The Premier League wrapped up Matchday 19 with two fixtures on Sunday, on New year day.
Tottenham Hotspur traveled to Vicarage Road to face off with Watford to kick off the day's action, and Arsenal hosted Crystal Palace to bring the week to a close.
With Chelsea and Liverpool having already won this matchday, it was important for both Tottenham and Arsenal to pick up three points and not lose any ground in the league title race. Palace, meanwhile, were looking for at least a draw to create a little more distance between themselves and the relegation zone.
Below is a look at Sunday's results and the Premier League table.
Arsenal thumped Palace 2-0 to go 3rd, while Spurs crushed Watford 4-1 to jump frog City to 4th place on the log.
Arsenal 2-0 Palace
Arsenal, maintained their one-point advantage over Spurs in the table with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace.
It may only be the first day of the new year, but Olivier Giroud provided an early favorite for best goal of 2017 with his 17th-minute opener. The Frenchman acrobatically reached his left leg back to connect with Alexis Sanchez's cross to score off the crossbar.
The opener resembled Henrikh Mkhitaryan's scorpion goal against Sunderland on Boxing Day. NBC Sports Soccer compared the two:
"It's in my top five goals," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said of Giroud's effort, per the club's official Twitter account. "You remember goals like [Dennis] Bergkamp at Leicester and Newcastle, [Thierry] Henry at Real Madrid, against Liverpool."
Alex Iwobi scored in the 56th minute to provide insurance for the Gunners.
It was a deserved victory for Arsenal, who finished with 64 percent possession and outshot Crystal Palace 22-7.
The loss continues Sam Allardyce's abysmal record in his team's fixtures away to Arsenal. Over the years, he has collected nine defeats and three draws at Highbury and Emirates Stadium, according to OptaJoe.
Palace have one draw and one defeat after Allardyce succeeded Alan Pardew as manager. They should collect their first win under Allardyce in their next match when they host Swansea City.
While Crystal Palace are hovering near the bottom three, it should be only a matter of time before Allardyce steers them to safety.
For Wenger, he'll hope to keep his club's title push alive through what could be a critical group of fixtures ahead. Arsenal have winnable matches against Bournemouth, Swansea, Burnley and Watford before they travel to Stamford Bridge on Feb. 4.
Depending on how they navigate that initial four-game stretch, the Gunners' clash with Chelsea could either reaffirm their status as contenders or be the beginning of the end in their quest for the top spot.
Tottenham 4-1 Watford
On the strength of three first-half goals, Tottenham cruised to a 4-1 win over Watford on Sunday.
Harry Kane played a starring role, scoring twice in the opening 33 minutes and assisting on Dele Alli's goal in the 46th minute.
Squawka Football shared the 23-year-old's attacking record in his first 100 Premier League games:
Alli put Tottenham up 3-0 in the 41st minute after completing his brace in the second half. Younes Kaboul ruined Hugo Lloris' clean sheet with a goal in the first minute of injury time.
Spurs remain a title contender despite sitting 10 points off Chelsea. They can trim that deficit with a win over the Blues on Wednesday.
See full matchday 19 results and table standing below;-
Matchday 19 Results
| Date | Home | Result | Away |
| Dec. 30 | Hull City | 2-2 | Everton |
| Dec. 31 | Burnley | 4-1 | Sunderland |
| Dec. 31 | Chelsea | 4-2 | Stoke City |
| Dec. 31 | Leicester City | 1-0 | West Ham |
| Dec. 31 | Manchester United | 2-1 | Middlesbrough |
| Dec. 31 | Southampton | 1-2 | West Brom |
| Dec. 31 | Swansea City | 0-3 | Bournemouth |
| Dec. 31 | Liverpool | 1-0 | Manchester City |
| Jan. 1 | Watford | 1-4 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Jan. 1 | Arsenal | 2-0 | Crystal Palace |
Source: ESPN FC
Premier League Table
| Pos. | Club | P | W | D | L | GD | Points |
| 1 | Chelsea | 19 | 16 | 1 | 2 | +29 | 49 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 19 | 13 | 4 | 2 | +25 | 43 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 19 | 12 | 4 | 3 | +22 | 40 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 19 | 11 | 6 | 2 | +23 | 39 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 19 | 12 | 3 | 4 | +18 | 39 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 19 | 10 | 6 | 3 | +10 | 36 |
| 7 | Everton | 19 | 7 | 6 | 6 | +2 | 27 |
| 8 | West Brom | 19 | 7 | 5 | 7 | +2 | 26 |
| 9 | Southampton | 19 | 6 | 6 | 7 | -3 | 24 |
| 10 | Bournemouth | 19 | 7 | 3 | 9 | -5 | 24 |
| 11 | Burnley | 19 | 7 | 2 | 10 | -8 | 23 |
| 12 | West Ham | 19 | 6 | 4 | 9 | -10 | 22 |
| 13 | Watford | 19 | 6 | 4 | 9 | -11 | 22 |
| 14 | Stoke City | 19 | 5 | 6 | 8 | -10 | 21 |
| 15 | Leicester City | 19 | 5 | 5 | 9 | -7 | 20 |
| 16 | Middlesbrough | 19 | 4 | 6 | 9 | -5 | 18 |
| 17 | Crystal Palace | 19 | 4 | 4 | 11 | -6 | 16 |
| 18 | Sunderland | 19 | 4 | 2 | 13 | -18 | 14 |
| 19 | Hull City | 19 | 3 | 4 | 12 | -25 | 13 |
| 20 | Swansea City | 19 | 3 | 3 | 13 | -23 | 12 |
Source: ESPN FC
0 Comments