Manchester United happy in Christmas, Liverpool will stop if someone does not stop Brendan Rodgers, An easy victory for Manchester City.
Manchester United 3 Sunderland 1:Stunning goals and easy won
Robin Van Persie is having the same talismanic effect on Manchester United that Lionel Messi has on Barcelona.
O’Neill says Van Persie’s partnership with Rooney gives United a ‘get-out-of-jail’ card to salvage a win from even the most difficult positions – not that they were ever in any trouble against Sunderland until easing off at 3-0 up.
Van Persie’s presence means Rooney is now playing a deeper role that allows him to display the full range of his talents and give opponents even more problems. O’Neill added: “When you have players like Van Persie and Rooney it gives the team great confidence.
“They might make a mistake or two, as they did defensively against Reading, but when you have that calibre of player in your side you always have a chance of winning matches.
“Van Persie can get goals out of very little. It looks like nothing is happening, you have players there in the area, but all of a sudden, he has opened up a gap.
“Just look at the third goal. We would say we didn’t defend brilliantly, but he would say it was great play.
“Those players are worth their weight in gold and no matter how many times you think you have covered the space, those players can do something with the ball.
“That’s what makes them what they are – the fact they can score goals from positions and situations when you think nothing can happen.”
Worryingly for the rest of the Premier League – and title rivals City in particular – Sir Alex Ferguson believes that United are not yet getting the best out of Van Persie.
He said: “We don’t pick out his runs as well as we can. His movement is great and he keeps opponents on the back foot.”
Despite the strikes from Van Persie and Rooney – their combined tally is now 23 – plus an excellent finish by Tom Cleverley, Ferguson was frustrated that United failed to turn their dominance into a much bigger win.
That frustration was compounded when they allowed Sunderland back into the game in the last half-hour with Fraizer Campbell scoring against his former club and David De Gea having to make several saves to spare United from further embarrassment. It was not all about Van Persie and Rooney for United.
Cleverley and Michael Carrick supplied further evidence that they should be Ferguson’s first-choice midfield pairing while Ashley Young looks back to his best after his injury-disrupted start to the season.
Sunderland’s improvement in the second half at least gave O’Neill encouragement for the key clash against Southampton this weekend.
Watch Manchester United vs Sunderland match
[media id=754 width=610 height=340]Liverpool 1 Aston Villa 3:Benteke crush to Rodgers weird Liverpool
For two managers with so much in common, both entrusted with rebuilding clubs and preferring to use hungry, hard-working young talents rather than record signings they inherited, the contrast between Paul Lambert and Brendan Rodgers could not have been starker.
“There is no doubt that if you look at his team in several years’ time they will be much better than when Paul first came in,” said the Liverpool boss. For all the parallels between the clubs – American ownership can be added to the list – the brutish presence of Benteke, whose bullying of Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger ensured Darren Bent’s absence was not an issue, provided a reminder of the differences in the blueprints also.
On the one hand, Rodgers’ treatment of Andy Carroll in dispatching him on loan might suggest that Villa’s Belgium international would not feature in his master plan when Suarez occupies the central role.
A much more pertinent question is whether Liverpool now have the scouting network in place to uncover a rough diamond comparable to Benteke, 22, who looks a bargain at £8million. His opening goal was a crisp shot from 20 yards and his second came from a surging run into the penalty area after Brett Holman had cheaply dispossessed substitute Joe Cole. Yet it was the audacious back-heel to Weimann that showed a touch of real class.
“He can be anything he wants,” said Lambert of his summer signing from Genk. “He might not hit his peak until he is about 28, you never know. But he’s been incredible for us. His two goals were outstanding.” Steven Gerrard glanced home Glen Johnson’s shot late on to reduce the deficit, but this was a flat display, with the hosts lacking the gumption to make the most of their possession and passing for passing’s sake. The arrival of Fulham at Anfield next weekend is now huge.
Raheem Sterling and Joe Allen have both looked out of sorts for a while, but Rodgers maintains a lack of depth in his squad means resting them only highlights the threadbare nature of resources.
“In order to do that you need to have that depth to take him out and put somebody else in. That’s something I’m thinking about – who to put in.”
