FULHAM vs. TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: Instead of heaping scorn and abuse upon Clint Dempsey, Fulham fans, while vocal, were far from vengeful. A comatose first 50 minutes suddenly came to life in the 55th when Sandro's piledriver from 40 yards away eluded a flailing Mark Schwarzer. Australia's number one 'keeper should have been able to put up the stop sign, but it went in the books as an E-1, 1-0 Spurs. Jermain Defoe would then net a pair within a five minute stanza, his first coming courtesy of room service delivery from the boot of Glyfi Sigurdsson and the insurance tally coming via a breakaway with Dempsey providing the first aid. Spurs is certainly in a groove, moving up to fourth in the BPL Top 20 charts. After a promising start in which they resembled a Ferrari, Fulham's offense has stalled to a crawl. Tottenham 3, Fulham 0
MANCHESTER CITY vs. EVERTON: With a Champions League title no longer in the cards, Roberto Mancini can devote his full attention to the domestic game. Efforts like the one his squad put forward in this contest will not get the job done. Everton's in-form midfielder Maroaune Fellaini won a jump ball from Pablo Zabaleta midway through the first half to give the visitors a 1-0 lead, but Carlos Tevez equalized through a penalty kick after Fellaini was judged to have tugged on superman Dzeko's cape, making it 1-1 at intermission. City enjoyed a game of keep away in the second half, and New Jersey's Tim Howard denied all other scoring requests. Man City 1, Everton 1
WEST HAM UNITED vs. CHELSEA: I'm still on blast over the ugly displays put forth by the West Ham faithful during last week's encounter with Spurs. The home fans were better behaved on this occasion, but perhaps that was because they sympathized with their ailing London rivals. There was a Fernando Torres sighting, as the inconsistent Spaniard was in a giving mood on Juan Mata's slider 13 minutes in to provide the Blues with a 1-0 advantage – but the Hammers treated their opponents as if they were a nail from that point on. Carlton Cole would scale Branislav Ivanovic to nod home the tying goal, and how it wasn't ruled a climbing foul is baffling to this observer. West Ham's next two came in a more conventional fashion, with Africans Mohamed Diame and Modibe Maiga taking a bow, the latter coming courtesy of Ashley Cole's act of charity. I feel somewhat melancholy for Rafael Benitez, as it's not his fault that his petulant and selfish owner Roman Abramovich decided to sack Robert DiMatteo despite a CL and FA championship last season. It appears that Chelsea will be receiving coal this holiday season. West Ham 3, Chelsea 1
READING vs. MANCHESTER UNITED: With Norwich toppling United three weeks earlier, Reading was thinking upset from the jump, and this was a lively contest with five goals scored in the first 23 minutes. Reading held a lead on two occasions, but the Red Devils would climb off the canvas to deliver an uppercut of their own; Wayne Rooney would score twice and Robin Van Persie once, and those tallies from the CEOs of Man U's scoring firm, along with a strike from Andersen, were too much for a stubborn and determined Reading side to handle. Also, kudos to referee Mark Halsey, as several questionable rulings all seemed to fall on the right side of justice. Manchester United 4, Reading 3
ARSENAL vs. SWANSEA CITY: Wow, Arsenal was worse than terrible. It was so bad that both Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud would flop to the turf faster than an Adam Sandler movie; positively embarrassing. Swansea hardly resembled FC Barcelona offensively, but in-form striker Michu found himself in green acres to make it 1-0 visitors. On the second goal, Luke Moore was in hot pursuit of Arsenal fullback Carl Jenkinson, resulting in an untimely turnover. That was a wrap for the scoring, but the Arsenal supporters were destined to be heard, and I haven't witnessed so many boos since last New Year's Eve. Swansea 2, Arsenal 0
NORWICH CITY vs. SUNDERLAND: Opposites attract in this Sunday feature; Sunderland hadn't won in their last nine, compared to the Canaries’ seven-game unbeaten streak. Norwich started ablaze with Sebastian Bassong taking credit after a free kick ping-ponged into the penalty area. Anthony Pilkington doubled the home side's pleasure after he juked and jived around the Sunderland backline, but Craig Gardner slashed the deficit in half just before intermission. The Black Cats were on the prowl throughout the second half and should've equalized when Matthew Kilgallon was all alone in front of goal; if this were golf, he would've been told to pick up the "gimme," but instead he bladed his effort far over the crossbar…and it so it goes for Sunderland. Meanwhile, a pair of fours were a winning hand for Norwich, as four wins and four draws in their last eight pushes them up to 12th in this marathon card game known as the BPL season. Norwich 2, Sunderland 1
WEST BROMWICH ALBION vs. STOKE: Seven days ago in this same space I described WBA as the most pleasant surprise of the campaign. That was then and this is now, as the slipper has come off the BPL's Cinderella. Just an uninspiring effort from WBA in front of their home supporters, and Dean Whiteside was the beneficiary of some Keystone Cops-style defending in netting the game's only score. With their unbeaten streak at five, Stoke's band of no-names are certainly getting noticed within the league. Stoke 1, WBA 0
LIVERPOOL vs. SOUTHAMPTON: Liverpool stuttered to a stop and start beginning to the season, but they've now moved from the local track to the express, and aA pair of impressive victories married to a six-game undefeated streak has head coach Brendan Rogers dreaming of a “til death do us part” conclusion. The Reds prevailed despite receiving a goose egg from the Premiership's top striker, Luis Suarez; to be sure, the Uruguayan was his typical lively and energetic force, but on this day he transferred the scoring touch to teammate Daniel Agger. Liverpool was starved for more but got fat with that one goal. Liverpool 1, Suthampton 0
QUEENS PARK RANGERS vs. ASTON VILLA: If you're searching for QPR's first victory, keep looking at the bottom of this page. The streak is now woe-for-15, including nine defeats and six draws. With Harry Redknapp steering the ship I'm predicting a QPR win before Santa's arrival, but I'm not ready to predict a happy new year for the Rangers. QPR 1, Aston Villa 1
PENALTY KICK: I want to hear from my peeps. Hit me up with your questions and comments; nbaker@yesnetwork.com
