51:29. > :51:35.a run from the Brazilian. The only disappointment for him was that he
:51:36. > :51:39.couldn't finish it off. Today at an Anfield we made it a really good
:51:40. > :51:45.place that we weren't at our most fluent today, but our determination
:51:46. > :51:50.and resilience and our defending and some of our aggression and our
:51:51. > :51:54.attacking play was outstanding. I'm pleased. A difficult afternoon for
:51:55. > :51:59.us. The disappointing for me for all the possessions and the chances they
:52:00. > :52:06.had Liverpool we failed today with two set-pieces. The second one is a
:52:07. > :52:10.wonder goal from, I will agree, the best player on the planet at the
:52:11. > :52:14.moment. Everybody talks about Suarez, you hear people say
:52:15. > :52:19.Liverpool is a one man team. When he was out of the team for a large
:52:20. > :52:24.part, 10 games, we only lost one game. Obviously, when he has been
:52:25. > :52:29.out or Daniel Sturridge has been out we have always coped. Today was a
:52:30. > :52:35.great team performance. What we are building here is based around that.
:52:36. > :52:40.There it is. Luis Suarez, 20 goals this season. Two consecutive
:52:41. > :52:46.seasons. Last person to do that was a certain Robbie Fowler. Good player
:52:47. > :52:50.him. Way back in the 70s, something like that. Interesting that graphic.
:52:51. > :52:54.Sturridge was die Nattic as well. Not too many people have been
:52:55. > :52:59.scoring goals for Liverpool. Obviously, this one. It's a great
:53:00. > :53:08.layoff by Suarez. Sterling should do a lot better. This one, you circle
:53:09. > :53:12.Henderson. Like Lennon he runs off the other midfielder, great run. He
:53:13. > :53:17.has done that before. Great layoff. He should do better. He should
:53:18. > :53:22.finish. This chance again. Great touch. Plenty of the goal to aim for
:53:23. > :53:29.you. This one, arguably, I mean was the moment of the game. Bounces past
:53:30. > :53:33.three players. Look he gets that position. We see that time and time
:53:34. > :53:38.where players get into that position. That would have been... I
:53:39. > :53:44.think Liverpool, this fella, he has had three attempts at goal, scored
:53:45. > :53:49.two. I mean admittedly one was offside, rightly so. What a
:53:50. > :53:54.free-kick that was. Liverpool cannot be over-reliant on him. He is really
:53:55. > :53:57.the only one scoring the goals. Liverpool win the league? I don't
:53:58. > :54:00.think from here. They need a couple of points in the two games against
:54:01. > :54:07.City and Chelsea. I don't think they will make five or six points up from
:54:08. > :54:14.here. You said Arsenal was an ugly win. I think that was a ugly win for
:54:15. > :54:21.Liverpool. A season before Liverpool wouldn't have won that game. Plenty
:54:22. > :54:42.still to come, five more games on the way.
:54:43. > :54:47.Before that, just a reminder there's no Match of the Day this weekend,
:54:48. > :54:49.but Football Focus and Final Score will have all the latest on the 3rd
:54:50. > :54:51.round of the FA Cup. but Football Focus and Final Score
:54:52. > :54:55.will have all Two sides who started the day in the bottom three next.
:54:56. > :54:58.Fulham faced West Ham with the worst defensive record in the league. The
:54:59. > :55:02.Hammers picked up just two points in December fewer than any other side.
