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All went wrong for Jose Mourinho and his men at Upton Park, as the defending champions’ woeful run of form continued, following a 5th loss in 10 league outings. Arsenal recorded a narrow win over Everton to climb to the top of the table, for the first time in over 18 months. Real Madrid unbeaten league streak continued, following a 3-1 win at Celta Vigo.
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After impressive performances against Aston Villa last weekend and Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League, Chelsea’s campaign looked back on track but both Nemanja Matic and Jose Mourinho were sent off, as a late Andy Carroll header ensured all three points for West Ham. Matic, who had an impressive game in Ukraine, retained his spot in the starting eleven but was sent off in a crucial away fixture for two soft yet blatant bookable offences. Mauro Zarate opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a driven shot from the centre of the 18 yard-box into the bottom right, after Chelsea failed to clear Dimitri Payet’s corner. Matic was shown the first of his two yellow cards, right after Kurt Zouma’s header was cleared off the line by Manuel Lanzini. In the 41st minute Willian broke away with a swift run through the middle of the park and slipped a ball to Cesc Fabregas on the right, who found the back of the net with a cool shot past Adrian but the linesman, erroneously, adjudged the Spaniard as offside. A couple of minutes later, Matic picked up his second yellow after he clumsily hauled Diafra Sakho down and the Serb was subsequently given his marching orders, along with Mourinho’s assistant Silvinho Louro, who was sent to the stands for protesting Jon Moss’ decision.
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As the teams returned to the pitch after half-time, Jose Mourinho didn’t join the Chelsea staff on the away bench, after he was banished to the stands after protesting the referee’s decision in the tunnel. In the 56th minute, Willian’s corner bounced off Kurt Zouma to Gary Cahill and the English defender was the first to react as he sent in a cracking shot on the half-volley past the onrushing Adrian to make matters level. Despite being a man down, Chelsea dominated proceedings in the opening 25 minutes of the second-half but it wasn’t long before West Ham got their groove back, as Slaven Bilic’s men constantly whipped crosses into the box, especially after the introduction of Andy Carroll. The former-Liverpool striker, known for aerial prowess, regained his side’s lead, with a bullet header past Asmir Begovic. After John Terry’s poor clearance, the ball was spread out to Aaron Cresswell on the left, who sent in a deep and teasing cross to Carroll, who thumped in a powerful header past the hapless ‘keeper. Following another sorely disappointing loss, Chelsea are languishing at 15th position in the league table, while their city rivals West Ham are enjoying their stay in the top-4.
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Arsenal, high on form, following their win in Europe over giants Bayern Munich, entertained Everton at the Emirates, in a much anticipated encounter. Olivier Giroud, after his decisive goal against Bayern, was awarded a place in the starting eleven at the expense of Theo Walcott and repaid Arsene Wenger’s faith when he scored in the 36th minute, with a trademark Olivier Giroud goal. Mesut Ozil, curled in an inviting cross in the 18yard-box over the Everton defenders and Giroud glanced in a header past Tim Howard. Seconds later, 106 to be precise, the Gunners doubled their lead when Santi Cazorla whipped in a free-kick from the left and Laurent Koscielny had a free header on goal, after the Everton backline failed to clear a seemingly harmless cross. The Gunners were set to enter half time with a two goal cushion only for Ross Barkley to rain on their parade, when his shot took a deflection off Gabriel to reduce the deficit. After an Arsenal attack broke down, Gerard Deulofeu played Barkley on the left flank and although his left-footed shot seemed harmless, it took a deflection of centre-back Gabriel and Petr Cech was wrong-footed, as he helplessly saw the ball go into the back of the net. Both sides squandered clear chances on goal in the second-half, as the scoreline remained unchanged but it went from bad to worse for Everton, after Gareth Barry was sent off in injury time after a second yellow card. It was a successful week for Arsenal, after the defeat of Bayern rekindled their European hopes and with three points against Everton, the Gunners are at the summit of the league table, the first time since February 2014.
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Jamie Vardy was at again, after the tireless striker scored his 10th goal in as many league outings to help his side win 1-0 at home against Crystal Palace.
Aston Villa suffered yet another loss, this time against Swansea, as the Wales-based team came from a goal behind to secure three points and this defeat could get Villa manager Tim Sherwood sacked.
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In La Liga, Real Madrid won the clash between the top sides, as Rafa Benitez’s men continued their unbeaten start to 12 games with a win against the impressive Celta Vigo. Ronaldo opened the scoring with a low shot in the 8th minute, before the unlikely Danilo doubled his side’s lead with a composed finish 15 minutes later. Nolito, scored a screamer in the 85th minute to keep hopes of a comeback alive but Marcelo’s stoppage time goal ensured all three points went to the visitors.
Tags: Chelsea Jose Mourinho Real Madrid
