Aaron Ramsey scored a brace on his return to his boyhood club as Arsenal beat Cardiff City 3-0 in Wales. Arsenal could have gone ahead after just 70 seconds when Ramsey found Jack Wilshere in a good area but his curling effort hit the crossbar.
Per Mertesacker had to go off for treatment for a head injury and Cardiff almost exploited their transitory one man advantage when Kevin Theophile-Catherine crossed for Frazier Campbell but the striker headed wide. Olivier Giroud then had a moment to forget when he was clean through on goal but paused thinking he had been offside. That allowed Steven Caulker to get back and make a block. Replays showed that the Frenchman was offside when Mesut Ozil had flicked the ball into his path but the linesman may not have seen the German’s deft touch. Arsenal took the lead on the half hour mark when Ozil’s cross from the left was headed in by Ramsey who did not celebrate. The Gunners had a couple of chances after the break but could not make them count and were almost punished when Campbell rose highest to head a cross but Wojciech Szczesny got down well to make a save. Mathieu Flamini scored the second on 86 minutes after having been sent through by Ozil and Ramsey completed the scoring with a neat finish in injury time.
Chelsea came from a goal down to beat Southampton 3-1 at Stamford Bridge thanks to a second half rally. Jay Rodriguez put the Saints in front after just 13 seconds when he capitalised on an error by Michael Essien. Nathaniel Clyne’s attempted pass found its way to Essien whose hopeful lob back allowed Rodriguez to tap in past Petr Cech. Artur Boruc made a couple of saves to preserve his side’s lead by denying Oscar and Fernando Torres. Chelsea drew level on 55 minutes when Boruc palmed over Frank Lampard’s free kick. Juan Mata took the resulting corner and Branislav Ivanovic’s wayward header was met by Demba Ba but the effort hit the post. Boruc was stranded at his near post as the ball ricocheted towards Gary Cahill who duly headed in. Chelsea took the lead 7 minutes later when John Terry headed in Mata’s cross from the left. The Blues sealed the win on 90 minutes when Ramires did well to keep possession down the left before finding Ba with a lofted pass and the striker finished into the bottom corner.
Manchester City climbed to 3rd in the table after beating Swansea City 3-0 at the Etihad. Alvaro Negredo opened the scoring on 8 minutes when he curled a low free kick into the far corner after having been fouled outside the box. Jonjo Shelvey drew two saves from Costel Pantilimon as Swansea dominated possession with their quick passing. Martin Demichelis had a chance to double the lead but his header from Samir Nasri’s corner hit the crossbar. Both sides had calls for penalties denied after which Jonathan De Guzman came close to equalising but after beating Demichelis, he shot over. Sergio Aguero was booked for handball after he apparently attempted to emulate the famous “hand of god” and later came close to scoring after going past Gerhard Tremmel but could not find the back of the net. Yaya Toure went on a surging run before finding Nasri who ran across the box before finishing into the bottom corner. Nasri bagged his second when he side footed Pablo Zabaleta’s cut back from the right. The Frenchman came close to completing his hat trick but his curling effort went just wide.
Liverpool were shocked at the KC Stadium when Hull City beat them 3-1 much to the dismay of manager Brendan Rodgers. Liverpool did most of the attacking but were shocked when Jake Livermore’s shot deflected in off Martin Skrtel. Victor Moses was at fault as he lost possession in his own half. The Reds though drew level 7 minutes later when Steven Gerrard curled in a brilliant free kick after Curtis Davies had brought down Jordan Henderson. Martin Skrtel helped Gerrard by moving away from the wall allowing the England skipper to shoot through the opening past Allan McGregor. Liverpool did not manage to create any clean chances as they reached halftime. Davies came close to restoring the lead on the hour mark when he headed Robert Brady’s free kick wide. Tom Huddlestone came close to scoring but his impressive volley after some good control went wide. David Meyler put the Tigers in front on 72 minutes when he scored from his second attempt after his initial shot had been blocked by Kolo Toure. Liverpool went looking for an equaliser and Hull looked to hit them on the break. On 87 minutes Yannick Sagbo kept possession after a long ball and found Huddlestone who shot wide but Skrtel’s attempt to head it away resulted in the ball ending up in the back of the net.