:55:03. > :55:06.John Motson was at Craven Cottage. Dimitar Berbatov returns after
:55:07. > :55:10.missing three games with a groin injury, Rene Meulensteen hopes his
:55:11. > :55:14.craft and the flair of Taarabt and the experience of Scott Parker will
:55:15. > :55:22.wipe away the memory of that 6-0 defeat at Hull. West Ham hope to
:55:23. > :55:30.have Everton's Johnny Heitinga on board soon. They go three at the
:55:31. > :55:34.back. Downing on the bench, ahead of schedule after injury. Fulham have
:55:35. > :55:41.strengthened their management team with the arrival of Alan Curbishley
:55:42. > :55:50.as technical director and a new assistant head coach. On his way
:55:51. > :55:55.back is Clint Dempsey. Richardson, looking for Berbatov. The arms are
:55:56. > :56:05.up on the West Ham defence. This is a better balanced Fulham side by the
:56:06. > :56:10.look of it than the one that was at Hull. West Ham United have taken the
:56:11. > :56:18.lead after six minutes. Fulham looked a bit statuesque there, I
:56:19. > :56:22.must say. The Hammers go in front. Three Fulham players around him.
:56:23. > :56:26.No-one gets a challenge in here. Diame puts West Ham in front.
:56:27. > :56:33.Fulham's difficulties, for the moment, are compounded. Fulham are
:56:34. > :56:39.finding it hard to get forward. They are constantly having to go the
:56:40. > :56:46.other way. Taylor. Diame. Maiga is in a great position. Nolan! Should
:56:47. > :56:54.have been 2-0. Flag stayed down. Kevin Nolan will rue that
:56:55. > :56:58.opportunity. His kind of chance. Fulham outnumbered on the right hand
:56:59. > :57:08.side. He stopped it with his feet. It is a squally day down here in
:57:09. > :57:14.West London. McCartney gets a head to it. Fulham still have it with
:57:15. > :57:27.Scott Parker. Berbatov is waiting for a cross. Still Parker. Corner.
:57:28. > :57:33.The corner will give Fulham some hope and Amorebieta has come
:57:34. > :57:37.forward. Off the line. Have you to credit Maiga, he was the man on the
:57:38. > :57:40.post, Amorebieta had the header. It has beaten the goalkeeper. Can
:57:41. > :57:57.Fulham make this spell pay? A corner. All sorts of pushing
:57:58. > :58:04.inside that penalty area. I wonder what Mark Clattenburg makes of that.
:58:05. > :58:07.Senderos comes up, it's the equaliser, it Steve Sidwell.
:58:08. > :58:15.Senderos took away the first defender. Sidwell got up, above his
:58:16. > :58:17.man, Fulham have drawn level. It's Fulham 1, West Ham United 1, at
:58:18. > :58:28.Craven Cottage. Suddenly, Kieran Richardson is
:58:29. > :58:34.through on the far side. The ball hasn't gone out. Duff back in to
:58:35. > :58:39.Berbatov. This is Taarabt. Oh, he hit the post! Taarabt has hit the
:58:40. > :58:44.post within seconds of Fulham scoring. Could so easily have been
:58:45. > :58:46.2-1. Taarabt has hit the post. Goodness me. West Ham have suddenly
:58:47. > :59:00.fallen apart. Oh, now then, something's happened
:59:01. > :59:09.off the bashlgs involving Kevin Nolan. Oh, it's a red card. Kevin
:59:10. > :59:13.Nolan at the worst possible time for his club gets a red card. Sam
:59:14. > :59:20.Allardyce must wonder what happens next. He certainly pushes his man
:59:21. > :59:22.over, a little kick I think. But it was bad enough for Mark Clattenburg
:59:23. > :59:43.to show the red card. Riise, but saved by Jaaskelainen.
:59:44. > :59:47.Good football from Richardson. He went past O'Brien all too easily
:59:48. > :59:59.then. Taarabt - oh, how did it miss? How
:00:00. > :00:04.did it miss? West Ham were guilty of leaving him too much space in the
:00:05. > :00:08.first place. The post and the keeper got to it and then he shot right
:00:09. > :00:22.across the goal. Oh, a penalty is it? No, has he
:00:23. > :00:26.given it just outside? Rat is the defender involved. Chatburg has
:00:27. > :00:32.decide -- Mark Clattenburg has decided the challenge was outside
:00:33. > :00:43.the area. Oh, I would say that was a penalty, however narrow margins.
