Week 13 gave us 27 goals, 29 yellows and had two players seeing red.
Brighton & Hove Albion v Leicester City
1-1
Jamie Vardy scored his first goal since September to help his 10-man Leicester earn a draw against Brighton on Saturday. The England striker sent Mat Ryan the wrong way from the penalty spot after Beram Kayal had brought down Kelechi Iheanacho inside the box.
Glenn Murray had given the home team the lead on his 100th Premier League appearance, heading in Anthony Knockaert‘s corner after 15 minutes.
Trailing by a goal, things went from bad to worse for the visitors before the half-hour mark when James Maddison was shown his second yellow, barely a minute after his first, for going down too easily under the challenge of Shane Duffy.
Luckily for Maddison his side improved after Vardy was brought on as a substitute and then came the game-tying goal to secure the point.
The win keeps 10th-placed Leicester three points clear of Brighton, who remain 12th.
Up Next:
Huddersfield v Brighton – Saturday, December 1st (10am)
Leicester v Watford – Saturday, December 1st (10am)
Everton v Cardiff City
1-0
Everton moved into the top six with a hard-fought win over Cardiff at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Gylfi Sigurdsson‘s close-range finish was enough for his side to claim all three points. The Toffees dominated possession throughout, but it was in the second half when they really piled on pressure. The Icelandic had a shot cleared off the line by Sol Bamba shortly before his breakthrough.
The defeat leaves Neil Warnock’s team in the bottom three, with just one point and two goals from their first six away games.
Up Next:
Liverpool v Everton – Sunday, December 2nd (11:15am)
Cardiff v Wolves – Friday, November 30th (3pm)
Fulham v Southampton
3-2
Claudio Ranieri was victorious in his first game in charge of the Cottagers. After the game he labelled Aleksandar Mitrovic “one of the best goalscorers in Europe” after the striker’s double helped Fulham seal the victory.
The home side were seeking only their second league win of the season and it arrived after an eventful encounter between two of the most struggling teams. Mitrovic had gone six Premier League games without scoring but hit home either side of half-time to move him to seven league goals this season.
Ranieri received a warm reception as he made his way to the technical area, but it didn’t last long as Southampton’s Stuart Armstrong poked home to reward the visitors. Fulham shrugged off their early lethargy to turn the game around before half-time with Mitrovic‘s header being followed up by Andre Schurrle‘s far post finish.
The Saints will feel they had opportunities to claim a point after they leveled the playing filed eight minutes after the break with another Armstrong goal. Unfortunately for them Fulham were soon back in front when Mitrovic volleyed one past Alex McCarthy and then maintained their lead despite some late pressure.
Southampton are now nine league games without a win and sit 18th as speculation grows about the future of manager Mark Hughes. Fulham are joint 18th with Southampton and Cardiff, though they sit bottom of the table in 20th due to goal differential.
Up Next:
Chelsea v Fulham – Sunday, December 2nd (7am)
Southampton v Man Utd – Saturday, December 1st (12:30pm)
Manchester United v Crystal Palace
0-0
United manager Jose Mourinho has accused his side of not showing “enough heart” after their goalless draw at Old Trafford against the struggling Crystal Palace. The Red Devils have won just three of their nine games at the Theatre of Dreams this season.
Romelu Lukaku had an attempt ruled out for offside and had another kept out by Wayne Hennessey, who also produced a number of smart saves to deny Jesse Lingard.
Crystal Palace, without a win in their previous seven league games and just one point above the bottom three, created several chances as they tried to get their first league victory at Old Trafford since 1989. Patrick van Aanholt twice went close, Andros Townsend then blazed his attempt wide and a header by Cheikhou Kouyate was disallowed for offside.
The draw sees Palace sit 15th, tied with Newcastle and Burnley on 9pts. Manchester United drop to 8th.
Up Next:
Premier League
Southampton v Man Utd – Saturday, December 1st (12:30pm)
Palace v Burnley – Saturday, December 1st (10am)
Champions League
Man Utd v Young Boys – Tuesday, November 27th (3pm)
Watford v Liverpool
0-3
Mo Salah pathed they way to victory for Liverpool, keeping them within two points of leaders Man City at the top of the Premier League.
Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s free kick and Roberto Firmino‘s tap-in added to the scoreboard for the Reds, but it was far from a comfortable win for Jurgen Klopp’s side, who had captain Jordan Henderson sent off in the second half.
The hosts were aggrieved not to be awarded a penalty when Liverpool defender Andy Robertson appeared to foul Will Hughes in the box while the score was level. It proved to be a pivotal moment for the Hornets, who were then unpicked by the visitors on the counter-attack once they’d fallen behind to Salah‘s effort.
Liverpool are now unbeaten in 13 league games this season and have more points (33) than they have ever had at this point in any other Premier League season. The five goals they have conceded is a defensive club record for this stage of a top-flight campaign, though they did look shaky at the back the whole game.
