Premier League

Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Middlesbrough

... of stealing a few winks myself. 37 min Alli lures Clayton in, scoots past him and is fouled. Lovely skill and a free-kick to Spurs just outside the box on the left wing. Eriksen’s ball in is headed clear by Chambers. Attack and defence, invasion and repulsion. 35 min Oh, Harold. That was a great chance for Kane to give Spurs the lead. They zig-zagged smoothly down the left through Davies, Alli and finally Son, who curled a brilliant first-time cross towards Kane. He lost his defender excellently but couldn’t get over the ball and headed over the bar from 10 yards. Harry Kane reacts to a missed opportunity. Photograph: Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images. 25 min Alderweireld hits the post! Eriksen coaxed a dipping left-wing corner towards him and he flicked a header off the outside of the near post. Valdes was beaten and there was nobody on the post for Boro. Victor Valdes of Middlesbrough attempts to punch clear as Ben Gibson tangles with Toby Alderweireld. Photograph: Ian Walton/Getty Images. 9 min Eriksen on the right plays a forensic pass to put Alli through on goal. Alli had to take the shot first ...

Chelsea V Arsenal, Premier League Live

... in London derbies this season. Chelsea have won eight successive Premier League home games – their best run in the competition since a sequence of 10 wins that ended in January 2015. The aggregate score in these eight games is 24-3 in Chelsea's favour. Arsenal have lost as many of their last eight Premier League games as they did in their previous 30 in the competition (3). A trip down memory lane here. Young Chelsea fans are passed to the front of the crowd at Stamford Bridge for the game with Arsenal in 1947 #AFC #CFC __link__/RB 7 b CDJf B 6. We are expecting the team news from Stamford Bridge in about five minutes so stay tuned. Big match stats - Part One. Chelsea's 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in September was their heaviest against them since April 1997 (also 3-0). They were previously unbeaten in nine Premier League games against Arsenal (W 6 D 3). Arsenal have not done the double over Chelsea in the same season since 2003/04 - the season in which they last won the Premier League. The last Chelsea manager to fail to win either of his first two league games ...

Premier League Relegation Health Check

... of a cutting edge going forward, even if goals do remain hard to come by. 5/10. The manager. A victim of Little Englander criticism when he was appointed , it is fair to say English football knows far more about Marco Silva now. He has handled himself impressively throughout his tenure, batting away the doubters at his first press conference and was a calm and reassuring presence after his best midfielder, Mason, fractured his skull. Marco Silva definitely has something about him Credit: Greig Cowie/BPI/REX/Shutterstock. Has definitely got something about him, although the big challenges are still to come, and has probably benefited from being an unknown quantity. 7/10. The boardroom. The relationship between the owners and supporters is toxic and the lack of unity is a major weakness in Hull’s survival bid. Supporters are torn between supporting the team and protesting ...

Ryan's First Genk Win And Smith In Premier League Action

... Smith and a host of Socceroos stars were in action overnight (Getty Images). Australia goalkeeper Mat Ryan celebrated his first win for new Belgium club Genk, while defender Brad Smith was in action in a nine-goal Premier League thriller overnight. Ryan, who joined Genk during the January transfer window, made his second straight start for the Belgium outfit and produced an impressive performance in their 1-0 win over Royal Excel Mouscron. The Australia goalkeeper made several vital saves throughout the contest and denied Farouk Miya’s long-range effort in the dying stages to secure all three points for his side. This is how we line up tonight. #krcgenk #gnkrem __link__/q Tx RZAW 31 l. — KRC Genk (@KRCGenkofficial) February 4, 2017. Genk's win sees them move up to eighth on the Belgium Pro League table, just two points shy of sixth-placed Gent. The former Valencia shot stopper, who debuted in Genk's narrow Belgium Cup semi-final last week, told The World Game he made the move to Belgium in the search of "more game time". Ryan wanted to stay in Spain, but moved for game-time. Australia shot stopper Mat Ryan hopes his loan move to ...

Can Arsenal Do The Double Over Chelsea? Will Leicester Finally Score

... Manchester United to a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford in midweek. With just five points separating second to sixth in the Premier League, Klopp knows a win is a must. What reception will Jose Fonte receive? Southampton v West Ham - Saturday, 3 pm. All eyes will be on Jose Fonte as he returns to Southampton for the first time since joining West Ham in an £8 m move in January. The Portugal international could receive a frosty reception from the home support at St Mary's after choosing to hand in a transfer request at the end of last year, rather than sign a new contract with the south coast club. Jose Fonte is preparing to return to Southampton with West Ham. Fonte made his Hammers debut against Manchester City on Wednesday but the 33-year-old was exposed on a number of occasions as Pep Guardiola's side romped to a 4-0 victory at the London Stadium. Slaven Bilic's side have already conceded 40 goals this season - the sixth worst record in the division - so Fonte can expect to put in ...

Chelsea, Sunderland & Hull Win

... in a memorable Everton win. Harry Kane kept Tottenham in touch at the top of the table by scoring a second-half penalty to seal a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough. Spurs were dominant throughout at White Hart Lane but they struggled to break down a resilient Boro side until Kane converted his spot-kick after the excellent Son Heung-min was fouled by Espinosa Bernardo. Victor Valdes was also fortunate not to be sent off early on after he pushed Dele Alli in the face. Tottenham's win means they reduce the gap behind Chelsea back to nine points. At Southampton, Manolo Gabbiadini needed only 12 minutes of his debut to score for the Saints, hammering a shot in off the underside of the bar, but that was about all that went right in a 3-1 loss to West Ham. The celebrations were barely over before West Ham replied through ...

Eden Hazard Mesmerises Arsenal To Tighten Chelsea’s Premier League Grip

... was horribly mistaken to believe his watery, lightweight team might be authentic title challengers and, with four defeats in their past nine league fixtures, the most pertinent question for Arsenal now is not whether they can make up the 12-point gap to Chelsea but if they have the fortitude to continue their long sequence of top-four finishes. Arsenal fans endure another groundhog day as they flatline at Chelsea | Jacob Steinberg. Read more. That cannot be guaranteed on the evidence provided by an afternoon memorable for Conte indulging in some impromptu crowd-surfing after Eden Hazard had waltzed through the visitors’ defence to make it 2-0 with a piece of individual brilliance. Hazard chose a good day to put in his best performance of the season and it was a wonderfully taken goal from the player whose decline epitomised the team’s shortcomings last season. At this stage a year ago, Chelsea had 29 points and were languishing in 13 th position, closer to the relegation zone than the top five. Their latest win puts them on 59 points and there is nothing whatsoever to suggest they might be susceptible to the kind of loss of nerve that might endanger ...

Hull City Beat Liverpool, Sunderland Thrash Palace

... and a glimmer of hope for the Cherries. Bournemouth’s Joshua King slots home. Photograph: Andrew Yates/Reuters. JR in Illinois has been watching the Baggies: “Hey Tim, the Baggies are all over the Potters like a duck on a june bug! Pulis has West Brom looking like the Harlem Globetrotters. I’m really hoping we make it through the end of the season before all life is extinguished from planet earth. I’m not used to liking watching West Brom so much.”. Kári Tulinius has news from the south of France: “Hello Tim, the derby de la Côte d’Azur between Monaco and Nice is off to an entertaining start. This is probably the first time that this fixture has been a top of the table clash, certainly the first time both teams have been equal on points in first and second. Though since this is being contested at Monaco, there are empty seats even for a local derby of ...