:00:44. > :00:56.Berbatov! The flag stays down and Fulham are in front and Berbatov on
:00:57. > :01:00.his return. Scott Parker get credit too. Parker helped it on to the far
:01:01. > :01:08.side and Berbatov tucked it away. Well, West Ham's defenders were
:01:09. > :01:15.nowhere. It is Fulham 2, West Ham 1, and they deserve it. We need to be
:01:16. > :01:20.aware we need to win our home games. It was one we needed to win. Our
:01:21. > :01:25.captain has been irresponsible and it is a great cost not just for this
:01:26. > :01:30.game, but to get himself suspended again for something where you
:01:31. > :01:37.wouldn't expect somebody as experienced as he is and he has l
:01:38. > :01:42.everyone down. That is two in a month, I don't know what is going on
:01:43. > :01:47.with Kevin at the moment. But he is clearly not, it is clearly not
:01:48. > :01:52.something he can allow to happen to himself and I won't allow to happen.
:01:53. > :01:56.When you're down at the bottom, playing another team down there, it
:01:57. > :02:01.is a massive thing. It was a big three points. A hard-fought game. We
:02:02. > :02:08.showed a lot of character. Came from a goal down and it was very
:02:09. > :02:15.pleasing. A terrific win for Fulham. But that key moment, a moment of
:02:16. > :02:21.madness. Sam was exasperated with Nolan. What was he thinking. I don't
:02:22. > :02:26.know. But Sam has every right to be mad. It is stupid. At a time when
:02:27. > :02:31.West Ham probably need him, they need a captain and an experienced
:02:32. > :02:37.player and now he will be missing for four games, and it comes after
:02:38. > :02:45.this one. This was a horrendous tackle that deserved red. He should
:02:46. > :02:49.have learned from that. It is a terrible tackle. It doesn't help Sam
:02:50. > :02:54.Allardyce, it puts him under pressure as well. As for Fulham, the
:02:55. > :02:59.manager seems to be bringing out the best in Berbatov. That is always
:03:00. > :03:02.important. Yes, there was uncertainty whether he was going to
:03:03. > :03:06.be here in the second half of the season. But Berbatov can make the
:03:07. > :03:11.difference and he gets a bit of luck here. Parker is trying to finish and
:03:12. > :03:19.he is at the back post in the right place. To come back after that 6-0
:03:20. > :03:23.drubbing is a massive result. They have given themselves a chance. I
:03:24. > :03:27.think they will be there or thereabouts in May, I am not sure
:03:28. > :03:34.away from home they have enough to get results. But if the home form
:03:35. > :03:40.holds up. Well that pulls them out of bottom three. Two matches
:03:41. > :03:49.featuring clubs from the north-east and west Midlands, is a ston Villa
:03:50. > :04:02.play Sunderland and first West Brom versus Newcastle. West Brom glad to
:04:03. > :04:08.see the back of 2013. Club and FA investigations of anegotiation Ca
:04:09. > :04:15.are under way. -- Anelka are under wa Muchlt make one change with -
:04:16. > :04:33.Newcastle make one change with Ameobi coming in for Anita.
:04:34. > :04:39.Sessegnon couldn't find a touch to finish. Anelka had a hand and a
:04:40. > :05:03.crucial touch here. Sissoko. Gouffran is arriving and Foster is
:05:04. > :05:11.brave and has to be. Jones was the meat in the sandwich. Foster comes.
:05:12. > :05:17.Who needs enemies with friends like that? Whack! You can see the cut
:05:18. > :05:26.above the eye for Billy Jones. It is almost a boxing injury.
:05:27. > :05:37.Cabaye!. He should have done better. It is Newcastle's best chance by a
:05:38. > :05:50.long way. Their last home win was over two months ago over Crystal
:05:51. > :05:56.Palace. In goes Anelka! The headlines again were there for him
:05:57. > :06:05.to take. The man of the moment. But he fires over the top. Three draws
:06:06. > :06:14.in three in charge so far for the care taker, Keith Downing.
