Everton 0 Swansea City 0: Frustration for Martinez´s men

Everton failed to score for the first time this season as they were held to a goalless Premier League draw by Swansea City on Saturday.

Roberto Martinez's men had managed to find the net in every league fixture this term before this weekend, but endured a frustrating 90 minutes against the Spaniard's former club at Goodison Park.

Everton saw clear-cut goalscoring opportunities limited in the first half, despite dominating possession, and could count themselves lucky not to concede a penalty when Antolin Alcaraz appeared to handle the ball from a Jonjo Shelvey strike.

Swansea - who picked up their first-ever win over Everton in the League Cup earlier this season - looked brighter after the break, but were dealt a blow when Shelvey was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence with 18 minutes to go.

However, Garry Monk's men held firm to cling on to a hard-earned point that sees them remain sixth, while Everton stay ninth.

Swansea returned to a more familiar starting XI following their League Cup elimination at the hands of Liverpool on Tuesday, while Martinez could only include Romelu Lukaku among his substitutes after the Belgian injured a toe in last weekend's victory over Burnley.

Samuel Eto'o led the Everton line after netting a brace in that 3-1 win at Turf Moor, and could have put the home side in front with a half-volley inside the opening minute - Lukasz Fabianski making the save.

Everton had the better of the early chances and Leighton Baines curled a free-kick just wide of the target from 20 yards after Eto'o had been felled by Ki Sung-yueng.

Swansea boss Monk has had a number of run-ins with officials in recent weeks and the visitors were appealing for a penalty in the 20th minute when a Shelvey strike appeared to hit the arm of Alcaraz, but referee Kevin Friend opted against pointing to the spot.

Replays suggested Shelvey had every reason to feel aggrieved.

Alcaraz had to be replaced by Muhamed Besic after coming off worse in a collision with Wilfried Bony - Gareth Barry switching to a central defensive role as a result - but it was Everton who ended the half in the ascendancy.

Barry's inexperience in the back four showed when he was almost caught in possession by Wayne Routledge shortly after the restart, before Shelvey fired wide having been teed up by Bony.

Everton struggled to recapture their first-half dominance after the break, but finally gave the visiting defence something to think about when Aiden McGeady curled just wide after creating a shooting angle just outside the box.

Shelvey, who has already served a one-match suspension for accumulating yellow cards this season, was made to pay for kicking the ball away in the first half when he received a second booking for cynically blocking James McCarthy in the 72nd minute.

Swansea adopted a more defensive approach after going a man down and will be satisfied with a point under the circumstances, but Everton, who saw Lukaku just fail to get on the end of a fizzed cross in the final seconds, may view the match as a missed opportunity to record a third successive league win.

Hull City 0 Southampton 1: Wanyama benefits from Jakupovic error

Victor Wanyama took advantage of an Eldin Jakupovic error as Southampton continued their fine run in a 1-0 Premier League win at Hull City.

Third-choice Hull keeper Jakupovic continued to deputise in the absence of Allan McGregor and Steve Harper in Saturday's game at the KC Stadium.

And his mishit clearance after just three minutes fell into the path of Wanyama, who cleverly guided the ball home from distance for the only goal of the game.

On balance of play it was a deserved three points for Southampton, who remain second in the table, as Jakupovic's opposite number Fraser Forster was rarely tested in his bid to impress the watching England manager Roy Hodgson.

Hull, who made one change from last week's 0-0 draw at Liverpool with Paul McShane coming in for Alex Bruce, failed to stamp their authority on the game and fell to a second home league defeat of the season.

Wanyama's early strike gave in-form Southampton a perfect start, and former Hull striker Shane Long - who moved to St Mary's in August - was a constant threat for the visitors in the first half.

The second period failed to produce much in terms of goalmouth action, but Southampton substitute Saido Mane should have made it 2-0 when he put a gilt-edged opportunity from inside the six-yard box over the crossbar with 20 minutes remaining.

However, Wanyama's third Premier League goal of the season proved enough for Southampton, who have now won 10 of their last 11 matches in all competitions.

Following the Kenyan's opener, Hull enjoyed a spell of pressure and Hatem Ben Arfa should have done better when he stot tamely at Forster from the edge of the box on his favoured left foot.

But at the other end, Southampton nearly benefitted from another Jakupovic error.

