English Premier League – Match Recaps – 25 August 2012
Swansea remained perfect on the season, Man Utd held on at Old Trafford, and Chelsea blanked Newcastle United in the English Premier League on August 25, 2012. Other results include Everton winning at Aston Villa, QPR earning a draw at Norwich City, Wigan winning at Southampton, and Spurs held at home by West Brom.
Swansea City 3-0 West Ham
The Swans remained perfect in the English Premier League with another clean sheet victory. Swansea have scored eight goals through two matches and not conceded any.
| 19′ | Angel Rangel | 1 – 0 | |
| 29′ | Michu | 2 – 0 | |
| 63′ | Danny Graham | 3 – 0 |
Aston Villa 1-3 Everton
The Toffees followed up their win against Manchester United with a strong showing at Villa Park. Marouane Fellaini scored his second goal in as many matches, Steven Pienaar scored the opener, and Nikica Jelavic capped it off in the 44th minute. Things got even worse for the home side when Ciaran Clark was sent off in the 58th minute.
Aston Villa did show some fight in the second half as Karim El Ahmadi scored in the 75th minute. They followed up the goal with a great chance by Andreas Wiemann in the 90th minute that bounced off the left post.
| 2′ | 0 – 1 | Steven Pienaar | |
| 31′ | 0 – 2 | Marouane Fellaini | |
| 44′ | 0 – 3 | Nikica Jelavic | |
| 58′ | Ciaran Clark (red card) | ||
| 75′ | Karim El Ahmadi | 1 – 3 |
Manchester United 3-2 Fulham
It was a mixed performance for the Red Devils as they recovered from an early deficit but had to hold onto a narrow lead. Three unanswered goals put United ahead 3-1 but a second half own goal cut the lead to one. Fulham had some decent chances late but didn’t quite have enough to get a draw.
The bad news for United is that Wayne Rooney was injured during the match and likely out for four weeks. The good news is that United won the match and they now have Robin van Persie to pick up the slack for Rooney’s absence.
| 3′ | 0 – 1 | Damien Duff | |
| 9′ | Robin Van Persie | 1 – 1 | |
| 34′ | Shinji Kagawa | 2 – 1 | |
| 40′ | Rafael | 3 – 1 | |
| 63′ | 3 – 2 | Nemanja Vidic (og) |
Norwich City 1-1 Queens Park Rangers
Both teams earned their first point of the English Premier League season with the draw. Norwich took the lead with a Simeon Jackson header but Bobby Zamora equalized about eight minutes later. The QPR goal was not without controversy as it was following a save penalty kick. Replays show that Zamora was clearly inside the box before Cisse attempted the penalty kick.
| 11′ | Simeon Jackson | 1 – 0 | |
| 19′ | 1 – 1 | Bobby Zamora |
Southampton 0-2 Wigan
The Latics continued the momentum from last season with their first win of the English Premier League season. Southampton were a bit unlucky with several shots hitting the post.
| 51′ | 0 – 1 | Franco Di Santo | |
| 88′ | 0 – 2 | Arouna Koné |
Sunderland P-P Reading
The match was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at the Stadium of Light. It hasn’t been announced when the match will be rescheduled.
Tottenham 1-1 West Brom
Spurs took a second half lead but couldn’t hold onto it as West Brom equalized in stoppage time. It’s been a disappointing start for Tottenham who have ambitions of a top four finish and returning to the UEFA Champions League.
| 74′ | Benoit Assou-Ekotto | 1 – 0 | |
| 90′ +1′ | 1 – 1 | James Morrison |
Chelsea 2-0 Newcastle United
New signing Eden Hazard had another great match as he converted a 21st minute penalty kick and assisted on a Fernando Torres goal. Both players will need to have great seasons if Chelsea are to content for the English Premier League title.
| 21′ | Eden Hazard (pen) | 1 – 0 | |
| 45′ +3′ | Fernando Torres | 2 – 0 |