:06:15. > :06:24.Remy with a great effort. Four way from home in the league so far this
:06:25. > :06:35.campaign. He is in devilish form and that was not too far over the top.
:06:36. > :06:51.Debuchy goes in two feet here off the deck. What colour the card?
:06:52. > :07:00.Debuchy, red card.S j You kpt do that. You can't do that. Debuchy
:07:01. > :07:02.with an awful tackle. Only one outcome and that is the one it has
:07:03. > :07:19.got. Cabaye hurt from the tackle by
:07:20. > :07:30.Amalfitano. He does catch the ankle of Cabaye.
:07:31. > :07:42.Berahino and across goal and oh, Liam Ridgewell can't find the finish
:07:43. > :07:45.and maybe win the match. An incisive move, but right place, wrong man. A
:07:46. > :08:06.big chance. Not taken. Krul caught him and a penalty given.
:08:07. > :08:14.Vydra brought down by Krul. Is there a card for him? They have played
:08:15. > :08:21.against nine men on Boxing Day against Stoke. But a penalty with
:08:22. > :08:31.five to play. Here is a young man with confidence. Berahino! From the
:08:32. > :08:38.and Academy, from the spot, Berahino clinical and decisive and a name to
:08:39. > :08:46.take a note of and underline many times. He is the real deal. This
:08:47. > :08:57.celebration is OK. Well the ten men are undone. It will be Albion's
:08:58. > :09:06.first win for Keith Downing. I always believe in myself and I'm so
:09:07. > :09:11.happy and thank God the ball went in. The sending off changed the
:09:12. > :09:18.game. Matthew has made a decision where he has taken off with both
:09:19. > :09:22.feet. You can't do that. They're still interviewing people and as
:09:23. > :09:29.soon as they decide they will tell me. The Sunderland supporters
:09:30. > :09:35.believe that where there is life there is hope. Four changes for
:09:36. > :09:43.Sunderland, including Stephen Fletcher, whose goals, Gus Poyet
:09:44. > :09:52.believes can keep his side safe. Jack Colback is included too. The
:09:53. > :09:57.return of Vlaar is timely for Villa, with Clarke suspended. The sight of
:09:58. > :10:06.Benteke is equally positive, although he has not netted in 12
:10:07. > :10:10.hours of Premier League action. A victory for Sunderland could take
:10:11. > :10:11.them out of the drop zone for the first time since August and within
:10:12. > :10:26.three points of today's visitors. On to the run of Fletcher and well
:10:27. > :10:33.judged to get out of the way. Fletcher angles it just wide and
:10:34. > :10:40.Lowton just gets out of the way, but Sunderland have started well here.
:10:41. > :10:47.Cattermole has let that go beyond him and what an opening and what a
:10:48. > :10:52.gift and Agbonlahor - well he just cannot believe his luck and neither
:10:53. > :10:56.can Villa. Sunderland's reluctance just to hoof it anywhere, well, it's
:10:57. > :11:03.cost them and their skipper is the man who is guilty. Lost the ball and
:11:04. > :11:09.Agbonlahor took his time and what a very, very simple gol for Villa. And
:11:10. > :11:16.what a calamity for Sunderland who had been the better side and the
:11:17. > :11:25.side likeliest to open the scoring. He can probably scarcely believe his
:11:26. > :11:29.side are trailing. An opportunity for Colback. Just seemed to slip
:11:30. > :11:33.away from him and Vlaar was able to get in the way of it. Another good
:11:34. > :11:59.opportunity squandered. The element of surprise almost
:12:00. > :12:04.caught out everyone in the stadium. Mannone included. That is why, a
:12:05. > :12:07.deflection takes it the other way and that makes it an even better
:12:08. > :12:25.save. Turned in by Giaccherini, but it is
:12:26. > :12:33.offside, it won't count. The flag danceles out the potential --
:12:34. > :12:38.cancels out the equaliser. It stays at 1-0. And the luck is not with the
:12:39. > :12:57.Black Cats. Off the line by Bardsley. Then
:12:58. > :13:00.Benteke mishits it and Sunderland escape and they will hack it away.
