NBC on Yahoo SportsPremier League roundup: Wins for Manchester United, Chelsea, Burnley (video)
Seven Premier League matches took place on Saturday as the in-form teams carried on where they left off before the international break.
[RELATED: Watch full match replays]
Wins for leaders Chelsea, reigning Champions Manchester City and in-form sides Burnley, Newcastle and Everton mean the standings are starting to take shape. While at the Emirates Stadium Manchester United snuck away with a morale-boosting victory, as Arsenal continue to struggle.
Here’s a recap and analysis on Saturday’s games.
United took the lead just before the hour mark as Antonio Valencia's driven effort from the right was turned into his own net by Kieran Gibbs. They doubled their lead through Wayne Rooney, then United held on to record a superb win away from home, as they go into the top four, while Arsenal will rue several missed opportunities.
Chelsea 2-0 West Bromwich Albion
The Blues remain top but barely got out of second gear in this one. First half goals from Diego Costa and Eden Hazard did the damage, plus Claudio Yacob was sent off in the first half for Baggies who had goalkeeper Ben Foster to thank for the deficit not being much larger. Chelsea are still eight points clear of Man City, while West Brom are just three points above the drop zone.
Everton’s return to form continues as they ended the Hammer’s six-game unbeaten run by sealing their third win in their last five. The Toffees took the lead through Romelu Lukaku but Mauro Zarate equalized for a lively West Ham. 15 minutes from time Leon Osman, making his 400th league appearance, scored the winner as Martinez’s men are unbeaten in seven games across all competitions.
Not much to say about this one, as both teams cancelled each other out. Steven Fletcher had a few decent chances for Sunderland while Matty James had Leicester’s best chances. Leicester are outside the bottom three on goal difference, while Sunderland are only three points better off. Struggling.
Manchester City 2-1 Swansea City
The Citizens recovered from Wilfried Bony's early goal to get a vital win at home. Stevan Jovetic and Yaya Toure score in each half to bag City all three points as they try to chase down Chelsea at the top of the league. Next up: Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League.
Six wins on the spin for the Magpies who are up to fourth in the table thanks to Moussa Sissoko's late winner at St James’ Park. QPR are rock bottom in a tight clash up in the north east. What a turnaround from Alan Pardew’s side.
Back-to-back wins from Burnley means Sean Dyche’s men are off the bottom after their first away win of the season. Danny Ings struck twice in 60 seconds to put the Clarets 2-0 up after 13 minutes, but Jonathan Walters pulled a goal back before the break. In the second half Stoke battered Burnley but they couldn’t grab an equalizer.
