Saturday, September 27, 2014

3 things you need to know about Saturday's Premier League action

 

3 things you need to know about Saturday's Premier League action

There wasn't great deal of movement in the Premier League table following Saturday's fixtures, but moments of sheer brilliance and utter stupidity provided plenty excitement during Matchday 6.
Manchester United survived a late scare while they were down a man against West Ham United, while Chelsea brought Aston Villa back down to earth thanks to Diego Costa's elite scoring prowess, and both derby matches lived up to the physical and competitive reputation that makes them some of the most anticipated matches in football.
Here are three things you need to know about Saturday's Premier League action:

Jagielka's glorious strike rescues point for Everton in Merseyside derby

Gianluca Nesci: Everton had done nothing of note for 90 minutes at (a typically raucous) Anfield.
The Toffees hadn't been run off the pitch, per se, but Liverpool were clearly the better side and the 1-0 lead they carried into injury time, courtesy of a free kick from captain Steven Gerrard, was well deserved. Had it not been for the slightest of touches from Tim Howard on a Mario Balotelli volley, it would have been 2-0. Alas, with a draw still within reach, there was always hope that one moment of brilliance could salvage a point.
Phil Jagielka provided that moment in most dramatic fashion. Down a goal in the Merseyside derby, with the seconds ticking away, the defender - a point which cannot be stressed enough - unleashed this out of nowhere.
What a goal Everton Jagielka!!! #PremierLeague
The result will come as a bitter disappointment for Brendan Rodgers and company, who outshot their local rivals 24-to-11, but were too often unable to conjure up any chances of note.
Note: xG represents Expected Goals, which you can read about here. It essentially tells you how likely a player is to score with a given shot considering the position he shoots from and the type of shot (header, strong foot, weak foot, etc.).
Liverpool last 225 league minutes: 45 shots, 2.3 xG. They're shooting a lot, but they have totally lost the ability to create big chances.

3 things you need to know about Saturday's Premier League action

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