:13:01. > :13:06.Well the Sunderland skipper may well have saved his side here, because a
:13:07. > :13:11.second goal would have given Villa the points.
:13:12. > :13:21.A good hit and another fabulous save. Mannone hasn't had much to do,
:13:22. > :13:28.but what he has had to do he has done with efficiency and dexterity.
:13:29. > :13:36.Time is almost up for Gus Poyet's team.
:13:37. > :13:44.Giaccherini got under it. It was decent up until the final decision
:13:45. > :13:51.really. Giaccherini skies it and Villa with their gift of a goal are
:13:52. > :13:55.heading for the points it seeps. It is difficult to take, football is
:13:56. > :13:59.unpredictable, when you start well the game and you have half the
:14:00. > :14:04.chances, you need to take them. Because then you don't know what is
:14:05. > :14:13.going to happen and today the mistake was against us. And after
:14:14. > :14:18.that, too many people in a Hurry, too many nerves. It wasn't to be.
:14:19. > :14:23.1-0, you know it was one that edge of maybe they can score, but this is
:14:24. > :14:27.a big win for us. It came after a run that could have damaged
:14:28. > :14:31.confidence? Yes, but we have been out with big players and the lads
:14:32. > :14:39.have got on with it and kept on going. But we are a club where we
:14:40. > :14:43.need our big players. We were not organised enough. Players were
:14:44. > :14:48.making too many individual decisions. Not a team. Not a team
:14:49. > :14:53.and that disappointed me. I was saying, that it is a moment that...
:14:54. > :15:03.I accept responsibilities, but I'm getting a bit fed up. He sounds a
:15:04. > :15:07.bit fed up. We start with the Aston Villa, Gus Poyet not happy with the
:15:08. > :15:14.Giaccherini decision,allowed goal. What was your take? The ball is
:15:15. > :15:20.heading down near Giaccherini. Level, I don't think, if there is a
:15:21. > :15:26.doubt in the linesman's mind he shouldn't put the flag up. There has
:15:27. > :15:32.to be a doubt in his mind whether they are offside. It should have
:15:33. > :15:39.been an equaliser. Direct rival for the relegation. Big win for Villa.
:15:40. > :15:43.West Brom, massive for them. So long since they won a game. Influenced by
:15:44. > :15:48.the red card? Yeah, it was actually. I don't think he has any complaints.
:15:49. > :15:52.I know he has not hurt the player. The intent is certainly there. The
:15:53. > :15:57.only really surprising thing about this is that he is surprised he got
:15:58. > :16:01.sent off. Ridiculous challenge. The referee is two yards away. Sees
:16:02. > :16:05.everything. You see his reaction when the red card. It's like he's
:16:06. > :16:15.really shocked. That is the surprising thing about that for me.
:16:16. > :16:18.Indeed. Our final two games now. Crystal Palace against Norwich is on
:16:19. > :16:22.the way, but before that could a Stoke side that has conceded eight
:16:23. > :16:25.in their last two games avenge the 4-0 defeat they suffered against
:16:26. > :16:27.Everton just four weeks ago. Martin Fisher was at the Brittania Stadium.
:16:28. > :16:33.The Britannia Stadium at its blustery best, Stoke are delighted
:16:34. > :16:38.to be back and relieved to have back Glenn Whelan and Marc Wilson after
:16:39. > :16:43.their red cards at Newcastle on Boxing Day. John Stones makes his
:16:44. > :16:47.debut for every tonne in place of Distin. That is one of five changes
:16:48. > :17:01.as Howard, Barry, Mirallas and Pienaar all return. -- Everton.