The Pole hesitated after realising Long would reach a long ball first and was relieved the ex-Hull man could not direct his looping header into the goal.

Southampton looked assured in possession after the break as Hull tried desperately to get a foothold in the game.

The visitors almost had a second in fortuitous circumstances when Graziano Pelle's acrobatic overhead kick fell kindly for Steven Davis, who could only half-volley straight at Jakupovic from close range.

Hull's Mohamed Diame was perhaps lucky to escape punishment for a crude challenge on the heel of Dusan Tadic.

But Tadic picked himself up and his teasing cross found Mane in a great position in the penalty area, only for the forward to flick his shot into the ground and over the crossbar in the 70th minute.

The hosts had tame shouts for a penalty denied when Robbie Brady's cross appeared to hit Tadic on the hand, but Steve Bruce's side rarely threatened the Southampton goal in the closing stages.

Indeed, it was the visitors who went closes to scoring again, as Pelle wasted a great chance to round off the win in the 89th minute when he clipped a shot wide at the near post after a fine delivery from Mane.

It mattered little, though, as Ronald Koeman's men march on.

Chelsea 2 QPR 1: Hazard on the spot for Mourinho´s leaders

Chelsea needed a late Eden Hazard penalty to maintain their unblemished home record in the Premier League as the leaders beat QPR 2-1.

Charlie Austin's second-half equaliser had looked set to deny Jose Mourinho's side a fifth consecutive league win at Stamford Bridge after Oscar had opened the scoring on Saturday.

However, after Hazard was clumsily bundled over by Eduardo Vargas, the Belgian stroked home the winner to maintain Chelsea's four-point lead at the summit.

Austin backheeled home just after the hour to cancel out Oscar's opener as the in-form QPR striker seemed set to be the hero for the Loftus Road outfit.

With an under-par Chelsea on course to drop points for the second league game running, Vargas collided with Hazard just inside the area with referee Mike Jones pointing to the spot.

Hazard then had the final say 15 minutes from time as he tucked away the penalty to ensure Chelsea clinched maximum points and deny Harry Redknapp what would have been an impressive draw.

Chelsea began well and forced a series of corners early on, with leading scorer Diego Costa - back in the starting XI after a four-game absence due to a combination of injury and illness - almost getting on the end of Cesc Fabregas' long ball four minutes in.

Oscar saw a shot roll wide of Rob Green's left-hand post soon after before Branislav Ivanovic found the side-netting from Willian's delivery.

QPR – whose one change saw Junior Hoilett replace Bobby Zamora – produced their first effort on goal via the in-form Austin, whose header looped over the crossbar 15 minutes in.

While it was a rare foray into the Chelsea half, Redknapp's side had done well to stifle the hosts and initially deny the likes of Oscar, Willian and Hazard space to create openings.

However, after Fabregas' long-range strike tested Green from distance, Oscar opened the deadlock after 32 minutes courtesy of a sublime finish with the outside of the boot.

Played in down the right by Fabregas, the Brazil international found the bottom-left corner via the inside of the post to send Chelsea in ahead at the break.

Hazard almost doubled Chelsea's advantage early in the second half but failed to make contact with Willian's inviting cross as Redknapp opted to bring on Zamora for Hoilett just short of the hour mark.

Within two minutes of the change, QPR were level thanks to Austin's fifth Premier League goal of the season.

Following a swift counter from Vargas, Austin was able to cleverly divert Leroy Fer's strike past a helpless Thibaut Courtois.

Mourinho then opted for an attacking change as Didier Drogba replaced Willian, but it was the ever-dangerous Hazard who was the match-winner.

Having been brought down by Vargas, the Belgium international sent Green the wrong way from the spot to get Chelsea back to winning ways in the league after their 1-1 draw at Old Trafford last time out.

Leicester City 0 West Brom 1: Cambiasso own goal proves decisive

Esteban Cambiasso's bizarre own goal gave West Brom a 1-0 win as Leicester City extended their winless Premier League run to five matches.

The toothless hosts struggled to make the most of their chances against Alan Irvine's men on Saturday, with Jamie Vardy in particular guilty of spurning a couple of good opportunities.

But ultimately they were undone by an error two minutes into the second period when Cambiasso inadvertently directed Wes Morgan's clearance into his own net.