Wayne Rooney scored twice as Manchester United came twice from behind to draw 2-2 against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. The hosts took the lead on 18 minutes when Kyle Walker’s low free kick went under the four man wall leaving David De Gea in goal no chance. This was after Jonny Evans had fouled Paulinho just outside the box. Spurs had more chances but were quite unlucky as Rooney cleared Michael Dawson’s volley off the line after which two penalty appeals were denied. De Gea then saved Aaron Lennon’s shot after Roberto Soldado had found the winger. The champions were struggling to get into the game but were gifted a goal on 32 minutes when Walker’s failure to clear Phil Jones’ cross allowed Rooney to stab past Hugo Lloris to draw level. Sandro restored the lead for Spurs on 54 minutes when he beat Tom Cleverley and shot a swerving effort from 25 yards out with De Gea rooted to the spot. The lead was short lived as United won a penalty which Rooney blasted down the middle with Lloris going to his left after the French custodian had brought down Danny Welbeck in the box. Spurs had another call for a penalty waved away as the game ended honours even.
Everton thrashed Stoke City 4-0 at Goodison Park with Gerard Deulofeu, Seamus Coleman, Bryan Oviedo and Romelu Lukaku getting on the score sheet. Aston Villa drew 0-0 at Villa Park against Sunderland while Gary Hooper’s solitary goal helped Norwich City beat Crystal Palace 1-0 at Carrow Road. West Ham United beat Fulham 3-0 at Upton Park with Mohamed Diame, Carlton Cole and Joe Cole scoring. Fulham manager Martin Jol parted company with the Cottagers following the defeat. Moussa Sissoko scored a stunner to grab the winner for Newcastle United as the Magpies beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1 at St. James’ Park. Chris Brunt had cancelled out Yoan Gouffran’s opener for the hosts.
Spanish La Liga
Iker Muniain scored the only goal of the game as Athletic Bilbao stunned Barcelona with a 1-0 win at home. Gareth Bale scored his first hat trick for Real Madrid as the Los Blancos thrashed Real Valladolid 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu. Karim Benzema also got on the score sheet. Koke and Diego Costa scored for Atletico Madrid as they beat Elche 2-0 away. The results leave Barca and Atletico level on 40 points after 15 games with Real in 3rd on 37 points. Athletic Bilbao and Villarreal make up the top five.
German Bundesliga
Arjen Robben scored a brace as Bayern Munich beat Eintracht Braunschweig 2-0 at the Allianz Arena. Heung-Min Son scored a brace and Stefan Kiesling also scored as Bayer Leverkusen beat Nurnberg 3-0 at home. Robert Lewandowski scored two penalties to help Borussia Dortmund beat Mainz 3-1 away.
Bayern lead the pack after 14 games with 38 points with Leverkusen and Dortmund following on 34 and 31 points respectively. Borussia Monchengladbach and Schalke make up the top five.
Italian Serie A
Fernando Llorente scored the winner in injury time as Juventus beat Udinese 1-0 at home. Atalanta held AS Roma to a 1-1 draw at home while Inter Milan were held to a 1-1 draw at the San Siro by Sampdoria and AC Milan beat Catania 3-1 away. Fiorentina host Hellas Verona and Lazio entertain Napoli in the capital.
Juventus top the table with 37 points after 14 games with AS Roma, Napoli, Inter Milan and Fiorentina making up the top five in the same order.
French Ligue 1
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice from the spot with Edinson Cavani and Thiago Silva also scoring as Paris Saint-Germain thrashed Lyon 4-0 at home. AS Monaco beat Stade Rennes 2-0 at home while Marseille beat Montpellier 2-0 at home.
PSG lead the pack after 15 games with 37 points followed by Lille on 33 and Monaco on 32. Marseille and St Etienne make up the top five.
Dutch Eredivisie
ADO Den Haag 0-4 Ajax Amsterdam
Feyenoord Rotterdam 3-1 PSV Eindhoven
Vitesse Arnhem 3-0 Cambuur Leeuwarden
NEC Nijmegen 3-2 AZ Alkmaar
Roda JC Kerkrade 1-2 Twente Enschede
Portuguese Liga
Academica de Coimbra 1-0 FC Porto
Rio Ave 1-3 Benfica
Sporting Lisbon 4-0 Pacos de Ferreira