:17:02. > :17:11.Mirallas, swapping flanks, on to his right foot. Good effort against the
:17:12. > :17:18.bar. Sorensen was beaten. It was Mirallas, firmly struck by the
:17:19. > :17:24.Belgian. Sorensen couldn't get a finger tip to it. The bar comes to
:17:25. > :17:32.his and Stoke's rescue. Here is Pieters, the Dutch international,
:17:33. > :17:40.finding Crouch. Adam. Nzonzi with the shot. Cameron's cross. It has
:17:41. > :17:45.reached Assaidi. The wrong side of the post, from a Stoke point of
:17:46. > :17:52.view. It struck the head there of the defender. Everton have picked up
:17:53. > :17:56.four wins on their travels this season. I their only defeat to
:17:57. > :18:09.Manchester City way back in October. Baines. Was he caught by N'Zonzi?
:18:10. > :18:15.Yes, according to the referee. Baines forcing the issue here. He
:18:16. > :18:19.caught the left foot of the left back of Everton. It's Mirallas.
:18:20. > :18:25.Against the post this time. He has hit the bar and the post. On both
:18:26. > :18:34.occasions Sorensen was completely beaten. Everton can come again.
:18:35. > :18:39.McCarthy, Coleman. Coleman's cross for Lukaku! Two really good chances
:18:40. > :18:44.for Everton, in injury-time, at the end of this first half. Sorensen a
:18:45. > :18:51.spectator. Lukaku couldn't force home the rebound.
:18:52. > :19:00.Adam has it. Bearing down on the Everton penalty area. Goes down. The
:19:01. > :19:05.referee well placed, didn't see anything amiss. Crouch doesn't get
:19:06. > :19:10.there. It comes out as far as Assaidi. Stoke City take the lead.
:19:11. > :19:15.Four minutes since the second-half, it's another strike from the more
:19:16. > :19:21.rockon on-loan from Liverpool, Assaidi. A goal against the run of
:19:22. > :19:26.play. Everton had by far the better chances in the first half. The
:19:27. > :19:29.header away by Stones fell invitingly for Assaidi. Stoke City
:19:30. > :19:46.take the lead. Coleman. Now it's Barry. This is
:19:47. > :19:59.Baines. The cut back for Mirallas. Fabulous block. So, so important.
:20:00. > :20:07.Pieters it was in the way. Osman, takes charge of proceedings. Baines,
:20:08. > :20:15.Barry. Osman. Shawcross. He has done well to find Naismith. A vital
:20:16. > :20:19.block. There is another one. Up goes Jelavic. Some of the defending by
:20:20. > :20:24.Stoke City in the second-half has been terrific. Naismith's header
:20:25. > :20:28.cleared by Pieters, Pieters in the way again from the half-volley. Four
:20:29. > :20:32.minutes of added time to come. Longer than most people at the
:20:33. > :20:38.Britannia expected. Certainly a lot longer than the majority of them
:20:39. > :20:46.wanted. Ball forward for Osman. Was he caught? He was caught. That is a
:20:47. > :20:53.penalty. A yellow card for Pennant. That is a foolish challenge by
:20:54. > :20:57.Pennant. Osman gets back to his feet. What about this second
:20:58. > :21:02.challenge coming in from Pennant no. Where near the ball again. Clumsy
:21:03. > :21:08.challenge. It's a penalty, all day long. Baines from 12 yards. Scores.
:21:09. > :21:15.Everton have got a point. On the balance of play, you would have to
:21:16. > :21:22.say they deserve it. Baines send ng Butland the wrong way. Everton have
:21:23. > :21:27.extended their unbeat run away from home to six games. For us to show
:21:28. > :21:32.that character and never die attitude, I thought we got the
:21:33. > :21:37.reward at the end even though we feel that probably we should have
:21:38. > :21:45.found a way to score that earlier goal. Four or five weeks ago I think
:21:46. > :21:48.it was we were being beaten 4-0 by Everton. We more than matched them.