Andy King could have earned Leicester a draw in the final 15 minutes but he headed straight at goalkeeper Ben Foster as Leicester's struggles continued.

West Brom, meanwhile, held on for their first win since the end of September.

Leicester struggled to provide service for their forwards and with top scorer Leonardo Ulloa starting on the bench due to injury, their only real sight of goal in the opening stages saw Danny Drinkwater blaze a shot over from 20 yards.

West Brom – unchanged from their last Premier League outing against Crystal Palace - had to bide their time but after growing into the game they almost grabbed a 17th-minute lead, as the in-form Saido Berahino forced Kasper Schmeichel into a smart save with a shot from the edge of the area.

The hosts were convinced that they should have been awarded a penalty a few moments later, but Stuart Attwell – refereeing his first Premier League game since January 2012 – failed to spot Craig Dawson's handball.

Leicester continued to press and they could have taken the lead in the 37th minute, but Vardy's spectacular overhead kick was straight at Foster.

West Brom almost capitalised on that let-off when Chris Brunt slammed a shot over the crossbar following Berahino's clever cut-back but they were ahead two minutes after the break, courtesy of a helping hand from Cambiasso.

Berahino squeezed a low cross into the area and, although Morgan had seemingly cleared the danger with a stooping header, the ball struck his Argentinian team-mate on the leg and crept inside the post.

Leicester were fortunate not to be dealt a further blow in the 66th minute as Marcin Wasilewski escaped punishment for catching Berahino in the face with his elbow, before King headed straight at Foster with just under quarter-of-an-hour to go.

The hosts did mount a spell of late pressure as they sought an equaliser, but West Brom were largely untroubled.

Granada 0 Real Madrid 4: Rodriguez stars in routine win

A superb strike from James Rodriguez helped inspire a dominant Real Madrid to a comfortable 4-0 win over Granada on Saturday.

A brilliant start saw Cristiano Ronaldo give the European champions the lead, slotting home after just two minutes, and Rodriguez added a second with a vicious volley 15 minutes before the break.

Karim Benzema added a third shortly after half-time, coolly poking his effort home following Ronaldo's flick.

Marcelo was denied by the crossbar four minutes later, before Rodriguez took advantage of a defensive mix-up to poke home a fourth and double his tally as Carlo Ancelotti's side followed up last weekend's Clasico triumph in style.

The result represents Real's 11th consecutive win in all competitions, while condemning a toothless Granada to their fifth defeat in six games.

The visitors, who named an unchanged side from the the convincing win over Barcelona, did not take long to assert their authority in Andalucia, with Ronaldo opening the scoring early on.

Some good work down the right saw Daniel Carvajal dispossess Dimitri Foulquier, which allowed Benzema to cut back to the Portugal international inside the area and he marked the 700th match of his career with his 22nd goal of the season.

Granada came into the game having mustered just one win in their last eight matches and posed little threat to Ancelotti's men, who continued to press.

A wonderful clipped ball from Isco allowed Benzema to force a smart save from Roberto in the 23rd minute, before Carvajal blazed his shot over the bar from six yards following Ronaldo's brilliant backheeled pass.

But the lead was doubled just after the half hour, when a superb sweeping move saw Benzema tee the ball up for Rodriguez inside the area and the Colombian smashed an unstoppable first-time volley into the top corner.

Real's dominance continued in the second half, and they were celebrating a third just nine minutes after the restart, Ronaldo finding Benzema with another audacious backheel, allowing the Frenchman to beat the offside trap and prod his effort past Roberto.

Granada's goalkeeper was once again a spectator two minutes later and had the crossbar to thank as Marcelo's 25-yard effort was denied.

The home side continued to struggle, but went close to pulling a goal back after 65 minutes.

Substitute Ruben Rochina fired over with an acrobatic volley, before a whipped cross from Juan Carlos was headed over by Abdoul Sissoko.

Fellow sub Javier Marquez should have done better six minutes from time, but was denied by an onrushing Iker Casillas.

Rodriguez wrapped up the win three minutes later by turning home at the far post following some neat play from Ronaldo, capping off a routine afternoon for Ancelotti's charges.

Newcastle United 1 Liverpool 0: Perez seals victory

Ayoze Perez scored the winner for Newcastle United for the second Premier League match running as Liverpool were beaten 1-0 on Saturday.