Watford sit 9th with 6 wins for 13.
Up Next:
Premier League
Leicester v Watford – Saturday, December 1st (10am)
Liverpool v Everton – Sunday, December 2nd (11:15am)
Champions League
PSG v Liverpool – Wednesday, November 28th (8pm)
West Ham United v Manchester City
0-4
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says his side were “quite lucky” and nowhere near their best in their 4-0 hammering of the London side.
City scored on four of their nine shots to record an eighth consecutive victory in all competitions and remain two points above Liverpool at the top of the league.
The game was over by half time, with David Silva, Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane all getting in on the action. Silva slotted home Sterling‘s deflected cross for the opener. Sane then rolled in a low cross for Sterling to tap into the empty net, before adding a third from Sterling‘s volleyed cross, the German’s touch left defender Fabian Balbuena on the ground, allowing the 22-year-old to poke it home.
The Hammers were much better after the break and Michail Antonio hit the post before Marko Arnautovic hobbled off late on. It then went from bad to worse as Sane scored his second and the visitors’ fourth in injury time.
West Ham have now won only once in seven games leaving them 13th on 12pts.
Up Next:
Premier League
Newcastle v West Ham – Saturday, December 1st (10am)
Man City v Bournemouth – Saturday, December 1st (10am)
Champions League
Lyon v City – Tuesday, November 27th (3pm)
Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea
3-1
Spurs outplayed Chelsea to inflict the Blues’ first Premier League defeat of the season.
Mauricio Pochettino’s men produced a fantastic performance to move above their opponents in the table to third, now just five points behind leaders Man City and three behind Liverpool.
Tottenham were the better side for much of the match and deservedly scored two goals in the first 16 minutes through Dele Alli‘s header from Christian Eriksen‘s cross, and Harry Kane firing in from long range.
Son Heung-min had struck straight at goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga when through on goal and had a volley pushed away before scoring his brilliant goal in the second half. The South Korean picked the ball up on the halfway line, outran Jorginho and rushed past David Luis before calmly rolling the ball into the net.
Chelsea managed to pull a goal back with five minutes left, with substitute Olivier Giroud powering in a header, but it was too little, too late.
The defeat sees the Blues drop to fourth.
Up Next:
Premier League
Arsenal v Spurs – Sunday, December 2nd (9:05am)
Chelsea v Fulham – Sunday, December 2nd (7am)
Champions League
Spurs v Inter Milan – Wednesday, November 28th (3pm)
Europa League
Chelsea v PAOK Salonika – Thursday, November 29th (3pm)
AFC Bournemouth v Arsenal
1-2
Although the Gunners extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 17 with their victory at the Vitality Stadium, manager Unai Emery says he still expects more from his team.
Jefferson Lerma‘s own goal and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang‘s eighth goal of the season secured their fourth Premier League away victory of the campaign, equalling their tally for the whole of last season and moving them within one point of the top four.
After beginning the weekend in sixth, Bournemouth drop two places to eighth and have now lost their past three league matches.
Up Next:
Premier League
Man City v Bournemouth – Saturday, December 1st (10am)
Arsenal v Spurs – Sunday, December 2nd (9:05am)
Europa League
Vorskla Poltava v Arsenal – Thursday, November 29th (12:55pm)
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Huddersfield Town
0-2
Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo says his side’s defeat by the Terriers was on of the “worst performances” since he joined the club as head coach in May 2017.
The loss consigned Wolves, who have collected just one point from the last 15 available, to their worst sequence of results under the Portuguese. Meanwhile Aaron Mooy‘s double lifted Huddersfield off the bottom of the Premier League and up to 14th.
Wolves briefly threatened to equalize after the break. However, goal-line technology showed that a Raul Jimenez header had just been cleared in time by Terriers midfielder Philip Billing, with all but an agonizing 1.8cm of the ball crossing the line. They remain in 11th place.
Up Next:
Cardiff v Wolves – Friday November 30th (3pm)
Huddersfield v Brighton – Saturday, December 1st (10am)
Burnley v Newcastle United
1-2
The Magpies recorded their third consecutive Premier League victory as they capitalized on a poor defensive showing by Burnley, moving them up to 13th in the table.
Frederico Fernandez saw his effort select in off Clarets defender Ben Mee for an own goal. Ciaran Clark‘s header from Matt Ritchie‘s cross gave the visitors their second of the day, which ended up being the game winning goal.
Heading in to the game Burnley had lost their past 23 top-flight matches in which they had conceded the first two goals, and, although Sam Vokes responded for the home team, they were unable to force an equalizer.
Had Burnley equalized it would have been harsh on Newcastle, who were the more superior for the majority of the game.
The result leaves Burnley 17th, one point above the relegation zone.
Up Next:
Palace v Burnley – Saturday, December 1st (10am)
Newcastle v West Ham – Saturday, December 1st (10am)
ALL TIMES U.S. EASTERN
Artistry of Sport 
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