:21:49. > :21:53.I was pleased with the performance of the guys. Disappointed we
:21:54. > :21:57.couldn't see the game out. The half way stage in the season, what is
:21:58. > :22:01.your assessment? Everything is up for grabs at the moment. Lot of
:22:02. > :22:05.football to be played. We are thinking, from our point of view, if
:22:06. > :22:08.we can can go on a good run and keep our form high and stay in contention
:22:09. > :22:14.with the other sides hopefully we will be there or there abouts come
:22:15. > :22:18.the end of the season. Sell shurs Park is sold-out and soaking, the
:22:19. > :22:28.referee has given the green light after two pitch inspections. Two
:22:29. > :22:37.changes for Crystal Palace. Chamakh returns and Dikgocoi also returns
:22:38. > :22:40.after injury. Recall for Scotland international Whittaker at
:22:41. > :22:45.full-back. All the Crystal Palace play remembers wearing black
:22:46. > :22:51.armbands to commemorate the passing of the former Crystal Palace owner
:22:52. > :22:57.and Chairman who took Crystal Palace into the top-flight and into the
:22:58. > :23:02.Premier League under Coppell. It was the sort of ball that a centre
:23:03. > :23:12.forward thrives on. Cameron Jerome couldn't find an accurate finish.
:23:13. > :23:19.Whittaker. This time Gary Hooper is there. Hooper has gone around
:23:20. > :23:30.Gabbidon. Johnson, good effort. In! Norwich City lead, a priceless goal
:23:31. > :23:35.for the Canaries. Gabbidon caught in possession, off the post and in from
:23:36. > :23:40.Bradley Johnson. That could be a huge goal in Norwich City's season.
:23:41. > :23:45.That has brought new year cheer after a miserable Christmas for the
:23:46. > :23:51.Canaries. How does that change the dynamics of this game? That goal
:23:52. > :23:56.came against the run of play. How will Crystal Palace now respond? The
:23:57. > :24:03.statistic... There is a mixup there between Hoolahan and Chamakh. Did
:24:04. > :24:08.Chamakh stretch out an arm there? Mike Dean will just book Chamakh and
:24:09. > :24:14.show a yellow card to Hoolahan as well. Hoolahan came in strongly.
:24:15. > :24:17.Chamakh gets up, oh, that should have been a red card by the letter
:24:18. > :24:23.of the law. That is why Hoolahan reacted. That should have been a
:24:24. > :24:29.sending off for Chamakh. He is extremely lucky. Here come Palace,
:24:30. > :24:33.once more. Corner kick. Tony Pulis's side look to hit back before
:24:34. > :24:39.half-time. It was a difficult ball in there. Norwich struggled to clear
:24:40. > :24:46.their lines. Headed down by Jerome, off the line! Cleared away by a
:24:47. > :24:50.combination of Olsson, the Swedish international, and Whittaker. Jerome
:24:51. > :24:55.headed into the ground, through the legs of Ruddy and away and behind by
:24:56. > :25:02.Whittaker. All the action has come in this period before the break.
:25:03. > :25:06.This time a diving header. Penalty. Mike Dean has pointed straight to
:25:07. > :25:11.the penalty spot. Let us look at that again. What happened there?
:25:12. > :25:17.Leroy Fer fer has been shown a yellow card. The Dutch
:25:18. > :25:20.international, he pushed over the Crystal Palace captain. Jason
:25:21. > :25:27.Puncheon, the loan player from Southampton. Left foot. Scores! His
:25:28. > :25:34.first Premier League goal for Crystal Palace. Coolness
:25:35. > :25:40.personified. All square at Selhurst Park once more. Here come Norwich at
:25:41. > :25:46.the start of the second-half. Neat turn by Hoolahan. Redmond is round
:25:47. > :25:50.the back here. Still Redmond. Excellent save by Speroni. Nathan
:25:51. > :25:58.Redmond has made an instant impact at the start of this second period.