The Spaniard netted the decisive goal in the 2-1 triumph at Tottenham last Sunday and came off the bench at St James' Park to earn Newcastle's fourth win in a row in all competitions and move them to within a point of Liverpool.

The Premier League's highest scoring fixture - having yielded 129 goals before this meeting - looked set to be heading for a goalless draw until Perez's 73rd-minute strike, which condemned the visitors to their fourth top-flight defeat of the season.

Both clubs progressed to the League Cup quarter-finals in midweek, with Newcastle having further alleviated the pressure on manager Alan Pardew by producing a shock 2-0 success over holders Manchester City.

It was two much-changed sides that lined up on Saturday and Pardew reaped the rewards from having rested several key players for Wednesday's trip to the Etihad Stadium.

Pardew admitted that the weakened team he named against City was a nod towards the importance of this fixture, with five players - Tim Krul, Steven Taylor, Moussa Sissoko, Sammy Ameobi and Papiss Cisse - returning, while Mehdi Abeid earned a Premier League debut.

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers also made numerous changes from the League Cup success over Swansea City, and Mario Balotelli was rewarded for his equalising goal off the bench in that 2-1 triumph as the Italian was handed a start, with Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling coming back into the side.

The hosts had appeals for a penalty waved away by referee Andre Marriner in the 10th minute when Sissoko went to ground under a challenge from Joe Allen, with replays suggesting they had cause to feel aggrieved.

Newcastle suffered a blow midway through the half when Gabriel Obertan, scorer of the winning goal in his side's last home match against Leicester City, pulled up while chasing a long ball down the right, with Rolando Aarons introduced in his place.

Liverpool survived a scare late in the half when Cisse's goal-bound shot was headed away by the alert Glen Johnson, while Martin Skrtel headed Gerrard's corner wide from eight yards at the other end.

The Senegal striker did not return for the second half as Perez was brought on to add fresh impetus to Newcastle's attack, with that change ultimately proving crucial.

Tempers flared on the hour mark when Daryl Janmaat scythed down Balotelli and was, perhaps, a little fortunate to escape with just a yellow card.

Former Sunderland man Fabio Borini threatened with a powerful low strike from the edge of the area two minutes after coming off the bench, but it was Perez who made the breakthrough.

Sissoko's cross was not dealt with by Alberto Moreno and Perez was on hand to fire the ball home.

A rapid breakaway almost led to a second when Remy Cabella and Perez linked well, but the Frenchman's effort was kept out by the right foot of Simon Mignolet.

Liverpool offered little in the closing stages and, with a trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to take on European champions Real Madrid coming up on Tuesday, Rodgers was left with plenty to ponder.

Robertson returns for Hull

Andrew Robertson returns to Hull City's squad for Saturday's clash with Southampton after recovering from a knee injury.

The Scotland international missed last weekend's 0-0 draw with Liverpool but is contention to face Ronald Koeman's men after returning to training earlier this week.

However, assistant manager Steve Agnew reveals there is no guarantee wing-back Robertson will play after replacement Robbie Brady put in a fine performance at Anfield, prompting manager Steve Bruce to suggest he would be selected again this week.

"We'll discuss that [team selection] today," Agnew said. "It's a dilemma because Andrew has done so well since coming down from Scotland and really hit the ground running.

"But then Robbie came in last weekend and performed exceptionally well at Liverpool. It's a great problem to have."

Agnew also confirmed that injured quartet Allan McGregor, Steve Harper, Nikica Jelavic and Michael Dawson are all progressing well and could return for the Premier League clash with Tottenham after the international break later this month.

Meanwhile, Agnew insists close-season signing Tom Ince still has a big future at the club despite being shipped out on loan to Nottingham Forest.

Ince has struggled to make an impact at the KC Stadium and, after missing several matchday squads, Bruce allowed the winger to leave on a temporary basis.

"Tom came in pre-season and did ever so well when started the season with us," he added.

"We changed the shape of the team and then one or two players came in or out and Tom was one of those.

"We felt he hasn't played as much football as we would have liked so Steve agreed with Nottingham Forest to take him on loan until January.

"Hopefully he'll get some games in, perform like we know he can and it will be beneficial to all of us.

"He is a top player, an exciting player and one we're looking forward to working with for a good number of years."