With many thanks to Brian Judson, without whom this feature would not be possible
Wednesday 12 December 2001
Liverpool v Fulham 0-0
Owen, needing one goal to complete his 100 goals for Liverpool, missed six
chances. In at least one attempt, he spurned the chance to allow Heskey,
who was better placed, to score. But Fulham had their chances but they
were wasted because of Malbranque's poor final pass. McAlister went
closest to scoring when his free-kick came back off a post and was cleared
by Finnan.
Manchester United v Derby County 5-0
Solksjaer opened the scoring in the 6th minute when he chested down
Silvestre's cross before volleying the ball past Oakes. Keane added a
second in the 10th minute when he turned in a shot from Solksjaer for his
first goal of the season. Solksjaer increased the lead to 3-0 in the 58th
minute when Oakes parried a shot from Van Nistleroy to Solksjaer who
promptly whipped the ball into the net. Van Nistleroy then made the score
4-0 in the 63rd minute when Keane provided the cross for the Dutch striker
to score. Scholes rounded off the scoring with a simple tap-in in the 89th
minute.
Saturday 15 December 2001
Bolton Wanderers v Charlton Athletic 0-0
The Trotters dominated the match without ever looking likely to score.
They were also fortunate that Jaaskelainen was in fine form. Both sides
produced chances to score with Lisbie missing a glorious chance to score
for Charlton as early as the 3rd minute. Ricketts was held in check by the
Charlton defence, particularly 'keeper Kiely.
Everton v Derby County 1-0
Joe-Max Moore scored the only goal of the afternoon for Everton in the
78th minute. Watson's ball on the right was flicked on by Radzinski and
Moore flung himself at the ball to head past Oakes. Gascoigne and
Blomqvist were on the bench for Everton and Ravenelli missed the game as
he turned up on crutches.
Middlesbrough v Manchester United 0-1
Van Nistleroy scored the only goal of the game in the 75th minute. Giggs
found space on the left and Crossley could only parry his shot to Van
Nistleroy, who forced the ball home. Whelan nearly equalised for the home
side three minutes later but the ball rolled inches wide of the upright.
Newcastle United v Blackburn Rovers 2-1
Dunn put Blackburn ahead in the 34th minute when Given fumbled a shot from
Tugay and Dunn reacted quickly to force the ball home. Bernard equalised
for the Magpies in the 65th minute when their incessant pressure finally
paid off. Solano provided the pass from which Bernard fired into the
bottom right-hand corner of the net. Speed scored the winner five minutes
later when Elliott sent over a deep cross to Speed, standing by the far
post, and his header looped over Friedel into the net.
Southampton v Sunderland 2-0
An own goal by Craddock in the 45th minute set the Saints on the way to a
second successive home win. Marsden sent in a curling ball that Craddock
tried to clear but could only steer the ball into his own goal. Pahars
added a second goal in the 67th minute when Svensson pumped the ball 50
yards upfield to Pahars, who raced clear of the Sunderland back four and
crashed the ball home from 12 yards.
Tottenham Hotspur v Fulham 4-0
As usual, I am not commenting on this match. However, I am noting the fact
that Ferdinand, in scoring the opening goal, scored the 10,000th Premier
League goal. He will donate a prize of £10,000 to two cancer charities. Full report of one of our best shows of the season available here
West Ham United v Arsenal 1-1
Kanouté put the Hammers ahead in the 36th minute when Arsenal tried to
make an attack but the ball rebounded to Schemmel, who took the ball to
the goal-line before centring the ball to Kanouté, who drove the ball
behind 'keeper Taylor. Within two minutes, Arsenal were level when Lauren
was allowed to surge down the right wing. His centre was flicked on by
Henry into the path of the oncoming Ashley Cole, who prodded the ball home
from three yards.
Sunday 16 December 2001
Chelsea v Liverpool 4-0
Le Saux opened the scoring for Chelsea in the 3rd minute. Hasselbaink
played a superb pass through to Le Saux. Dudek pushed Le Saux's first
effort on to the upright but Le Saux turned the rebound into the Liverpool
goal. Hasselbaink added a second in the 28th minute when Gudjohnsen
slipped the ball between Hyypia and Henchoz for the Dutch striker to skip
through to score. Cudicini later saved a penalty from McAlister after
Melchiot had fouled Riise. Della Bona added a third goal for Chelsea in
the 71st minute when he finished off a shot from Lampard that had trickled
under Dudek's body. Gudjohnsen rounded off the scoring in the 90th minute
when he slammed home a powerful shot after Dudek had blocked his first
attempt.
Leeds United v Leicester City 2-2
Kewell had put Leeds ahead after only 7 minutes when Viduka had put him
through to score a simple goal as Walker floundered. Viduka added a second
after 59 minutes when Kelly provided the pass from which Viduka volleyed
past Walker. Deane, having already had one goal disallowed, made no
mistake in the 78th minute when he nudged home Davidson's cross. Scowcroft
then snatched an improbable equaliser in the 89th minute when Bakke lost
possession of the ball to Muzzy Izzet. His cross was chested down by
Scowcroft before he hammered the ball beyond Martyn.
Monday 17 December 2001
Aston Villa v Ipswich Town 2-1
George gave the Tractor Boys a surprise lead in the 18th minute. Boateng
lost possession in midfield and Hreidarsson and Naylor swapped passes to
provide George with the opportunity to score. Angel equalised in the 44th
minute. Sereni flapped at a ball that was his for the asking and the ball
ran loose to Staunton. Staunton centred the ball and Angel outjumped
McGreal to head the ball home. Angel then scored the winning goal in the
70th minute when Stone grabbed possession of the ball and sent Angel away.
Sereni had the ball covered but Angel's shot took a wicked deflection off
McGreal and flew into the goal.
Pos Pl. W. D. L. For-Ag Pts.
1 Liverpool 16 10 3 3 25- 15 33
2 Arsenal 16 8 6 2 34- 18 30
3 Newcastle 16 9 3 4 27- 19 30
4 Leeds 16 7 8 1 20- 11 29
5 Chelsea 17 6 9 2 23- 12 27
6 Man Utd 17 8 3 6 37- 27 27
7 Spurs 17 8 3 6 29- 23 27
8 A. Villa 17 7 6 4 23- 19 27
9 Everton 16 6 5 5 21- 19 23
10 Fulham 17 5 8 4 17- 17 23
11 Charlton 17 5 7 5 21- 20 22
12 Bolton 17 5 6 6 20- 21 21
13 Sunderland 17 5 5 7 13- 17 20
14 West Ham 17 5 5 7 19- 28 20
15 Blackburn 17 4 7 5 23- 21 19
16 M'brough 17 5 4 8 17- 23 19
17 So'ton 16 5 1 10 17- 24 16
18 Leicester 17 3 5 9 11- 31 14
19 Derby 17 3 4 10 11- 30 13
20 Ipswich 16 1 6 10 15- 27 9
