Christmas is a time for tradition, so it seems right that on Boxing Day the big teams won in the Premier League, the smaller teams lost and everything was in its proper place.
Sunderland fans may disagree with that assessment.
Here are some things we spotted from the Boxing Day fixtures…
The sharpest shooter
Diego Costa struck once again for Chelsea to effectively kill off West Ham’s resistance, and he hasn’t racked up his 13 league goals by luck. The Blues’ Brazil-born hitman is the only Premier League player with 30 or more shots to his name to have got more than half of his efforts on target. With rival Sergio Aguero still out injured, the festive period is Costa’s best chance to steal a march in the goalscoring charts.
Top gunner
Against QPR it was Alexis Sanchez who Arsenal turned to once again to break the deadlock. The Chilean’s goals have given the Gunners the lead eight times this season: six times more than any of his team-mates and twice as many as any other Premier League player has managed for their club. With the recently-returned Olivier Giroud now suspended following his red card, Arsene Wenger will continue to rely on his star signing for a cutting edge.
Manchester momentum
There’s a London club at the Premier League summit, but another city is currently the seat of most of the division’s positive momentum. The two Manchester sides each scored three goals in convincing Boxing Day victories to extend the best runs of form in the top flight. However, it’ll all be for nothing if Chelsea don’t slip up.
Sticky patch for the Toffees
Another disappointing defeat for Everton has added to the sense of mounting frustration at Goodison Park. After narrowly missing out on Champions League qualification last season, the Toffees find themselves mired in mid-table after a seventh defeat; one less than they incurred in the whole of their previous campaign. With the defence looking especially shaky, Roberto Martinez will be under pressure to work some more magic.
Missed opportunities
Burnley remained in the bottom three despite outshooting a poor Liverpool side by 16 efforts to 10, largely because they didn’t register a single one on target. Sean Dyche’s side have the worst shot conversion rate in the Premier League and this was the eighth time they have failed to find the net. With the January window opening soon, he’ll have to ponder whether he has sufficient firepower to ward off an immediate return to the Championship.
Tigers turning a corner?
Sunderland’s 10 matches at the Stadium of Light so far have only yielded a single victory, and Gus Poyet has good reason to be disappointed by the 3-1 loss to Hull. After a bright start the Tigers have been struggling up front, with fewer goals in their previous nine outings than they managed in one afternoon against the Black Cats.
Source: SNAPPA