:25:59. > :26:03.Good ball in. Whittaker intercepted it. A complete air kick by Michael
:26:04. > :26:09.Turner who might have injured himself there. The ball didn't
:26:10. > :26:16.bounce at all. Completely miss kicked by Michael Turner. Corner
:26:17. > :26:22.comes in. Ruddy. Jerome. Another opportunity goes begging from
:26:23. > :26:26.Cameron Jerome. Once more, the former Stoke City centre forward
:26:27. > :26:34.should have hit the target. Ruddy was flapping at it. It was butter
:26:35. > :26:39.fingers. That's a sending off there for Leroy Fer. It will be his second
:26:40. > :26:46.yellow card. The Dutch international will see no more ever this match.
:26:47. > :26:59.Leroy Fer is sent off for a second yellow card by Mike Dean. It's two
:27:00. > :27:03.feet on the Crystal Palace captain. His miserable afternoon is complete.
:27:04. > :27:06.By the time we got the goal I think it was likely to be us that created
:27:07. > :27:12.something. Of course you want to go in at half-time with that lead still
:27:13. > :27:17.intact. Unfortunately, we didn't. It gives Palace the lift they want. The
:27:18. > :27:21.second-half became a very hectic and frantic half in these conditions.
:27:22. > :27:25.The next couple of weeks will be big weeks for us. We try and add to the
:27:26. > :27:30.squad and bring a little bit more in if we possibly can. The next two,
:27:31. > :27:33.three weeks could determine, you know, hour second-half of the
:27:34. > :27:38.season. Do you feel Chamakh should have been shown a red card? Almost
:27:39. > :27:42.certainly. By the letter of the law he has pushed Hoolahan in the face
:27:43. > :27:46.and, certainly as far as I can remember, that is a sending off
:27:47. > :27:51.offence. Credit to Wesley Hoolahan didn't make a meal of it. He wasn't
:27:52. > :27:56.trying to get the lad sent off. It is a sending off offence. The lad
:27:57. > :28:00.should have gone. Do we concur? Yes. Yes. Let us have another look at it.
:28:01. > :28:09.He has got away with this, hasn't he? Yeah. I don't know what the
:28:10. > :28:14.referee... The letter of the law, if you raise your hands it's a red
:28:15. > :28:19.card. Blatant red card. I don't know how that cannot be given. He books
:28:20. > :28:24.him, he must have seen it. Once he sees it, he must send him off.
:28:25. > :28:27.Indeed. Stoke, only lost once at home under Mark Hughes this season.
:28:28. > :28:32.It remains a difficult place to play. That is helped by asidy who is
:28:33. > :28:38.scoring great goals for fun at the moment? Three and five. He's been
:28:39. > :28:43.very good since... He is obviously on-loan from Liverpool, but since he
:28:44. > :28:48.has been there he has been a handful, he has scored goals am he
:28:49. > :28:53.has been exciting for them. Certainly has. We have run out of
:28:54. > :28:59.time, nonstop this evening. Let us look at the Barclays Premier League
:29:00. > :29:08.table: . Arsenal begin the new year top for the first time since 2008.
:29:09. > :29:10.Manchester City and Chelsea remain close behind. Liverpool reclaim
:29:11. > :29:13.fourth place from Everton, while Tottenham leapfrog Manchester United
:29:14. > :29:16.after victory at Old Trafford. Crystal Palace replace Fulham in the
:29:17. > :29:19.relegation zone, with West Ham and Sunderland completing the bottom
:29:20. > :29:25.three. Wins for West Brom and Aston Villa see them climb towards
:29:26. > :29:29.midtable. The papers. David Moyes complaint that United were the
:29:30. > :29:37.victims of a scandalous defence against Spurs. Sun leads with the
:29:38. > :29:46.same Tory. And the criticism of Kevin Nolan. Arsenal picked up more
:29:47. > :29:51.points than any other side in 2013, if they do that again this year they
:29:52. > :30:00.might just win the title. They've made a decent start. Goodbye.