Premier League Review - David Moyes has arrived

Sunday was probably one of the most thrilling days of the Barclays Premier League in recent memory. Three 1-0 wins and an unexpectedly high scoring 3-3 draw left fans with barely any fingernails. Here is a review of all the action

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 0—- 1 NEWCASTLE UNITED

Much has been said about Tottenham Hotspurs’ lavish spending in the summer transfer window. But what they have failed to do is provide the same kind of excitement that they did when they had Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon bombing down the wings . White Hart Lane was very restless in an evening where a Tottenham victory would have seen them gain ground on Chelsea and also on one out of Manchester United and Arsenal. Instead, what followed was their second home defeat of the season in an uninspiring performance. Roberto Soldado, the £26 Million striker, cut an isolated figure and Tottenham’s creative midfield provided him with little service.

Hugo Lloris’ absence was the much talked about subject before kick off , however Loic Remy soon put Newcastle into the lead which diverted attention back to the match. Spurs kept bombing forward , yet there was no sense of real urgency about them and a concrete goal threat was absent. And then Spurs found their flair and peppered Tim Krul’s goal. The Goalkeeper pulled off save after save and kept them in the game. And then Newcastle to their credit, held on and their last two weeks read victories against Chelsea and Tottenham. Pressure off Alan Pardew.

Man Of The Match - Tim Krul. The Dutchman had a total of 14 saves, the most by any goalkeeper this season. What a performance.

SUNDERLAND 1—- 0 MANCHESTER CITY

Along with Roger Federer’s defeat to Rafael Nadal, there was an all too familiar feeling to this one. In the last three seasons, Manchester City have lost by a single goal at the Stadium of Light. And unbelievably, it happened again. For a side who spent £100 Million in the summer to bolster their squad, City looked well short of inspiration. They have been blowing hot and cold the whole season and this was one of the bad days. Sunderland grabbed a lead through Phil Bardsley and held on for their lives.

The stand out performers for Sunderland were ironically the ex Manchester United trio - goalscorer Phil Bardsley , Wes Brown and John O Shea. With Crystal Palace’s point the earlier day, Gus Poyet couldn’t have asked for a better response. This win dragged Sunderland within three points of safety. West Ham and Stoke must now be getting increasingly nervous. Manchester City were repelled again and again admirably by Sunderland and goalkeeper Vito Mannone was brilliant too.

Man Of The Match - Wes Brown. "He is big , he is bad , he is Wesley Brown" used to run the chant from the Man United fans and he certainly proved to be impenetrable here.

MANCHESTER UNITED 1—- 0 ARSENAL

Oh what can I say. Much of the hype about the "new rejuvenated Arsenal" all proved in vain as Arsenal turned up in quite a disappointing fashion at Old Trafford. As highlighted in my tactical breakdown post, Manchester United came with a gameplan to force the play to wider areas and deny the Arsenal midfield any time on the ball. Phil Jones, deployed in midfield, was outstanding as he cut across the exchanges between Arsenal midfielders. Olivier Giroud meanwhile was having a tough time against Jonny Evans. And then United’s star duo combined to score the crucial opening goal. Van Persie headed in Rooney’s cross. The goal was a mirror image of United’s equaliser against Stoke (the Dutchman provided the cross for Rooney who headed in in similar fashion). Then a head injury to Nemanja Vidic saw Tom Cleverley being introduced after the break , pushing Jones back to defence.

Now , the balance of play shifted dramatically without Jones’ ball winning ability. Arsenal held the ball for long periods, Sagna whipped in a dangerous ball that mo one chased. And then Giroud twisted and turned, only for Chris Smalling to get a very crucial touch away. Rooney shot inches wide and then Jonny Evans came to the rescue when he got the slightest of nicks off a Sagna ball. And then Moyes created anxiety by bringing on Giggs and Fellaini for Kagawa and Van Persie. It proved a brilliant decision as Giggs’ experience combined with Fellaini’s ability to hold the ball up gave United a crucial victory. Arsene Wenger did not hide his disappointment. David Moyes has slowly but surely arrived.

Man Of The Match - Wayne Rooney. He played like a man possessed and provided the cross for Van Persie’s winner.

SWANSEA CITY 3—- 3 STOKE CITY

What a wonderful game! When the second goal went in for Stoke , fans were rubbing their eyes in disbelief. Not only at the scoreline but also at the manner in which Stoke scored their second goal. Stoke actually played brilliant one-two right across from the edge of their D box till the opposition’s and then Ireland slotted in a goal from a neat Peter Crouch through ball. It was mesmerizing Barcelona-like stuff. From Stoke. Yes. 2-0 down at half time to that goal and a John Walters drive, Swansea responded brilliantly. First Wilfried Bony sowed the seeds of doubt with a goal

And then Nathan Dyer equalised to get Mark Hughes into "a point is a good result" mode. But then things got worse for Hughes as Bony put Swansea in the lead with four minutes left on the clock. And with everyone fearing the worst for Stoke, they earned an injury time penalty. Eyebrows were raised as to whether John Walters would be allowed to take the penalty (he has missed several of the last attempted ones). Hughes however asked Charlie Adam to take it and the Scotsman didn’t disappoint as he kept his nerve to equalise for Stoke . A well earned point but both the teams won’t be happy at the result.

Man Of The Match - Wilfried Bony. The big striker has taken time to adapt and this maybe the day he well and truly arrived.