EPL Week 13: Aston Villa Stun Arsenal 2-0, Manchester United Crush Stoke City 5-0
November 18th 2008 04:05
Arsenal Aston Villa: 0-2
Well, last week I pointed out that Arsenal's victory over Manchester United wasn't an indication of whether they were back on track or not, and it turns out I was right. Once again, they came out with an insipid performance against Aston Villa who mercilessly exploited the Gunners' defensive woes. In fact, if it wasn't for Villa's lack of finishing, the score would have been much much worse. There is a state of panic that comes over Arsenal's defense every time the ball enters the box. It's like they don't really know what to do if the ball doesn't come straight at them. Forget the defensive midfielder, get a solid center defender to get the job done. In the middle, I'm getting the sense that Fabregas is getting tired. The guy plays every minute of every game. He should be given a rest every once in a while. You might tell me Frank Lampard does the same over at Chelsea, but there isn't a player of Mikel's caliber backing Fabregas so he still has some extra work to do. All in all, good work by Aston Villa who never let up on the pressure.
Arsenal's line-up: Manuel Almunia; Bacary Sagna (Kolo Toure, 70th), William Gallas, Mikael Silvestre, Gael Clichy; Theo Walcott, Cesc Fabregas, Denilson, Samir Nasri; Abou Diaby (Emmanuel Adebayor, 61st), Nicklas Bendtner (Carlos Vela, 67th).
Manchester United Stoke City: 5-0
Cristiano Ronaldo came up with another double this week scoring twice on free-kicks (3rd and 88th minute) with both goals bookending a dominant performance by the Red Devils. Although United opened the scoring early, it took a while for them to find their groove as the passing was a bit off. They managed to score a second goal right before halftime a mentally damaging blow to Stoke City who could still hope for a chance it was 1-0 at the break. The home side made it clear that they weren't let this one get away when Berbatov added a third goal a couple of minutes after the break (48th minute) thanks to horrible defending by his marker. Leading 3-0, Sir Alex Ferguson took the opportunity to introduce some youngsters to Premier League action, putting in Darron Gibson, Manucho, and Danny Welbeck. The latter scored a superb goal at the 83rd minute from way out of the box that left no chance to the goalkeeper. Welbeck and Manucho both looked good on the limited time they played, which is great news for United fans. As for Stoke, well they didn't stand a chance really. Just let the storm pass through and carry on.
Manchester United's line-up: Edwin Van der Sar; John O'Shea, Nemanja Vidic, Jonny Evans, Patrice Evra; Park Ji-Sung (Danny Welbeck, 62nd), Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher (Darron Gibson, 62nd), Cristiano Ronaldo; Carlos Tevez (Manucho, 74th), Dimitar Berbatov.
Well, last week I pointed out that Arsenal's victory over Manchester United wasn't an indication of whether they were back on track or not, and it turns out I was right. Once again, they came out with an insipid performance against Aston Villa who mercilessly exploited the Gunners' defensive woes. In fact, if it wasn't for Villa's lack of finishing, the score would have been much much worse. There is a state of panic that comes over Arsenal's defense every time the ball enters the box. It's like they don't really know what to do if the ball doesn't come straight at them. Forget the defensive midfielder, get a solid center defender to get the job done. In the middle, I'm getting the sense that Fabregas is getting tired. The guy plays every minute of every game. He should be given a rest every once in a while. You might tell me Frank Lampard does the same over at Chelsea, but there isn't a player of Mikel's caliber backing Fabregas so he still has some extra work to do. All in all, good work by Aston Villa who never let up on the pressure.
Arsenal's line-up: Manuel Almunia; Bacary Sagna (Kolo Toure, 70th), William Gallas, Mikael Silvestre, Gael Clichy; Theo Walcott, Cesc Fabregas, Denilson, Samir Nasri; Abou Diaby (Emmanuel Adebayor, 61st), Nicklas Bendtner (Carlos Vela, 67th).
Manchester United Stoke City: 5-0
Cristiano Ronaldo came up with another double this week scoring twice on free-kicks (3rd and 88th minute) with both goals bookending a dominant performance by the Red Devils. Although United opened the scoring early, it took a while for them to find their groove as the passing was a bit off. They managed to score a second goal right before halftime a mentally damaging blow to Stoke City who could still hope for a chance it was 1-0 at the break. The home side made it clear that they weren't let this one get away when Berbatov added a third goal a couple of minutes after the break (48th minute) thanks to horrible defending by his marker. Leading 3-0, Sir Alex Ferguson took the opportunity to introduce some youngsters to Premier League action, putting in Darron Gibson, Manucho, and Danny Welbeck. The latter scored a superb goal at the 83rd minute from way out of the box that left no chance to the goalkeeper. Welbeck and Manucho both looked good on the limited time they played, which is great news for United fans. As for Stoke, well they didn't stand a chance really. Just let the storm pass through and carry on.
Manchester United's line-up: Edwin Van der Sar; John O'Shea, Nemanja Vidic, Jonny Evans, Patrice Evra; Park Ji-Sung (Danny Welbeck, 62nd), Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher (Darron Gibson, 62nd), Cristiano Ronaldo; Carlos Tevez (Manucho, 74th), Dimitar Berbatov.
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