LIVERPOOL 1 ASTON VILLA 3
LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): Reina 6; Johnson 6, Skrtel 5, Agger 6, Downing 7; Gerrard 6, Lucas 6 (Henderson 60, 6), Allen 5; Sterling 5, Suarez 5, Shelvey 5 (Cole 45, 5). Booked: Suarez. Goal: Gerrard 87.
ASTON VILLA (3-4-1-2): Guzan 7; Herd 7, Clark 8, Baker 7; Lowton 7, Westwood 7, Bannan 8 (El Ahmadi 86), Lichaj 7; Holman 7 (Delph 69, 7); Benteke 9, Weimann 8 (N’Zogbia 90). Booked: Lowton, Benteke. Goals: Benteke 29, 51, Weimann 40.
Referee: N Swarbrick (Lancashire).
Newcastle United 1 Manchester City 3: City got to much quality
Javi Garcia is determined to look on the bright side of Manchester City’s European humiliation, insisting their calmer schedule will boost their title defence.
“Maybe it will help us that we have only one big prize to go for – the league title,” said Garcia. “We have more time to work for Premier League games. It will bring more tranquillity to the players and means we can focus on the league.
“It is normal to feel down after a result like that against Manchester United, but we had to continue to believe in ourselves and we have shown that against Newcastle. We have the winning mentality.
“I don’t know if it is the best first half we have played this season, but if we maintain those standards we can chase down United. If we play as well as that we are going to be very difficult to stop. With that attitude we will be hard to beat.
“There are other teams who can push up the table and challenge for the title, but if we finish above United we will win the league.”
City’s slick, quick passing in the first half was a delight to watch as they tore strips out of the Newcastle defence, with Davide Santon exposed time and again for his poor defensive positioning. For Alan Pardew, these are tough times. Newcastle have won just once in their last 11 league and cup matches.
Up front Papiss Cisse is a pale shadow of the player he was earlier this year – he missed a clear chance to equalise shortly after Ba’s goal – while Newcastle’s two most inventive midfielders, Hatem Ben Arfa and Yohan Cabaye, are both sidelined through injury. Pardew revealed afterwards that Ben Arfa will miss the whole of the festive period with a hamstring injury, while Cabaye is out until February.
“There are a lot of reasons for the difference between last year and this year, but their second goal by Garcia straight from a corner was a sloppy one which we just did not concede last season,” said Pardew. The Magpies boss badly needs reinforcements in the January transfer window as his side has a threadbare look about it.
James Perch, drafted in to midfield, delivered a typically spirited display, but admits influential players have been missed.
“It’s hard when you have a player like Cabaye on the sidelines because he is of international quality,” said Perch.
“The Christmas games look tough, so that makes next weekend’s match against QPR all the more important.
“They’ve got a new manager and a good squad and although things haven’t gone well for them this year, they’ll be looking to turn things around.”
The turnaround at Loftus Road has already started under Harry Redknapp, but for Pardew another home defeat following losses to West Ham, Swansea and now City in recent weeks would be disastrous.
Newcastle (4-4-2): Krul 7; Santon 5, Coloccini 6, Williamson 6, Simpson 5 (Ferguson 83); Gutierrez 5, Tiote 6 (Marveaux 75, 6), Perch 6, Anita 8; Cisse 4 (Sh Ameobi 79), Ba 7. Booked: Simpson, Williamson, Perch. Goal: Ba 51.
Man City (4-4-2): Hart 7; Zabaleta 7, K Toure 7, Nastasic 6, Clichy 6; Garcia 7, Nasri 7 (Kolarov 37, 6; Dzeko 72, 6), Y Toure 9, Silva 7; Tevez 7 (Lescott 79), Aguero 8. Booked: K Toure, Aguero. Goals: Aguero 10, Garcia 39, Y Toure 78.
Referee: A Marriner (West Midlands).
Watch Newcastle United vs Manchester City match
[media id=755 width=610 height=340]Barclays Premier League game week 17 other Results
Stoke City 1 – 1 Everton
Norwich City 2 – 1 Wigan Athletic
Chelsea vs Southampton -Postponed
Queens Park Rangers 2 – 1 Fulham
Tottenham Hotspur 1 – 0 Swansea City
West Bromwich Albion 0 – 0 West Ham United
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