- Total no.of goals scored Round 18 = 29
Saturday (16/12/2017)
Crystal Palace clinched their first away victory in a convincing way
Leicester City 0 – Crystal Palace 3 (Christian Benteke 19′; Wilfried Zaha 40′; Bakary Sako 90’+4′)
Crystal Palace clinched their first away victory in this Premier League season after beating 10-man hosts Leicester City by 3-0.
On 19 minutes, Crystal Palace earned their first away goal in this Premier League season through Christian Benteke’s header which was assisted by Andros Townsend with a cross. It was also Benteke’s first goal in this season.
On 40 minutes, Wilfred Zaha doubled the visitors’ lead after Benteke raised a ball for him.
On an hour mark, Leicester City player Vicente Iborra found the net but that goal was disallowed due to his earlier foul.
In the very next minute, the hosts’ midfielder Wilfred Ndidi was sent off after receiving two yellow cards in the game. His first yellow card was due to a foul (52’) and the next one was for a foolish diving (61’).
Just before the end of the match, Bakary Sako scored the visitors’ third goal in this match.
Arsenal edged out Newcastle
Arsenal 1 (Mesut Ozil 23’) – Newcastle United 0
Hosts Arsenal edged out Newcastle United by the 1-0 margin.
Mesut Ozil scored the only goal of the match on 23 minutes after his brilliant volley found the net.
Newcastle tried hard to equalize the scoreline but failed to achieve that.
Murray’s penalty missing disheartened Brighton with a draw
Brighton & Hove Albion 0 – Burnley 0
Host Brighton & Hove Albion made a goalless draw result against Burnley.
On 35 minutes, the hosts earned a penalty after James Tarkowski (Burnley) committed a foul on Glenn Murray (Brighton & Hove Albion) inside the penalty box. Murray took that penalty but his effort ran over the post.
Just one minute after an hour-mark, Burnley forward Chris Wood found the net but that was disallowed due to an earlier offside committed by Wood himself. The scoreline remained goalless at the end of the match.
Dominant Chelsea found the only goal to beat Southampton
Chelsea 1 (Marcos Alonso 45’+3’) – Southampton 0
Playing a dominant football, hosts Chelsea beat Southampton by a 1-0 margin.
In the first half stoppage time (45’+3’), Marcos Alonso scored the only goal of the match with a brilliant strike from a set-piece. Chelsea had more chances to stretch their lead but failed to claim on those.
Meanwhile, Southampton had very few chances to level the scoreline and they failed to count on them.
Huddersfield thrashed Watford
Watford 1 (Abdoulaye Doucoure 68′) – Huddersfield Town 4 (Elias Kachunga 6′; Aaron Mooy 23′ & 89′ PEN; Laurent Depoitre 50′)
Huddersfield Town thrashed down the hosts Watford by the 1-4 margin.
Elias Kachunga produced an early 0-1 lead for the visitors, however, that was a controversial goal as Elias was found at the offside position.
Aaron Mooy made the scoreline 0-2 for the visitors after he netted from the very close range that was assisted by Collin Quaner with a cross.
Watford suffered another huge blow on 33 minutes when their striker Troy Deeney (33′) was shown a direct red card due to a harsh tackle on Collin Quaner.
Inside the five minutes of the second half, Laurent Depoitre made the scoreline 0-3 through an excellent finish.
Soon after the one hour completed, Huddersfield also went down to 10-man after Jonathan Hogg was sent off due to receiving two yellow cards (37’ & 61’).
Watford opened their scoreline on 68 minutes after Abdoulaye Doucoure struck through a brilliant half-volley from the 20-yard distance.
The host conceded a penalty on 88 minutes when Doucoure committed a foul against Depoitre inside the penalty box. Aaron Mooy scored his second goal from that penalty as his team clinched a big victory.
West Ham hammered the hosts Stoke
Stoke City 0 – West Ham United 3 (Mark Noble 19′ PEN; Marko Arnautovic 75′; Diafra Sakho 86′)
Hosts Stoke City was handed a 0-3 defeat by West Ham United.
West Ham received an early penalty after Erik Pieters (Stoke City) made a foul against Manuel Lanzini (West Ham United) inside the penalty box. Mark Noble (19’) made no mistake to take that opportunity as his low strike easily found the net.
Marko Arnautovic doubled the visitors’ lead on 75 minutes after playing a one-two with Manuel Lanzini before making the successful finish.
On 86 minutes, Diafra Sakho scored the third goal for the visitors from Lanzini’s pass.
The visitors dominated the field while the hosts even failed to put at least one shot on target.
Tottenham looked hopeless against unbeatable Manchester City
Manchester City 4 (Ilkay Gundogan 14′; Kevin De Bruyne 70′; Raheem Sterling 80′ & 90′) – Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Christian Eriksen 90’+3′)
Hosts Manchester City had no mercy against Tottenham Hotspur as they handed a 4-1 defeat.
On 14 minutes, City got the 1-0 lead after Ilkay Gundogan’s header found the net from the following corner.
On 70 minutes, Kevin De Bruyne extended the hosts’ lead to 2-0 through a brilliant powerful strike that beat the opposing goalie (Hugo Lloris).
