EPL roundup: Chelsea lose, Arsenal draw whilst Manchester United and Swansea claim crucial wins

John Terry

Leaders Chelsea lost away to Crystal Palace 1-0 after a John Terry own-goal in the second half, and were lucky it was just a solitary goal. Crystal Palace should have had more, but a lackluster display from Chelsea meant that one was enough, to condemn Chelsea to their second straight away loss and hinder their title charge.

Arsene Wenger and Manuel Pellegrini

Elsewhere, Arsenal’s faint hopes of claiming the League is still hanging by a thread, after they managed a hard fought 1-1 draw with City. David Silva opened the scoring for the visitors, who looked like they were hungry for more. But Arsenal came back in the second half thanks to Flamini and were in the end unlucky not to claim all three points.

Cardiff City

At the bottom, Cardiff came back from 2-0 down to snatch an unlikely equalizer in stoppage time to grab a vital point in their 3-3 draw against West Brom. The Baggies who led 2-0 and even 3-2 in stoppage time, were unable to keep hold of the lead to claim only their third victory in their last 20 games. In the end, it was the Blue Birds and Solskjaer who will be happy with a result that will give them a push in their bid to avoid the drop.

In other bottom half news, Stoke City managed a crucial 1-0 win over Hull to secure their mid table position thanks to a Peter Odemwingie goal, whilst Swansea ran out comfortable 3-0 winners over Norwich to register their first victory in seven League games and move themselves seven points clear of the drop zone.

In the south coast, the return of Pardew to the stadium couldn’t help Newcastle as they were blown 4-0 by Southampton, who continued their push for a European place. The Saints were in total control from the very first minute and in the end ran out comfortable winners over a hapless Newcastle side.

In the early kick off, Manchester United’s 4-1 win over Aston Villa gave them some much needed impetus as they go into their crucial Champions League clash with Bayern Munich on Tuesday. A brace from Wayne Rooney and a goal a piece for Mata and Hernandez sealed a come from behind victory for the Red Devils.

Results:

Manchester United 4-1 Aston Villa;

Southampton 4-0 Newcastle United;

Stoke 1-0 Hull;

Swansea 3-0 Norwich;

West Brom 3-3 Cardiff;

Crystal Palace 1-0 Chelsea;

Arsenal 1-1 Manchester City