Just five minutes later, City earned a penalty after De Bruyne was forcefully stopped inside the penalty box by Jan Vertonghen through an unlawful tackle. However, Gabriel Jesus failed to score from that penalty as his shot hit the post while Raheem Sterling also failed to score from the rebound chance as his shot found over the post.
However, Sterling had not wait too long to add his scoresheet. On 80 minutes, Sterling scored his first goal from Leroy Sane’s grounded cross.
10 minutes later, Sterling scored another goal and this time he had an open chance after the visiting defenders’ made few mistakes.
In the injury time, Christian Eriksen scored the only consolidation goal for the visitors with a low strike but that was not enough to bring the smiles on their faces.
Sunday (17/12/2017)
Manchester United clinched a close away victory
West Bromwich Albion 1 (Gareth Barry 77′) – Manchester United 2 (Romelu Lukaku 27′; Jesse Lingard 35′)
Manchester United clinched an away victory after beating the hosts West Bromwich Albion by the 1-2 margin.
Romelu Lukaku produced the lead for the visitors on 27 minutes through a header from Marcus Rashford’s cross.
Just eight minutes later, Jesse Lingard doubled the visitors’ lead with a low shot from just outside the box that took a huge deflection before entering the net.
On 77 minutes, substitute Gareth Barry reduced the hosts’ deficit with a very close range shot which was the immediate effect of a corner.
The hosts further tried to level the scoreline but ultimately failed on their attempts.
Liverpool backed on victory track after crushing Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth 0 – Liverpool 4 (Philippe Coutinho 20′; Dejan Lovren 26′; Mohamed Salah 44′; Roberto Firmino 66′)
After two consecutive draws in their previous Premier League matches, Liverpool backed on victory track after beating the hosts AFC Bournemouth by the 0-4 margin.
Philippe Coutinho opened the scoreline on 20 minutes with a great solo effort.
Just six minutes later, Dejan Lovren’s low close-range header produced the 0-2 lead for the visitors which was the immediate effect of a corner.
On 44 minutes, Mohammad Salah made the scoreline 0-3 after a great work by himself inside the penalty box that beat the defenders.
Roberto Firmino implanted the last nail on 66 minutes through a header from Coutinho’s cross.
The hosts had the only taking point on 39 minutes when Jermain Defoe, unfortunately, hit the post.
Monday (18/12/2017)
Hosts Everton beat Swansea
Everton 3 (Dominic Calvert-Lewin 45’+2′; Gylfi Sigurdsson 64′; Wayne Rooney 73′ PEN) – Swansea City 1 (Leroy Fer 35′)
Everton clinched a home victory against Swansea City by the 3-1 margin.
On 35 minutes, Swansea went 0-1 ahead after Leroy Fer successfully netted from the following corner.
In the injury time of the first half, the visitors gave away a penalty after Aaron Lennon (Everton) was fouled by Roque Mesa (Swansea City) inside the penalty box.
Wayne Rooney failed to score from that penalty as his shot hit the post, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin successfully netted on the rebound chance.
On 64 minutes, Gylfi Sigurdsson provided the 2-1 lead for the hosts through a brilliant strike from outside the box.
On 73 minutes, Everton received another penalty when Martin Olsson (Swansea City) committed a foul on Jonjoe Kenny (Everton) inside the penalty box. Rooney made no mistake that time as Everton secured their three home points with the 3-1 victory.
- Points Table at the end of round 18
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GD | Points |
| 1 | Manchester City | 18 | 17 | 1 | 0 | +44 | 52 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 | +27 | 41 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | +18 | 38 |
| 4 | Liverpool | 18 | 9 | 7 | 2 | +18 | 34 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 18 | 10 | 3 | 5 | +11 | 33 |
| 6 | Burnley | 18 | 9 | 5 | 4 | +4 | 32 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | +13 | 31 |
| 8 | Leicester City | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | +1 | 26 |
| 9 | Everton | 18 | 7 | 4 | 7 | −6 | 25 |
| 10 | Watford | 18 | 6 | 4 | 8 | −6 | 22 |
| 11 | Huddersfield Town | 18 | 6 | 3 | 9 | −14 | 21 |
| 12 | Southampton | 18 | 4 | 6 | 8 | −7 | 18 |
| 13 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 18 | 4 | 6 | 8 | −9 | 18 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −13 | 17 |
| 15 | West Ham United | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −15 | 17 |
| 16 | Bournemouth | 18 | 4 | 4 | 10 | −9 | 16 |
| 17 | Stoke City | 18 | 4 | 4 | 10 | −20 | 16 |
| 18 | Newcastle United | 18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | −11 | 15 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 18 | 2 | 8 | 8 | −11 | 14 |
| 20 | Swansea City | 18 | 3 | 3 | 12 | −15 | 12 |
(Note: GD = goals differences)
- Key Round 18 Stats
Leicester City vs Crystal Palace – With this victory, Crystal Palace is now undefeated in their seven consecutive Premier League matches. Since October 1990, it is Crystal Palace’s best unbeaten run in the English top-flight.
AFC Bournemouth vs Liverpool – With this victory, Liverpool became the first team in the top-flight history to win four consecutive away games by at least three goals margin each.